Thread: U.S. EXPLODES WITH 100 ANTI-NSA PROTESTS "A little rebellion now and then is a good

U.S. explodes with 100 anti-NSA protests

"A little rebellion now and then is a good thing," said Thomas Jefferson.

Take a look at how some of your fellow patriots celebrated the Fourth today ... the Fourth of July and the Fourth Amendment.

Jefferson would have been pleased ...

SOMETHING IN THE AIR

U.S. EXPLODES WITH 100 ANTI-NSA PROTESTS

Americans take to streets, Internet to demand feds stop spying on citizens

Published: 23 hours ago
CHELSEA SCHILLING
Video at the Page Link:

(Massachusetts protest photo: Dustin M. Slaughter)

Americans outraged by the federal government’s spying programs took to the streets on Independence Day for “Restore the Fourth” protests in an estimated 100 American cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Memphis and Miami, plus international cities such as London and Munich.

The “Restore the Fourth” national protest was named after the Fourth Amendment, which was intended to protect Americans against “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

Iowa "Restore the Fourth" protest (Photo: The Daily Iowan)

The NSA’s PRISM online surveillance program was exposed by Edward Snowden only weeks ago. Americans soon learned that at least nine Internet companies reportedly submitted to government surveillance of their servers: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL and Apple.

“Restore the Fourth,” initially organized on Reddit, describes itself as “a non-partisan, unaffiliated group of concerned citizens who seek to strengthen the Fourth Amendment with respect to digital surveillance by the U.S. government.”

Philadelphia, Pa., "Restore the Fourth" rally (Photo: Jeff Kolakowski)

“The July 4th demonstrations seek to demand an end to the unconstitutional surveillance methods employed by the U.S. government and to ensure that all future government surveillance is constitutional, limited, and clearly defined,” the group explained.


“Restore the Fourth aims to ensure that the will of the people is reflected in the government of the United States of America. This movement intends to bring an end to twelve years of Fourth Amendment abuses, and demonstrate the need for a return to the Constitution. All Americans should stand with them in this cause to protect the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

"Restore the Fourth" rally locations

The group is calling for Congress to:

1) Enact reform this Congress to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the state secrets privilege, and the FISA Amendments Act to make clear that blanket surveillance of the Internet activity and phone records of any person residing in the U.S. is prohibited by law and that violations can be reviewed in adversarial proceedings before a public court;

2) Create a special committee to investigate, report, and reveal to the public the extent of this domestic spying. This committee should create specific recommendations for legal and regulatory reform to end unconstitutional surveillance;
3) Hold accountable those public officials who are found to be responsible for this unconstitutional surveillance.




The Internet Defense League – a coalition of thousands of websites that sound the alarm whenever there is a major threat to the free and open Internet – organized a major online protest to amplify the efforts of the Restore the Fourth protesters.

Americans are being directed to CallForFreedom.org, a web page where they can share Fourth Amendment themed images, call Congress to demand investigations into NSA programs and donate to help fund television ads about NSA surveillance.


“The U.S. Government has been systematically spying on people all over the globe, violating their human rights,” Fight for the Future co-founder Tiffiniy Cheng said in a statement. “The NSA programs that have been exposed are blatantly unconstitutional, and have a detrimental effect on free speech and freedom of press worldwide. … You can’t disregard people’s privacy, invade their personal lives on a daily basis, and not expect them to fight back.”

"Restore the Fourth" rally in New York City (Photo: Nicky Ocean)

The groups encourage Americans to call 1-STOP-323-NSA and urge members of Congress to demand a full investigation into NSA spying.

They’re also asking Americans to electronically sign a letter to Congress that states, “Stop watching us. The revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights. We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA’s spying programs.”

Union Square, New York City

http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/u-s-explo...-nsa-protests/

NSA's surveillance program blasted by demonstrators

By Boston Herald (MA) July 5, 2013 12:24 pm

Protesters used the Fourth of July reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Old State House in Boston yesterday to launch a daylong demonstration against the National Security Agency surveillance program and companies that they said help facilitate it by handing over private information to the government.

More than 100 protesters chanted, "Restore the Fourth (Amendment)," which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.

"I believe we need to get back to believing in the Constitution and our rights, and this is a great day to come out as an American," said Bryan Gallant, 29, of Leominster. "I don't agree with the NSA's tactics. Spying on Americans is unconstitutional."

Nate Barr, a 31-year-old entrepreneur and Web developer from Somerville, said domestic surveillance could put him and other business owners at a competitive disadvantage.

"Easily half of your (Web) traffic comes from international visitors, who may decide to use a foreign company over you because of their lack of trust in American businesses," Barr said. "There goes our industry."

Other protesters, some of whom carried signs bearing NSA leaker Edward Snowden's photo, called him a "true patriot" and a "textbook case of a whistleblower" whom President Obama should pardon for bringing the domestic surveillance program to light. Snowden is believed to be stuck in a transit area at a Moscow airport, seeking asylum from one of more than a dozen countries.

"It used to be that political dissidents fled to the United States," said Matthew Krawitz, 42, of Swampscott. "Now they flee from the United States."

Krawitz and other protesters made their way toward Downtown Crossing, where they demonstrated outside Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, accusing them of facilitating government surveillance of U.S. citizens. Managers at all three stores declined to comment.

Yesterday's street demonstration -- one of several around the nation -- coincided with an online protest organized by the Internet Defense League, a coalition of thousands of websites that formed after the Internet blackout against the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Sites displayed a message saying they stood by the Fourth Amendment and against the government's unconstitutional surveillance of Internet users. More than 13,000 people sent out a tweet with the same message, reaching a total of more than 9 million people.
___

(c)2013 the Boston Herald
Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.


http://www.gopusa.com/news/2013/07/0.../?subscriber=1

The photos appear to be of a lot of young people. This is encouraging.