Current Affairs Surveillance in the US reaches new levels

[CrackpotForeigner]

 

 

It's not the president doing this though. If anything, this is finally showing those who didn't already realise it that it's not the president that runs the place.  The people just vote for the new puppet while the real power stays in situ.  In a way, the democracy is a sham to placate the population.

 

I don't claim to know for sure where the real power lies (although "Where the Big Money is" seems the most likely and, sadly, logical answer), but Obama has proven himself spineless, at best. Even if he can't make the rules himself, it was quite clear when he was elected that there was significant support for "Change", including the closing of Gitmo. If he had any balls he would at least be making public speeches telling the public what he would like to do instead of drone bombings, spying, imprisonment, and torture. 

 

It's not as if this stuff is happening and Obama is powerless to stop it, in terms of the drone strike programme he has reportedly been instrumental in ramping it up - including targetting US citizens abroad for assassination. Combine that with the things he's got up to with the IRS like targetting his political opponents, seizing the records and call information of journalists at AP (and more) etc. then it all adds up to Obama actually being a complete fraud. 

 

Not that Romney was a better option.

 

 

Yep, hence the "at best" in my post.

Strike me down with a feather, I agree with Awol!

[tarjei]

Wonder how many people in the US know that a 16 year old US citizen was killed by a drone in Yemen?

 

 

 

It was discussed on Real Time with Bill Maher a few months ago. I also seem to recall it being on Daily Show. Haven't seen it covered anywhere else, not that I watch much American TV.

Edited August 1, 2013 by tarjei

[privateer]

Well the good news or bad news, dependent on your stance, is that Snowden has left the airport and has a 12 month asylum warrant that gives him licence to roam where he will in Russia. I think I can hear the yells of "Jesus **** Christ those damn Russkies" from Capitol Hill from here.

[BOF]

has a 12 month asylum warrant that gives him licence to roam where he will in Russia. I think I can hear the yells of "Jesus **** Christ those damn Russkies" from Capitol Hill from here.

No I'm far more worried that roaming the streets of Russia is the kind of thing that, oh I dunno, could get a man killed fairly easily if someone was of a mind to do that kind of thing to him. I don't think for a second that he will 'roam' Russia but I'd be looking for some permanent residency and maybe get the milk and paper delivered

[CrackpotForeigner]

 

has a 12 month asylum warrant that gives him licence to roam where he will in Russia. I think I can hear the yells of "Jesus **** Christ those damn Russkies" from Capitol Hill from here.

No I'm far more worried that roaming the streets of Russia is the kind of thing that, oh I dunno, could get a man killed fairly easily if someone was of a mind to do that kind of thing to him. I don't think for a second that he will 'roam' Russia but I'd be looking for some permanent residency and maybe get the milk and paper delivered

 

 

If I were him I'd be giving Russia the slip at the first opportunity, as tricky as that will be. He's at the mercy of the whims of Putin as things stand. His welcome will last until Putin thinks up something to trade him for.

[privateer]

 

has a 12 month asylum warrant that gives him licence to roam where he will in Russia. I think I can hear the yells of "Jesus **** Christ those damn Russkies" from Capitol Hill from here.

No I'm far more worried that roaming the streets of Russia is the kind of thing that, oh I dunno, could get a man killed fairly easily if someone was of a mind to do that kind of thing to him. I don't think for a second that he will 'roam' Russia but I'd be looking for some permanent residency and maybe get the milk and paper delivered

 

Oh, for sure, he's in much more danger now than he has been for a long time. I would be very worried were I him, there are a lot of ways it could go wrong for him and I would expect him to disappear, just not in a manner of his choosing.

[AVFCforever1991]

Julian Assange talks to Vice about Bradley Manning and political payback 

 

 

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/vice-news/julian-assange-talks-to-vice-about-bradley-manning-and-political-payback?utm_source=vicefb

[privateer]

The full report for those interested.

 

 

Fugitive Snowden granted a year's asylum in Russia, leaves airport By Timothy Heritage and Alissa de Carbonnel | Reuters – 25 minutes ago

• 

By Timothy Heritage and Alissa de Carbonnel

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden slipped quietly out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after being granted a year's asylum in Russia, ending more than five weeks in limbo in the transit area.

Russia's decision to help the American, and ignore U.S. requests to send him home to face trial for leaking details of government surveillance programmes, is sure to anger Washington and increase doubts that a summit between presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin will go ahead in Moscow in September.

After 39 days avoiding hordes of international reporters desperate for a glimpse of him, Snowden managed to give them the slip again, leaving the airport in a car.

"Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law but in the end the law is winning," Snowden, whose first leaks were published two months ago, was quoted as saying by the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group which has assisted him.

"I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations."

Grainy images on state television showed the 30-year-old's document, which is similar to a Russian passport, and revealed that he had been granted asylum for a year from July 31.

A Russian lawyer said he had handed Snowden a document from Russia which enabled him to leave the airport for a safe location which would remain secret, and that he could now work and travel freely in the country of 142 million.

State television also showed a picture of him getting into a grey car at the airport driven by a young man in a baseball cap. Snowden wore a backpack and a blue button-up shirt.

"He is the most wanted man on planet Earth," Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told Reuters. "He has to think about his personal security. I cannot tell you where he is going."

"He can live wherever he wants in Russia. It's his personal choice," he said.

OTHER OFFERS OF ASYLUM

Snowden, who had his U.S. passport revoked by Washington, fled to Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23 and had stayed at a hotel at the airport, Kucherena said, but was "psychologically exhausted".

"Imagine yourself daily (having to listen to) 'Dear passengers, the flight to New York, the flight to Washington, the flight from Rome'," the lawyer said.

Snowden, whose revelations have fuelled a debate in the United States about civil liberties and national security needs, was accompanied by Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks representative.

"We would like to thank the Russian people and all those others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the battle - now the war," WikiLeaks said on Twitter.

WikiLeaks issued its statement as the case against Private Bradley Manning continued for releasing classified U.S. data through its website.

Snowden hopes to avoid a similar fate. Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela have offered him refuge, but there are no direct commercial flights to Latin America from Moscow and he was concerned the United States would intercept any flight he took.

He was forced to bide his time in the transit area between the runway and passport control, which Russia considers neutral territory. Kucherena had given Snowden Russian books to help pass the time and says he has started learning Russian in preparation for his stay, which could be extended after a year.

"I am so thankful to the Russian nation and President Vladimir Putin," the American's father, Lonnie Snowden, told Russian state television. He is expected to come to Russia to see his son shortly.

It is not clear what Snowden plans to do in Russia, although he has said he would like to travel around the country. VKontakte, Russia's answer to social networking site Facebook, has already offered him a job.

STRAINS IN TIES

Washington has signalled in the last few weeks that Obama might consider boycotting the planned summit with Putin. It did not immediately comment on Snowden's change of status, which steps up the level of support he is receiving from Russia.

It is not clear whether Obama might also consider a boycott of a G20 summit in Russia in September or of the Winter Olympics which Russia will host in the city of Sochi next February.

A senior Kremlin official played down concerns.

"Our president has ... expressed hope many times that this will not affect the character of our relations," Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy adviser, told reporters.

But Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticised Moscow's decision and said Russia should send Snowden home because his revelations could do great harm to the United States.

"Edward Snowden is a fugitive who belongs in a United States courtroom, not a free man deserving of asylum in Russia," Menendez said. "Regardless of the fact that Russia is granting asylum for one year, this action is a setback to U.S.-Russia relations."

Putin wants to improve relations with the United States that are strained by issues from the Syrian conflict to his treatment of opponents and foreign-funded non-governmental organisations, but would have risked looking weak if he had handed him over to the U.S. authorities.

More than half of Russians have a positive opinion of Snowden and 43 percent wanted him to be granted asylum, a poll released by independent research group Levada said this week.

Putin has said Snowden must stop anti-U.S. activities, but it was not clear whether the American had agreed to do so. Snowden has said that he does not regard his activities as hostile to the United States.

There has already been diplomatic fallout from Snowden's leaks, which included information that the U.S. National Security Agency bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, even though the EU is an ally.

China, Brazil and France have voiced concern over the spying programme and U.S. ties with Latin American states have been clouded.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/fugitive-snowden-leave-moscow-airport-lawyer-115724304.html#unHmHnG

[Awol]

Assuming that he is smart enough to slip the US satellite surveillance on the airport that will have picked up his exit, he's as good as in South America already. Russia isn't exactly short of airfields or private charter aircraft and they can't all be watched for the next year. 

[AVFCforever1991]

http://news.techeye.net/security/apple-patents-tech-to-let-cops-switch-off-iphone-video-camera-and-wi-fi

 

Apple patents tech to let cops switch off iPhone video, camera and wi-fi

 

Police forces around the world have had the problem that when their officers get a bit carried away and start pepper spraying tied captives there is someone on hand filming the event on their mobile phones.

 

While six police lay into prone grannies on the floor with long batons, the pictures can be on the net in seconds, meaning supervisors have to answer embarrassing questions.

 

But they may not need to fear scrutiny much longer - Apple has patented a piece of technology which would allow government and police to block transmission of information, including video and photographs, whenever they like.

 

All the coppers have to do is decide that a public gathering or venue is deemed "sensitive", and needs to be "protected from externalities" and Apple will switch off all its gear.

The police can then get on with the very difficult task of kettling protesters without having to worry about a few beating anyone to death.

 

Apple insists that the affected sites are mostly cinemas, theatres, concert grounds and similar locations, but it does admit that it could be used in "covert police or government operations which may require complete 'blackout' conditions".

 

According to RT it could also be used to prevent whistleblowers like Edward Snowden from taking pictures and broadcasting them on the interent.

 

Apple said that the wireless transmission of sensitive information to a remote source is one example of a threat to security.

 

But it said that this sensitive information could be anything from classified government information to questions or answers to an examination administered in an academic setting.

 

Apple patented the means to transmit an encoded signal to all wireless devices, commanding them to disable recording functions.

 

The policies would be activated by GPS, and wi-fi or mobile base-stations, which would ring-fence ("geofence") around a building or a "sensitive area" to prevent phone cameras from taking pictures or recording video.

 

Odd that the company made famous by its 1984 Big Brother video can't really see what it is doing. Perhaps its own secretive culture and an overzealous security treatment of its staff have fostered sympathy for Big Brother after all.

 

Edited August 15, 2013 by AVFCforever1991

[Tegis]

'kin hell

[maqroll]

Another example of the beginning of the end of internet freedom...sad, but predictable

[leviramsey]

Consider:

* Apple is somewhat dependent competitively on enforcement provided by governments of patents

* A major core of Apple's lock-in is the music and video sold through the iTunes store, the bulk of which is provided by the record and film industries

Both of those would love to have this ability. It's also completely in keeping with a firm that long ago inherited Steve Jobs' control-freak tendencies.

[peterms]

Consider:

* Apple is somewhat dependent competitively on enforcement provided by governments of patents

* A major core of Apple's lock-in is the music and video sold through the iTunes store, the bulk of which is provided by the record and film industries

Both of those would love to have this ability. It's also completely in keeping with a firm that long ago inherited Steve Jobs' control-freak tendencies.

 

All those points are true.

 

It's also a little at odds with their marketing image that they seek to make it easier for thugs to beat people to death without it becoming news.

 

The security forces in Egypt yesterday were reduced to seizing cameras and manually wiping the memory, or shooting the cameraman, to cover up at least a small part of their crimes.

 

How much more convenient it would have been if they could have had Apple's new technology to turn off all electronics, so they could commit their butchery without having to look over their shoulder all the time.

 

One of their advertising slogans was "Life made easier".  I suppose we could update that to "Murder made easier".

[tarjei]

How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets

By PETER MAASS

August 13, 2013

This past January, Laura Poitras received a curious e-mail from an anonymous stranger requesting her public encryption key. For almost two years, Poitras had been working on a documentary about surveillance, and she occasionally received queries from strangers. She replied to this one and sent her public key — allowing him or her to send an encrypted e-mail that only Poitras could open, with her private key — but she didn’t think much would come of it.

The stranger responded with instructions for creating an even more secure system to protect their exchanges. Promising sensitive information, the stranger told Poitras to select long pass phrases that could withstand a brute-force attack by networked computers. “Assume that your adversary is capable of a trillion guesses per second,” the stranger wrote.

Before long, Poitras received an encrypted message that outlined a number of secret surveillance programs run by the government. She had heard of one of them but not the others. After describing each program, the stranger wrote some version of the phrase, “This I can prove.”

Seconds after she decrypted and read the e-mail, Poitras disconnected from the Internet and removed the message from her computer. “I thought, O.K., if this is true, my life just changed,” she told me last month. “It was staggering, what he claimed to know and be able to provide. I just knew that I had to change everything.”

I haven't quoted the entire article as it's a bit long. Read the rest here

[peterms]

Long, but worth reading.

 

How amusing that the yanks keep telling the rest of us how free they are.  Stalin would be envious of what they've managed to create.

[tarjei]

Yeah, it took a while but I has sold after the first few paragraphs. I have tremendous respect for the them after reading that, and I'm definitely going to watch her documentaries, new and old.

[privateer]

Long, but worth reading.

 

How amusing that the yanks keep telling the rest of us how free they are.  Stalin would be envious of what they've managed to create.

Quite so. It's staggering but entirely in keeping with how they think and behave that one of the key elements of their new-found bondage is called the Patriot Act. They can't be too far off having the personification of their nation, like Uncle Joe, Uncle Ho or a Father figure and utterly failing to realise that they have become exactly what they claimed to have fought against for decades.

 

They claimed terrorists would never win. In one sense they already have, the Patriot Act saw to that. If only their utter stupidity had stopped with the rebranding of fries to Freedom Fries in the Pentagon canteen. If they had any self awareness, fries in the US would now be called Oppressed Fries.

[peterms]

Long, but worth reading.

 

How amusing that the yanks keep telling the rest of us how free they are.  Stalin would be envious of what they've managed to create.

Quite so. It's staggering but entirely in keeping with how they think and behave that one of the key elements of their new-found bondage is called the Patriot Act. They can't be too far off having the personification of their nation, like Uncle Joe, Uncle Ho or a Father figure and utterly failing to realise that they have become exactly what they claimed to have fought against for decades.

 

They claimed terrorists would never win. In one sense they already have, the Patriot Act saw to that. If only their utter stupidity had stopped with the rebranding of fries to Freedom Fries in the Pentagon canteen. If they had any self awareness, fries in the US would now be called Oppressed Fries.

 

 

I see that even the author of the Patriot Act is concerned that the NSA have gone too far.

 

For so many years, political discourse about "rolling back the frontiers of the state" has meant "cutting levels of social security".  It's the encroachment of the secret state we should be worried about.  And that is far harder to roll back.

[CrackpotForeigner]

Even the name "Patriot Act" is sickening enough.

 

It's love for Big Brother dressed up as love for America.