Seen on an ATM in Germany

Snowden: "I believe in the principle declared at Nuremberg in 1945: "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."

Edward Snowden appears at Moscow airport and renews asylum claim – as it happened

Senators Who Oppose Background Checks Are Fine With NSA Spying

How the fuck does that work?? Note to self...

Jeezus,

Presented without Comment

Via Obama is Obama is Checking Your E-mail

Documents: U.S. mining data from 9 leading Internet firms; companies deny knowledge

From the Washington Post:

The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets, according to a top-secret document obtained by The Washington Post.

Via elioguevara.blogspot.com

To paraphrase Matt Taibbi, the NSA and the F.B.I. working their slithery tongues deep into the dirty orifices of these companies are rampant vampire squid sucklings wrapped around our most intimate activities, relentlessly jamming their blood funneling tongues all up in everybody's business. The Rubicon is crossed. For your convenience and entertainment I've compiled a list of the companies named in the documents, their corporate slogans, and my commentary:

Google "Don't be evil"
when They get all up in your servers

Facebook "Connect with friends and the world around you"
and have your privacy violated by law enforcement 

Apple "Think Different"
about illegal and unconstitutional invasions of privacy

Yahoo! "Do you...Yahoo!?"
'cause if you do...THEY ARE RIGHT ON YER ASS

Microsoft "Be What's Next"
across the Rubicon without a paddle

Skype "Take a Deep Breath"
and don't cry over spilt secrets

PalTalk "More than video chat"
also unconstitutional surveillance

AOL "It's on!"
and goes straight to law enforcement

YouTube "Broadcast Yourself"
Oh don't bother, They already know

Disappointed, Disillusioned & Disgusted (Though Not Entirely Surprised)

NSA Whistleblowers: "All U.S. Citizens" [are] Targeted by Surveillance Program, Not Just Verizon Customers - Democracy Now

A leaked court order has revealed the Obama administration is conducting a massive domestic surveillance program by collecting telephone records of millions of Verizon customers. The Guardian newspaper published a classified order issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court directing Verizon’s Business Network Services to give the National Security Agency electronic data, including all calling records on an "ongoing, daily basis." 

Introducing Barack W. Bush (or George Hussein Obama)

Our first African American POTUS won an historic election in 2008, but then he went all fucking J. Edgar Hoover on us. Compare this paragraph about Hoover:

Hoover's critics accused him of exceeding the jurisdiction of the FBI.[1] He used the FBI to harass political dissenters and activists, to amass secret files on political leaders,[2] and to collect evidence using illegal methods.[3]  Hoover transformed the FBI into his private secret police force; Truman stated that "we want no Gestapo or secret police. FBI is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex-life scandals and plain blackmail... all customers, along with location and routing data, and with the duration and frequency of the calls...via Wikipedia

to the same one bracket-edited ala Barack Obama:

[His critics] have accused him of exceeding the jurisdiction of [his office]. He used [his office] to harass political dissenters and activists, to amass secret files on political leaders,[2] and to collect evidence using illegal methods.[3] [Obama] transformed [the powers of his office] into his private secret police force; [Critics] stated that "we want no Gestapo or secret police...[this presidency] is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in ...life scandals and plain blackmail...all customers, along with location and routing data, and with the duration and frequency of the calls..."

I find it, actually, horrifying.