Washington Post releases four new slides from NSA's Prism presentation

Guardian UK ^ | Sunday 30 June 2013 10.59 EDT | Ed Pilkington in New York

[a fool in paradise]

That is entirely the reason.

They by the laws, they buy the enforcement.

But it has ZERO to do with national SECURITY as they have hijacked Homeland Security to do for them.

[TArcher]

[So far as I know, there is nothing about the NSA revelations that is not legal.]

What would a subversive activist like Bradley Manning do with such information to serve his “cause”?

[dandi]

Why would you link to DU for this info rather than just provide a direct link to the article? You do know that DU is the batshit-crazy laughingstock of the political blogosphere, don’t you? Even other moonbats think it’s a joke. It’s chock full of nonsensical Socialists and America-haters. Just about every member has a serious mental illness, by their own admission.

[InterceptPoint]

What can I say? Read my post. Check out the link. Yes most DU stuff is junk. This case is different. You see basically the same arguments at DU that you see here.

Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m no DU fan.

[NVDave]

I got a bridge in Arizona to sell you. Gimme a check for $99.95 and it’s yours, baby.

[devolve]

- Right now Edward Snowden is "the man on the grassy knoll"

- We know who he is -

- We know he has more ammunition -

- We know Obama wants him dead but he cannot touch him -

- We know anyone and everyone involved with the NSA, CIA, HLS, DOJ, FBI, IRS is scared stiff and EX-LAX is not ever going to help them -

- We know Obama is being laughed at by the Russkies, Chi-Coms, Ecuador, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Beck, and now even the NFL -

- We know both the left and the right are joined at the hip and bipartisanship is not what Barack "Flexible Hoser" Obama wants or needs -

- We know listening to ancient audiotapes of "THE MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM" is not going to help Obama - Going on a $100 million dollar safari to sell homosexuality to Africans is not going too well either -

- So what is Obama doing in Africa anyway?

- Is he doing another IRS video rerun of MLK-Jesse "Bloody Shirt" Jackson and/or his "Typical White Woman" grandmother in Hawaii days before the 2008 election?

- Who has the big brass ones now?

- Edward Snowden - or Barry of the Bungle -

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The Washington comPost is part of the Obama administration?

[M. Thatcher]

Source?

Me mostly.

Staggeringly unpersuasive.

[bert]

what information?

[justa-hairyape]

They have to collect everything. Otherwise it would not be a legal operation and could not be approved by a secret judge in a secret court.

[TArcher]

The information within the purview of the NSA.

[Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears]

You’re everywhere applauding this tyranny.

Shame on you.

[Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears]

“”He clearly exaggerates his ability to pluck information out of the NSA database. He claims for example that if he knew Obama’s e-mail address he could read his mail. I don’t think so. Nor could he listen into his recorded conversations.”

The IRS can’t target Obama’s political opponents either.

And it is impossible to corrupt the NSA from top to bottom like the IRS has become. Checks and balances keep us safe from tyrannical overreach.

And if anyone believes that, they are living in a dreamworld.

[InterceptPoint]

You’re everywhere applauding this tyranny.

Shame on you.
++++++++++++
OK. I do not applaud tyranny.

But putting that aside for the moment, tell me what we should do to to fix the problem with this NSA tyranny? I hear a lot of complaining about the loss of our 4th Amendment rights and, despite what you may believe, I too am concerned with our loss of privacy. I agree, we have a problem. What I don’t hear are solutions to the problem.

So what do you think we should do?

[af_vet_rr]

So it’s not a far fetched idea to believe that Microsoft would install a “Back Door” during one of their security updates so the NSA has direct access to our computers.

They don't necessarily need to if they are picking up your activities over the internet. They don't even have to know the contents of your phone calls/emails/etc. as long as they can tell who those contents are addressed to.

[af_vet_rr]

I would gather that early on in his first term a secret access point to the NSA data was put in place, just for use by his top political operatives.

A lot of this stuff was ready to go before Obama took office. FReepers were watching out for this stuff 10 years ago when Poindexter and the Bush administration were pushing it.

Total Information Awareness (TIA) System - Nov 25, 2002 (Free Republic)

EPIC.org Total Information Awareness (TIA) News Nov 25, 2002 (Free Republic)

Critics say Defense 'Total Information Awareness' Impractical - Dec 12, 2002 (Free Republic)

TOTAL INFORMATION AWARENESS (TIA) UPDATE - Feb 7, 2003 (Free Republic)

Pentagon spy database funding revealed (Total Information Awareness ) - Feb 27, 2003 (Free Republic)

Total Information Awareness Project Undergoes First Test - Apr 10, 2003 (Free Republic)

U.S. Pressing for High-Tech Spy Tools (Total Information Awareness) - Feb 22, 2004 (Free Republic)

U.S. Still Mining Terror Data (Total Information Awareness Program) - Feb 23, 2004 (Free Republic)

Total Information Awareness - Mar 8, 2007 (Free Republic)

[af_vet_rr]

All of this makes the idea that Obama can get a funnel directly to any info that NSA collects and use if for political purposes is problematic. While not impossible, it would not be easy and it would raise flags left and right.

Presidents get briefings every single day by people who have direct access to information compiled by analysts with access to this data. It's not hard to imagine him taking somebody aside and asking them to poke around. The more top secret the information, the fewer people between the President and the information.

Another thing that is worth pointing out is the general political position of the people involved at NSA and companies like Booz-Allen. They are much more disposed to the GOP then, for example, the equivalent members of the IRS who are, I believe, about 95% registered Dems.

Government bureaucracies and government contractors are in favor of whoever will either maintain the status quo or grow their power/salaries. Sure, there might be a lot of individuals who are Republicans working for either entity, but their bosses are in favor of whoever will keep the money flowing and/or increase it. Government contractors are in the business to make money. Government bureaucracies are in the business of growing their power and influence.

[JohnBrowdie]

if GWB was president, the dems would be screaming “impeachment”.

[uncommonsense]

"So it’s not a far fetched idea to believe that Microsoft would install a “Back Door” during one of their security updates so the NSA has direct access to our computers."

They've done it with cell phones. Even with it turned off, they can turn it into a bug. You have to pop out the battery to disable.

[VerySadAmerican]

If “someone” gets anything on any of the elite, that “someone” is blackmailed into shutting up because they got alot on that “someone”. The elite will always be protected.

And senators screaming “Look over here! At least they didn’t get gun information!” is just to make us feel better. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t have the right to see any damned thing.