Orwellian

The NSA is giving your phone records to the DEA. And the DEA is covering it up.

"DEA officials in a highly secret office called the Special Operations Division are assigned to handle these incoming tips. Tips from the NSA are added to a DEA database that includes 'intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records.' Because the SOD’s work is classified, DEA cases that began as NSA leads can’t be seen to have originated from a NSA source. So what does the DEA do? It makes up the story of how the agency really came to the case in a process known as 'parallel construction.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe NSA is giving your phone records to the DEA. And the DEA is covering it up.

Secretive DEA unit told to cover-up massive spy program used to investigate Americans

"A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans. Although these cases rarely involve national security issues, documents reviewed by Reuters show that law enforcement agents have been directed to conceal how such investigations truly begin – not only from defense lawyers but also sometimes from prosecutors and judges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecretive DEA unit told to cover-up massive spy program used to investigate Americans

Other Agencies Clamor for Data N.S.A. Compiles

"The NSA's dominant role as the nation’s spy warehouse has spurred frequent tensions and turf fights with other federal intelligence agencies that want to use its surveillance tools for their own investigations, officials say. Agencies working to curb drug trafficking, cyberattacks, money laundering, counterfeiting and even copyright infringement complain that their attempts to exploit the security agency’s vast resources have often been turned down. Smaller intelligence units within the DEA, the Secret Service, the Pentagon and DHS have sometimes been given access to the security agency’s surveillance tools for particular cases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOther Agencies Clamor for Data N.S.A. Compiles

Ron Paul: Why Won’t They Tell Us the Truth About NSA Spying?

"The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday heard dramatic testimony from NSA deputy director John C. Inglis. According to the Guardian, the NSA has previously claimed that 54 terrorist plots had been disrupted ‘over the lifetime’ of the bulk phone records collection and the separate program collecting the internet habits and communications of people believed to be non-Americans. On Wednesday, Inglis said that at most one plot might have been disrupted by the bulk phone records collection alone. We do not have to accept being lied to – or spied on -- by our government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Why Won’t They Tell Us the Truth About NSA Spying?

NSA defenders: embassy closures followed ‘pre-9/11 levels’ of ‘chatter’

"Saxby Chambliss, who was briefed by the vice president, Joe Biden, last week, said he believed the intelligence had been gathered by the NSA using foreign surveillance powers granted under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. 'This is a good indication of why they [the surveillance powers] are so important,' he said. His defence of the NSA was echoed by another Republican, Lindsey Graham. Asked by CNN host Candy Crowley whether Americans were right to be frightened, senator Graham said: 'It is scary … the NSA programme is proving its worth yet again.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA defenders: embassy closures followed ‘pre-9/11 levels’ of ‘chatter’

Bruce Schneier: The Public-Private Surveillance Partnership

"The primary business model of the Internet is built on mass surveillance, and our government’s intelligence-gathering agencies have become addicted to that data. The NSA is also in the business of spying on everyone, and it has realized it’s far easier to collect all the data from these corporations rather than from us directly. In some cases, the NSA asks for this data nicely. In other cases, it makes use of subtle threats or overt pressure. If that doesn’t work, it uses tools like national security letters. The result is a corporate-government surveillance partnership, one that allows both the government and corporations to get away with things they couldn’t otherwise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBruce Schneier: The Public-Private Surveillance Partnership

Glenn Greenwald: Members of Congress denied access to basic information about NSA

"It is not merely that members of Congress are unaware of the very existence of these programs, let alone their capabilities. Beyond that, members who seek out basic information - including about NSA programs they are required to vote on and FISA court (FISC) rulings on the legality of those programs - find that they are unable to obtain it. Two House members, GOP Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia and Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, have provided the Guardian with numerous letters and emails documenting their persistent, and unsuccessful, efforts to learn about NSA programs and relevant FISA court rulings." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Members of Congress denied access to basic information about NSA

U.S. officials say global terror threat is ‘very specific’

"U.S. officials are warning that a global terror threat from al Qaeda is ‘very specific’ and could last through August, as at least 22 embassies and consulates across the world prepared to shut down Sunday in fear of a possible attack. The U.S. issued a global travel alert for American travelers on Friday after intercepting electronic communication among top al Qaeda operatives in Yemen regarding an attack in its final planning stages. If traveling outside the U.S., King said: ‘I would let the American embassy know where you are. Basically check in and where you are and how long you plan to stay there and what your itinerary is.’" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. officials say global terror threat is ‘very specific’

Graphic: How Just 6 Corps Own 90% of The Media

"One graphic really highlights just how tightly controlled the information we are delivered truly is — and how a total of only 6 corporations run the show. From Time Warner (CNN, HBO, TIME) to GE (NBC, Comcast), a whopping 6 corporations control 90% of the mainstream media within the United States. The amount of revenues from the tightly controlled mainstream media machine are enough to beat out Finland’s entire GDP, buy every NFL team 12 times, and fund the government bailout of General Motors 5 times." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGraphic: How Just 6 Corps Own 90% of The Media

Fracking settlement puts permanent gag order on 7-year-old and 10-year-old

"A 10-year-old boy and his 7-year-old sister have been forbidden from discussing fracking for the rest of their lives under the terms of a court settlement with several gas companies. According to Mother Jones, representatives of Range Resources Corporation — one of the gas companies named in the settlement — confirmed in court that both the parents and children of the Hallowich family are prohibited from discussing the health issues and environmental factors that drove the family to relocate from their farm in Mount Pleasant, PA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFracking settlement puts permanent gag order on 7-year-old and 10-year-old