Spying Obama

NYT reported (and echoed by HuffPo):

For almost three years the National Security Agency has been tapping the data it collects to map out some Americans' social connections, allowing the government to identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information

The NSA can augment the communications data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data.

This happened under the Obama administration. They can't blame Bush for deepening America's endemic spying regime.  Obama's minions are responsible for heavy handed acts in the President's war on whistleblowers.

As for business opportunity, the typewriter is back for organizations not wanting their communications sucked up by the NSA.

Update 9-29-13:  Next up is U.S. sponsored assassination.  It will be interesting to see criteria, methods and targets. In another surreal revelation, the FBI has employed domestic drones since 2006.  Apparently, the unitary executive and a purchased Congress partnered to look the other way. However, citizens paying attention and asking questions is frowned upon.  One form of retribution is getting slapped with a domestic terrorist label. 

Brazil Schools U.S. on Freedom

The Daily Beast reported:

With Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff leading the day’s speeches at the U.N. General Assembly, she used the opportunity at the podium to shame the United States for spying on her country, saying that cyberspace was turning into a battlefield.

“Personal data of citizens was intercepted indiscriminately,” she said in a fiery speech aimed at a room full of world leaders. “Corporate information—often of high economic and even strategic value—was at the center of espionage activity.”

Last week, the Brazilian leader canceled a state visit to Washington, furious over NSA’s reported spying on her country’s communications, including her own personal emails and text messages.

“Without the right to privacy,” she said, “there is no real freedom of speech and freedom of opinion.”

Intelligence Sharing with America's 51st State

The Guardian reported:

The National Security Agency routinely shares raw intelligence data with Israel without first sifting it to remove information about US citizens, a top-secret document provided to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals.

Details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the US government handed over intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of American citizens. The agreement places no legally binding limits on the use of the data by the Israelis.

The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet.

The intelligence community calls this process "minimization", but the memorandum makes clear that the information shared with the Israelis would be in its pre-minimized state.

The deal was reached in principle in March 2009, according to the undated memorandum, which lays out the ground rules for the intelligence sharing.

Here's how accountable the Unitary Executive is to the American public:

The Guardian asked the Obama administration how many times US data had been found in the raw intelligence, either by the Israelis or when the NSA reviewed a sample of the files, but officials declined to provide this information. Nor would they disclose how many other countries the NSA shared raw data with, or whether the Fisa court, which is meant to oversee NSA surveillance programs and the procedures to handle US information, had signed off the agreement with Israel.

"Transparent Obama" lies like Bush.  Both cater to Israel, our 51st state. 

Promises of "Freedom" to Egyptian People

Two U.S. Congressmen and one Congresswoman went on film to encourage the Egyptian people to continue their "fight against terrorists," an implicit scolding after Egyptians elected them in free and democratic elections.

This troika's claims of liberty fall flat given the total surveillance state the U.S. descended into on their watch.

As for remembering who conducted 9-11, the U.S. is yet to take any action against Saudi Arabia.

These three Congresspersons had the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce alongside to "help the Egyptian people."  They all mentioned Egypt's President without giving his name, but each cited coup implementing General al-Sisi.

Even the question and answer segment at the end is fake and staged.  This video reveals the extent of America's Freedom Switch, punctuated by the following interview:

Internet Leashed by U.S. and U.K. Tyranny

The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald revealed the widespread nature of internet spying by U.S. and British intelligence agencies:

The National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have broadly compromised the guarantees that internet companies have given consumers to reassure them that their communications, online banking and medical records would be indecipherable to criminals or governments.

The agencies, the documents reveal, have adopted a battery of methods in their systematic and ongoing assault on what they see as one of the biggest threats to their ability to access huge swathes of internet traffic – "the use of ubiquitous encryption across the internet".

Those methods include covert measures to ensure NSA control over setting of international encryption standards, the use of supercomputers to break encryption with "brute force", and – the most closely guarded secret of all – collaboration with technology companies and internet service providers themselves.

Through these covert partnerships, the agencies have inserted secret vulnerabilities – known as backdoors or trapdoors – into commercial encryption software.

 
Tyrants need to control their subjects.  Knowing what they think is critical. 

Update 9-27-13:  Senator Ron Wyden said in a Senate committee hearing on NSA spying, "the leadership of NSA built an intelligence collection system that repeatedly deceived the American people."  Actually NSA leaders repeatedly deceived the elected representatives of the American people.  NSA leaders, like Wall Street titans, face zero consequences for any illegal incursions.

Cross-Selling Returns to CNN

Just in time for the 2014 election year CNN will foist CrossFire back on the American cable watchers and airport travelers on Wednesday evenings.

As for the best takeoff version of CrossFire, baby boomers recall Saturday Night Live's "Point-CounterPoint" with Jane Curtain and Dan Ackroyd.

As for this new crew, I'm pretty sure Newt would happy to call Stephanie Cutter an ignorant slut, before propositioning her.

Expect more vitriol as the Reds and Blues look to position for the 2014 elections and CNN to cash in on divisive and untrue election ads.