Everything is image these days. Imagine one of our more modern corporations speaking about that:
"Sure we may have stolen $25 billion, poisoned 57,000 people, dumped our hazardous waste in 94 pristine lakes, evicted 90,000 people from their homes, filed 10,000 bogus criminal charges, recorded 15 million people in the privacy of their homes, bribed 5,000 politicians and etc., etc. "
"But that's not the problem. The problem is the EFFING PRESS KEEPS TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT IT!"
"See, if the EFFING press would just shut their EFFING yaps, our image management group would be able to make us look like sweet little angels."
Ok, we now know the German investigators are tools of the NSA. I wonder how dumb they are... I mean, if you're going to be a tool of NSA like this, you should at least be paid for it, right?
(2) Intel fears as jihadis flock to encrypted apps like Surespot, www.channel4.com, May 26, 2015. The story is supposedly based on a "Channel 4 investigation". It's full of horror phrases as well: "ISIS...flocking to [Surespot]"; 115 ISIS-linked people (obviously "terrorists") involved; and etc. But it is more clear as to the real source: "Intel" (intelligence agenceies) and later, "police and security agencies". This has nice terrorist quotes:
* "If anyone wishes to sponsor the mujahideen... Contact me on my Surespot for safeways," * "If you want 2 ask questions about Islam, Hijrah [emigration], Jihad or Shaam [Syria]; Ask me on Surespot". * "Interested in Hijrah [emigration] to Islamic Lands don't know anyone need help. I was told to use Surespot."
Now how would Channel 4 know quotes like that? Oh, right.
(3) A nice post from Wilder's Security forums that is short and sweet: "Still testing. Just learnt Surespot is one of the favorite chat apps of ISIS people." Then it points to that first Daily Mail article.
(4) A "Jara Crook" Twitter pointing in turn to this article by National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism titled Transcending Organization: Individuals and “The Islamic State” , June 2014. This is probably the document that started the campaign against Surespot and contains this nice qualification at the end, "The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or START." DHS, sponsor. Evidence provided: None.
Get the drift?
This is what I think happened: DHS used its "consortium" to dump these stories into Daily Mail and Channel 4. And now that this important story made our oh-so-reliable and circumspect media...
...DHS used it to justify warrants against Surespot.
Now wouldn't that be clever, creating a news story to be used as evidence to get a warrant?
The problem with PCLOB is that it oversees secret surveillance programs. Citizens are concerned about those programs, and if HIC "punished" PCLOB for serving that role, there would be a political scandal.
But right now, there is little general concern about drones, which are largely perceived to be a "foreign thing". So PCLOB's letter on drone oversight provides a suitable non-surveillance excuse to pull PCLOB's teeth.
HIC would have had done the same if PCLOB's letter had suggested oversight of beach sand.
Given the USTR open door to corporations policy we should at least get money from this flood of corporate shills. How about $50 million per shill at the writing table?
Good luck finding a country, Mr. Balkan. You'll find all the countries have information sharing deals with GCHQ and NSA in the hopes of keeping those agencies from spying within their borders; which is a forlorn hope because GCHQ and NSA are spying within their borders anyway. (They certainly are in Germany, which was already sharing all intelligence information.)
And now you've spoken your concerns, which means GHCQ and NSA have both realized you have Something to Hide™, so you've just been promoted into their respective Special Hyperattention for Incipient Terrorists™ lists.
Of course they would make this promise. They would suck FCC's *ahem* if they could figure out where it was...and then totally have no respect for them next morning.
I think there are ways to reign in government. All of these start with law that requires the courts to consider whether an individual charged as a traitor is justified by whistleblowing; in the same sense that self defense protects people who are attacked.
A simple question to think about, based upon the flight data map above: How many foreign terrorists were the FBI watching in Minneapolis?
After you've thought about it for a while, those of you worried about foreign terrorists, it might occur to you that the FBI seems to spend a lot of time watching United States citizens and not much time at all watching foreign terrorists.
Debate leads to thought. Thought leads to concern. Concern leads to action. Action leads to law. Law leads to privacy. Privacy leads to secrets. Secrets lead to terrorism. Terrorism leads to destruction. Destruction leads to ruination.
Come on, it's completely obvious: even one tiny little debate is just too dangerous! Must not have!
The NSA finally offended/scared enough people for the USA Freedom Act to threaten NSA's fief. Not that the Act would do anything useful, but NSA simply said, to itself, "It shall not pass!"
So their new strategy was simple: Stall. Get enough obstruction going in Congress to stall USA Freedom from passing. Stall on US Patriot as well, to keep USA Freedom proponents from getting a sense of urgency. Don't worry about US Patriot for the moment. Just stall.
Then, two days before expiration of US Patriot, they threaten to call Congress a bunch of pansies on national security. So now that it's too late for USA Freedom, Congress will give in, do the quick and dirty, and just renew US Patriot Act for another year.
So you might say it's fear mongering. To me it looks like a strategy they cooked up when USA Freedom reared its ugly head. The result will be exactly what they want: US Patriot rides again.
Which anyone sensible can see. Well, except when we're talking about that new-fangled, lawless internet, which needs secondary liability so we drive it out of business and stop all this copyright theft and new-fangled competition.
On the post: Stewart Baker: Journalists Are To Blame For Making The NSA Look Like It's Doing All The Things It's Actually Doing
Very typical nowadays
"Sure we may have stolen $25 billion, poisoned 57,000 people, dumped our hazardous waste in 94 pristine lakes, evicted 90,000 people from their homes, filed 10,000 bogus criminal charges, recorded 15 million people in the privacy of their homes, bribed 5,000 politicians and etc., etc. "
"But that's not the problem. The problem is the EFFING PRESS KEEPS TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT IT!"
"See, if the EFFING press would just shut their EFFING yaps, our image management group would be able to make us look like sweet little angels."
On the post: German Investigation Into NSA Surveillance Of Angela Merkel Dropped
On the post: Reporter Who Wrote Sunday Times 'Snowden' Propaganda Admits That He's Just Writing What UK Gov't Told Him
On the post: Bell Exec Urges Public To Shame Users Who 'Steal' Netflix Content Via VPNs
Re:
On the post: Payroll Giant ADP And Zenefits Get Into Ridiculous Spat That Has Already Resulted In A Lawsuit
Zenefits holdup
On the post: Encrypted Messaging Service Stops Answering 'Warrant Canary' Questions, Suggesting FBI, Others Are Seeking User Info
Self-justified warrants
I searched Google for "surespot isis". The first stores that come up are:
(1) Revealed: How British jihadi brides are being groomed by ISIS using a phone messaging app after brainwashing them on Twitter, Daily Mail, February 23, 2015: Claims ISIS is training "British jihadi brides" to use Surespot. The story is, naturally, unsourced, but it has nice, horrifying summaries of how Surespot is being used for ISIS terrorism.
(2) Intel fears as jihadis flock to encrypted apps like Surespot, www.channel4.com, May 26, 2015. The story is supposedly based on a "Channel 4 investigation". It's full of horror phrases as well: "ISIS...flocking to [Surespot]"; 115 ISIS-linked people (obviously "terrorists") involved; and etc. But it is more clear as to the real source: "Intel" (intelligence agenceies) and later, "police and security agencies". This has nice terrorist quotes:
* "If anyone wishes to sponsor the mujahideen... Contact me on my Surespot for safeways,"
* "If you want 2 ask questions about Islam, Hijrah [emigration], Jihad or Shaam [Syria]; Ask me on Surespot".
* "Interested in Hijrah [emigration] to Islamic Lands don't know anyone need help. I was told to use Surespot."
Now how would Channel 4 know quotes like that? Oh, right.
(3) A nice post from Wilder's Security forums that is short and sweet: "Still testing. Just learnt Surespot is one of the favorite chat apps of ISIS people." Then it points to that first Daily Mail article.
(4) A "Jara Crook" Twitter pointing in turn to this article by National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism titled Transcending Organization: Individuals and “The Islamic State” , June 2014. This is probably the document that started the campaign against Surespot and contains this nice qualification at the end, "The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or START." DHS, sponsor. Evidence provided: None.
Get the drift?
This is what I think happened: DHS used its "consortium" to dump these stories into Daily Mail and Channel 4. And now that this important story made our oh-so-reliable and circumspect media...
...DHS used it to justify warrants against Surespot.
Now wouldn't that be clever, creating a news story to be used as evidence to get a warrant?
On the post: House Intelligence Committee Trying To Block Privacy & Civil Liberties Board From Doing Its Job
It's an excuse
But right now, there is little general concern about drones, which are largely perceived to be a "foreign thing". So PCLOB's letter on drone oversight provides a suitable non-surveillance excuse to pull PCLOB's teeth.
HIC would have had done the same if PCLOB's letter had suggested oversight of beach sand.
On the post: Senators Introduce Legislation Calling For Mandatory Data Collection On Police-Involved Shootings
Re:
On the post: Revealed Emails Show How Industry Lobbyists Basically Wrote The TPP
This is surprising to ANYONE?
On the post: Berners-Lee Urges Britons To Fight The Snooper's Charter, But For One UK Tech Company It's Too Late
And now you've spoken your concerns, which means GHCQ and NSA have both realized you have Something to Hide™, so you've just been promoted into their respective Special Hyperattention for Incipient Terrorists™ lists.
On the post: AT&T Might Agree To Adhere To Neutrality Rules To Seal Its $49 Billion DirecTV Purchase, But Probably Not
On the post: Elected Officials Grudgingly Admit Snowden Forced This Debate On Surveillance... As White House Insists He Belongs In Jail
Whistleblowing vs self defense
On the post: White House Refuses To Say If We're 'Less Safe' After PATRIOT Act Provisions Expired
Re:
On the post: White House Refuses To Say If We're 'Less Safe' After PATRIOT Act Provisions Expired
On the post: AP Uncovers More Than 100 FBI Spy Plane Flights, Originating From Shell Companies Located In Virginia
Simple question
After you've thought about it for a while, those of you worried about foreign terrorists, it might occur to you that the FBI seems to spend a lot of time watching United States citizens and not much time at all watching foreign terrorists.
On the post: CIA Boss Claims That Merely Debating Surveillance Is Helping The Terrorists
Obvious
Thought leads to concern.
Concern leads to action.
Action leads to law.
Law leads to privacy.
Privacy leads to secrets.
Secrets lead to terrorism.
Terrorism leads to destruction.
Destruction leads to ruination.
Come on, it's completely obvious: even one tiny little debate is just too dangerous! Must not have!
On the post: The NYTimes Plays Its Role In 'Keeping Fear Alive' With Pure Fearmongering Over PATRIOT Act Renewal
Fearmongering? Business as usual
So their new strategy was simple: Stall. Get enough obstruction going in Congress to stall USA Freedom from passing. Stall on US Patriot as well, to keep USA Freedom proponents from getting a sense of urgency. Don't worry about US Patriot for the moment. Just stall.
Then, two days before expiration of US Patriot, they threaten to call Congress a bunch of pansies on national security. So now that it's too late for USA Freedom, Congress will give in, do the quick and dirty, and just renew US Patriot Act for another year.
So you might say it's fear mongering. To me it looks like a strategy they cooked up when USA Freedom reared its ugly head. The result will be exactly what they want: US Patriot rides again.
On the post: Hacker Informs Starbucks Of Gift Card Exploit; Starbucks Accuses Hacker Of Fraud And Maliciousness
Obscure security defense
On the post: Paper Says Public Doesn't Know How To Keep Score In Privacy Discussion While Glossing Over Government Surveillance
Re: Re: Discounting the overpriced
On the post: Once Again, Just Because Someone Used Backpage.com For Trafficking, Doesn't Mean Backpage Is Liable
Re: Re: Re:
Which anyone sensible can see. Well, except when we're talking about that new-fangled, lawless internet, which needs secondary liability so we drive it out of business and stop all this copyright theft and new-fangled competition.
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