We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

National Security Letter Recipient Can Speak Out For First Time Since FBI Demanded Customer Records From Him

from American Civil Liberties Union. 
"After six long years of not being able to tell anyone at all what happened to me – not even my family – I'm grateful to finally be able to talk about my experience of being served with a national security letter," said Merrill. "Internet users do not give up their privacy rights when they log on, and the FBI should not have the power to secretly demand that ISPs turn over constitutionally protected information about their users without a court order. I hope my successful challenge to the FBI's NSL gag power will empower others who may have received NSLs to speak out."
View this 3:50m video in which Merrill tells about his experience:



But the Obama administration in order to serve its bosses in the ruling class are fighting back and trying to expand government powers of surveillance over your private life. Read this.

View this 2:07m video to learn more about how business and government can access your private information, and what you can do about it.
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