Tag Archives: Western Intel

‘Fake’ Reform: Little to Celebrate as USA Freedom Act Passes House

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“Despite strong objections from critics, the bill reauthorized Section 215 for other uses and expanded other surveillance mechanisms and powers for government agencies.  Though some progressive groups found it possible to support the bill for its strong stance against the domestic phone records program, tougher critics said that though they welcome the end of that specific program, the USA Freedom Act’s re-authorization of broader Patriot Act powers could not be ignored.  Advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU had offered some initial support to earlier versions of the bill, but both groups ultimately withdrew their backing of the law once it reached its final form.”

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/14/fake-reform-little-celebrate-usa-freedom-act-passes-house

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GOP Senator: Phone Records Not Enough, Calls For NSA Expansion

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“The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday that the NSA’s metadata collection program needs to be expanded, adding that he was ‘shocked’ to learn ‘how little data’ was actually being collected.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called for a full reauthorization of the Patriot Act, while Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said he would lead the charge against reauthorization of the bill.  A new bill, the USA Freedom Act, would reportedly end the massive collection of telephone metadata in the U.S. But Corker said he opposes the legislation because the metadata collecting program ‘needs to be ramped up hugely.'”

http://www.ijreview.com/2015/05/320569-top-gop-senator-says-obamas-collection-phone-record-not-enough-calls-expansion-program/

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James Corbett: The Last Word on Osama Bin Laden [2011]

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“But after finally waking from the 10 year nightmare of the Osama Bin Laden fable, are the public willing to go straight back to sleep? Or are they going to start questioning the official narratives that are cemented into place in the wake of every large-scale event, narratives that always support more government intrusion in our lives, expanded wars of aggression around the globe and an ever-expanding police state?”

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Seymour Hersh defends his blockbuster bin Laden story

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“It was the kind of question he has heard a wearying number of times over the course of a storied career. The veracity of his own reporting was a topic that seemed only to exasperate him.  ‘You’re talking about someone who was a freelance reporter in 1969 and wrote about massacring hundreds of people in Vietnam for an anti-war news agency,’ Hersh said. ‘My God, you don’t think I had trouble then?’  He’s irritated at what he sees as a public obsession with where and how his bin Laden report had been published. ‘It’s not a press story — it’s a story about what the government does,’ Hersh said. ‘If the questions are about the press, I can’t help you.'”

http://www.businessinsider.com/seymour-hersh-defends-his-blockbuster-bin-laden-story-2015-5

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Jacob Hornberger: Judicial Immunity for the Assassins

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“In the wake of President Obama’s apology for the killing of two Western hostages in a drone assassination in Pakistan, people might be wondering if it will be possible for surviving family members to recover in a legal action against the assassins for the wrongful death of their loved ones.  The answer is unequivocally no. The reason is that long ago, the judicial branch of the federal government, acquiescing to the overwhelming power of the national-security branch of the government, decided to erect a wall of immunity around CIA assassinations.  Moreover, the federal courts made it clear that the national-security branch was the final determiner of what constitutes ‘national security.'”

http://fff.org/2015/04/27/judicial-immunity-assassins/

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Rand Paul threatens Patriot Act filibuster

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“Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in an interview published Monday that he will filibuster a reauthorization of provisions within the Patriot Act.  ‘I’m going to lead the charge in the next couple of weeks as the Patriot Act comes forward,’ the GOP presidential candidate told the New Hampshire Union Leader. ‘We will be filibustering. We will be trying to stop it. We are not going to let them run over us. And we are going to demand amendments and we are going to make sure the American people know that some of us at least are opposed to unlawful searches.’  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has said that he favors a full reauthorization of the measures.”

http://thehill.com/policy/technology/241635-rand-paul-threatens-patriot-act-filibuster

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How the NSA Converts Spoken Words Into Searchable Text

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“Top-secret documents from the archive of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency can now automatically recognize the content within phone calls by creating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that can be easily searched and stored.  Though perfect transcription of natural conversation apparently remains the Intelligence Community’s ‘holy grail,’ the Snowden documents describe extensive use of keyword searching as well as computer programs designed to analyze and ‘extract’ the content of voice conversations, and even use sophisticated algorithms to flag conversations of interest.”

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/05/nsa-speech-recognition-snowden-searchable-text/

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NSA mass phone surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden ruled illegal

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“The US court of appeals has ruled that the bulk collection of telephone metadata is unlawful, in a landmark decision that clears the way for a full legal challenge against the National Security Agency.  A panel of three federal judges for the second circuit overturned an earlier ruling that the controversial surveillance practice first revealed to the US public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 could not be subject to judicial review. The judges opted not to end the domestic bulk collection while Congress decides its fate, calling judicial inaction ‘a lesser intrusion’ on privacy than at the time the case was initially argued.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/07/nsa-phone-records-program-illegal-court

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Meet the NSA’s disturbing Earth Day mascot, Dunk

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“Hey there. This is Dunk. Dunk is a trash can taken from the stuff of nightmares and repurposed by the NSA to promote Earth Day.  The NSA is currently hosting a STEM Recycling Challenge in Maryland schools in an attempt encourage students to consider what happens to the junk they discard daily.”

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/19/8453531/nsa-mascot-dunk-earth-day

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The NSA made a coloring book for kids

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“The book, America’s CryptoKids: Future Codemakers and Cokebreakers, tells the story of a team of talking animals, who, when they’re not spying on you, spend their time shredding on the guitar and playing friendly games of lacrosse. While also spying on you, of course.”

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/26/8499267/nsa-coloring-book-cryptokids

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