National Stories
New York’s highest court decided the public is entitled to the names of retired public workers in public pension systems in a case that tested the power of the Freedom of Information Law. The Court of Appeals on Tuesday decided it was not an invasion of privacy to identify retirees in the state’s various pension systems for public workers. The court, however, said the addresses of the individuals shouldn’t be made public.
Newsday
Adopting a tactic that has been used by officials ranging from Sarah Palin to staffers of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, aides to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are sending emails from private accounts to conduct official business. I know because I got one myself. And three other people who interact with the governor's office on policy or media matters told me they have too. None of the others wanted to be named. The tactic appears to be another item in the toolbox of an administration that, despite Cuomo's early vows of unprecedented transparency, has become known for an obsession with secrecy. Emailing from private accounts can help officials hide communications and discussions that are supposed to be available to the public.
ProPublica
The National Security Agency will be sending out tweets about career opportunities this month. Just make sure your code-breaking skills are up to par or that you have access to the Internet. On Monday, the NSA tweeted from @NSACareers, "tpfccdlfdtte pcaccplircdt dklpcfrp?qeiq lhpqlipqeodf gpwafopwprti izxndkiqpkii krirrifcapnc dxkdciqcafmd vkfpcadf. #MissionMonday #NSA #news" Using code-breaking website Quipqiup.com, the Daily Dot reported the tweet was code for: "Want to know what it takes to work at NSA? Check back each Monday in May as we explore careers essential to protecting our nation."
USA Today
Email exchanges between National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander and Google executives Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt suggest a far cozier working relationship between some tech firms and the U.S. government than was implied by Silicon Valley brass after last year’s revelations about NSA spying. Al Jazeera has obtained two sets of email communications dating from a year before former NSA contractor Edward Snowden became a household name that suggest not all cooperation was under pressure.
Al Jazeera
A Washington state appellate court reversed the denial of an anti-SLAPP motion, holding that “speech connected to a political campaign and candidate . . . clearly are matters of public concern.” The court also held that the statute’s stay on discovery is not unconstitutional. When Bradley Toft ran for the Washington State Senate in 2012, Kelly Spratt, a former employee of Toft’s and a fellow Republican, vocally opposed his candidacy. She claimed Toft had an abusive management style that the entire company had problems with. Toft responded by saying Spratt had been fired and was a disgruntled former employee, while Spratt maintains she resigned voluntarily. Spratt claims Toft wrote an anonymous letter accusing Spratt of harassing Toft.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Prince George’s County, Maryland, police say they decided against live-tweeting a prostitution sting because of security concerns – but they believe their plans to do so have served as a deterrent to prostitution in the county.
Washington Times
Jaclyn Lardie did what many do when looking for a job: she Googled her name to see what a prospective employer would find. The search results devastated her. At the top of the page was an old photo from a night she'd rather forget — a college-era mugshot from an underage drinking bust. Lardie was never convicted and had put the incident behind her. But commercial mugshot websites pounced on her photo and published it online, demanding a fee to remove it. "I personally believe it's a legalized form of blackmail," said Lardie, whose photo now resides on Mugshots.com under her maiden name. The website charges $399 for removal. At least seven states agree with her, recently passing laws to restrict websites from profiting off mugshots: Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Utah, Oregon, Colorado and Wyoming. Marc Epstein, a lawyer for Mugshots.com, told Fox News that such laws are unconstitutional and violate his client's First Amendment rights.
Fox News
It seems as if those who man the Twitter account at Seattle's Department of Transportation might not be quite as funny as they think. They might not be quite men yet, for that matter. On Monday, they saw a picture of the West Seattle Bridge and took the unilateral decision that traffic was being caused by rubberneckers. As Seattle Weekly News reports, they decided to express themselves about this alleged rubbernecking. They placed Scumbag Steve hats on the image of the cars. Should you be unfamiliar with Scumbag Steve or his hat, this is a meme that uses the image of a youth wearing a sideways hat, with accompanying text to suggest just what specific scumbaggery he has perpetrated.
CNET News
|