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Dec 18 15 12:05 PM
The man who made Edward Snowden inevitable IT WAS a shocking disclosure that made headlines around the world. An American intelligence professional revealed the existence of a secret American bureau, which obtained, decoded and read the private messages of nearly 20 foreign governments. He disclosed methods of surveillance and subterfuge, describing a clandestine world of pilfered telegrams, forged wax seals and invisible inks. Laws had been broken and the privacy of many intruded upon. Telecommunications companies had co-operated secretly with the government. America’s past and future enemies learned how their encrypted messages had been read. When in 1931 Herbert Yardley spilled the secrets of America’s eavesdropping programme, he may well have endangered national security. But, unlike Edward Snowden, he was no mid-level whistleblower shocked at the excesses of a lawless surveillance state. Yardley was the proud father of that surveillance state, creating the forerunner of the National Security Agency. He published a blockbuster book after the government decided that reading private messages was not in keeping with American values and shut his clandestine operation. Mr Snowden, with his leaks, tapped into a fundamental libertarian fear that too much knowledge in too few hands could destroy Americans’ freedom. Yardley sold the opposite view: that more secret knowledge could protect them from evildoers. Each claimed to be a patriot defending his country’s values. But whereas Mr Snowden endures exile in Russia, charged with espionage, Yardley lies buried in Arlington National Cemetery, with a place in the NSA’s Hall of Honour. A hard-drinking poker player, born in 1889, in the last days of the old West, Yardley long ago faded into history. But, thanks to him, our metadata will live for ever. Born to be a spook American snooping has a history older than the republic. With the help of a code-breaker, George Washington deciphered British messages during the critical siege of Yorktown. At least three times he planted false war plans and military documents on agents in successful bids to deceive the British. Abraham Lincoln was a regular presence in the War Department’s telegraph room, as he sought to keep track of his army and learn of Confederate plans. But information collection was still spotty and primitive. By Yardley’s lifetime the world was much more interconnected thanks to the telegraph, a technology he was born to master. His father was a railroad telegrapher in Worthington, Indiana, and taught the craft, including Morse code, to his son. A precocious student, Yardley learned poker in the saloons of Worthington, where he probably also developed his lifelong affinity for tall tales. (He said he saw one player bet his farm and then die of a heart attack at the table while clutching the winning hand, four aces.) He learned how to detect a bluff and how to fool others out of a pot. And he learned never to show his cards when he tricked opponents into folding theirs, lest he expose his stratagems.
IT WAS a shocking disclosure that made headlines around the world. An American intelligence professional revealed the existence of a secret American bureau, which obtained, decoded and read the private messages of nearly 20 foreign governments. He disclosed methods of surveillance and subterfuge, describing a clandestine world of pilfered telegrams, forged wax seals and invisible inks. Laws had been broken and the privacy of many intruded upon. Telecommunications companies had co-operated secretly with the government. America’s past and future enemies learned how their encrypted messages had been read.
When in 1931 Herbert Yardley spilled the secrets of America’s eavesdropping programme, he may well have endangered national security. But, unlike Edward Snowden, he was no mid-level whistleblower shocked at the excesses of a lawless surveillance state. Yardley was the proud father of that surveillance state, creating the forerunner of the National Security Agency. He published a blockbuster book after the government decided that reading private messages was not in keeping with American values and shut his clandestine operation.
Mr Snowden, with his leaks, tapped into a fundamental libertarian fear that too much knowledge in too few hands could destroy Americans’ freedom. Yardley sold the opposite view: that more secret knowledge could protect them from evildoers. Each claimed to be a patriot defending his country’s values. But whereas Mr Snowden endures exile in Russia, charged with espionage, Yardley lies buried in Arlington National Cemetery, with a place in the NSA’s Hall of Honour. A hard-drinking poker player, born in 1889, in the last days of the old West, Yardley long ago faded into history. But, thanks to him, our metadata will live for ever.
Born to be a spook
American snooping has a history older than the republic. With the help of a code-breaker, George Washington deciphered British messages during the critical siege of Yorktown. At least three times he planted false war plans and military documents on agents in successful bids to deceive the British. Abraham Lincoln was a regular presence in the War Department’s telegraph room, as he sought to keep track of his army and learn of Confederate plans. But information collection was still spotty and primitive.
By Yardley’s lifetime the world was much more interconnected thanks to the telegraph, a technology he was born to master. His father was a railroad telegrapher in Worthington, Indiana, and taught the craft, including Morse code, to his son. A precocious student, Yardley learned poker in the saloons of Worthington, where he probably also developed his lifelong affinity for tall tales. (He said he saw one player bet his farm and then die of a heart attack at the table while clutching the winning hand, four aces.) He learned how to detect a bluff and how to fool others out of a pot. And he learned never to show his cards when he tricked opponents into folding theirs, lest he expose his stratagems.
Read more @ http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-specials/21683975-man-who-made-edward-snowden-inevitable-black-chamber
In 2035, Edward Snowden will be president
At least that's what Russia's RT TV station thinks - or hopes - in a clip celebrating its 10-year anniversary. In 2035, Edward Snowden will be President of the United States of America, and Obama and Kerry will be reduced to muttering about their failures over beer - at least, that's the future according to Russia's RT state TV station. In a tongue-in-cheek - and at times a little cringeworthy - clip celebrating the vehemently anti-American station's 10th anniversary, the two most powerful men in America are portrayed as washed-up, forgotten old men, who lament that "no one is afraid of us anymore," while the much-reviled CIA whistleblower is occupying the White House.
At least that's what Russia's RT TV station thinks - or hopes - in a clip celebrating its 10-year anniversary.
In 2035, Edward Snowden will be President of the United States of America, and Obama and Kerry will be reduced to muttering about their failures over beer - at least, that's the future according to Russia's RT state TV station.
In a tongue-in-cheek - and at times a little cringeworthy - clip celebrating the vehemently anti-American station's 10th anniversary, the two most powerful men in America are portrayed as washed-up, forgotten old men, who lament that "no one is afraid of us anymore," while the much-reviled CIA whistleblower is occupying the White House.
Read more @ http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/205011
I think Snowden would make an excellent President of the US…… he is intelligent, honest and patriotic and stands by the US constitution….. Not a man that can be bought and sold to the highest bidder.
Read more @ https://www.rt.com/news/325739-ortiz-obama-snowden-2035/
Marco Rubio called for an end to new protections against bulk phone data collection, and most of his fellow presidential candidates were on his side Although Edward Snowden had his passport revoked, he is still a US citizen and eligible to vote in the presidential election, even from exile in Russia. But judging from the Republican debate last night, his choices are severely limited. Snowden and privacy campaigners can find satisfaction that surveillance was one of the dominant issues of the night. When he leaked tens of thousands of NSA documents in 2013, he said he did so to provoke debate about mass surveillance. Las Vegas demonstrated the extent to which he has achieved that. But privacy campaigners will be alarmed at Republican attempts to push back against even the modest legislative changes which resulted from the Snowden disclosures. The charge was led by Marco Rubio, who said the Freedom Act, passed in the summer to end bulk collection of phone data, had given away a valuable tool of the security agencies in the fight against terrorism. The Florida senator said: “I promise you, the next time there is an attack on this country, the first thing people are going to want to know is why didn’t we know about it and why didn’t we stop it.
Marco Rubio called for an end to new protections against bulk phone data collection, and most of his fellow presidential candidates were on his side
Although Edward Snowden had his passport revoked, he is still a US citizen and eligible to vote in the presidential election, even from exile in Russia. But judging from the Republican debate last night, his choices are severely limited.
Snowden and privacy campaigners can find satisfaction that surveillance was one of the dominant issues of the night. When he leaked tens of thousands of NSA documents in 2013, he said he did so to provoke debate about mass surveillance. Las Vegas demonstrated the extent to which he has achieved that.
But privacy campaigners will be alarmed at Republican attempts to push back against even the modest legislative changes which resulted from the Snowden disclosures.
The charge was led by Marco Rubio, who said the Freedom Act, passed in the summer to end bulk collection of phone data, had given away a valuable tool of the security agencies in the fight against terrorism. The Florida senator said: “I promise you, the next time there is an attack on this country, the first thing people are going to want to know is why didn’t we know about it and why didn’t we stop it.
Read more @ http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/16/edward-snowden-vote-republican-debate-2016-election
Is someone paying them?
Mass surveillance programs initiated under former prime minister Tony Blair have been gathering private data in bulk for over a decade, according to leaks by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden reported by the Register. First exposed on Thursday, the surveillance program allegedly has a specialist internet and phone tapping center at MI5’s London HQ under the codename PRESTON. The program “works alongside and links to massive databases holding telephone call records, internet use records, travel, financial, and other personal records held by the National Technical Assistance Centre (NTAC),” claims the Register. NTAC, a shadowy intelligence cell, was set up by Tony Blair’s Labour government in 1999 to counter encryption and act as the UK’s codebreaking specialist. Soon after it was founded, parliament’s powerful Intelligence and Security Committee was told NTAC would be funded to provide 24 hour support for “all the law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies” by gathering intelligence from “lawfully intercepted computer-to-computer communications and from lawfully seized computer data.” The Register’s investigation found that banks and airlines are included as authorized targets. Moreover personal financial details can be intercepted, stored, decrypted, and copied. Some airlines, including British Airways (BA), voluntarily hand over their passengers’ information, while other companies are subject to tapping warrants, the Register claims. Campaigning MP David Davis told the Register that the new revelations mean the debate on surveillance powers over the last fifteen years appears to have been nothing but “a charade about data that the government very likely already held.”
Mass surveillance programs initiated under former prime minister Tony Blair have been gathering private data in bulk for over a decade, according to leaks by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden reported by the Register.
First exposed on Thursday, the surveillance program allegedly has a specialist internet and phone tapping center at MI5’s London HQ under the codename PRESTON.
The program “works alongside and links to massive databases holding telephone call records, internet use records, travel, financial, and other personal records held by the National Technical Assistance Centre (NTAC),” claims the Register.
NTAC, a shadowy intelligence cell, was set up by Tony Blair’s Labour government in 1999 to counter encryption and act as the UK’s codebreaking specialist.
Soon after it was founded, parliament’s powerful Intelligence and Security Committee was told NTAC would be funded to provide 24 hour support for “all the law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies” by gathering intelligence from “lawfully intercepted computer-to-computer communications and from lawfully seized computer data.”
The Register’s investigation found that banks and airlines are included as authorized targets. Moreover personal financial details can be intercepted, stored, decrypted, and copied.
Some airlines, including British Airways (BA), voluntarily hand over their passengers’ information, while other companies are subject to tapping warrants, the Register claims.
Campaigning MP David Davis told the Register that the new revelations mean the debate on surveillance powers over the last fifteen years appears to have been nothing but “a charade about data that the government very likely already held.”
Read more @ https://www.rt.com/uk/326332-preston-surveillance-powers-blair/
Just a few moments ago, the development team behind the Tails amnesic incognito live Linux kernel-based operating system, which was used by the famous whistleblower Edward Snowden to stay hidden online, announced the release of Tails 1.8. According to the release notes, Tails 1.8 is a small update for the popular, Debian-based anonymous Live CD, improving a few applications and core components, and fixing various issues reported by users since the previous release. Among the new features implemented in Tails 1.8, we can mention the addition of the Icedove open-source software as the default email client, replacing Claws Mail. For those who are not in the loop, Icedove is a rebranded version of Mozilla Thunderbird. The fact of the matter is that Icedove was already available on Tails, but it wasn't installed as the default email client. The Tails devs also managed to update the Icedove packages from version 31.8 to 38.4. "Claws Mail will be removed from Tails in version 2.0 (2016-01-26). If you have been using Claws Mail and activated its persistence feature, follow our instructions to migrate your data to Icedove," said the Tails devs in today's announcement. Tails 1.8 also updates the Tor Browser to version 5.0.5, Tor to version 0.2.7.6, I2P to version 0.9.23, Enigmail to version 1.8.2, and Electrum to version 2.5.4, which should not work as expected in Tails.
Just a few moments ago, the development team behind the Tails amnesic incognito live Linux kernel-based operating system, which was used by the famous whistleblower Edward Snowden to stay hidden online, announced the release of Tails 1.8.
According to the release notes, Tails 1.8 is a small update for the popular, Debian-based anonymous Live CD, improving a few applications and core components, and fixing various issues reported by users since the previous release.
Among the new features implemented in Tails 1.8, we can mention the addition of the Icedove open-source software as the default email client, replacing Claws Mail. For those who are not in the loop, Icedove is a rebranded version of Mozilla Thunderbird.
The fact of the matter is that Icedove was already available on Tails, but it wasn't installed as the default email client. The Tails devs also managed to update the Icedove packages from version 31.8 to 38.4.
"Claws Mail will be removed from Tails in version 2.0 (2016-01-26). If you have been using Claws Mail and activated its persistence feature, follow our instructions to migrate your data to Icedove," said the Tails devs in today's announcement.
Tails 1.8 also updates the Tor Browser to version 5.0.5, Tor to version 0.2.7.6, I2P to version 0.9.23, Enigmail to version 1.8.2, and Electrum to version 2.5.4, which should not work as expected in Tails.
Read more 2 http://linux.softpedia.com/blog/tails-1-8-linux-os-adopts-icedove-edward-snowden-s-favorite-anonymous-live-cd-497691.shtml
Read more @ http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/11/west-point-cybersecurity-nsa-privacy-edward-snowden
Now this isn’t the truth, do you remember?…….. they said they thwarted 50 terrorists attacks on US soil with all the spying, but when the truth came out there wasn’t any….. and the one that was thwarted was done by good ole leg work. We turned on our TV the other day to come in at the tail end of a documentary on the spying. A professor I think it was could not understand how a people who have always stood for freedom, could give up their freedom to allow their government to spy on them…. Namely people in the US. Wish I had known the program was on as I would have liked to watch it. In the end he said the Magna Carta would have to be brought out and dusted or something along those lines.
Read more @ http://observer.com/2015/12/the-intelligence-lessons-of-san-bernardino/
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
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