Homeland Stupidity

How the Patriot Act debate became about library records instead of phone records

"Civil liberties advocates said in interviews there is a simple reason for the disconnect: In the period immediately after the Patriot Act passed, few if any observers believed Section 215 could authorize any kind of ongoing, large-scale collection of phone data. They argue that only a radical and incorrect interpretation of the law allows the mass surveillance program the NSA has erected on the foundation of Section 215. The ACLU contends in a lawsuit filed last week that Section 215 does not legitimately authorize the metadata program." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow the Patriot Act debate became about library records instead of phone records

Thousands Of Firms Trade Confidential Data With The US Government In Exchange For Classified Intelligence

"In other words, what is going on behind the scenes is nothing more than one vast, very selective, extremely secretive, symbiotic and perfectly 'legal' giant information exchange network, which allows corporations to profit off classified government information either in kind or in cash, and which allows the government to have all the information at its disposal, collected using public and private venues, in order to protect itself, to take out those it designates as targets, or simply said - to get ever bigger. The loser in all of this? You." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThousands Of Firms Trade Confidential Data With The US Government In Exchange For Classified Intelligence

NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants

"The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed 'simply based on an analyst deciding that.' If the NSA wants 'to listen to the phone,' an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. The same legal standards that apply to phone calls also apply to e-mail messages, text messages, and instant messages." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants

Secret Court Ruling Put Tech Companies in Data Bind

"In a secret court in Washington, Yahoo’s top lawyers made their case. The government had sought help in spying on certain foreign users, without a warrant, and Yahoo had refused, saying the broad requests were unconstitutional. The judges disagreed. That left Yahoo two choices: Hand over the data or break the law. So Yahoo became part of the National Security Agency’s secret Internet surveillance program, Prism, according to leaked N.S.A. documents, as did seven other Internet companies. Like almost all the actions of the secret court, the details of its disagreement with Yahoo were never made public beyond a heavily redacted court order." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecret Court Ruling Put Tech Companies in Data Bind

Tech Companies Concede to NSA Surveillance Program

"When government officials came to Silicon Valley to demand easier ways for the world’s largest Internet companies to turn over user data as part of a secret surveillance program, the companies bristled. In the end, though, many cooperated at least a bit. The negotiations shed a light on how Internet companies, increasingly at the center of people’s personal lives, interact with the spy agencies that look to their vast trove of information — e-mails, videos, online chats, photos and search queries — for intelligence. They illustrate how intricately the government and tech companies work together, and the depth of their behind-the-scenes transactions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTech Companies Concede to NSA Surveillance Program

Facebook releases government surveillance data

"Several Internet companies have struck an agreement with the U.S. government to release limited information about the number of surveillance requests they receive, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Facebook became the first to release aggregate numbers of requests, saying in a blog post that it received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests for user data in the second half of 2012, covering 18,000 to 19,000 of its users’ accounts. Other Internet companies are expected to release numbers of government requests without breaking out how many originate from the National Security Agency, the sources said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFacebook releases government surveillance data

David Galland: Scenarios

"No one can predict the future – the world is too complex, and a big part of that complexity comes from the human species in which all traits, good and bad, are present. (Is there such a thing as an armadillo with bad character? A bunny rabbit?) When people with bad character, or even good character but suffering from delusions, backed by the full power of the state make it their business to protect you against an unforeseeable future, and approach their task with the idea that individual rights should play a distant second fiddle to the greater good, it's time to be cautious." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: Scenarios

Interrogation Rooms in the Post Office?

"We have received documents from a military source indicating that U.S. Postal Service facilities across the country are expanding the construction of secretive criminal investigation rooms, which some fear will be used to detain American citizens in the event of a national emergency, bioterror attack or pandemic. The documents show architectural floor plans for criminal investigation rooms that would be housed within existing U.S. Postal Service buildings. The blueprints show 'secret rooms' within post offices where, the source claims, 'families will be separated' in the event of martial law being declared." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInterrogation Rooms in the Post Office?

FBI director claims NSA spying could have prevented 9/11

"The FBI has shrugged off growing congressional anxiety over its surveillance of US citizens, claiming such programs could have foiled the 9-11 terrorist attacks and would prevent 'another Boston'. In a frequently heated debate over balancing privacy and security, Mueller went further than other government officials in claiming that the collection of data on all American phone calls had become an essential part of counter-terrorism efforts and would make the US 'exceptionally vulnerable' if watered down. He also rejected calls from technology companies such as Google to disclose the scale of the programs, saying even this information could help terrorists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI director claims NSA spying could have prevented 9/11

James Bamford: The Secret War

"Tens of thousands of people move through more than 50 buildings—the city has its own post office, fire department, and police force. But as if designed by Kafka, it sits among a forest of trees, surrounded by electrified fences and heavily armed guards, protected by antitank barriers, monitored by sensitive motion detectors, and watched by rotating cameras. To block any telltale electromagnetic signals from escaping, the inner walls of the buildings are wrapped in protective copper shielding and the one-way windows are embedded with a fine copper mesh. This is the undisputed domain of General Keith Alexander, a man few even in Washington would likely recognize." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJames Bamford: The Secret War