Tag Archives: NSA

Salami tactics – the end of Democracy

Last year, on a newspaper comment thread, someone called me a ‘nitwit’ because I said that civil liberties in the UK and USA are starting to resemble those found in places like China and North Korea. I’m not going to … Continue reading

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Vulgus vult decipi

Last October, Glenn Greenwald announced that he was going to stop writing for the Guardian newspaper; this, after spending the summer reporting the Snowden revelations. To quote Greenwald: “As many of you know, I’m leaving the Guardian in order to … Continue reading

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Habeas Corpus, what’s that?

Last year, US District Judge Katherine Forrest made a final ruling that Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – which allows for the indefinite detention of American citizens without trial – was unconstitutional and therefore unlawful. Government … Continue reading

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Syria

Yesterday, UK politicians voted against military intervention in the Syria conflict, although it was a close call: 272 votes for military action, 285 against. It’s the first time in modern history that MPs have voted against a Prime Minister’s call … Continue reading

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Rule, Britannia

Yesterday, David Miranda, a Brazilian citizen, was detained for nine hours at Heathrow Airport while transiting from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro. Miranda is the partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who’s breaking the Edward Snowden stories. It seems certain … Continue reading

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Cloaks and Daggers

Ha! what a day, and as the old saying goes: truth is stranger than fiction. Edward Snowden will no doubt bring American paranoia to the boil: Oh my God, RED CHIIINA!! and now MOSSGO!!! Interestingly, Snowden made an oblique reference … Continue reading

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We’re all Winston Smiths now

Over this last week, what with various Orwell quotes in newspaper comment sections, I must have read 1984 from cover to cover. On the otherhand, many readers seem to think that the American National Security Agency (NSA) scandal only involves … Continue reading

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