|
White House proposal would ease FBI access to Internet activity |
|
|
|
|
Domestic
|
The Obama administration is trying to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over internet records without a court order. Government lawyers say this category of information includes the addresses to which an Internet user sends e-mail, the times and dates e-mail was sent and received and possibly a user's browser history. Industry lawyers and privacy advocates see the move as an expansion of the power the government wields through so-called national security letters. These missives require the recipient to provide the requested information and to keep the request secret. Administration officials said the proposal was prompted by a desire to overcome resistance from Internet and other companies that the existing statute did not allow them to provide such data without a court order. Critics say the move is another example of an administration retreating from campaign pledges to enhance civil liberties in relation to national security.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Republicans block campaign finance measure |
|
|
|
|
Domestic
|
|
Thursday, 29 July 2010 21:01 |
Senate Republicans Tuesday blocked a vote on a bill that would have forced special interest groups to disclose their donors when purchasing political ads. The legislation, a version of which has passed the House of Representatives, was offered in response to a Supreme Court decision earlier this year that erased federal limits on campaign expenditures for corporations, labor unions and special interests, allowing them to spend millions of dollars on political ads without restraint. The Senate bill, known as the DISCLOSE Act, would force special interests to reveal their donors and require CEOs to record messages saying they stand by their ads. The act would also bar government contractors, foreign-controlled corporations and companies that received federal bailout funds from making campaign-related expenditures. The bill contains an exemption for large, multi-state organizations, notably the National Rifle Association, angering some.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Leaked files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories |
|
|
|
|
International
|
|
Thursday, 29 July 2010 18:28 |
Buried among the 77,000 classified military documents released by WikiLeaks is evidence the U.S. military paid Afghan media outlets to run friendly stories. Reports from Army psychological operations units and PRT or provincial reconstruction teams showed local Afghan radio stations were under contract to air content produced by the US. Other reports showed U.S. military personnel referring to Afghan reporters as "our journalists" and telling them how to do their jobs. Collaboration between local media and U.S. forces has been a headache for the Pentagon in the past: In 2005, a Pentagon contractor was caught paying Iraqi newspapers to run stories written by US soldiers, causing the US considerable embarrassment. In one leaked document a PRT member reported delivering "12 hours of PSYOP Radio Content Programming" to two radio stations, paying one of them $3,900 for so-called “Radio Content Programming air time."
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 821 |