Dire warnings of a holiday attack this weekend, your Unfilter show gets to the bottom of this week’s latest scare! The NSA’s vacuums are back to full, we’ll explain why, Russia turns off the gas, the Supreme court makes their big decision & we’re tracking the latest claimed threats from ISIS.

Plus IRS emails recovered, the situation in Greece, some Red Book follow up & more!

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— Episode Links —

• XKEYSCORE: NSA’s Google for the World’s Private Communications
• Emails show US officials knew of Clinton’s private email address – CSMonitor.com
• WikiLeaks Reveals List of German Officials Spied Upon by NSA, Confirms Merkel Had Calls Intercepted | Firedoglake
• IMF: austerity measures would still leave Greece with unsustainable debt | World news | The Guardian
• ​Gazprom halts gas deliveries to Kiev – CEO Miller — RT Business
• OPM hit by $1 billion class-action suit following personnel hack
• Now We Know Why Huge TPP Trade Deal Is Kept Secret From the Public | Dave Johnson
• Greece crisis: How has Greece spent its money and who does it still owe €242.8bn to? – Business News – Business – The Independent
• Leaked: What’s in Obama’s trade deal
• Everett closer to enacting a permanent pot ordinance | HeraldNet.com – Local News
• Oregon Legalizes Recreational Marijuana! Here’s What That Means.

The post Terror for the 4th | Unfilter 149 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

The media is sure the “strategy” against ISIS has failed & the time has come for boots on the ground in Iraq again, but the real game is a much longer player & the intention is to sell the American public on arming more militants. We’ll break it down.

The Senate fails to reform NSA spying & the Patriot Act is set to expire this Sunday. We’ll explain where things are at & why regardless of anything, the larger transgressions by the NSA are being left untouched.

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The Senate Fails to Reform NSA Spying, Votes Against USA Freedom Act

A last-minute bid to reform NSA spying before lawmakers break for a week-long recess failed early Saturday morning after hours of debate and filibuster overnight when Senate lawmakers voted 57-42 against the USA Freedom Act.

Senator Mitch McConnell then tried to lead an effort to extend the key provision in the Patriot Act that has been used to justify NSA spying, which is set to expire on June 1. But that vote also failed. Temporarily, that means the government’s bulk collection of phone records from U.S. telecoms is on hold.

USA Freedom Act aimed to put an end to that program, first uncovered by USA Today in 2006 and re-exposed in 2013 by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The bill called for records to be retained by telecoms and would have forced the NSA to obtain court orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to gain access to them. It also would have required the agency to use specific search terms to narrow its access to only relevant records.

A companion bill passed in the House earlier this month by a landslide vote of 338 to 88 but encountered trouble in the Senate where opponents said it would handicap the fight against terrorism and harm national security.

Proponents of the bill were pushing to get it passed before lawmakers could vote on whether or not to re-authorize sections of the US Patriot Act. Section 215, which the government has long said legally justifies its collection of phone records, is set to expire at midnight June 1.

• On Patriot Act Renewal and USA Freedom Act: Glenn Greenwald Talks With ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer – The Intercept

Unlike many privacy and civil liberties groups, the ACLU has refrained from endorsing the USA Freedom Act and instead is advocating for allowing the Patriot Act provisions to sunset — i.e., to die a long overdue death rather than being “reformed.” Meanwhile, almost all of the 86 “no” votes in the House were based on the argument that the USA Freedom Act either does not go far enough in limiting the NSA or that it actually makes things worse.

• Defeat in Senate

The USA Freedom Act was rejected by the U.S. Senate on May 22, 2015. By a vote of 57-42, the Senate did not pass the bill that would have required 60 votes to move forward, which means that the NSA must start winding down its domestic mass surveillance program this week. The Senate also rejected, by 54-45, also short of the necessary 60 votes, a two-month extension for the key provision in the Patriot Act that has been used to justify NSA spying, which is set to expire on June 1, 2015.

Inside the battle for Ramadi: Iraqi soldier speaks

He believes that the order to withdraw was a betrayal. The Iraqi government has said it launched an investigation to find out what went wrong and how the order was issued, but so far, no one has given a viable explanation.

“I want to quit the army, I would, if I thought I wouldn’t get into trouble,” Al-Yassiri says. “I want to join the militias and go back to the fight.”

Ramadi Fell to ISIS Fighters Even Though They Were ‘Vastly Outnumbered’ by Iraqi

The city of Ramadi is controlled by “hundreds” of ISIS fighters who were able to seize the city after Iraqi military commanders ordered the withdrawal of several thousand Iraqi troops from the city.

That’s according to a U.S. official who also confirmed that the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Ramadi may have been prompted by the unexplained pullout of the elite Iraqi counterterrorism force based in the city.

The pullout of the Iraqi counterterrorism unit from Ramadi first appeared in the Kurdish news agency Rudaw.

• Ramadi – Wikipedia

Ramadi occupies a highly strategic location on the Euphrates and the road west into Syria and Jordan. This has made it a hub for trade and traffic, from which the city gained significant prosperity. Its position has meant that it has been fought over several times, during the two World Wars and again during the Iraq War and Iraqi insurgency. It was heavily damaged during the Iraq War, when it was a major focus for the insurgency against occupying United States forces. Following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in 2011, the city was contested by the Iraqi government and the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and fell to ISIL in May 2015.

The King of Tech Talk Showed Everyone a (His?) Naked Dick

This particular incident occurred on May 24th, during an explanatory segment on Apple’s new Photos app. Most of the clip is the same sort of David Pogue explainer-mush that’s been Laporte’s bread and butter for years. While clicking through his photo library, Laporte brings up a grid of imported images: family, friends, food, and an erect penis.

The Tech Guy Leo Laporte Accidentally Shows A Penis Photo During His Live Tech Program! See The Awkward Moment HERE!

Wikileaks reveal massive haul of 1978 Documents

Today WikiLeaks has released more than half a million US State Department cables from 1978. The cables cover US interactions with, and observations of, every country.

1978 was an unusually important year in geopolitics. The year saw the start of a great many political conflicts and alliances which continue to define the present world order, as well as the rise of still-important personalities and political dynasties.

The cables document the start of the Iranian Revolution, leading to the stand-off between Iran and the West (1979 — present); the Second Oil Crisis; the Afghan conflict (1978 — present); the Lebanon–Israel conflict (1978 — present); the Camp David Accords; the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua and the subsequent conflict with US proxies (1978 — 1990); the 1978 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia; the Ethopian invasion of Eritrea; Carter’s critical decision on the neutron bomb; the break-up of the USSR’s nuclear-powered satellite over Canada, which changed space policy; the US “playing the China card” against Russia; Brzezinski’s visit to China, which led to the subsequent normalisation of relations and a proxy war in Cambodia; with the US, UK, China and Cambodia on one side and Vietnam and the USSR on the other.

Through 1978, Zbigniew “Zbig” Brzezinski was US National Security Advisor. He would become the architect of the destabilisation of Soviet backed Afghanistan through the use of Islamic militants, elements of which would later become known as al-Qaeda. Brzezinski continues to affect US policy as an advisor to Obama. He has been especially visible in the recent conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.

WikiLeaks’ Carter Cables II comprise 500,577 US diplomatic cables and other diplomatic communications from and to US embassies and missions in nearly every country. It follows on from the Carter Cables (368,174 documents from 1977), which WikiLeaks published in April 2014.

The Carter Cables II bring WikiLeaks total published US diplomatic cable collection to 2.7 million documents.

The post Reigning In Blood | Unfilter 145 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

We review and discuss the most important bits from Edward Snowden’s Interview on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight program. Plus an update on the situation in Yemen & the US’s increasing involvement.

Russia hacks the White House but the White House won’t confirm & a high note worth millions.

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News:

Oh, Google.

• Google wants to track what you’re watching to help you avoid spoilers

Tsarnaev

Dzokhar Tsarnaev is found guilty, and could face death penalty

Russia

How Russians hacked the White House – CNN.com

Russian hackers behind the damaging cyber intrusion of the State Department in recent months used that perch to penetrate sensitive parts of the White House computer system, according to U.S. officials briefed on the investigation.

While the White House has said the breach only affected an unclassified system, that description belies the seriousness of the intrusion. The hackers had access to sensitive information such as real-time non-public details of the president’s schedule. While such information is not classified, it is still highly sensitive and prized by foreign intelligence agencies, U.S. officials say.

Snowden:

An Edward Snowden Statue Was Replaced By A Hovering Snowden Image Last Night

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Government Surveillance (HBO) – YouTube

There are very few government checks on what America’s sweeping surveillance programs are capable of doing. John Oliver sits down with Edward Snowden to discuss the NSA, the balance between privacy and security, and dick-pics.

High Note:

Bob Marley-branded weed is helping pot startups break funding records

GOP medical marijuana bill delayed until next year

The post Naked Line In The Sand | Unfilter 140 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

We’ll push past the distractions and focus on the important events. During an interview this week NSA Whistleblower Russ Tice claims to have held the orders in his hands to wiretap top government officials, today the NSA Admits It Analyzes more people’s data than previously revealed, in what continues to be a series of story changes. We’ll bring you up to date.

Then: Edward Snowden seeks asylum in Russia, while the media runs wild with claims of a secret NSA blueprint.

Plus a follow up on the death of Michael Hastings, your feedback, and much much more.

On this week’s Unfilter.

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— Show Notes —

Zimmerman Trial a Distraction?

• Lyons: Race a distraction in Zimmerman trial | Amarillo Globe-News

For the record, that’s where I’m coming from regarding the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin murder trial in Florida — a lamentable tragedy of errors marketed as a multimedia morality play on the combustible theme of race. It makes me crazy to see what I call the Mighty MSNBC Art Players and other media figures fictionalize, dissemble and play fast and loose with facts. The case is troubling enough without turning the participants into political symbols.

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Latest Leaks

• NSA Blackmailing Obama? | Interview with Whistleblower Russ Tice – YouTube

Abby Martin talks to Russell Tice, former intelligence analyst and original NSA whistleblower, about how the recent NSA scandal is only scratches the surface of a massive surveillance apparatus, citing specific targets the he saw spying orders for including former senators Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama.

• The NSA Admits It Analyzes More People’s Data Than Previously Revealed

But Inglis’ statement was new. Analysts look “two or three hops” from terror suspects when evaluating terror activity, Inglis revealed. Previously, the limit of how surveillance was extended had been described as two hops. This meant that if the NSA were following a phone metadata or web trail from a terror suspect, it could also look at the calls from the people that suspect has spoken with—one hop. And then, the calls that second person had also spoken with—two hops. Terror suspect to person two to person three. Two hops. And now: A third hop.

For a sense of scale, researchers at the University of Milan found in 2011 that everyone on the Internet was, on average, 4.74 steps away from anyone else. The NSA explores relationships up to three of those steps. (See our conversation with the ACLU’s Alex Abdo on this.)

• NSA Sued By Unusual Coalition Of Gun Rights And Environmental Activists Over ‘Dragnet Surveillance’

Plaintiffs include: GreenPeace, Human Rights Watch and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. CalGuns, which lobbies against more restrictive gun laws, and one California gun manufacturer, Franklin Armory, have also joined the case, as have religious groups including the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The suit was brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group and law firm. It asserts that the NSA’s “dragnet surveillance” – which extends to millions of Americans – is illegal and unconstitutional.

Other organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have also recently sued the NSA in response to leaked information on its surveillance programs. This most recent case is especially notable in that it represents a broad coalition of groups that often don’t have much use for each other.

• Report: Postal Service uses “spying” programs similar to NSA – CBS News

Approximately 160 billion envelopes, packages and postcards were photographed by the United States Postal Service last year, reports The New York Times.

• ACLU reveals docs of mass license plate reader surveillance

The American Civil Liberties Union has released documents confirming that police license plate readers capture vast amounts of data on innocent people, and in many instances this intelligence is kept forever.

According to documents obtained through a number of Freedom of
Information Act requests filed by ACLU offices across the United
States, law enforcement agencies are tracking the whereabouts of
innocent persons en masse by utilizing a still up-and-coming
technology.

In some jurisdictions, that information is then held forever.
FOIA requests obtained by the ACLU estimated that authorities in
Jersey City, New Jersey have accumulated 10 million license plate
records as of last year — in a town of only 250,000 — because
retention policies allow officials to keep that data for five
years. In Milpitas, California — a town with roughly four times
the population — has no retention policy and has picked up around
4.7 million plates.

• Millions of US license plates tracked and stored, new ACLU report finds | Law | guardian.co.uk

Some authorities such as Minnesota State Patrol delete all their scanned records after 48 hours. Others are much looser in their regulations, such as the town of Milpitas in California, population 67,000, which stores almost 5m plate reads with no time limits at all.

• NJ Congressman Rush Holt Is Attempting To Repeal The Patriot Act And FISA Amendments Act | Techdirt

Soon, I will introduce legislation that would repeal the laws that brought us our current “surveillance state”: the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act. My bill would restore the probable cause-based warrant requirement for any surveillance against an American citizen being proposed on the basis of an alleged threat to the nation.

Where in the World is Snowden

• Edward Snowden requests temporary asylum in Russia in compromise

WikiLeaks, which has been advising Snowden, announced his application in a tweet: “Edward Snowden today has filed for a temporary protection visa with Russia’s ministry of immigration.”

• NSA leaker Snowden has asked for asylum in Russia, lawyer says

National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on Tuesday submitted a request for temporary asylum in Russia, his lawyer said.

Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer who is a member of the Public Chamber, a Kremlin advisory body, said that Snowden submitted the asylum request to Russia’s Federal Migration Service. The service had no immediate comment.

Kucherena told The Associated Press that he met Snowden in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and Snowden made the request after the meeting.

• Glenn Greenwald: Edward Snowden has NSA ‘blueprints’

“In order to take documents with him that proved that what he was saying was true he had to take ones that included very sensitive, detailed blueprints of how the NSA does what they do,” Greenwald said in Brazil, adding that the interview was taking place about four hours after his last interaction with Snowden.

• Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Former two-term GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire emailed Edward Snowden

Michael Hastings Cremated Without Family Consent:

• Investigation into Michael Hastings accident continues

Hastings’ friend and confidant SSgt. Joe Biggs disclosed a macabre twist in the award-winning journalist’s death in a suspicious single-car accident. According to SSgt. Biggs, “Michael Hastings’ body was returned to Vermont in an urn.”

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The post The Zimmerman Distraction | Unfilter 59 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

We bust some Cybercrime propaganda, give you the scoop on a fresh openSSL vulnerability, and answer a common audience question.

All that and much more, on this week’s TechhSNAP!

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