Category: Intelligence Agencies
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Monday, December 09, 2013
The Magic CIA Security Cult And Its Bungled Trip To Paradise / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Andrew_McKillop
NATIONAL SECURITY
Like a really bad film – certainly not a remake of George Orwell's 1984 – national security “concerns and threats” and the herd political response to these mostly fake threats - produces farce after farce. Absurdity piled on top of imbecility. With body parts on the sidewalk. As we know, although it wore itself out and is winding down now, global warming was an epic challenge to our civilization needing urgent extreme action by stern-jawed great leaders. Now it concerns electric bicycles. Economic challenges, as we also know, mutated into an enduring farce of selectively enriching the rich and the criminal bankster-broker fraternity, and impoverishing everybody else. The record got stuck in the groove. When our great leaders blether and gurgle about “the economic crisis”, these days, everybody turns off.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
NSA $52 Billion Black Budget, A Sense of Magnitudes / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Steve_H_Hanke
On October 28th, I wrote a blog post, “The NSA’s Rent is Too Damn High,” in which I looked at the $52.6 billion price tag for America’s spook infrastructure – the so-called “black budget.” When allocated across every American taxpayer, this staggering sum comes out to $574 per taxpayer, per year.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Is Edward Snowden an NSA Mole? / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Stephen_Merrill
As revelations of massive NSA spying across the globe convulse US foreign policy like the superpower has never experienced, one has to marvel at the seamless way whistleblower Edward Snowden has dealt such a powerful series of blows to the fear-inspiring national security intelligence agencies.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 31, 2013
How the NSA Hacked Google and Yahoo! / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Mike_Shedlock
In response to NSA Breaks Into Secure Communication Links of Google and Yahoo I received a few comments worth exploring.
Reader "Fury" commented "True encryption using the RSA algorithm is unbreakable today. No way can the NSA break the prime number encryption that is used, I don't care how many supercomputers they have."
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 31, 2013
NSA Director Keith Alexander Denies Hacking Google or Yahoo Servers / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Bloomberg
Bloomberg Television's Trish Regan interviewed NSA Director Keith Alexander today at Bloomberg Government's "Cybersecurity: Costs and Solutions" conference in Washington D.C. In response to a Washington Post report that claimed the agency has secretly tapped into main communication links that connect data centers internationally, Director Alexander said, NSA infiltration of servers "never happened," The director went on to call the report "spurious," and insisted that the NSA does "not have access to Google servers, Yahoo servers," and that ''those companies work with us, they are compelled to work with us."
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
The NSA’s Rent Is Too Damn High / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Steve_H_Hanke
For months, the American public has received a steady stream of new information detailing the massive scale and scope of the United States’ spying activities. Of course, maintaining a surveillance state powerful enough to reach into the inboxes of world leaders, friend and foe, is not cheap. Indeed, as the Washington Post revealed when it released portions of the so-called Black Budget, this year’s price tag on America’s spook infrastructure comes out to a whopping $52.6 billion.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, October 27, 2013
NSA Spying on America's Closes Allies - Merkel, Hollande, Rouseff, Nieto, … / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Stephen_Lendman
On October 24, London’s Guardian headlined “NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders after US official handed over contacts,” saying:
Snowden released documents revealed it. “An official in another US government department” gave NSA over 200 private phone numbers.
Thirty-five world leaders were included. They weren’t named. It’s not hard imagining likely targets. Germany’s Angela Merkel is one. So is France’s Francois Hollande.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Brazil To Block The NSA Spying / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Jeff_Berwick
General Keith Alexander has admitted that Edward J. Snowden's revelations have caused “significant and irreversible damage” to the US's national security, and that national governments and terrorist organizations now know how to get around US spying.
He seems to underestimate the real damage: The NSA revelations are but another smear against brand USA in the global psyche, having done potentially as much damage as the Middle East wars started under President George W. Bush.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, September 01, 2013
The NSA and Its “Compliance Problems” / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: MISES
Ben O'Neill writes: One of the core principles of good governance in society is the idea that the authority of law ought to prevail over the brute power of people — i.e., that society should operate under the rule of law, not the rule of men. Aristotle wrote that “[t]he law ought to be supreme over all ...” and argued that ... where the laws are not supreme, there demagogues spring up.” The principle has many important ramifications for society, but the most important is the view that government agents and agencies must be bound by the same law as their subjects.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Long History of State Surveillance From Privy Councils to FISA Courts / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: MISES
Joey Clark writes: As the song [1] says, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
State power, i.e., power derived from the “political means” of acquiring wealth through force, is nothing more than a pestilence sapping the peace and prosperity of all humankind, and has been manifest in many cruel and unique forms. Whether it be the whip on the back, the sword on the throat, the gun in the face, or grand global hostage taking via the threat of nuclear destruction, it is clear that state power is nothing more than immoral aggression — logically posterior, parasitic, and subservient to economic power, i.e., power derived from the “economic means” of acquiring wealth through production and voluntary trade. Whereas economic power creates wealth and shares this fruit, state power steals wealth and squanders its spoils.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 29, 2013
Ron Paul - A House Divided Over NSA Spying on Americans / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week's House debate on the Defense Appropriations bill for 2014 produced a bit more drama than usual. After hearing that House leadership would do away with the traditional "open rule" allowing for debate on any funding limitation amendment, it was surprising to see that Rep. Justin Amash's (R-MI) amendment was allowed on the Floor. In the wake of National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations about the extent of US government spying on American citizens, Amash's amendment sought to remove funding in the bill for some of the NSA programs.
Monday, July 22, 2013
NSA Spying - Civilization Means Privacy / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: MISES
Ben O'Neill writes: Since the details of the NSA programs became publicly known a short time ago, already there are signs of market pressures being brought to bear to curtail the actions of the agency and its partner companies. There are early signs of emerging boycotts of US-based internet and telecommunications companies, and customer migration to firms operating outside the United States.[1] One observer has even suggested that the next desirable IT feature will be for host companies operating outside the US to advertise that they are “not subject to US law” and this suggestion is gaining traction among IT commentators.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Internet Fascism and the Surveillance State / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: MISES
Ben O'Neill writes: What is the purpose of telecommunication and internet surveillance?
The NSA presents its surveillance operations as being directed toward security issues, claiming that the programs are needed to counter terrorist attacks. Bald assertions of plots foiled are intended to bolster this claim.[1] However, secret NSA documents reveal that their surveillance is used to gather intelligence to achieve political goals for the US government.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Snowden and the NSA Scandal, The Ethics of Whistleblowing / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: MISES
Ben O'Neill writes: Recent revelations about the extent and details of the massive NSA surveillance program have been made possible mostly by the actions of a single whistleblower, Edward Snowden, presently in hiding from the wrath of the US government, whose shameful and frightening secrets he has now made public knowledge. Despite repeated denials by its officials, it is now evident that the NSA runs a data-collection and spying network which collects masses of data on the private communications of non-US citizens, and some private communications on US citizens. It does so without requirement for any individual warrants for its targets, and without requirement for any probable cause with respect to any of the individuals whose communications are collected. Instead, the entire program operates under a broad procedure-based warrant system, whereby a special clandestine court hears submissions from the government in secret and then dutifully approves general procedures for mass surveillance, without any adversarial argument being raised by any other party. The warrants allow mass surveillance and storage of data at the discretion of NSA analysts, and these warrants are clearly at odds with the principle of eschewing unreasonable searches.[1]
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
NSA Tapes 1 Billion Mobile Phone Calls Per Day - Spy Versus Spy / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Andrew_McKillop
HOW MANY CALLS?
European media reports including highly publicised 'Guardian' and 'Der Spiegel' reports using documents and insights directly supplied by Edward Snowden say the US NSA regularly intercepted and monitored about 60 million telephone calls and Internet connexions – per day – only in Germany. Other reports suggest the average rate may have been “as low as” 600 million per month. Spying on French-based phone and Internet connexions was said to run at about 180 million per month.
Monday, July 01, 2013
Is NSA Blackmail Inc. for the U.S. Military Industrial Complex? / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Toby_Connor
Jon Rappoport writes: Every director of the NSA is a general or an admiral.
The NSA is organized under the US Dept. of Defense.
Imagine that you are a powerful player who straddles two worlds – the Dept. of Defense and the private sector where corporate defense-contractors live and flourish.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 01, 2013
Are Intelligence Agency Analysts Profiting From Spying by Front Running Markets? / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Washingtons_Blog
We’ve previously documented that the government has been giving our private information to big companies so they can make money. And see this.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the NSA spies on Americans’ credit card transactions. Many other agencies are doing the same. In fact, virtually all U.S. intelligence agencies – including the CIA and NSA – are going to spy on Americans’ finances. The IRS will also be spying on Americans’ shopping records, travel, social interactions, health records and files from other government investigators.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 28, 2013
You Can’t Hide From These Spying Eyes / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Walter_Brasch
The media have been playing “cops and robbers,” trying to track down the location of Edward Snowden, who had fled to Hong Kong and said the U.S. was spying on its citizens.
The citizens are scared and paranoid; visions of Big Brother are peering into their lives.
But, the government’s knowledge of the lives of individuals is little more than the equivalent to a children’s coloring book compared to the library that private companies have on everyone.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Where Might the NSA Whistleblower, Edward Snowden Be Relatively Safe? / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Don_Miller
By Nick Giambruno, Editor, International Man
The recent events surrounding Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, gives us the chance to engage in an interesting thought experiment.
Where would you go if you were Edward Snowden and were being hunted by the most powerful intelligence agencies on the planet?