Portside

The NSA computer attacks are performed by a special department called TAO (Tailored Access Operations). Public sources show that this department employs more than a thousand hackers. According to the Washington Post, the NSA has been carrying out this type of cyber operation since 1998.

German Green politician meets US whistleblower Edward Snowden in Moscow to discuss possibility of helping parliamentary investigation into US spying. Snowden letter: I witnessed systemic violations of law by my government that created a moral duty to act. ... However, speaking the truth is not a crime. I am confident that with the support of the international community, the government of the United States will abandon this harmful behavior.

With General Alexander calling for NSA reporting to be halted, US and UK credibility as guardians of press freedom is crushed.

Snowden and Manning taught Americans skepticism, and not a moment too soon. Knowing Congress would not vote to authorize intervention, the Obama administration turned to diplomacy as a face-saving measure, resulting in a rare example of a people rising up to stop a war before it could start.

Although living in exile from the country he loves, Snowden is warm, centered and engaged and follows debates about surveillance with a keen legal acumen.

At the top of the federal government, even a brief shutdown of “core NSA operations” is unthinkable. But at the grassroots, a permanent shutdown of the NSA should be more than thinkable; we should strive to make it achievable.

WikiLeaks Rescues Edward Snowden (Literally!); Correcting Bruce Sterling's Revisionist Cyber-History; Lavabit Email Encryption Service, Bites the Dust; Turf Wars in the Internet Underworld; Pirate Bay Turns Ten!

Movie: Fruitvale Station. Music: 'We Are the 99'. Is Snowden a Hero? -- A debate. Working at Walmart, on food stamps. What you need to know about the secret FISA court. Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) shows what force feeding at Guantanamo is really like.