US agency (NSA) “collecting phone records“

[Cynical Ninja]

The US National Security Agency is collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans, according to the Guardian newspaper.

The newspaper published what it said was a secret court order directing the Verizon company to hand over data on its customers on an “ongoing” basis.

Civil liberties groups said the details of the report were “stunning”.

The White House broadly defended the practice as a “critical” security tool but did not confirm the report.

Land of the free, free to know what telephone calls you are making.

[Duchess]

Crazy, huh. It's all over the news this morning & it's pretty damning.

...on top of them getting the phone records of journalists. It's very bad.

[Maggot]

Only verizon

[Donovan]

Of course the basic truth is, most people generally text now rather than call, and that info is already available. Likewise, all internet traffic into and out of the US is routed through one or two key hubs located in SanFrancisco which makes it easier to track suspicious activity.

All lovely additions to our way of life by terrormongers. Your point? There's never been such a mythological beast as "land of the free." That's a sales pitch. There is, however, a very real "Land of the not terribly awful".

And that will have to do.

[Duchess]

I have more of a problem with them secretly getting access to journalists phone records than I do with the thought of them getting mine.

[Donovan]

I think I have a much larger problem with the slow and painful demise of regular journalism in general. Paper is dead, tv news is absolute pablum and the internet, while being a wildland of freedom and too-much-information, is a very easily controlled medium that can be eradicated quickly should a rebellion type situation occur. We think we are free and unfettered, but we are very well-monitored and easy to quiet once it becomes necessary. If print dies out completely, what medium will be left for truly free reporting?

[aussiefriend]

When you live and work in the Middle East you just assume a whole room full of people are listening in. I feel sorry for anyone who has to listen to my boring shit.

[Maggot]

Ham radios are cool.

[F.U.]

Ham radios are cool.

Yes they are Maggot. I've ben a ham for years. So is my OL and so was my father.
I've ben keying a mic since 1976, but in those days it was 11 meters.


As far as the Gov and the phone records go, I think its BS. Quite wasting our tax dollars.

[Donovan]

I don't know why they're wasting all that money to create stuff to listen to our phone conversations anyway. Just send people into movie theaters and checkout lines at walmart and they'll hear all the loud phone conversations they can stand...

[Maggot]

A great market for a phone encryption service is on the horizon.

[Donovan]

I think they're going to have difficulty staying ahead of the people trying to circumvent the electronic surveillance, because just like every other thing they attempt the government underfunds and underthinks their plans, and their adversaries are not only smarter but more tech savvy and motivated.

[username]

I feel like I ought to be outraged but I'm not. I dislike the body scanners at the airport more but I'll even suffer through those stupid things.

[crash]

Was it Mock or somewhere else I read that a lot of the underworld types choose to use Blackberrys because of their encryption feature?

Adit: it was here

http://www.theage.com.au/national/bikies...1aht9.html

[Cynical Ninja]

Yet more evidence I chose the right phone!

Excellent! Authorities detect my ass! Motherfuckers!

Ha ha!

[username]

Yet more evidence I chose the right phone!

FFS, gullible much?

[Duchess]

Is he a traitor? Does he deserve prison? Does the world need to know what our country is up to?

America’s most wanted man has broken cover to reveal why he decided to leak documents from one of the world’s most notorious spy organisations.

Former CIA worker Edward Snowden admitted he would be ‘made to suffer’ after triggering shockwaves across the globe by handing over top-secret files from the US National Security Agency (NSA).

The 29-year-old whistleblower, who earned £130,000 a year ($200,000), exposed chilling details of how the covert agency, based in Maryland, gathers private information from people around the world – including in Britain – using a programme called Prism.

Revealing why he blew the whistle he said: 'I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.'

The Prism system gives officials easy access to data held by nine of the world’s top internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Skype.

Mr Snowden, who is currently hiding in Hong Kong, acted after becoming convinced the US government’s bid to harvest personal information from millions of individuals was a ‘threat to democracy’.

And he described how he fears he will be kidnapped and returned to America to face espionage charges and possible life in prison – or even murdered on Washington’s orders.



Story

[Cynical Ninja]

He's hiding in Hong Kong criticising America for snooping? What about fucking China? they do more snooping than any other nation on the planet!

[username]

He's an interesting guy. High school and community college drop out. Brief stint in the military but an accident forces him out there. Ultimately moves his way up...joins Booz Allen just around 3 months ago and tosses everything to disclose this. Idealist? Traitor?

According to him he had access to the names/locations of NSA outposts all over the world. Concerns me what he might have taken with him.

Hong Kong supposedly has suggested he leave. I don't think he'll get sanctuary there.

[Cynical Ninja]

If he asks Hong Kong for asylum they will ask him why and he will say “I've exposed my country as being worldwide snoops” and they will say “your country are fucking amateurs at snooping round eye now get the fuck out of our country blabbermouth!”