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By Ryan Devereaux, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras: The National Security Agency is secretly intercepting, recording, and archiving the audio of virtually every cell phone conversation on the island nation of the Bahamas. According to documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the surveillance is part of a top-secret system – code-named SOMALGET – that was implemented without the knowledge or consent of …
Protecting Girls and Women in the U.S. from FGM and Vacation Cutting, Sanctuary for Families Although FGM is most prevalent in twenty-eight countries in Africa and the Middle East, it is no longer confined to distant shores. Every year, women in the United States discover that they, their daughters, and their loved ones face a very real …
“Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, EPIC has obtained the closing letter from the Department of Justice to Google attorneys in the Street View matter. The letter briefly mentions Google’s interception and collection of private Wi-Fi communications across the United States over several years. The disclosure of the activity occurred after a European data protection authority discovered that …
Court of Justice of the European Union, News Release No 70/14 Luxembourg, 13 May 2014. Judgment in Case C-131/12 Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, Mario Costeja González. “An internet search engine operator is responsible for the processing that it carries out of personal data which appear on web pages …
Via LLRX.com – Unwarranted DNA Sampling: The Legacy of Maryland v. King “Criminal law expert Ken Strutin’s article addresses how DNA forensics is about information, privacy and the presumption of innocence. It has become the determinant for identification, solving cold cases and exonerating the innocent. Strutin describes that at its core, it is an inestimable library of personal …
New York Review of Books – We Kill People Based on Metadata by David Cole [snipped] “Supporters of the National Security Agency inevitably defend its sweeping collection of phone and Internet records on the ground that it is only collecting so-called “metadata”—who you call, when you call, how long you talk. Since this does not include the actual content …
CRS – Judicial Activity Concerning Enemy Combatant Detainees: Major Court Rulings. Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative Attorney; Michael John Garcia, Legislative Attorney. April 21, 2014 “As part of the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the United States has captured and detained numerous persons believed to have been part of or associated with enemy forces. Over the years, federal courts …
NOT ALONE – The First Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault, April 2014.
News release: “The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has today released a public report on the gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law that have occurred since the conflict in the world’s newest nation began on 15 December 2013. The report, entitled “Conflict in South Sudan: A Human Rights Report”, follows …
News release: “Far too many US laws violate basic principles of justice by requiring disproportionately severe punishment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 36-page report, “Nation Behind Bars: A Human Rights Solution,” notes that laws requiring penalties that are far longer than necessary to meet the purposes of punishment have given the United …
“EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of the Army for documents about JLENS, a sophisticated surveillance system that will be deployed over Washington, DC during the next three years. JLENS is comprised of two 250′ blimps. One blimp conducts aerial and ground surveillance over a 340-mile range, while the other has …
Ten Economic Facts about Crime and Incarceration in the United States By: Melissa S. Kearney and Benjamin H. Harris “This Hamilton Project policy memo provides ten economic facts highlighting recent trends in crime and incarceration in the United States. Specifically, it explores the characteristics of criminal offenders and victims; the historically unprecedented level of incarceration in the United States; …
