parrot wrote:
Catalano confirmed that version of events to TechCrunch.

TechCrunch

They’re passing this burning coal around so fast it’s giving me a headache, which is one reason why I believe every word Michele Catalano has written about this shocking home invasion by government agents.

Gee, how come Snowden didn’t go to a “free” country, you know, just like America? Instead, he’s gone to Russia, where the secret police are watching you 24/7 and the cops can burst into your home without a warrant at any time.

RLTrader wrote:

parrot wrote:
Catalano confirmed that version of events to TechCrunch.

and the link to

TechCrunch

?

parrot wrote:

RLTrader wrote:

parrot wrote:
Catalano confirmed that version of events to TechCrunch.

and the link to

TechCrunch

?

Sorry about that.... http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/01/employ ... ot-google/

I'll be surprised if no one raises the issue of snooping employers/neighbors/acquaintances who tip off police to suspicious activity.

bumper wrote:
So guys what do we need and don't ?

Maybe that would make for a in depth discussion.

it will store "all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails — parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital "pocket litter" ...
http://www.policymic.com/articles/47123 ... rizon-data

Lawmakers with access to classified information and lawyers who have followed the four cases made public said the NSA’s domestic data gathering had not played the crucial role that officials assert.

“We have yet to see any evidence that the bulk phone records collection program has provided any otherwise unobtainable intelligence,” Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado said in a joint statement.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... z2aq9M5lW3

How many Americans have been killed in terrorist attacks inside the United States since the September 11, 2001, atrocities? Arguably 16.

http://reason.com/archives/2011/09/06/h ... ism-should

But we should also recognize that terrorism is a hollow threat to which we should not surrender one iota of our liberties.

Eight facts about terrorism in the United States
1) Terrorist attacks and attempted attacks in the United States have become less frequent since the 1970s — though September 11 was a huge exception:
2) Law enforcement officials appear to be getting better at thwarting terrorist attacks — but they can’t stop all of them:
4) Since the Oklahoma City bombing, a greater portion of terrorist attacks have been carried out by individuals:
5) The types of organized groups that carry out terrorist attacks, meanwhile, have become extremely diverse:
6) Bombings have long been the tactic of choice for terrorists in the United States:
7) North America suffers far, far fewer terrorist attacks than most other regions around the world:
Your odds of dying in a terrorist attack are still far, far lower than dying from just about anything else.

In the last five years, the odds of an American being killed in a terrorist attack have been about 1 in 20 million (that’s including both domestic attacks and overseas attacks). As the chart above from the Economist shows, that’s considerably smaller than the risk of dying from many other things, from post-surgery complications to ordinary gun violence to lightning.
That said, terrorist attacks obviously loom much larger in our collective consciousness — not least because they’re designed to horrify. So, understandably, they get much more attention.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/won ... ed-states/

small screenshot utility

That's 20 Million to 1  
The mission of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) is to "Keep Us Safe.". That's been the government mantra by Bush and Obama.
Ok, let me get this straight. So for the sake of 20,000,000 to 1 Odds, the government has us so scared that we  are willing to give up Constitutional freedoms, incur ruinous amounts of debt, and forsake our morality and sense of decency? The GWOT is an INSANE response to such a small threat.
Let's just be honest with ourselves. The GWOT benefits first and foremost the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) and Surveillance Industrial Complex (SIC). Oh, and of course the Oil companies.
The GWOT is no longer about ridding the world of goat herders with AK47s who hate America. And god knows that US policies have done everything possible to MAKE them hate us.
When did you ever hear any leader say "Let's not be Paranoid people. The Odds of Dying by Terrorist are extremely low." You won't hear that because it just doesn't fit the narrative that perpetuates the GWOT.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/1 ... 0-000-to-1

Breakingnews >
US warns of Mideast Al-Qaeda threat

Published: 2 Aug 2013 at 22.49
Online news:

The United States issued a worldwide warning that Al-Qaeda may attack in August as it ordered shut its embassies across the Islamic world.

Picture taken December 15, 2000, shows the US embassy building in Doha, Qatar. The United States issued a worldwide alert on Friday warning of plans by Al-Qaeda to launch an attack in the Middle East or North Africa in August and will close some two dozen embassies as a precaution.

Britain also said it would temporarily close its embassy in Yemen as US lawmakers said the threat likely involved Al-Qaeda's franchise in the country.

The State Department on Friday said attacks were possible "particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula."

President Barack Obama had ordered his national security team to "take all appropriate steps to protect the American people," a White House official said.

"Current information suggests that Al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the State Department said in a worldwide travel alert for US citizens.

The alert warned of "the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure."

"It is much more specific than any of the threat lines that I've seen in the past 10 years," said Representative Peter individual, a Republican who serves on the House intelligence committee.

As a precaution, the State Department said it was closing at least 22 US embassies or consulates on Sunday, a work day in many Islamic countries.

The missions cover virtually all of the Arab world and also include two embassies in predominantly Muslim non-Arab nations -- Afghanistan and Bangladesh -- as well as US-run facilities in Israel.

US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that some embassies or consulates may decide to remain closed after Sunday.

Britain is closing its embassy in Yemen on Sunday and Monday and has withdrawn staff, the Foreign Office said.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the special alert was issued due to information that was "specific, credible and non-counterable."

Under a policy since the 1988 Pan Am flight bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, the United States is obliged to share with its private citizens any safety information provided to US government employees.

The decision to go public and announce a threat comes as the US government faces criticism over surveillance of citizens, which Obama says is necessary for security.

The United States responded furiously on Thursday after Russia gave asylum to Edward Snowden, a former US contractor who revealed details of US snooping.

In Washington, Republicans have also criticized the Obama administration for not doing more to prevent an attack on September 11 last year against the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The assault blamed on Islamist militants killed four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens.

Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who has criticized the Obama administration over the Benghazi attack, said he understood there was "a very real worldwide threat."

"There are threats that are coming at us on a daily basis but this rises to a new level," Chaffetz told CNN.

He praised the administration response to the latest threat but called for more counter-terrorism programs.

"We have to take this threat very seriously. And it's not, as the president campaigned on, you know, Al-Qaeda's on the run and... everything's fine," Chaffetz said.

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has accepted responsibility for the Benghazi attack but said that requests for more security were only seen by lower-ranking officials.

Under Obama, US forces in 2011 killed Al-Qaeda's fugitive leader Osama bin Laden in a secret raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Bin Laden was originally from Saudi Arabia and Al-Qaeda historically focused on the Arabian Peninsula.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the global terror network's Yemen-based franchise, has launched a series of foiled attacks on the United States in recent years.

Obama on Thursday welcomed Yemen's President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to the White House and thanked him for cooperation against Al-Qaeda, including through US drone strikes.

It was unclear if the purported threat was in response to specific events or anniversaries.

Wednesday marks the 15th anniversary of Al-Qaeda's coordinated attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

bumper wrote:Wonder how they came up with this?

Great odds unless you are the one.

The NSA's PRISM Surveillance Program Only Gathers Info On Stupid Terrorists

In 2012, a French court found nuclear physicist Adlene Hicheur guilty of, among other things, conspiring to commit an act of terror for distributing and using software called Asrar al-Mujahideen, or Mujahideen Secrets. The program employed various cutting-edge encryption methods, including variable stealth ciphers and RSA 2,048-bit keys.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-nsa- ... z2asrA4aQa

America's Real Subversives: FBI Spying Then, NSA Surveillance Now
As the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington nears, let's not forget the history of agency overreach and abuse of power
by Amy Goodman


The FBI operation against individual is one of the most shameful episodes in the long history of our government's persecution of dissenters....

In a heavily redacted, classified FBI memo dated 4 January 1956 – just a little more than a month after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger – the Mobile, Alabama, FBI office stated that an agent "had been assigned by [redacted] to find out all he could about Reverend Martin L individual, colored minister in Montgomery and leader in the bus boycott … to uncover all the derogatory information he could about individual....."

fdimike wrote:The new post 9/11 American justice system or why Mr. Snowden chose to remain out of its reach. An interesting well written essay by former US State Department whistleblower Peter Van Buren.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175732/ ... 9_11/#more

On July 30, 1778, the Continental Congress created the first whistleblower protection law, stating “that it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States to give the earliest information to Congress or other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds, or misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of these states.”

Despite the laudatory title of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on NSA surveillance Wednesday morning ("Strengthening Privacy Rights and National Security: Oversight of FISA Surveillance Programs"), the last 24 hours have made one thing clear. A blizzard of new details and official documents released by the government stem not from the much-ballyhooed oversight of the three branches of government, but out of necessity, following the leaks from Edward Snowden.

As the committee gets set to meet, at least three substantial new sets of information have been made public thanks to what journalism professor Jay Rosen calls the "Snowden Effect."

According to The Washington Post, the Obama administration has declassified and will shortly release the full court order that compels Verizon to share metadata from its customers calls. The existence of that program was confirmed in June after Snowden released a "secondary" order approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court. What the government will provide today is, apparently, the full order.

The rationale for doing so is unquestionably the scrutiny that the collection of that metadata — information about the numbers involved in a call and its duration — has been under since the Snowden leak. Last week, the House narrowly defeated a measure that would have defunded the program. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, chief sponsor of the Patriot Act under which the data is collected, has suggested that the law's interpretation has been skewed to allow the bulk data collection.

The Justice Department also revealed in a court filing that it must inform suspects when the NSA's surveillance tools have been used to build the criminal cases against them, according to The Wall Street Journal. By doing so, the government opens itself up to new legal challenges to the programs.

jackspratt wrote:

fdimike wrote:The new post 9/11 American justice system or why Mr. Snowden chose to remain out of its reach. An interesting well written essay by former US State Department whistleblower Peter Van Buren.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175732/ ... 9_11/#more

This is a must read if you have any interest in, or are concerned about, the legality and morality of what is happening in the "free" western world (ie the supposed good guys) today.