Headlines of the day II: Of spooks and silly walks

From MapLight.org, a case of fidelity to their sponsors, not their constituents:

House Members Voting to Continue NSA’s Dragnet Surveillance Received Twice as Much From Defense Contractors

From The Guardian, politicians who stand up:

Wyden calls Fisa court ‘anachronistic’ as pressure builds on Senate to act

Dick Durbin joins growing outcry among senators to rein in power of secretive court meant to serve as a check on NSA

Meanwhile, from International Business Times, another revelation about the power of the anonymous spook in Obama’s America:

Greenwald Says Low-Level NSA Analysts Can Access E-mails, Phone Calls

From Antiwar.com, making a crucial point:

The Fourth Amendment was Mortally Wounded by the Drug War Long Before National Security Tried to Kill It

From In These Times, a timely reminder:

Why NSA Surveillance Should Alarm Labor

If unions are not speaking out against PRISM, it is because they have short memories.

And on to the leaker, first with this from China Daily:

No time limit for Snowden’s stay: Russia

And a studied ambiguity, reported by RIA Novosti:

Russia to Reply to US Attorney General’s Snowden Letter

From Reuters, a German speaks truth:

German president says whistleblowers like Snowden merit respect

From New Europe, reporting on other Germans who agree:

Thousands take to streets in Germany to protest US surveillance of Internet

From AlterNet, a reminder of how some see “security”:

Shocking ‘Extermination’ Fantasies By the People Running America’s Empire on Full Display at Aspen Summit

Security Forum participants expressed total confidence in American empire, but could not contain their panic at the mention of Snowden.

From the McClatchy Washington Bureau, reporting on sacrificial lambs:

U.S. allowed Italian kidnap prosecution to shield higher-ups, ex-CIA officer says

From EUbusiness, a reminder that ornamental rage is still just ornamental rage:

France, Germany call for closer EU military cooperation

From The Guardian, an entry for the Department of But People Really Die:

Life as a US drone operator: ‘It’s like playing a video game for four years’

Artist Omer Fast looks at the military staff who fly drones from Nevada in a film commissioned by the Imperial War Museum

From The Guardian, a reminder that uber-WikiLeaker Bradley Manning also blew the whistle:

Bradley Manning’s ‘sole purpose was to make a difference’, lawyer insists

In closing arguments, defence lawyer paints portrait of Wikileaks source as someone without ‘evil intent’

From the New York Times, more spooky doing, this time inthe South:

Video of Clashes in Brazil Appears to Show Police Infiltrators Among Protesters

From The Guardian, reporting on the latest move to protect the rich:

Scientist banned from revealing codes used to start luxury cars

High court imposes injunction on Flavio Garcia, who has cracked security system of cars including Porsches and Bentleys

And for our final item, via The Independent, a help wanted ad from British spooks. Or perhaps the Ministry of Silly Walks:

MI5 needs a health and safety chief (but you didn’t hear it from us)

British intelligence service advertises post, but warns ‘we can’t tell you much about the job. We can’t give exact locations’

Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks (Full Sketch)