military industrial complex

Lying To Congress Is Legal, If You’re Intelligence Chief James Clapper — Now Apologizing

"The US director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has attempted to head off criticism that he lied to Congress over the extent of government surveillance on American citizens, with a letter to senators in which he apologised for giving 'erroneous' information. Two weeks after telling NBC news that he gave the 'least untruthful answer possible' at a hearing in March, Clapper wrote to the Senate intelligence committee to correct his response to a question about whether the National Security Agency 'collected data on millions of Americans'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLying To Congress Is Legal, If You’re Intelligence Chief James Clapper — Now Apologizing

3 big revelations from the newly leaked NSA documents

"Perhaps the most damning new revelation is that the U.S. government may have been spying on friends as well as foes. Thirty-eight embassies and missions are outlined as 'targets' on one document, reports the Guardian. The document details the range of spying techniques employed, 'from bugs implanted in electronic communications gear to taps into cables to the collection of transmissions with specialized antennae.' Along with 'traditional ideological adversaries' and 'sensitive Middle Eastern countries,' the unofficial roster of spy targets includes French, Italian, and Greek embassies, as well as Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India, and Turkey." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3 big revelations from the newly leaked NSA documents

3 big revelations from the newly leaked NSA documents

"Perhaps the most damning new revelation is that the U.S. government may have been spying on friends as well as foes. Thirty-eight embassies and missions are outlined as 'targets' on one document, reports the Guardian. The document details the range of spying techniques employed, 'from bugs implanted in electronic communications gear to taps into cables to the collection of transmissions with specialized antennae.' Along with 'traditional ideological adversaries' and 'sensitive Middle Eastern countries,' the unofficial roster of spy targets includes French, Italian, and Greek embassies, as well as Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India, and Turkey." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3 big revelations from the newly leaked NSA documents

Snowden Is Not the Story

"Deep Throat was not the story in 1972, and Edward Snowden is not the story today. The abuse of America’s intelligence agencies is. And yet, we are not having an open discussion. We are instead seeing a media circus. The messenger, Edward Snowden, has been made 'the story.' Keeping under safe political cover, President Obama is deferring to the Justice Department—the same Justice Department which seized the Associated Press’ phone records and criminalized Fox News reporter James Rosen to pursue a leak investigation into a former State Department contractor." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden Is Not the Story

To those who say ‘trust the government’: Remember J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI?

"Hundreds of these sorts of companies have come about in the last few years, operating in close partnerships with the state, yet existing beyond the view of Congress, the media and 'public eyes'. Even in the unlikely instance when their activities come to light, potentially illegal behavior goes unpunished; even calls by congressmen to investigate the sordid Themis conspiracy were ignored by the Department of Justice. This, then, is the environment in which public officials and Beltway insiders like Friedman are asking us to trust the intelligence community and its private partner firms with increasing power over information." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTo those who say ‘trust the government’: Remember J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI?

How a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

"The program was codenamed SHAMROCK and known to only a few people within the government. Every day, a courier went up to New York on the train and returned to Fort Meade with large reels of magnetic tape, which were copies of the international telegrams sent from New York the preceding day using the facilities of three telegraph companies. The tapes would then be electronically processed for items of foreign intelligence interest, typically telegrams sent by foreign establishments in the United States or telegrams that appeared to be encrypted. Telegrams sent by US citizens to foreign destinations were also present in the tapes NSA received." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

How a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

"The program was codenamed SHAMROCK and known to only a few people within the government. Every day, a courier went up to New York on the train and returned to Fort Meade with large reels of magnetic tape, which were copies of the international telegrams sent from New York the preceding day using the facilities of three telegraph companies. The tapes would then be electronically processed for items of foreign intelligence interest, typically telegrams sent by foreign establishments in the United States or telegrams that appeared to be encrypted. Telegrams sent by US citizens to foreign destinations were also present in the tapes NSA received." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: NSA leaker is a hero

"Citing his own grand jury trial in Alexandria, Virginia, Assange explained that Snowden does not feel as if he could receive a fair trial due to what is known as the 'rocket docket' — jury pools in the area are filled with CIA and Pentagon employees and have high conviction rates in cases brought to trial. Snowden should seek refuge then, Assange argued, until he feels he would be 'afforded justice' upon his return to the United States. The NSA leaker remains in Russia while he tries to find asylum in another country. That has been complicated by the U.S. revocation of his passport, an act Assange described as 'disgraceful.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: NSA leaker is a hero

U.S. Removed Mubarak Over Refusal To Allow Permanent Military, Spy Installations?

"Why did the US support both Mubarak and the opposition (April 6 Movement, Kifaya, etc.)? It is not as uncommon as it might seem. Aging and ailing Mubarak's rule was coming to an end anyway, Egypt's population was young and frustrated, and though the US did not necessarily wish to spoil its relationship with the Egyptian dictator it did seek maximum influence on the coming succession struggles. Additionally, as Mubarak explains in an interview this month, he was proving an irritation to the US over his refusal to allow permanent US military installations in Egypt and his refusal to allow the US to 'help' with establishing a communications network in Egypt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Removed Mubarak Over Refusal To Allow Permanent Military, Spy Installations?

How Bad Is The Surveillance State?

"Even more baffling to me is the reaction of some 'conservatives' who deny the scope of spying activities and, at once, minimizing the civil-liberties threat and justifying the activities as absolutely necessary and vital for the protection of the country. The truth is that the network television show 'Person of Interest' is much closer to reality than most people think – except for the fact that no one is actually using the mining of data to protect the lives of innocent American citizens caught in the crossfire. Let’s look at some of the hard, cold facts of today’s surveillance state." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Bad Is The Surveillance State?