This week, U.S. intelligence services came under fire for a new surveillance program that allowed the government to obtain private details about Internet users’ activities, with the Obama administration claiming that the data collection was all in the name of national security. Internet control made it to the forefront again when U.S. soldier Bradley Manning’s trial officially began, with Manning proclaiming his innocence after leaking hundreds of thousands of classified government information to Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks. Elsewhere in the world, Turkey is still mired in chaos as protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan rage on. Meanwhile, Santa Monica was thrown into turmoil Friday morning following a shooting rampage that left five people dead and a community at a loss for words.
Needless to say, this week has been fairly grim. Read on for more details, and this week’s NEWSFLASH!
Top Secret Documents Reveal Government Surveillance of Phone Records and Internet Data
The delicate balance between effective government security measures and citizens’ right to privacy came under debate this week. Secret documents leaked by the Guardian and the Washington Post exposed a government security initiative that involved the collection of citizens’ phone records and Internet user data.
Shortly after it was revealed that the NSA and FBI demanded that Verizon hand over its customers’ phone records, reports emerged that the government was also tracking Web users through several U.S. Internet giants, including search engines like Google and social media sites like Facebook.
The initiative is part of a security program called PRISM, which tracks Internet users’ search history, email content, and chat sessions, to name a few activities under surveillance.
All targeted Internet companies have denied any knowledge of the program, maintaining that they had no idea their users were being tracked. Google publicly declared that “[the company] cares deeply about the security of our users’ data. We disclose user data to government in accordance with the law, and we review all such requests carefully.”
“From time to time, people allege that we have created a government ‘back door’ into our systems, but Google does not have a back door for the government to access private user data.”
President Obama and other authorities have since stepped forward to defend PRISM and any possible government security surveillance programs. However, the scope and depth of the most recent surveillance measures have incited outrage over the power held by intelligence services.
Bradley Manning WikiLeaks Case Goes to Trial
The trial of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning began on Monday to determine whether the soldier will be found guilty for providing WikiLeaks with secret Army documents.
Manning, 25, had leaked classified information to WikiLeaks beginning in 2010. That same year, he propelled WikiLeaks into the spotlight with a video titled “Collateral Murder,” which showed U.S. troops in a helicopter firing on Iraqi soldiers and a Reuters reporter after mistaking them for insurgents. Manning followed up by leaking hundreds of thousands of government security documents, though there is speculation that the real number of leaked documents is much higher.
Perhaps one of the most shocking accusations is that some of these documents may have also been leaked at the request of insurgents. On the first day of the court-martial, the government declared that they had evidence that Osama bin Laden had asked for, and received, some of these cables.
The trial is set to last 12 weeks, though the actual duration of the trial may fluctuate. Manning has so far said very little about the case.
Turkey Protests Enter Tenth Day
Protests continue to rock Istanbul and Ankara as Turkish demonstrators clash with riot police to oppose Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s administration.
Despite pleas by Erdogan and his officials, Turkish citizens still swarm Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the initial site of the protests. Though the international community has condemned the brutality displayed towards the demonstrators, police officers are still violently and aggressively trying to put down the protestors. Reports have surfaced mid-week that tear gas was now being used to discourage demonstrators amid other cases of violent police action.
The protests began last Saturday when Istanbul residents swarmed the city’s Taksim Square to oppose a government plan to destroy to square and construct a shopping center. However, the focus of the protests quickly shifted to a general attack on Erdogan’s administration itself, which has been largely authoritarian and undemocratic.
Santa Monica Shooting Rampage Leaves 5 Dead, 5 Wounded
An unidentified man claimed four victims before police took him down in a shooting spree that gripped Santa Monica in fear Friday morning.
After killing two people and then burning down a home near the Santa Monica College campus, the suspect in question hijacked a car and fired indiscriminately as he made his way to the college, during which he shot dead an innocent bystander in a vehicle. He later arrived at the college campus, where he claimed one more victim before exchanging gunfire with three police officers.
Police have since declared that the murder was “premeditated” and revealed that the gunman carried a total of 1,300 rounds on him. Five people were injured in the attack, with one still in critical condition at a local hospital.