Portside

Mesches is an artist who has illuminated -- in the style of medieval manuscripts -- his own FBI file. “I loved the way they looked, those black strokes, like Franz Kline color sketches. I also thought, ‘This is history, and, hey, this is my history.’”

Katrina vanden Heuvel and Stephen F. Cohen of The Nation offer a peek at their recent interview with Edward Snowden. Spencer Ackerman of The Guardian reviews Citizenfour, Laura Poitras' new documentary on Snowden.

A new system would allow individuals to pick and choose what data to share with websites and mobile apps.

Facebook is launching an aggressive technique to track people across the Web.

During Black History Month, let’s not forget the speech-stifling history of US government spying that has targeted communities of color.

Not only is ubiquitous surveillance ineffective, it is extraordinarily costly. Not just the budgets, which will continue to skyrocket, or the diplomatic costs, but the cost to our society. It breaks much of what our society has built. It breaks our political systems, our legal systems, our commercial systems, our technical systems, as the very protocols of the Internet become untrusted. And it breaks our social systems, with loss of privacy, freedom, and liberty.

1. A civil liberties coalition calls for a day of protest against NSA abuses on Feb. 11. 2. Daniel Ellsberg debunks the "oath of secrecy" myth.

The Egyptian Revolution Behind the Headlines. Hustlers' Convention: The Roots of Rap. Searching for Sugarman. The NSA Is Coming to Town. Rhymes With Smokey Joe.

• 500 signatories include five Nobel prize winners • Writers demand 'digital bill of rights' to curb abuses