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Sam Sacks - page 66

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

In Senate Hearing, Lone Questioner on Surveillance Gets Arrested

When Director of National Intelligence James Clapper came to Capitol Hill to testify on Thursday, only one person bothered to question him about the government’s domestic spying activities – and that person was promptly arrested for it. Just after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Armed Services Committee Chairman gaveled the hearing on “worldwide threats” to a close without a single Senator bringing up NSA surveillance activities, Shahid Buttar stood up from the audience and began lobbing questions of his own for the spy chief, and… Keep Reading

Along with Net Neutrality, FCC Endorses Internet “Public Option”

Shortly before the Federal Communications Commission passed rules protecting internet content access, it also approved of new safeguards for community broadband that could serve as a reliable “public option” style alternative to oligopolistic internet service providers (ISP). “You can’t say you’re for competition but deny local elected officials the right to offer competitive choices,” said FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, defending a proposal that partially overrules state laws in North Carolina and Tennessee that constrain community-run broadband infrastructure. The case dealt with two municipalities, Chattanooga, Tenn.,… Keep Reading

Citing Bin Laden-backed Mujahideen, McCain Makes Worst Argument Ever to Arm Ukrainian Military

While trying to ridicule a military official during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) offered an astoundingly inaccurate analysis of recent history to justify providing lethal aid to the Ukrainian government in its fight against Russian-backed separatists. “That defies logic,” Sen. McCain said at Thursday’s hearing, referring to Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart’s assertion that the US would be unable to supply Kiev’s military with lethal arms quick enough to turn the tide of the battle in Eastern Ukraine. “We can put… Keep Reading

In Symbolic Video, Telecom Lobbyists Pay for Access – to Net Neutrality Hearing

Days before the Federal Communication Commission votes on new rules designed to protect internet access, a House hearing served as a reminder of just how rare the expected victory for Net Neutrality supporters is in a town beholden to the interests of deep-pocketed industry lobbyists. It’s actually what happened before Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce hearing on internet regulations that highlighted the significance of the grassroots movement’s likely coming achievement. Video provided to The Sentinel by Demand Progress, a public interest organization calling for strong… Keep Reading

Texas Oil Interests Stop Feds’ Effort to Protect Endangered Lizard, Whistleblower Alleges

A politically charged decision that left a Texas lizard off the endangered species list has exposed blatant disregard for science at the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), as well as a culture of whistleblower retaliation. Testimony published on Wednesday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) shows how supervisors at the FWS bowed to political and industry pressure, bullied employees into abandoning their scientific employees, and punished those who refused to remain silent. Rick Coleman, a former Scientific Integrity Officer at FWS testified that… Keep Reading

Kerry Takes Shot at Defining AUMF’s Fuzzy Language

At an annual budget hearing before the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry was asked to provide clarity on the administration’s recently proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the Islamic State (ISIL). Many lawmakers worry the bill sought by the administration is too broadly written, and could lead to another decade of costly and counterproductive US military commitment in the Middle East. Acting as their de facto spokesperson, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asked Kerry to explain what… Keep Reading

New Budget Keeps Dangerous Coal Subsidies in Place, Senator Warns

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell faced off with Conservative lawmakers on Tuesday over the administration’s proposed limits on drilling in places like Alaska. But beneath the fossil fuel-funded outrage coming from the right, a lone Democratic Senator raised criticism about a department policy that amounts to a multi-million dollar annual subsidy to coal barons. “I wanna bring up something that is missing in the budget,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), pressing Jewell during a Senate energy committee hearing on the president’s 2016 department budget… Keep Reading

FBI Methods to Confuse, Retaliate Against Whistleblowers Exposed

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been misleading employees about how to internally report agency wrongdoing, leaving whistleblowers vulnerable to retaliation. The Government Accountability Office warned of a “chilling effect” on conscientious and quietly outspoken FBI employees in a new report released on Monday. In an examination of Justice Department whistleblower retaliation claims lodged over the course of one year, GAO found on several occasions that the department dismissed complaints because the employee, per official guidelines, had initially reported the abuse incorrectly. “Dismissing retaliation complaints… Keep Reading

NSA Joins FBI in Fight Against Total Encryption

The Director of the National Security Agency repeated a dubious claim, previously made by one of the nation’s top law enforcement officers, boasting that American security services can crack a type of increasingly popular encryption without completely undermining the privacy-preserving technique. Speaking at an event hosted by the New America Foundation on Monday, Adm. Mike Rogers was bombarded with questions about new encrypted technology, recently offered by mainstream tech companies like Apple and Google. “Most of the debate that I’ve seen has been it’s all… Keep Reading

White House Unconcerned with Pentagon’s Loose Lips on Mosul Battle Plans

In order to justify the aggressive prosecution of government insiders who talked to the press—whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning and John Kiriakou–the administration has often used claims that leaking operational details related to military or intelligence matters puts US troops on the battlefield and American interests at risk. In an about-face on Friday, however, the White House was nonchalant the day after an unnamed Pentagon official spilled key operational details about an upcoming military campaign against an Islamic State stronghold. When asked why the Defense Department… Keep Reading

Despite Growing International Consensus, U.S. Still Not Ready to Ban Nukes

For more than 30 years, a group of activists have kept watch over a tiny shrine outside the gates of the White House, dedicated to calls for peace and a world without nuclear weapons. It has become a fixture in the nation’s capital – a tiny, tarp-covered hut surrounded by signs depicting graphic consequences of nuclear war, adorned with pithy quotes like, “LIVE BY THE BOMB DIE BY THE BOMB.” Its central message to “BAN ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS OR HAVE A NICE DOOMSDAY,” has been… Keep Reading

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