Whether a psyop or not, Snowden has shown he is not going to be sacrificed like poor Bradley Manning.
"Congress expresses anger over NSA surveillance program" by Pete Yost | Associated Press, July 18, 2013
WASHINGTON — In a heated confrontation over domestic spying, members of Congress said Wednesday they never intended to allow the National Security Agency to build a database of every phone call in America. And they threatened to curtail the government’s surveillance authority.
Top Obama administration officials countered that the once-secret program was legal and necessary to keep America safe. And they left open the possibility that they could build similar databases of people’s credit card transactions, hotel records, and Internet searches.
They have already been compiling that stuff for at least seven years; however, this is totalitarianism on a titanic scale.
And this "it was legal to keep us safe" line has been so played. That's not what this is, and we all know it. The jig is up, guys.
Related:
"Meanwhile, the FBI is working on merging its civil and criminal fingerprint databases, meaning innocent people who go through background checks as part of getting a job would now be included."
Because you might be a terrorist.
The clash on Capitol Hill undercut President Obama’s assurances that Congress had fully understood the dramatic expansion of government power it authorized repeatedly over the past decade.
The House Judiciary Committee hearing also represented perhaps the most public, substantive congressional debate on surveillance powers since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Previous debates have been largely theoretical and legalistic, with officials in the Bush and Obama administrations keeping the details hidden behind the cloak of classified information.
That changed last month when former government contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents to the Guardian revealing the NSA collects every American’s phone records, knowing that the overwhelming majority of people have no ties to terrorism.
Snowden an American hero, and they are collecting a hell of a lot more than that!
Civil rights groups have warned for years the government would use the US Patriot Act to conduct such wholesale data collection. The government denied it.
No one listened to us, and the government lied. That's 21st-century AmeriKa.
The Obama administration says it needs a library of everyone’s phone records so that when it finds a suspected terrorist, it can search its archives for the suspect’s calling habits. The administration says the database was authorized under a provision in the Patriot Act that Congress hurriedly passed after 9/11 and reauthorized twice.
The sponsor of that bill, Representative James Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin, said Wednesday that Congress meant only to allow seizures directly relevant to national security investigations. No one expected the government to obtain every phone record and store them in a huge database to search later.
It's not just those; they have been collected ALL WORLDWIDE COMMUNICATIONS!
Why the obfuscating deception, agenda-pushing media?
As Deputy Attorney General James Cole explained why that was necessary, Sensenbrenner cut him off and reminded him that his surveillance authority expires in 2015.
‘‘And unless you realize you’ve got a problem,’’ Sensenbrenner said, ‘‘that is not going to be renewed.’’
He was followed by Representative Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, who picked up where his colleague left off. The problem, he said, is that the administration considers ‘‘everything in the world’’ relevant to fighting terrorism.
After the phone surveillance became public, Obama assured Americans Congress was well aware of what was going on.
That was a lie!
‘‘When it comes to telephone calls, every member of Congress has been briefed on this program,’’ he said.
Whether lawmakers willingly kept themselves in the dark or were misled, it was apparent Wednesday that one of the key oversight bodies in Congress remained unclear about the scope of surveillance.
The Judiciary Committee’s senior Democrat, Representative John Conyers of Michigan, noted that the panel had ‘‘primary jurisdiction’’ over the surveillance laws that were the foundation for the NSA programs. Yet one lawmaker, Representative Ted Poe, a Texas Republican, said some members of Congress would not have known about the NSA surveillance without the sensational leaks: ‘‘Snowden, I don’t like him at all, but we would never have known what happened if he hadn’t told us.’’
The NSA says it only looks at numbers as part of narrow terrorism investigations, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
For the first time, NSA Deputy Director John C. Inglis disclosed that the agency sometimes conducts what is known as three-hop analysis. That means the government can look at the phone data of a suspected terrorist, plus the data of all of the contacts, then all of those people’s contacts, and all of those people’s contacts.
!!!! Better throw the phone away now before you dial or receive a wrong number!
If the average person calls 40 unique people, three-hop analysis could allow the government to mine the records of 2.5 million Americans when investigating one suspected terrorist.
That is one hell of a wide net.
Representative Randy Forbes, a Republican from Virginia, said such a huge database was ripe for government abuse. When Inglis said there was no evidence of that, Forbes interrupted: ‘‘I said I wasn’t going to yell at you and I’m going to try not to. That’s exactly what the American people are worried about,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s what’s infuriating the American people. They’re understanding that if you collect that amount of data, people can get access to it in ways that can harm them.’’
If there was evidence they would keep it secret anyway.
The government says it stores everybody’s phone records for five years. Cole explained that because the phone companies do not keep records that long, the NSA had to build its own database.
Whatever.
--more--"
Where is Snowden now?
"Angela Merkel wants strong rules on data privacy; Urges European, global changes" Associated Press, July 15, 2013
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for tougher European and global rules on telephone and Internet data protection on Sunday amid fallout from recent revelations about US surveillance programs....
Germans are sensitive about protecting their personal data.
The implication being what, no one else is?
Ahead of September elections in which the conservative Merkel is seeking a third term, the center-left opposition says her government isn’t doing enough to address those worries and confront the United States.
Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, met in Washington on Friday with Attorney General Eric Holder and Vice President Joe Biden. He declared himself satisfied with the meetings and stressed the need to prevent attacks, saying afterward that a US program called PRISM searches in a ‘‘very targeted’’ way for terrorism-related information.
Germany has been a disappointment on this issue, but I suppose there attitude is understandable given their history.
Merkel’s opponents asserted that Friedrich made no headway in securing information on US surveillance activities — renewing attacks that have yet to produce any obvious shift in polls....
In a separate development, Russian immigration officials said over the weekend that they have not received an application from Edward Snowden, the fugitive US intelligence contractor who wants to get asylum in Russia....
--more--"
"Putin says US traps Snowden in Russian zone; States strategy scared nations from taking him" by David M. Herszenhorn | New York Times, July 16, 2013
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin told an audience of students on Monday that the United States had effectively trapped Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive former intelligence contractor, on Russian territory by frightening countries that otherwise might have accepted him.
When Putin insisted that Russia did not want Snowden to cause damage to the United States, the students laughed out loud.
Putin made the remarks on Gogland Island in the Gulf of Finland, where he was reviewing projects of the Russian Geographical Society.
His remarks concerning Snowden, who announced Friday that he would formally request asylum in Russia, came during a meeting with student researchers who were attending an archeological camp on the island....
Putin, in his remarks to the young researchers on the island, jokingly described Snowden as an unwanted Christmas present....
I'm sure it's just his latest media event.
Putin said that Snowden was aware that to apply for asylum in Russia, he must first stop his political activities — presumably all leaking of classified information that could harm the United States. But given Russia’s long intelligence rivalry with the United States, it is hard to believe that Putin has not been enjoying Washington’s discomfort over Snowden.
“We have a certain relationship with the US, and we don’t want you with your political activities damaging our relationship with the US,” Putin said, describing his view toward Snowden. “He said no,” Putin continued.
“You are laughing,” he told the students. “But I am serious. He said, ‘I want to continue my activities, I want to struggle for human rights, that the US violated some international law, interference with privacy, and my goal is to struggle against this.’ We said: ‘Only, not with us. We have other things to struggle against.’
******************************
In a separate development, Glenn Greenwald, a columnist with The Guardian newspaper who first reported on the US intelligence leaks, said in an interview with the Associated Press that Snowden has highly sensitive documents on how the National Security Agency is structured and operates. But Snowden has insisted that they not be made public, Greenwald said.
That's because they are his insurance against some unfortunate accident happening to him. In such a eventuality, that information is to be released and the NSA will be destroyed!
Greenwald said in Rio de Janeiro that disclosure of the information in the documents ‘‘would allow somebody who read them to know exactly how the NSA does what it does, which would in turn allow them to evade that surveillance or replicate it.’’
Related: Greenwald Exposes Gregory
The Obama administration has been pressing Russia not to grant asylum to Snowden, and it has also been pressuring other countries not to take him. Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua have said they are willing to grant him asylum.
No mention of the Morales flight?
President Obama spoke with Putin by telephone on Friday. Neither side has disclosed precisely what was said about Snowden during the call, but the White House has made clear that in its view, American interests are being harmed as long as Snowden is at large.
A couple of weeks ago Obama was talking it down and saying it was no big deal!
--more--"
"Snowden seeks temporary asylum in Russia; NSA leaker seeks shelter, journey to Latin America" by David M. Herszenhorn | New York Times, July 17, 2013
MOSCOW — Edward J. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor on the run from US authorities, formally applied Tuesday for temporary asylum in Russia, citing fears that he could face torture or the death penalty if extradited to the United States, according to a Russian official who assisted in preparing the documents.
Snowden is smart! Can't send him back now!
Snowden, whose leak of National Security Agency information has set off a worldwide debate over the US government’s surveillance programs, has not been accused of a capital crime and does not face the death penalty. His stated fears, whatever their merit, will help him to meet requirements for asylum in Russia.
There is no debate. The world is outraged!
President Vladimir Putin has said he would consider allowing Snowden to stay in Russia, provided that he “cease his work aimed at inflicting damage on our American partners.” Putin reiterated that offer Monday while meeting with science students, but he said that Snowden had initially refused and that the situation remained uncertain. Snowden has said he does not believe his leaks have harmed US interests.
Word today is Snowden is no longer leaking; however, Greenwald still has unreleased stuff.
The formal submission of the asylum application seemed to clear matters — at least for the moment — and suggested that the end of Snowden’s sojourn at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, where he arrived from Hong Kong on June 23, might finally be in sight.
WikiLeaks, the antisecrecy organization that has been assisting Snowden, posted a message on Twitter confirming the submission of his asylum application.
Wikileaks also announced he was leaving once and put him at risk. I don't trust the CIA/Israeli clap trap that is Wikileaks, folks, and am made uneasy that they are "helping" Snowden.
During a meeting Friday with human rights advocates and lawyers, Snowden said he would request temporary shelter in Russia, but that he ultimately planned to travel to Latin America, where three countries have expressed a willingness to take him. He accused the United States of violating international law by blocking him from traveling there straight away....
Oh, he IS a sharp kid!
--more--"
"Spying case should not harm US ties, Putin says" by David M. Herszenhorn and Andrew Roth | New York Times, July 18, 2013
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin signaled Wednesday that he expected the broader bilateral relationship with the United States to be unharmed if Russia granted asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor on the run from US authorities.
In reply to a question about the implications of Snowden’s case for relations with the United States, Putin effectively accused Washington of hypocrisy by providing robust support for human rights advocates in other circumstances but not in a case like Snowden’s, in which the United States is being criticized.
We all see it, too.
“Bilateral relations, in my opinion, are much more important than the squabbles around the activities of the security services,” Putin said while on a visit to the Trans-Baikal region in eastern Siberia to review a military training exercise, according to a Kremlin transcript.
The premise of which was a U.S. invasion of the Far East.
Putin and other prominent Russian officials have made clear that they view Snowden as an advocate for human rights and a crusader for personal liberties for his leaks exposing the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs.
So do the American people.
Snowden formally applied Tuesday for temporary asylum in Russia — a request that could be granted within days and allow him to live and work there for a year or more.
Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer and rights advocate advising Snowden in Moscow, confirmed Wednesday that Snowden may be able to leave the transit zone of Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow and enter Russia through passport control in the next several days, once the Federal Migration Service gives him official confirmation that his application for temporary asylum is under review.
He said Snowden decided to pursue temporary asylum after realizing the United States was determined not to let him travel. Snowden chose to apply for temporary asylum to circumvent the bureaucracy associated with applications for political asylum, which can take up to three months to process, Kucherena said.
If he entered Russia, Snowden would have the freedom to choose where to live and would not have to surrender himself to the Russian authorities, Kucherena added.
He said Snowden “had not excluded the possibility” of applying for Russian citizenship, but that he had no such plans currently.
--more--"
"Obama considers skipping Moscow summit with Putin
WASHINGTON — The White House might cancel a fall summit between President Obama and President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Moscow, a move that would further aggravate their tense relationship.
The White House is dangling that option over the Russians as Moscow considers a temporary asylum petition from Edward Snowden, accused of leaking information about classified US intelligence.
So what? Stay home then. Who cares?
Obama will still attend an international summit in St. Petersburg, Russia."
There is talk from Congress of boycotting the Olympics again.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Two senators urged President Obama on Friday to consider recommending a new site for the September international summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, if Moscow continues to allow National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden to remain in the country."
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, introduced a resolution? Nothing else going on, huh?
And it's back to oblivion for Snowden.
Which is where IRS-gate, DOJ-gate, and all the rest of the Obama scandals have gone.
"Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee questioned part of the department’s response to last year’s deadly attack in Libya. He challenged plans for a new security training center, and he expressed disappointment with the paid leave given to four employees faulted for wrongdoing on Benghazi."
And now they want $2.2 billion for more embassy security from false flag attacks while you suffer under the lash of austerity, American taxpayers and citizens.
I'm just thankful I live in liberal, Democratic Massachusetts so I'm protected from tyranny.
"SJC upholds investigative e-mail searches; Says privilege of lawyer, client will be protected" by Alyssa A. Botelho | Globe Correspondent, July 16, 2013
The state’s highest court Monday ruled that prosecutors may scour the e-mails of defendants but also supported safeguards designed to protect the privacy privilege long granted lawyers and their clients.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling, a victory for Attorney General Martha Coakley, upheld the right of state prosecutors to search the e-mail of a Brookline doctor after he was indicted in 2011 on charges of defrauding Medicaid of millions of dollars.
“This ruling upholds the investigatory power of our office to examine e-mails for evidence of criminal conduct while using a court-approved process to sort out any e-mails that may involve attorney-client communication,” said Brad Puffer, spokesman for Coakley.
But some lawyers voiced concern that if the protocols laid out by the courts are not followed precisely, access to a defendant’s e-mail could disturb the delicate balance between a prosecutor’s responsibility to conduct a thorough criminal investigation and a defendant’s constitutional rights.
“I fully support Attorney General Coakley’s efforts to protect our citizens, but we must be careful about going down a slippery slope where the government can become privy to confidential conversation,” said Douglas Sheff, incoming president of the Massachusetts Bar Association and senior partner at Sheff Law. “An attorney-client discussion is sacrosanct, and listening in would be the equivalent of letting someone into the confessional booth.”
Sheff said he is also worried that defendants may not be fully truthful with their lawyers if they fear their e-mail would be seized. “And that in fact could send innocent people to jail,” he said....
--more--"
