"A series of slides describing XKeyscore, dated 2008, make it clear that the
security agency system is collecting a huge amount of data on Internet
activity around the globe, from chats on social networks to browsing of
websites and searches on Google Maps. The volume of data is so vast
that most of it is stored for only three days, the presentation said,
although metadata — information showing logins and server activity, but
not content — is stored for a month.
Folks,
they are collecting everything, they are even listening to the content
of your phone calls. This pos paper doesn't say it, but they are! And
they are not throwing it away, they are saving it like they save every
scrap of everything these days.
Several of the pages were redacted by The Guardian. Some of the servers the agency uses are run by foreign intelligence services of friendly nations, including Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, but other servers may be on the soil of countries unaware that the agency is mining Internet “pipes” on their soil.
It's the OLD ECHELON SYSTEM EXPANDED, and this information HAS TO PISS OFF the WHOLE PLANET!
Some of the harvesting of data takes place on the coasts of the United States and along the Mexican border. Most sites are in Europe, the Middle East, and along the borders of India, Pakistan, and China. The analysts search for terrorist cells by looking at “anomalous events”
— someone searching in German from Pakistani sites, or an Iranian
sending an encrypted Microsoft Word file. But one slide says the system
can be used to identify anyone “searching the Web for suspicious stuff.”
Like this blog?
"In a separate development Friday, the father of the fugitive contractor castigated lawmakers who voted this week to spare the NSA government surveillance program his son exposed. In an interview on NBC’s ‘‘Today’’ show, Lon Snowden said there has been a concerted effort by some members of Congress to ‘‘demonize’’ his son. He said lawmakers should be more focused on whether the NSA’s collection of phone and Internet records is constitutional."
I agree, but that is rarely the focus of the articles I see in my Globe. Most of them are of the "Where's Snowden?" variety.
So despite the assurances by Holder, the Russians went ahead and gave him asylum, although I hardly care to which bar he may or may not have gone.
The White House says its furious as Russia wields outsize influence compared to its true military or economic heft in the post-Cold War era. That's quite a statement coming from a Zionist-controlled AmeriKan ma$$ media.
I suppose it is no surprise the Germans have assisted the National Stasi Agency despite the symbolic move with little practical consequences. That's my whole paper in a linked phrase. Symbolism and imagery as the agenda is advanced.
UPDATES:
"President Barack Obama made clear Friday that he has no intention of stopping the daily collection of phone records from millions of Americans. Obama planned an afternoon news conference to try to quell anger over a spying program that has been kept secret for years and that the administration falsely denied ever existed."
Translation: they lied!
Also see: Obama talks to Apple, AT&T about NSA concerns
NEXT DAY UPATE (I picked this up and monitored the content):
"President pledges new limits on surveillance; Obama says Snowden case fallout prompted new look at balancing of privacy and security" by Bryan Bender | Globe Staff, August 10, 2013
WASHINGTON — President Obama called Friday for greater transparency and more oversight of America’s extensive electronic spying programs, acknowledging that recent disclosures have eroded public trust, while defending the National Security Agency’s telephone and e-mail surveillance as necessary and legal.
Did his tongue turn to sand after he said it? Then there is no earthly justice.
Related: US government invokes special privilege to stop scrutiny of data mining
Wow, what a liar, and right at the top of my front page this morning.
In a press conference before he and his family begin their vacation Saturday on Martha’s Vineyard — his fourth summer trip to the island as president — Obama responded to one of the biggest controversies to strike the administration this year, one that has raised questions about the White House’s respect for fundamental constitutional freedoms.
Translation: he's doing damage control before polluting Martha's Vineyard for the week.
Related: Road closure for Obama vacation upsets locals
He promised to review with Congress the post-9/11 law that authorized broad collection of telephone records; to make sure the secret courts that authorize government spying carefully weigh civil liberties concerns; and to force intelligence-gathering agencies to make more information about these activities public.
Obama said recent public disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden led him to conclude that the nation and the international community need to be reassured that the US government is not trampling citizens’ privacy rights.
Yeah, this p.r. pitch should take care of the problem.
You, sir, have been spending too much time with bankers.
“I am comfortable that the program currently is not being abused,’’ Obama said at the afternoon press conference that lasted about 55 minutes. “With the revelations that have depleted public trust . . . if there are some additional things that we can do to build that trust back up, then we should do them.’’
Oh, I'm so happy your comfortable even as the trust will never be restored. The only way to restore trust will be to start confessing to all the lies and false flags and start telling the truth. Nothing less.
“Given the history of abuse by governments, it is right to ask questions about surveillance,” he added, “particularly as technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives.”
Congress left Washington last week, with its approval ratings at a record low of 12 percent, and will not be back until after Labor Day.
The only ones approving are those whose jobs are dependent on the institution.
Obama now heads to coastal New England for a break with few successes to point to in the first eight months of his second term and more trouble on the horizon.
Yeah, the terrorists are coming. WTF is he doing on vacation anyway?
He faces the prospect of a battle this fall with Republicans over a potential government shutdown and his first term’s signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act.
A bunch of distraction as the wars grind on and the looting continues.
Many House Republicans want to strip funding from the health care overhaul and are threatening to block passage of an overall budget unless they get their way. In his press conference, Obama urged Republicans to come to the negotiating table on the budget.
“The idea that you would shut down the government unless you prevent 30 million people from getting health care is a bad idea,” he said Friday.
The Senate has passed a bipartisan immigration reform proposal the president supports, but it has stalled in the House.
They will finish it when they get back.
Obama used his press conference to urge House Republicans to bring the Senate bill to the House floor. It may not be the “100 percent solution,” he said, but he argued that it addresses many GOP concerns about border security and includes provisions to hold employers accountable when they hire undocumented workers.
“I’d urge, when they get back, to do something,” Obama said. “Put forward a bill that has an opportunity to actually pass.’’
Successes have been elusive for Obama this year. Congress killed proposals to tighten gun laws that he sought in the wake of the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., which claimed the lives of 20 young children and six adults.
In foreign affairs, the administration has faced new warnings of Al Qaeda terrorist attacks, the ongoing civil war in Syria, political crisis in Egypt, and a new chill with Russia.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Obama Criticizes Putin's Posture
Earlier this week, Obama canceled a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia decided to provide a safe harbor for alleged NSA leaker Snowden, who faces federal criminal charges. And there have been other collisions between the two nations, over Syria, human rights, and Russia’s antigay legislation.
“I’ve encouraged Mr. Putin to think forward as opposed to backwards, with mixed success,” Obama said.
He said Snowden’s disclosures accelerated a review the administration had already undertaken of NSA surveillance activities.
“Mr. Snowden’s leaks triggered a much more rapid and passionate response than would have been the case,” he said. “I think people have questions about this program. And so as a consequence I think it is important for us to go ahead and answer these questions.”
He's shameless, folks.
Yeah, they were already doing a self-review. Then the great American hero wouldn't have had to blow the whistle!
Among the steps he called for were reforms to Section 215 of the Patriot Act that authorizes the collection of phone records.
“As I’ve said, this program is an important tool in our effort to disrupt terrorist plots, and it does not allow the government to listen to any phone calls without a warrant,” Obama said. “But given the scale of this program, I understand the concern of those who worry that it could be subject to abuse.”
He said he believes “there are additional safeguards against abuse. For instance, we can take steps to put in place greater oversight, greater transparency, and constraints on the use of this authority.”
He doesn't really listen to what he says, doe he?
He also called on Congress to work with him to reform the law that established the so-called Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts, which must approve requests from agency officials to undertake specific spying programs.
One measure the administration can take, he said, is to make sure the court’s judges hear challenges to agency requests for permission to spy by an advocate for civil liberties.
“One of the concerns that people raise is that a judge reviewing a request from the government to conduct programmatic surveillance only hears one side of the story, may tilt it too far in favor of security, may not pay enough attention to liberty,” Obama said.
He also said he planned to make more details of the programs public and to establish an outside advisory board of civil liberties and privacy experts to review them. The reforms are expected to garner support from Democrats and Republicans who have expressed concern about the reach and secretive nature of the surveillance programs.
But the president’s broader prospects on Capitol Hill after the August recess appear bleak, according to close observers.
Unless there is some sort of big bang somewhere, right? Or some sort of terrorist attack with chemical or biological weapons, right?
“The atmosphere is as poisonous and sulfurous as I have ever seen it,” said Mike McCurry, White House Press Secretary to President Bill Clinton and now a Democratic strategist. “He has to go into August hoping that when everyone comes back in September there is some fresh air and they can start tackling some of these problems.”
Ever notice the defense budgets and aid to Israel sail through?
Robert Dallek, a presidential historian who has conferred with Obama several times since 2009, said he believes the president’s very legacy is in jeopardy if the partisan atmosphere doesn’t change.
“Unless he can regain control of both houses of Congress next year,” Dallek said, “it looks very unlikely he will get anything done.”
I don't see that happening in a fair election because the House is already set, and the Democrats are defending far more up-for-grabs Senate seats in mostly red states.
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