Spy Agencies Are Doing WHAT?
Posted by:
George Washington Post date:
09/23/2013 - New Revelations Are Breaking Every Day
Revelations about the breathtaking
scope of government spying are coming so fast that it's time for an updated
roundup:
The
government is spying on essentially everything
we do. It is not just "metadata" ... although that is enough to destroy your privacy
The
government has adopted a secret interpretation of the Patriot Act which allows
it to pretend that "everything" is relevant ... so it spies on everyone.
For example, the NSA "oversight" court believes the mere claim that terrorists use the phone system is enough to show
that all phone records are relevant
NSA
whistleblowers say that the NSA collects all of our conversations word-for-word
It's
not just the NSA ... Many other agencies, like the FBI and IRS – concerned
only with domestic
issues - spy on Americans as well. The Drug Enforcement Administration has
had direct access to AT&T phone records for 25 years
The
information gained through spying is shared with federal, state and local agencies, and they are using that
information to prosecute petty crimes such as drugs and taxes. The agencies are
instructed to intentionally "launder" the information gained
through spying, i.e. to pretend that they got the information in a more
legitimate way ... and to hide that from defense attorneys and judges
The
Department of Health and Human Services will also have access to vast quantities of sensitive federal data on Americans as part
of Obamacare (here's the underlying Government Accountability Office report)
The
NSA not only shares our information with other American agencies, it also gives personal,
sensitive unfiltered information on Americans to Israel
and other foreign nations
And
it's not only governments. Private contractors can also view all of your data (and the
government isn’t keeping track of which contractors see your data and which
don’t). And because background
checks regarding some contractors are falsified, it is hard to know the
types of people that might have your information. Indeed, private
contractors are involved in spying on behalf of governments world-wide
It's
not just your computer and your phone. It is well-documented that the
government may be spying on us through cars and buses, streetlights, at airports and on the street, via
mobile scanners and drones, through our smart meters, and in many other
ways
Top
counter-terror experts say that the government’s mass spying doesn't keep us safe
Indeed,
they say that mass spying actually
hurts
U.S. counter-terror efforts (more here and here)
They
say we can, instead, keep everyone safe without violating the Constitution ... more
cheaply and efficiently
than the current system
There
is no real oversight by Congress, the courts, or the executive branch of government. And see this and this.
Indeed,
most Congress members had no idea what the NSA is doing. Even
staunch defenders of the NSA - and congress members on the intelligence oversight committees -
now say they've been kept in the dark
A
Federal judge who was on the secret spying court for 3 years says that it's a kangaroo court
Even
the current
judges on the secret spying court now admit that they're out of the loop and powerless to exercise real oversight.
When
these judges raised concerns about NSA spying, the Justice Department
completely ignored
them
A
former U.S. president says that the spying program shows that we
no longer have a functioning democracy
The
chairs of the 9/11 Commission say that NSA spying has gone way too far
Top
constitutional experts say that Obama and Bush are worse than Nixon ... and the Stasi
East Germans
While
the government initially claimed that mass surveillance on Americans prevented
more than 50 terror attacks, the NSA’s deputy director John Inglis walked that
position back all the way to saying that – at the most – one (1) plot might have been disrupted by the bulk
phone records collection alone. In other words, the NSA can't prove that stopped
any terror attacks. The government greatly exaggerated an alleged recent terror plot for
political purposes (and promoted the fearmongering of serial liars). The argument
that recent terror warnings show that NSA spying is necessary is so weak that
American counter-terrorism experts have slammed it as "crazy pants"
You're
much more likely to be killed by brain-eating
amoeba, lightning or a toddler than by terrorism. Even
President Obama admits that you're much less likely to be killed by terrorists than a car
accident. So the government has resorted to lamer and lamer excuses to try to justify mass surveillance
Experts
say that the spying program is illegal, and is exactly the kind of thing which King George imposed on the American colonists ... which led to the
Revolutionary War
A
Harvard law school professor - and director of the Berkman Center for
Internet & Society at Harvard University - says:
"The NSA has
mounted a systematic
campaign against the foundations of American power: constitutional checks and
balances, technological leadership, and market entrepreneurship.
The NSA scandal is no longer about privacy, or a particular violation of
constitutional or legislative obligations. The American body politic is suffering a
severe case of auto-immune disease: our defense system is attacking other
critical systems of our body".
The
top counter-terrorism Czar under Clinton and Bush says that revealing NSA spying programs does not harm national security
The
feds are considering prosecuting the owner of a private email company -
who shut down his business rather than turning over records to the NSA - for
refusing to fork over the information and keep quiet. This is a little like
trying to throw someone in jail because he's died and is no longer paying taxes
Whistleblowers
on illegal spying have
no "legal" way to get the information out
Spying
started before
9/11 ... and various excuses have been used to spy on Americans over the years
Governments
and big corporations are doing everything they can to destroy anonymity
Mass
spying creates an easy mark for hackers. Indeed, the Pentagon now sees the collection of "big data" as a
"national security threat" ... but the NSA is the biggest data
collector on the planet, and thus provides a tempting mother lode of
information for foreign hackers
Mass
surveillance by the NSA directly harms internet companies, Silicon Valley,
California … and the entire U.S. economy. For example, Facebook lost
11 millions users as of April mainly due to privacy concerns
(and that was before the Snowden revelations). And see
these reports from Boingboing and the Guardian
IT
and security professionals are quite concerned about government spying
Some
people make a lot of money off of mass spying. But the
government isn't using the spying program to stop the worst
types of lawlessness
The
NSA spying program is unambiguously being used for industrial
espionage, by spying on large foreign corporations, and the biggest financial payments systems such as VISA and Swift.
Indeed, in a slide leaked by Edward Snowden, "economic" was one of the main justifications for
spying
The
top U.S. spy's justifications for such financial spying is not very reassuring:
"We collect
this information for many important reasons: for one, it could provide the
United States and our allies early warning of international financial crises
which could negatively impact the global economy. It also could provide insight into other countries' economic
policy or behavior which could affect global markets."
Top
financial experts say that the NSA and other intelligence agencies are using
the information to profit
from this inside information
The
Wall Street Journal reported that the NSA spies on Americans’ credit card
transactions. Many other agencies are doing the same. In fact, virtually all U.S. intelligence
agencies – including the CIA and NSA – are going to spy
on Americans’ finances. The IRS will also be spying on Americans’ shopping records, travel, social interactions, health records and
files from other government investigators
Polls
show that the public doesn’t believe the NSA … and thinks
that the government has gone way too far in
the name of terrorism
While
leaker Edward Snowden is treated as a traitor by the fatcats and elites, he is considered a hero by the American public. Members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government
have all praised
the debate on spying which Snowden's leaks started
The
heads of the intelligence services have repeatedly been caught lying about spying. And even liberal
publications are starting to say that Obama has been intentionally lying about spying. The
government claimed that most spying programs ended in 2011, when - in fact -
they were expanded that year
Obama
says he'll rein in spying ... but his words and deeds indicate that he won't. Indeed, Obama appointed the fox to guard the
chicken coop. No wonder only 11% of Americans trust Obama to actually do anything to
rein in spying
A
huge majority of Americans wants the director of intelligence - Clapper - prosecuted
for perjury. One of the chairs of the 9/11 Commission agrees
While
the Obama administration is spying on everyone in the country – it is at the
same time the most secretive
administration ever (background). That’s despite
Obama saying he’s running the
most transparent
administration ever
The
NSA treats the American people with contempt. For example, Spiegel notes:
"The authors
of the [NSA slides] draw a comparison with "1984," ... revealing the
agency's current view of smartphones and their users. "Who knew in 1984
that this would be Big Brother …" the authors ask, in reference to a photo
of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. And commenting on photos of enthusiastic Apple
customers and iPhone users, the NSA writes: "… and the zombies would be paying customers?
Worse,
the intelligence agencies often view normal, true-blue Americans as potential terrorists (and see this)
A
Congressman noted that - even if a mass surveillance program is started for good purposes - it will inevitably turn into a witch hunt
There
are indications that the spy agencies aren't just passively gathering
information, but are actively
using it in mischievous ways
Surveillance
can be used to frame
you if someone in government happens to take a dislike to you
Government
spying has always focused on crushing dissent … not on
keeping us safe
An
NSA whistleblower says that the NSA is spying on – and blackmailing – top government officials
and military officers (and see this)
High-level
US government officials have warned for 40 years that mass surveillance would lead to tyranny
in America
A
top NSA whistleblower says that the only way to fix things is to fire
all of the corrupt government officials who let it happen. As the polls
above show, the American public is starting to wake up to that fact
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 18:06
"I'm
not going to sit on my laurels and say I was an executive making six figures
and traveling the world,” 77-year-old Tom Palome says, "I tell people I
demonstrate food and I do short-order cooking. I don’t mind saying it. What's
important is that I can work today." As Bloomberg
reports, the former vice
president of marketing for Oral-B juggles two part-time jobs: one as a
$10-an-hour food demonstrator at Sam’s Club, the other flipping burgers and
serving drinks at a golf club grill for slightly more than minimum wage;
a sad but all too real reflection of the new normal 'job' gains that our
economists and politicians love to crow about. Why is he still working?
Like most Americans, he didn't save enough for retirement (despite working hard
his entire career). About 7.2 million Americans over 65 were employed last
year, a 67% increase from a decade ago as 59% of households headed by people over 65 have no retirement assets.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 19:03
As
Wall Street, CNBC, and feckless politicians tout American energy independence
from the miracle of shale oil, reality is already rearing its ugly head.
Production grew by 24% over the first six months of 2012. Production has grown by only 7% over the
first six months of 2013. That is a dramatic slowdown. The fact
is that these wells deplete at an extremely rapid rate. Oil companies will
always seek out the easiest to access oil first. They have already accessed the
easy stuff. This explains the dramatic slowdown. Peak Bakken oil
production will be below 1 million barrels per day. The last time we checked, we
consumed 18 million barrels per day. We wonder when that energy independence will be achieved?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 18:32
With some politicians arguing private
prisons help states save money and other politicians arguing the system is rife
with corruption, there can be no debate about this basic fact: The private prison system has surged in
size since the U.S. began experimenting with private prisons in 1984.
Between 1990 and 2009, the inmate population housed in private prisons grew by
more than 1,600 percent. As the following infographic suggests the trends are
not your friend in this case.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 17:43
The
hullabaloo over the Fed’s communications should be the least of our concerns.
It’s outranked by actual policies, which seem to be once again destabilizing
markets, encouraging
reckless behaviors, perpetuating
global imbalances and enriching the parasitic practitioners of so-called
financial innovation at the expense of the middle class. On the
other hand, Chairman Bernanke claims that clear communications are a key part
of his approach, forward
guidance being one example of how he manipulates the economy by telling us
what to expect. And yet, it sure seems like the more he and his colleagues talk,
the less we know about what they’ll do next. In light of this, the best
explanation for the Fed’s surprising untaper last week appears to be from Vince
Reinhart’s musings and inside information about the Fed. He offers a short but
interesting history on the
FOMC’s attempts to increase transparency, and then goes on to share some
thoughts on how the decision making has evolved and why it tends to confuse us.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 17:18
Four years after it filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection, and was purchased from the depths of bankruptcy court
hell by Fiat S.p.A., the circle (jerk) is complete, and thanks to lead
underwriter JPM, the second coming of Chrysler, this time for sale to a whole
new batch of gullible ROI chasers, is now a fact with the
S-1 statement filing moments ago, in which the only cash transfer will be
from the VEBA Trust to new shareholders and no new cash will go to the actual
company. In other words, the UAW is selling to the general public.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/23/2013
- 16:54
UPDATE: Kenyan interior
ministry tweets that authorities are in control of Westgate mall
As the dreadful Nairobi Mall
attack/siege enters its third night with at least 69 dead, the Kenyan foreign
minister has clarified one point:
Despite earlier reported
condemnations from Al-Qaeda and an assumption that Al-Shabaab (who claimed
responsibility), it
appears the terrorists who just lost their Syria/Iraq leader are responsible.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 16:32
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 16:07
Despite
the best efforts to squeeze shorts from the European close (end of POMO), the
afternoon session punctuated by Fed's Fisher notable comments pushed stocks
back lower with the S&P
joining the Dow in the all-FOMC-gains-gone club. Financials and
Materials (-1.5% from FOMC) are the worst performers since Bernanke did
not say "Taper" and while stocks have given it all back, bonds remain
at their highs (in price) and lows (in yield) from that un-announcement. Treasury yields dropped 2-3bps more today
(still down 15-20bps depending on maturity) as growth hopes fade. JPY strength
was trumped by EUR weakness today which pushed the USD higher from overnight
opening lows (from China PMI and Merkel) but by the close the USD was unch. Gold and silver were
holding positive until Fisher's comments and they slid to -0.5% or so. WTI
dropped 1.2% to $103.50. The
S&P had its 3rd down day in a row for the first time in 5 weeks (as
momo names join the financials among the leaders lagging).
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 15:51
Many
well-meaning commentators look back on the era of strong private-sector unions
and robust U.S. trade surpluses with longing. The trade surpluses vanished for
two reasons: global competition and to protect the dollar as the world's
reserve currency. It is
impossible for the U.S. to maintain the reserve currency and run trade
surpluses. It's Hobson's Choice: if you run trade surpluses,
you cannot supply the global economy with the currency flows it needs for trade,
reserves, payment of debt denominated in the reserve currency and credit
expansion. If you don't possess the reserve currency, you can't print money and
have it accepted as payment. In other words, the U.S. must "export" U.S. dollars by running a trade
deficit to supply the world with dollars to hold as reserves and to use to pay
debt denominated in dollars. Other nations need U.S. dollars in
reserve to back their own credit creation.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 15:31
Democracy has regressed in 15 out of the 17
euro-area countries since 2008, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s
democracy index, as economic policy was increasingly influenced
by the ECB, the EU and the IMF, instead of elected politicians - something
Nigel Farage has been vociferously concerned about.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 15:12
While
the commemoration of the 5 year anniversary of the start of the Great Financial
Crisis is slowing but surely fading, another just as important anniversary is
revealed when one goes back not 5 but 15 years into the past, specifically to
September 23, 1998. On that day, the policy that came to define the New Normal
more than any other, namely the bailout of those deemed Too Big To Fail, a/k/a
throwing good (private or taxpayer) money after bad was enshrined by Wall
Street as the official canon when faced with a situation where capitalism,
namely failure, is seen as Too Dangerous To Succeed. This was first known as
the Greenspan Put, subsequently the Bernanke Put, and its current iteration is
best known as the Global Central Banker All-In Systemic Put. We sow the seeds
of bailing out insolvent financial corporations to this day, when instead of
making them smaller and breaking them up, they are rewarded by becoming even
bigger, even more systemics, and even Too Bigger To Fail, and their
employees are paid ever greater record bonuses.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 14:57
Perhaps no sentence sums up the
dismal reality investors face with the 'communications' strategy, the
credibility, and the actions of the Federal Reserve, better than the following
statement from Dallas Fed's Fisher:
FED'S FISHER SAYS VOTE LAST WEEK NOT TO TAPER DID NOT REFLECT THE
DISCUSSION AT THE POLICY-SETTING TABLE
It seems that we should therefore
ignore each and every Fed whisperer and President (voting or non-voting) as
only man counts... Et Tu Yellen...
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 14:25
Dubbed
as a "game-changer" despite being around on devices for years
(Motorola Atrix anyone); a 'paradigm' shift in mobile payment security; and a
revolution in handheld devices by any and all investors bullish of the stocks;
Appl's fingerprint-scanning TouchID is everything you want it to be - apart
from secure. As Der
Spiegel reports, the well-respected German hacker group Chaos Computer Club (CCC) has thrown a
wrench in the works by bypassing the smartphone's much-heralded fingerprint scanner
just two days after launch. The CCC, as the clip below
illustrates, successfully bypassed the biometric security system, called
TouchID, using "easy everyday means." A CCC spokesperson noted "It
is plain stupid to use something that you can't change and that you leave
everywhere every day as a security token," So, the question now is - will
the NYPD demand everyone downgrade their phones?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
09/23/2013 - 14:02
As
further explained (confounded) by Bill Dudley as part of his speech
earlier today, the Fed is pushing on with its Fixed-Rate Reverse Repo test,
which while supposedly is meant to assist the Fed in extracting liquidity from
the market once the mythical balance sheet unwind begins, what it really does
is set a level the playing field for banks and non-banks, by disintermediating
their collateral eligibility, and in the process collapsing the spread between
the IOER and General Collateral rates. It will likely have many more side
effects, now that non-banks can compete with banks for the Fed's IOER, all of
which will be largely unexpected and as the impact on collateral bifurcation
moves from the purely theoretical to the real world.
NJ
property taxes up 13% under Christie...
Obama
applauds mayoral candidate's vow to hike taxes in NYC...
CNN:
3 alleged Kenya attackers from USA...
Raises
concerns in U.S....
Gunmen
executed non-Muslims after asking them to name Prophet Mohammed's mother...
Deep cuts at agency responsible for investigating health-care
fraud...
Secret
American Subculture of Putin-Worshippers... { Secret … I doubt it … I
believe the Russia/Putin ‘miracle’ is worthy of praise and world class global
recognition as such! }
Movement
grows to repeal Obamacare 'exemption' for Congress...
'Could
they be more out of touch?'
Steve Watson | “I think Congress
should never exempt themselves from a law.”
Kurt Nimmo |
Brit argues the world must intervene and disarm lunatic Americans.
Paul Joseph Watson
| Bloodbath that killed 62 merely a prelude to “the real deal”.
Jim Marrs |
Recipients of arms sales include the Department of Homeland Security.
Julie Wilson |
“Open carry is a safety concern for the carrier because somebody may kill you
just to get your gun.”
Kurt Nimmo |
Former Powell Chief of Staff warns neocon duo stirring up trouble and pushing
Iran attack.
Paul Joseph Watson
| Eric Harroun gets “sweet plea deal” despite supporting terrorists who killed
US troops.
Julie Wilson |
“He was not rude but they had security come in to take him out.”
Quantitative
Easing Worked For The Weimar Republic For A Little While Too
Michael Snyder | There is a reason
why every fiat currency in the history of the world has eventually failed.
Pope attacks global economics for worshipping ‘god of money’
Reuters | “We
don’t want this globalised economic system which does us so much harm.”
Venezuela receives $5 billion credit line from China
AFP | Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Sunday.
Paul Joseph Watson
| Bloodbath that killed 62 merely a prelude to “the real deal”.
Julie Wilson |
“Open carry is a safety concern for the carrier because somebody may kill you
just to get your gun.”
Prison Planet.com | The macabre
culture of beheadings and body mutilations that the Syrian “revolution” has
brought with it has rubbed off on little children.
Paul Joseph Watson
| Journalist who exposed how rebels were behind August 21st attack faces
intimidation.
RIA Novosti | “If it turns out that
there is no guarantee against the theft of fingerprints, then the use of the 5S
could be restricted for state officials at work.”
RT | Who pays for Snowden’s security
in Russia? Where is he living?
Prison Planet.com | Obama Care
Supporters Sign Petition to Add Sterilants to Water Supply To Reduce
Birthrates.
Paul Joseph Watson
| Eric Harroun gets “sweet plea deal” despite supporting terrorists who killed
US troops.
The
Credit Bubble Is Not Only Back, It Is 94% Bigger Than In 2007
Zero Hedge | If the Fed was worried
about ‘froth’ in the markets earlier in the year, then this chart should have
them panicking.
Marc Faber: “Fed’s Neo-Keynesian Clowns… Are Holding The World
Hostage”
Zero Hedge | “There is nothing safe
anymore, because the money-printing distorts all asset prices,” is the
uncomfortable response Marc Faber gives to Thai TV during this interview when
asked for investment ideas.
Summing
It All Up In One Cartoon
Zero Hedge | “The new normal…”
Shock: Wells Fargo bank managers forge their customers’ signatures
to commit fraud, contends lawsuit
Natural News | Signing up customers
without their knowledge or consent.
OBAMA:
Republicans 'trying to mess with me'...
'We
are not some Banana Republic'... { Au contraire … http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm }
13
shot in mass shooting at Chicago park...
3-year-old
boy shot in face...
CA
Dem wishes death upon Ted Cruz staffer's children...
17,679
things the federal government has done since sequestration...
BaNZaI7
ReVieWS TaPeR BaSiCS...
Posted by:
williambanzai7
Post date:
09/17/2013 - BANZAI7 FOOD AND BEVERAGE WARNING LEVEL
8
BaNZaI7
ReVieWS TaPeR BaSiCS...
Submitted by williambanzai7 on
09/17/2013 15:14 -0400
.
.
.
.
Bernanke's big nipples are sore
Jamie's
been sucking them more
Jamie's
so rough
And
Ben's had enough
He's
starting to feel like a whore
The
Limerick King
.
.
The
people are starting to feel
An
end to the FED's QE deal
If
tapers begin
Like
staples on skin
The
pain from the FED could be real
The
Limerick King
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
WilliamBanzai7
Fine Art Prints
Inquiries:
[email protected]
Our
operatives are waiting to assist you...
Russia’s
Putin Says He May Seek 4th Term as President { Indeed he should! }
RIA Novosti | Putin said Thursday that
it was possible he would seek a fourth presidential term.
Three
NATO Soldiers Killed in Afghan 'Insider Attack'...
Troop
deaths hit record as America exits...
Reflecting
on exactly what was said yesterday, Duquesne's Stanley Druckenmiller is
initially perplexed as Bernanke explained 'financial conditions' - not interest
rates - have prompted the decision to forestall any taper. His confusion is
that financial conditions are actually slightly better than they were in June
and "a stock market at
an all-time high would suggest we don't have a problem with financial
conditions." While he dismisses surveys, the big-money was
betting that they were going to taper as is clear from the moves in gold,
bonds, and stocks; and it appears the Fed "lost their nerve." In
fact, Druck continues, the
Fed "blew it... they had a freebie," they could have
started the process to "get us off the dope." This action, or
inaction, he warns "is going to make it so much harder for the next
Chairman to start the process." In fact, he concludes, that from beginning to end - once markets adjust
from these subsidized prices - that the wealth effect of QE will have been
negative not positive.
The
too big to fail banks are now much, much larger than they were the last time
they caused so much trouble. The six largest banks in the United States
have gotten 37 percent larger over the past five years. Meanwhile, 1,400
smaller banks have disappeared from the banking industry during that
time. What this means is that the health of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of
America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley is more
critical to the U.S. economy than ever before. If they were "too big
to fail" back in 2008, then now they must be "too colossal to
collapse". Without these banks, we do not have an economy. The
six largest banks control 67 percent of all U.S. banking assets, and Bank of
America accounted for about a third of all business loans by itself last
year. Our entire economy is based on credit, and these giant banks are at
the very core of our system of credit. If these banks were to collapse, a
brutal economic depression would be guaranteed. Unfortunately, as you will
see later in this article, these banks did not learn anything from 2008 and are
being exceedingly reckless. They are counting on the rest of us bailing
them out if something goes wrong, but that might not happen next time around. (Read More....)
