Online companies, such as POGO, which seeks to allow whistleblowers to submit information with encryption in order to skirt NSA survellience are being hit with subpoenas to ‘turn over their data’.
POGO, for example, is an online submission tool that was immediately launched after the VA scandal broke -to date it has received over 700 tips of abuse and mismanagement in the VA. It has since been hit with a subpoena by the VA Inspector General to turn over whatever incriminating data it has against the VA.
POGO has refused and has stated that they are prepared to go to jail rather than comply.
On Monday, POGO told the Obama administration that it would not comply with the subpoena. Most government agencies have such subpoena powers, and they have been doled out hundreds of thousands of times, all with the signature of federal officials as no judge is required. The subpoenas demand that utilities, ISPs, telecommunication companies, banks, hospitals, and bookstores cough up information if the authorities deem it relevant to an investigation.
If the VA doesn’t drop its subpoena, POGO said it would never turn the data over, even if ordered to by a judge.
“We are certainly prepared to go to court,” Newman said. “We are certainly prepared to go to jail to prevent any of that information from being released.”
Counterintuitively, this is really good news. It exposes the complete and total fear of those in power of any sort of transparency. Moreover, the fact that people are willing to go to jail to defend the Constitution is a sign that true dissent is rising and fear of repercussions becoming less important.
A fearless and committed population cannot lose.
In a related story, Microsoft, of all companies, is pushing back against federal prosecutors’ request for data stored in an overseas data center. What is so incredible about this is that Microsoft has been seen as one of the biggest government lapdogs of all the large U.S. technology companies. Let’s not forget that the company was the first participant in the NSA’s prism program. They joined on 9/11/07.
From the New York Times:
Microsoft is challenging the authority of federal prosecutors to force the giant technology company to hand over a customer’s email stored in a data center in Ireland.
The objection is believed to be the first time a corporation has challenged a domestic search warrant seeking digital information overseas. The case has attracted the concern of privacy groups and major United States technology companies, which are already under pressure from foreign governments worried that the personal data of their citizens is not adequately protected in the data centers of American companies.
He needs to be kicked out of the oval office. Someone with big boots to kick him clear back to Kenya. He is a menace, evil.!
Hang in there POGO!!
If people know that a group is doing something wrong, or unethical, we should be able to get it out to the proper authorities or the public without worrying about being harassed or worse!
Always playing the blame game!
OK you guys-They can do whatever it is they want to do but I’ve already contacted Ann Wagner-MO regarding the mistreatment I’ve received at the VA in the recent past and it had nothing to do with long “wait times”. However, this goes deeper than they want realized by the general public.
Fn audacity
I’m really impressed along with your writing talents and also with
the format to your weblog. Is that this a paid subject or did you customize
itt your self? Anyway sta up thee nice high quality writing,
it is uncommon to peer a nuce weblog like this one nowadays..
Our government is using things like this to direct our attention to other areas so we will focus on things they want us to. This is how cheating attorneys work!!!
Freya says:
“I think that what you said made a bunch of sense. However, what about this?
suppose you were to write a awesome post title? I am not suggesting your information isn’t good,
however suppose you added a post title to maybe get people’s attention? I mean Obama Admin Covering Up VA Scandal By Attacking Whistleblower Sites | Truth And Action is kinda vanilla.
You should peek at Yahoo’s home page and note how they create news
titles to grab viewers to click. You might add a related
video or a related pic or two to grab readers interested
about everything’ve written. In my opinion, it might bring your blog a little bit more
interesting.”
From: http://www.truthandaction.org/obama-admin-covering-va-scandal-attacking-whistleblower-sites/comment-page-3/#comment-463526
I think that what you said made a bunch of sense. However, what about this?
suppose you were to write a awesome post title? I am not suggesting your information isn’t good,
however suppose you added a post title to maybe get people’s attention? I mean Obama Admin Covering Up VA Scandal By Attacking Whistleblower Sites | Truth And Action is kinda vanilla.
You should peek at Yahoo’s home page and note how they create news
titles to grab viewers to click. You might add a related
video or a related pic or two to grab readers interested
about everything’ve written. In my opinion, it might bring your blog a little bit more
interesting.