Posted on 06/15/2013 4:52:01 PM PDT by tje
The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."
If the NSA wants "to listen to the phone," an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. "I was rather startled," said Nadler, an attorney who serves on the House Judiciary committee.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.cnet.com ...
Did everyone think that Person of Interest was just imaginary TV?
Here is Congressman Nunes on the Rusty Humphries Show Friday:
http://www.talk2rusty.com/uploads/mp3/showclips/061413RUSTYNUNEZ.mp3
He basically supports the NSA's spying, saying that the current leak is the biggest in history.
But he doesn't actually get to the nub of the problem until about 9:29. That is the reason Snowden is a hero!
We can spend federal dollars out the wazoo to create a super-duper ostensibly foreign-facing intelligence system. But there's no way to ensure it won't be turned back on US citizens. We are better off going relatively naked, taking some hits, and depending on the disproportionate response to combat terrorism.
As Snowden said in his initial interview at that Hong Kong hotel, our taxpayer dollars have funded a turnkey tyranny system:
The greatest fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change. People will see in the media all of these disclosures. They'll know the lengths that government is going to to grant themselves powers, unilaterally, to create greater control over American society and global society. But they won't be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things, to force their representatives to actually take a stand in their interests. And in the months ahead, the years ahead, it's only going to get worse. Until, eventually there will be a time where policies will change because the only thing that restricts the activities of the surveillance state are policy. Even our agreements with other sovereign governments, we consider that to be a stipulation of policy rather than a stipulation of law. And, because of that, a new leader will be elected. They'll flip the switch. And they'll say that, because of the crisis, because of the dangers that we face in the world, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power, and there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turnkey tyranny.
I had the same thought yesterday. Can you imagine the "office pools" they must have? LOL! I'm sorry, but the thought of them listening in on all those Hollywood stars as they live their everyday lives, thinking obama is The Savior... Well, i should stop laughing or God may strike me down, here and now!
Thanks for that link, xzins. Frightening.
I’m not a big Twitter person, but someone needs to think of a #hashtag that would make Hollywood and other elite liberals wonder if they’re being spied on. I followed that #NSAcalledToTellMe that trended and it kept it on people’s minds for days. Funny stuff.
What happened to the war-hardened Veterans from WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Persion Gulf, Iraq, Aftganiscrap, Grenada, and every other shit hole you sacrificed for? Was it really just about your buds? You now want to just grow old and hope the VA or someone will take care of you?
I'm a simple nothing aviation ex-sailor of 11 years and waiting for leadership. Where are you guys? What? Talking war stories at the local American Legion post? Or the local Viet Nam Veterans post? Or writing books? Where the hell are you guys? I'm waiting to follow orders.
I've got maybe 5 years left and will gladly be cannon fodder, but you guys (warriors) have given up. Yeah, I know it's easy for me to say...so make me wrong. Where the hell are you??? Are you ever going to stand tall again and remember your friggin Oath? The barbarians are at the gate. Deal with it or know in your heart you might have been a warrior once, but now you're a slave.
There is something else that is pretty certain.... There must be a group inside NSA tasked to snoop on politicians. And I don’t mean just conservatives, I mean ALL OF ‘EM.
It’s a proven fact now that the NSA recognizes no boundaries and operates outside constitutional restraints.
Why would such an outfit balk at collecting and storing data of politician’s calls/emails/etc? This data would become the guarantee that they could do as they wish and no one could stop them...they have the goods on their masters and have become the masters..IMO
There is also a huge story that has not yet come to the attention of the public. It’s not only network data that is being watched by snoops. There is a whole other system of surveillance that is being ignored.
The NSA has its own multi-billion dollar silicon chip fab. Just what do you suppose they do with this toy??
You could build a custom SOC that looks exactly like the large BGA flash memory chip in one of the popular thumb drives shipping out of Shenzhen. Swap that part in and you have what? An 8gb thumb that is actually a 16gb thumb..the extra 8gb is a non erasable backup that can be queried if need be to see what was once on the other 8gb. Add communications to the SOC and you have a thumb that can phone home with the details. All this is doable..any good geek could make a crude version of this at home. You would need.
-A small custom board... less than a buck at itead studios.
-A micro-controller that can handle USB and read/write a micro SD card.
-A small xtal oscillator part to send out the data bursts..use a board trace as antenna.
-Custom programming to handle the hidden section of the SD card and discern what data to store there (pdf’s jpg. etc)
-Stuff your populated board into a plastic shell from a popular thumb drive.
-Print up an envelope that looks like something sent from a commercial computer parts supplier or whatever and stick the custom thumb drive in as a promotional gift and mail to the target.
-— And you are now an amateur gov snoop.
This is similar to how the Stuxnet virus was introduced to Iranian nuclear sites.
I built a custom thumb drive exactly as described above...it cost less than 20 dollars to construct. You can update the firmware in the Atmega32 processor by simply putting a .dat file on the visible 8gb and plugging into a USB port...the .dat file is then erased. The same method is used to dump the contents of the hidden 8gb. The Atmega32 encrypts the data sent to the hidden section with a fast stream algorithm. The key is generated by a diode noise source. You have to brute-force decrypt the data... thus you have left no key in the firmware of the Atmega32. I used a sm oscillator scrounged from an old motherboard as the rf oscillator to transmit data from the hidden SD card section... It worked well at about 1/4 mile between a friend’s house and my roof mounted broadband yagi. I’m designing a custom thumb now that will allow me to place files on to the thumb remotely and not simply gather data using the oscillator on the thumb drive... 2way data.... easily done you see... it’s the same ability a cheap USB WiFi or bluetooth adapter has.
NSA has access to the huge surveillance satellites put into geo orbit by the NRO. These sats have enormous dishes aimed at the earth. Since the huge dish antennas do not have to contend with gravity they were built like large fragile umbrellas that unfolded from a compact package into huge 300+ foot monsters. The gain of these things is astonishing and comparable to the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope)
If you know anything about radio propagation then just run the numbers on what an 85db+ antenna at 22,000 miles can pick up... it’s unbelievable!
Imagine what mischief you could get into with the sats and the chip fab!?
Using the sats to gather data of this sort would be a fragile thing (if it’s being done) since the whole operation would depend on the frequencies being used remaining VERY quiet...VERY quiet!! Anyone creating rf noise on these frequencies would wipe out the ability to use the parts already in the field.
A good frequency to use if you do not want your signals snooped on is 2450, this is the frequency assigned to the microwave amp in all microwave ovens... at any altitude above average terrain this frequency is chock full of signal noise from ovens, WiFi routers, wireless cameras..etc
By various means the ability to create custom chips would allow for hardware that worked only in certain locations, or worked one way in one place and another someplace else. Use you imagination to figure out how and why this is important. I have built devices that were location aware myself and know for certain how easily this could be accomplished using custom fab resources...my device was crude and relied on the fact that each large city has a
radio footprint of commercial transmitters. I used the data to record where the device had been taken...;. this was before cheap GPS equipment was available... we are talking early 90’s here. I would do it very differently now of course.
Custom chips and the NRO sats would allow for tiny surveillance cameras to be placed into small and ordinary looking objects of all descriptions. These could be scattered at a place of interest.
All the above is MERELY SPECULATION on my part, based on my knowledge of radio, embedded systems, security, and commonly known facts about NSA and NRO. It’s what I would do if I had these toys and needed to gather data.
One other thing, I’m certain that drones are often used as a cover story to explain how data was gathered. Much like how Churchill used to get data from Blechely park Enigma decrypts and send scout planes out to spot German subs in the Atlantic... a nice explanation for how the Brits always seemed to know where the wolf packs were... no need for the Germans to suspect a weakness in the naval enigma since it was the plane that spotted them.. I wonder how many scout planes they thought the Brits had ;-)
by taking in everything the phone companies, their employees, have no idea what the NSA is actually concerned about. If they ask for something specific thats an indication as to what they seek. In this manner nobody knows.
“This government needs to be reined in. “”
HAHAHAHAHAHA, understatement of the century. This is not government, this is a full-scale assault on America from the enemy within.
I still can’t comprehend the BIRDBRAINS who consider themselves “conservatives” who think this NSA crap is anything but the tyranny it is.
I hope Dennis Prager and Michael Medved (as well as many talk show host “back benchers”) pull their heads from their rectums any day now.
BRAVO!! What you said!!
They are trying to demoralize us. What we need to do is figure out what we need to do and then do it. Good heavens! Anthony Weiner was gone in no time just because Breitbart caught him with his pants down and falsely denying what Breitbart accurately reported. What perjury and obstruction of justice could not do to Bill Clinton, Breitbart did to Weiner just because the idiots in DC knew that we the people were laughing our heads off at this guy’s stupidity and lies. What do we the people have to do, to get Congress to realize we need this regime neutered and thrown in jail, NOW IF NOT SOONER - or else we need the members of Congress neutered and thrown in jail NOW?
How do we do this? How do we let them know we will not accept this coup?
How close are we to the point where the risks of a Constitutional Convention outweigh the risks posed by the trajectory the federal government is presently on.
The Feds don’t follow the current constitution so what would make them follow another one? The only way to stop a bully is to make him beg and cry in front of everyone. The states will need to force the Feds to back down.
..Dianne Feinstein
Though this leak might seem detrimental to the NSA, it is necessary step in the creation of a surveillance blackmail state.
To explain; there is suspicion with a kernel of doubt, and then there is knowing for certain. As a hypothetical, let’s say that a certain Supreme Court Justice receives a call in the middle of the night about his gay past or an illegal adoption. In that Justice’s mind, there is always the chance that the information leaked from someone close to him. Maybe that person doesn’t *really* know — maybe they have just heard rumors.
But now, our elected officials know that their secrets are known. There is no doubt. There is no hope that an affair be kept private. There’s no comforting oneself with the delusion that the total surveillance state is just a Hollywood exaggeration.
The NSA gains a tremendous amount of power with this exposure. It’s a little like a cop on a subway pulling off the coat of a suspect only to reveal the suspect has a bomb vest and his hand on the trigger(hello NSA, BTW). Sure, the suspect has been exposed, but who is in the position of power? The guy with the bomb.
The NSA is the guy with his finger on the trigger, and our entire nation is being held hostage.
If you can’t figure out how to make the checks and balances work with this government, What makes you think you can figure it out with a new government?
That's a worthy question, DannyTN, to which I don't have a sure fire quick and easy answer. I've got a hopeful answer, but won't try to pass it off as sure fire or quick and easy.
When we restore our lost constitutional republic, the first order of business will be to reassert our Constitution. I believe the second order of business ought to be to extend—not replace, but enlarge—the Bill of Rights to include:
1. A clear definition of rights, and a decisive exclusion of imaginary "rights" or "entitlements" that transgress individual rights.
2. A list of the unquestionable rights of citizens, each with specified responsibilities. I'd like to see freedom of worship, speech, the press, and assembly listed as distinct rights, along with such additions as life, property, privacy, travel, communication, and freedom from unequal treatment under law; as well, I'd like to see the Second Amendment expanded into a more comprehensive right to individual and common defense without a prefatory clause cluttered with the security of a free state or the militia.
3. A requirement that all courts set aside precedent from past rulings pertaining to rights, and rule exclusively in accordance with the letter and spirit of the extended Bill of Rights, which is to say: in strong favor of individual rights over other claims or considerations.
4. A complete list of the powers and authorities of the federal and state governments, each with clearly delineated and limited responsibilities. The shorter the list, the better.
5. A list of powers and authorities prohibited to the federal government and another pertaining to state governments. The longer the list, the better.
6. A prohibition against expansion of the federal government's powers or authorities absent constitutional amendment.
None of that's fail-safe, to be sure, but I believe those would be steps away from the barbarity of leftism.
Can't be......
Asked by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, about that comment, NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander said simply that it was false. "I know of no way to do that,"
I don't think you can restore enumerated powers without a clear plan to deal with the programs that are outside of enumerated powers. Probably easier to grandfather them all and deal with them one by one.
But if you can't get support for an amendment to do so, then you wouldn't be able to get support for it in a new governement either.
I don't think you can restore enumerated powers without a clear plan to deal with the programs that are outside of enumerated powers. Probably easier to grandfather them all and deal with them one by one.
But if you can't get support for an amendment to do so, then you wouldn't be able to get support for it in a new governement either.
This is non-news. This would only be a concern if an R was in office. This is a responsible administration so this would never be abused. /s
He lies so convincingly. Something tells me that people are waitimg in the wings to debunk future statements he may make.
I just don’t buy into the myth that he’s as smart as they all make him out to be.
Read what he said not what you think he said
He’s not a technician.
He doesn’t know how to do it. BUT the technician they hire do
It would be like me saying I don’t know that there is a way to hook up my I phone to a TV. Then i have my son come in and he does it . (still don’t know how) particularly if he undoes it when he leaves
What does is mean is government speak on varying levels
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.