Topic: The Washington Post Company

Featured

FISA 101: 10 key dates in the evolution of NSA surveillance

When news of the PRISM data collection and surveillance program broke in early June 2013, it shook up the cyber security debate, and called into question just how much information the US government is authorized to collect. But government data collection isn’t something that just sprang up out of nowhere – it just sprang into national attention after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked government documents about the secret government agency. Here’s a brief list of post-9/11 legislation and surveillance programs to add a historical perspective to the current government surveillance debate.

All Content

FISA 101: 10 key dates in the evolution of NSA surveillance

When news of the PRISM data collection and surveillance program broke in early June 2013, it shook up the cyber security debate, and called into question just how much information the US government is authorized to collect. But government data collection isn’t something that just sprang up out of nowhere – it just sprang into national attention after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked government documents about the secret government agency. Here’s a brief list of post-9/11 legislation and surveillance programs to add a historical perspective to the current government surveillance debate.
Terrorism & Security Conviction of Russian activist Navalny draws condemnation

Opposition leaders says the five-year prison sentence for anticorruption campaigner Alexei Navalny – who had just registered to run for mayor of Moscow – was politically motivated.
Wal-Mart won't build D.C. stores if living wage bill passes

Wal-Mart says it won't build three stores it had planned for the D.C. area if lawmakers approve a bill that would force the retailer to pay its employees at least $12.50 an hour. Wal-Mart had been planning to build six stores in Washington.
Decoder Wire 'This Town': D.C. awaits book's tales of big shots and ultimate insiders

'This Town' – scheduled for release next week – skewers the inappropriately chummy, often insufferable incestuousness that is Washington today. Stay tuned for who is targeted.
Gay marriage battlegrounds: 12 states to watch

In the states, the battle over gay marriage is far from over. As many as 10 could move to legalize same-sex marriage over the next three years. One may be moving toward a stronger defense of traditional marriage. Here's the state-by-state rundown.
Symbols of Obama's Africa trip: wreaths, ribbons, soccer balls

President Obama ended his Africa trip in Tanzania today.
The Monitor's View More light on the NSA

Some government actions must be clandestine. But US citizens are being told so little about government spying on them that they lack the information they need to have an informed opinion about it.
Backchannels Americans say they are pretty comfortable with expanded government surveillance (+video)

The new polling from Pew suggests that the latest leaks aren't likely to change policy.
Opinion Solution to NSA overreach – put people in charge of their own data

Massive US surveillance of phone records and Internet data disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden should prompt a public debate on the balance between privacy and the use of personal data. A 'new deal on data' should put people in charge of their own communication.
Another NSA leaker? More expected to come on spying revelations

Columnist Glenn Greenwald, who broke the NSA spying story, expects there'll be more whistle blowers and more stories based on leaks. The government is treating that as criminal activity.
PRISM: What’s behind this NSA surveillance tool lurking about your Facebook page?

The PRISM program has been sucking up what most people would think of as personal information on Google, Facebook, Skype, and other Internet providers. What’s up with the NSA's secret surveillance effort?
NSA data-mining 101: two 'top secret' programs and what they do

Two US surveillance programs – one scooping up records of Americans' phone calls and the other collecting information on Internet-based activities – came to public attention this week. The aim: data-mining to help the NSA thwart terrorism. But not everyone is cool with it.
Google said to be vying with Facebook for acquisition of map app Waze

Waze, a young app company based in Israel, has caught the eyes of both Google and Facebook, according to a new report.
Decoder Wire IRS official Lois Lerner invokes Fifth Amendment. Why won't she talk? (+video)

Lawmakers have plenty of questions for Lois Lerner, the IRS official who ordered the targeting of conservative groups to stop, concerning her past statements. She said she did nothing wrong, but invoked her Fifth Amendment rights.
Decoder Wire IRS deliberately harassed conservatives, majority say in poll

A new poll on the IRS scandal also finds that those who say the Obama administration is trying to conceal information outnumber those who say it's forthcoming. The tea party, meanwhile, is enjoying a 'bump.'
Focus One man's escape from Camp 14 and North Korea

Only one prisoner born in North Korea's gulag is known to have escaped to tell his story. A Q&A with Blaine Harden, the journalist who wrote about Shin Dong-hyuk.
Robert Griffin III fans buy everything off QB's wedding registry

Robert Griffin III is getting married this summer, and like most future newlyweds, he and his fiancee registered for wedding gifts. Unlike most couples, their Bed Bath and Beyond registry has been almost completely bought up – by fans of the Redskins quarterback.
Obama administration targets Fox News reporter in 'chilling' echo of AP probe (+video)

Last week, news broke that the Justice Department obtained records from AP for its investigation into an internal leak. Now, details are emerging about an investigation of a Fox News reporter that some experts say could harm investigative journalism even more.
Decoder Wire Ted Nugent's brother slaps Ted on gun background checks. Family feud?

Ted Nugent's brother Jeffrey, in an op-ed, argues that the NRA and Ted are wrong to fight expanded background checks for gun buyers. Ted, naturally, doesn't take that lying down, whips out ... a pen?
Why IRS investigation is already Obama's Watergate – and Benghazi, too (+video)

Since Watergate, every two-term president has had a second-term scandal. First-term mistakes and hyperpartisanship make probes – like those into Benghazi and the IRS – almost inevitable.
Obama to detail terrorism policy including drone attacks and Guantánamo Bay prison

In a national security speech, President Obama will explain his policies dealing with terrorism, the use of drone aircraft, Al Qaeda, and the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Red Moon

Benjamin Percy's supernatural novel is audaciously complex and hauntingly composed.
Boy Scouts vote on allowing openly gay scouts

The Boy Scouts of America local troop leaders will vote Thursday on allowing openly gay boys to participate in the organization. The proposal, however, includes continuing a ban on gay scout leaders.
Opinion After IRS scandal: Right-wing fear of government isn't paranoid

Whatever the motivations for the IRS targeting conservative groups, it has drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum. Liberals also worry the scandal will feed right-wing paranoia of government. But for conservatives, fear of federal agencies is rooted in history, not hysteria.
Decoder Wire Bob Woodward compares Benghazi with Watergate. Is he right? (+video)

The similarities: line-by-line edits of what to tell the public, says Bob Woodward, the media's authority on all things Watergate. Regarding the White House Benghazi edits, they show pressure 'in the system not to tell the truth' about what happened, he said Friday.