NSA Director Claims He's Protecting Americans' Privacy And Civil Liberties... By Spying On Them All
from the well,-uh,-huh? dept
NSA boss Keith Alexander continues to fail at damage control in response to the Snowden leaks, but he keeps on trying. The latest is an interview conducted with the NY Times in which he continues to babble on as if no one will ever call out his more ridiculous statements:“We followed the law, we follow our policies, we self-report, we identify problems, we fix them,” he said. “And I think we do a great job, and we do, I think, more to protect people’s civil liberties and privacy than they’ll ever know.”Yes, by collecting pretty much every bit of data they can on everyone. That protects their privacy and civil liberties? How? By trampling the 4th Amendment? I don't think so. The whole "self-report... identify problems" claim is also hogwash. As we've noted, many of that "self-reporting" came years after the fact, and it's almost certain that plenty of other abuses have never been caught or reported.
Then there's General Alexander trying to claim he supports more transparency and that the American people need to know what's going on. I know. Stop laughing. He really said it:
“Given where we are and all the issues that are on the table, I do feel it’s important to have a public, transparent discussion on cyber so that the American people know what’s going on,” General Alexander said. “And in order to have that, they need to understand the truth about what’s going on.”Of course, in the very same interview he insisted that this discussion that we're now having has done "significant and irreversible damage" to national security. So... he wants to have an open discussion and tell people what's going on, but solely on his own terms, and if anyone else brings up anything, we're all at risk.
He insisted that it would have been impossible to have made public, in advance of the revelations by Mr. Snowden, the fact that the agency collected what it calls the “business records” of all telephone calls, and many other electronic communications, made in the United States.Why? This is a serious question, because it wouldn't have been impossible at all. The government could have easily said (as they're trying to now after Snowden revealed it) that they're doing this in a manner that (they believe) doesn't compromise our privacy, and it's for a good reason. And then let us have a public debate to see if people believe you or if they think you're full of it. That's what transparency is about.
The NY Times actually does a decent job in some points highlighting the ridiculousness of Alexander's answers, such as with this tidbit:
But he said the agency had not told its story well. As an example, he said, the agency itself killed a program in 2011 that collected the metadata of about 1 percent of all of the e-mails sent in the United States. “We terminated it,” he said. “It was not operationally relevant to what we needed.”Yup. The same way they continue to insist the telephone records are "vital" despite not actually showing how they've been necessary in stopping a single terrorist attack on the US.
However, until it was killed, the N.S.A. had repeatedly defended that program as vital in reports to Congress.
At this point, you have to wonder what Alexander thinks he's accomplishing with each of these interviews or talks. It just seems like this strained, repetitive "but, really, I'm not such a bad guy, you just have to trust me!!!" exclamation over and over again that doesn't give us any reason to actually trust him. In fact, nearly all of the evidence that's come out from Snowden has actually shown (over and over and over again) why Alexander shouldn't be trusted at all.
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Filed Under: civil liberties, keith alexander, nsa, nsa surveillance
Reader Comments
The First Word
“He is pretty transparent
I mean, we can see through his lies and all.Subscribe: RSS
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But that is not what the Snowden articles are about is it? They are about abuse of privacy, about bullying those internet places that have access to communications, about secret courts making secret laws over secret acts, about corporate espionage (which I have yet to figure out where terrorism fits in that one), about hacking or setting up weaker security for items that are supposed to protect people so that they can break in easier, and about spying on anything that generates communication data, including collecting massive amounts of spam.
Nothing in all that generates one iota of trust, in fact it damages much, much, beyond what it should have if Alexander was truthful in what he speaks of in this article.
There is only one thing I am sure of at this point. Our government has gone amuck and no one is overseeing anything providing any sort of accountability to anyone except whistleblowers, whom it appears it is open season on.
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Politics 101.
Public Debate, Politicians standing up in public and telling the citizens what they will be doing to them.
Terrorist, anybody who disagrees with, or argues with a politician or government official.
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Its not terrorism but it gets lumped in at the will of the corporate paymasters.
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http://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-hsbc-money-laundering-2013-3
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He is pretty transparent
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Re: He is pretty transparent
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More white noise !!
I mean, hour after hour being able to constantly drone on about NSA? You're rapidly becoming a one trick pony on this one.
Do you know what having a fixation means?
I guess it's as good to drone on about your hatred for the Government and the NSA as any other subject next to no one cares about anymore.
One day, when you call wolf the townies wont come and help you. They most certainly aren't listening to you now.
Way too much noise, if no one cares now, do you think post after post on the subject is going to change that.
How many minds have you changed ?? It's easy to convince your followers, apart from catering to their paranoia we are still waiting for you to make a point ??
How many of your posts today will include the initials NSA ??
Let me hazard a guess, MOST(if not all).
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Re: More white noise !!
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Re: More white noise !!
It's like... Mike is so good at so many tricks... he's like some sort of super Omni-Trick-Pony!
Just slots in a new trick depending on what's hot in the news.
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Law enforcement worse than terrorists.
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Re: Law enforcement worse than terrorists.
After all, 98% of all statistics are made up on the spot. (c) (TM)
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Re: Re: Law enforcement worse than terrorists.
These numbers were derived from the National Center for Health statistic and the Census Bureau. Here's a handy compilation from the National Safety Council: http://www.nsc.org/nsc_library/Documents/Odds%20of%20Dying%20From%20Graphic%202013%20ed.pdf
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He tells the truth
Protecting your freedom = THERE IS NO FREEDOM
QED
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Michael Hastings report?
If you recall Michael Hastings was a Rolling Stone journalist that died this year when his car accelerated to its top speed and crashed.
He was investigating something and just a few hours earlier had contacted a Wikileaks lawyer, and a friend of his to say he'd be going off grid for a while working on a big story. So the timing was suspicious.
The Coroner declared no foul play and sent the body back cremated, against the wishes of the family. Cremation closes down that avenue of investigation, but now we know the NSA is spying on everyone, they must have a lot of files about Hastings.
They must have his emails, phone calls data, buddy lists, phone location, his log in data, any hacks on his home network, any hacks on his car computer and a bunch of other surveillance stuff. Likewise the stuff he gave to his lawyer as a safeguard, they'd have intercepted that.
I think at this point the courts should start demanding these files. The NSA has illegally obtained the data, so the courts must be able to compel disclosure.
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Re: Michael Hastings report?
http://ghostintheshell.wikia.com/wiki/The_Visual_Device_will_Laugh
Would not put it past the NSA to be working on the interceptors mentioned in that episode plotline and to secretly give it to the general populace.
(similar scenario as what you wrote about happened in that episode. A cop found out that his own superiors were illegally monitoring his team via devices planted into their eyes, he tells an old buddy of his he's coming over with this information, but his superiors, wanting to silence him, cause him to crash).
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Brilliant !
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You choose to deposit your assets in the bank of your choice rather than put them in your mattress or bury them in your back yard ... this you claim is the same thing as the government revoking your rights (all of them) whilst claiming it is done to protect your rights. - This is beyond retarded.
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Shouldn't we allow all criminals this luxury?
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WTG Alexikov the Kollector!
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The NSA needs a new sales pitch
The NSA is not engaged in racial profiling. Nor is it profiling people based on their gender. The NSA does not single people out based on their religious beliefs or lack thereof. True Americans(tm) who are supportive of whatever party currently is in power are never singled out for spying activities. Persons are never selected for spying based on their sexual orientation or gender identity because some of their conversations and messages make for more interesting listening and reading. The NSA does not single out people based on their national origin because the NSA is equally suspicious of you no matter where you or your ancestors were born.
The NSA carefully follows all secret laws and secret interpretations of non secret laws. The NSA is carefully overseen by secret courts with secret judges and secret warrants and secret court rulings and findings. We can assure you that you will not hear of NSA arrests nor will you find the NSA holding or detaining people anywhere on American soil.
In short, the NSA wants to reassure you that you have nothing to worry about. Everything is fine. Keep working. Pay your taxes. Be happy. Do not complain. Obey.
The NSA is your friend. Trust the NSA.
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So by pouring over all the emails / IM's / buddy lists and contacts / financial records / phone 'meta-data' of everyone in the United States without a warrant or due cause actually protects peoples civil liberties and privacy? How fucking stupid does he think people are?
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We don't need to have a discussion; we already know what's going on. The NSA is a rogue agency spying on every American with an internet connection or phone. Even if the government or courts enable this wholesale snooping via legislature or law, it's still a violation of Constitutional law and is therefore illegal, not to mention immoral. Considering that the NSA hasn't prevented a single terrorist attack since their inception, I seriously question their true motives.
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NSA's new motto
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