Edward Snowden gives first US TV interview

Thom discusses Edward Snowden’s first American TV interview with the Campaign for America’s Future’s Richard Eskow, gun safety with Everytown for Gun Safety’s Colin Goddard and the effects unions have on the middle class with David Laska of the New York State Republican Party. Thom takes viewer video questions and comments in ”Your Take, My Take Live” and in tonight’s ”Daily Take” Thom discusses Obama’s definition of American Exceptionalism.

Hacker ‘Sabu’ walks free from court after ‘extraordinary’ FBI cooperation

Hector Xavier Monsegur (born 1983), known also by the online pseudonym Sabu (pronounced Sə’buː, Sæ’buː), is an American computer hacker and co-founder of the hacking group LulzSec. He later turned informant for the FBI, working with the agency for over ten months to aid them in identifying other hackers from Lulzsec and related groups. LulzSec intervened in the affairs of organizations such as News Corporation, Stratfor, British and American law enforcement bodies and Irish political party Fine Gael.

Sabu featured prominently in the group’s published IRC chats, and claimed to support the ”Free Topiary” campaign. The Economist referred to Sabu as one of LulzSec’s six core members and their ”most expert” hacker. More Info here

Barrett Brown’s Court Documents Unsealed: The Implications of the Gag Order

Dallas, May 20, 2014 – On April 23 District judge Sam Lindsay unsealed documents relating to journalist Barrett Brown’s trial and the subsequent gag order that was issued on September 4, 2013. Brown has been behind bars since his arrest September 12, 2012 and held under gag-order for the last 8 months. His arrest, and the gag-order that successfully kept his case out of the media spotlight, has some worrying implications for journalists and free citizens everywhere.

Barrett Brown has been an activist, and a journalist. Articles and blogs from Brown have been featured in numerous publications including the Guardian, Vanity Fair, and the Huffington Post. He is part of the new breed of online activists who are also free-lance writers. Brown and his cohorts are able to bring a raw, fresh perspective to journalism while advocating for the issues they hold dear. His work with Anonymous made him a household name in online forums and by 2011 he was conducting interviews as an unofficial spokesman for the hacker collective.

On March 6, 2012 the FBI raided Barrett Brown’s home while conducting a search warrant. Working on a tip from hacker turned informant Sabu, the FBI sought computers and records related to “conspiracy to obstruct justice, and the obstruction of justice” and “conspiracy to access without authorization protected computers”. The government was looking for any information Brown had on a hack of intelligence firm HBGary and others.After locating Brown at his mother’s house the FBI notified him of the warrant and came back with a warrant for her house as well.

Six months later, on September 12, 2012 Brown was raided a second time. This time he was at home and participating in a live Tinychat session.After being denied bail and held without charge for two weeks, he was finally indicted on three charges in October 2012. The charges dealt with aYouTube video posted by Brown in which the FBI alleged he made threats to one of their agents. In December, Brown was indicted again on charges related to the hack of Austin, Texas based intelligence firm Stratfor. Jeremy Hammond would later receive ten years for that leak.

Read more.

How the Government Tracks You – NSA Surveillance

Don’t just watch it, DO SOMETHING: http://TheNSAvideo.com

The U.S. Government has turned the Internet into something it was never intended to be: a system for spying on us in our most private moments. Out of control government surveillance is a dangerous form of censorship. Don’t be intimidated. Share this video.

Narrated by Evangeline Lilly

Brought to you by Fight for the Future and Demand Progress.

Produced by Mata Wata — http://matawata.com

Executive Producer: Evangeline Lilly — http://evangelinelilly.com

Photos and Video from the October 15th Guerrilla Screening Debut in New York City: http://TheNSAVideo.com/#screening

STOP WATCHING US RALLY AGAINST MASS SURVEILLANCE

Sat, October 26th in Washington, DC

http://Rally.StopWatching.us

Anonymous: Activists Storm US Army Base to Plant Thousands of Marijuana Seeds 2014- 01-05

Activists broke into a US military base in Vicenza, Italy, last week and in an act of protest planted 200,000 marijuana seeds in and around the premises.

50 members of the Italian No Dal Molin movement broke into the US installation at Fontega on May 1. They then scattered the marijuana, as well as tomato and corn seeds, on the hillside “to liberate our land from the foundations of war.”

Internet’s Own Boy: ‘Cyber-Robin Hood’ Aaron Swartz honored in crowdfunded doc

A public-funded documentary about, Aaron Swartz, the late computer prodigy and digital-rights activist is set for release. The co-founder of the popular social networking service Reddit fought for a free and open Internet. But a US government case against the programmer is thought to have driven him to suicide at the age of 26. RT's Marina Portnaya talked to the director of the documentary about Swartz's legacy.