On Same Day Alexander Tells BlackHat, "Their Intent Is to Find the Terrorist That Walks Among Us," We See NSA Considers Encryption Evidence of Terrorism
Thirty minutes into his speech at BlackHat yesterday, Keith Alexander said,
Remember: their intent is not to go after our communications. Their intent is to find the terrorist walks among us.
He said that to a room full of computer security…
Wyden: We Proved that "Unique" and "Vital" Information Wasn't in 2011
I should have some analysis on the documents James Clapper released yesterday.
But it's worth pointing to Ron Wyden's analysis. He notes that the two documents on bulk collection programs -- one from 2009 and one from 2011, both of which…
Is THIS What Wyden Meant by "Allowing the NSA to Deliberately Search for Records of Particular Americans"?
A month ago, I noted that after Ron Wyden and Mark Udall criticized Keith Alexander for suggesting the NSA could not deliberately search the records of specific Americans, the NSA Director withdrew the white sheet implying such a claim.
The…
DOJ Responds to Non-Intell Committee Member of Opposition Party, But Not Intell Committee Member of President's Party
On June 20, Rand Paul started seeking more information about how the FBI used drones. On July 9, he sent a second letter to find out about the FBI's use of drones. After placing a hold on Jim Comey's nomination to be FBI Director, Paul got results,…
Manning Faces Up to 136 Years in Prison for Alerting You to What Your Government Does in Your Name
Bradley Manning is innocent, according to Judge Colonel Denise Lind, of aiding the enemy.
With this verdict, truly horrible consequences for freedom of speech are averted.
Nevertheless, according to the invaluable Alexa O'Brien, Manning…
MIT Releases Its Own Swartz Investigation After Stalling Release of Secret Service's
MIT has just released its report on the university's role in the investigation into Aaron Swartz.
Part of it explains how the Secret Service came to be involved in the investigation.
The MIT Police decided that the situation required expertise…
Big-Footing Superpower Status Also about Legally Immune Commander in Chief(s)
In a piece making the obvious comparison between fugitive spy Robert Seldon Lady and accused Espionage fugitive Edward Snowden, Tom Englehardt writes off the press silence about presumed American assistance to Lady in fleeing an international…
The Stenography Dance between Israel and the US
I've been meaning to comment on this story from Bill Gertz from last week. After reporting that the Israelis bitched about US reports of the Israeli strike on Russian made missiles shipped to Syria,
Israeli government officials voiced anger…
Well, at Least DOJ Promised Not to Mine Journalists' Metadata Going Forward
When I read this passage from DOJ's new News Media Policy, it caused me as much concern as relief.
The Department's policies will be revised to provide formal safeguards regarding the proper use and handling of communications records of members…
Espionage: Now, with No Damage Envisioned
A recently unsealed decision from Colleen Kollar-Kotelly just changed the interpretation of the Espionage Act for Washington DC to cover leaks that wouldn't even harm the US.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the prosecution in the…
70% of Pew's Respondents More Attentive than Pew?
You may have seen that a Pew poll shows, for the first time, more people think the government has gone too far in restricting civil liberties than think it has not gone far enough to protect the country. (Another poll had a similar finding just…
The James Clapper Stall Declaration
On Thursday July 25, the ACLU met the government for a hearing in their suit to stop the Section 215 dragnet (which I'll call ACLU Injunction for this post). While there, the government handed the judge a filing for ACLU's Section 215 FOIA,…
Ignatius Has Become a "Choice between Security and Privacy" Stenographer
David Ignatius should be ashamed about this column. Even by his standards, it serves simply as stenography for the buzzwords top security officials have fed him, such that he repeats lines like this without any critical thinking.
Gen. Keith…
Wyden and Udall: They're Blowing Smoke about Phone and Other Bulk Record Safety
When I wrote about the letter from Ron Wyden, Mark Udall, and 24 other Senators to James Clapper a month ago, I focused on the specter that Section 215 would be used to collect gun records (in response to which, the NRA let its political guns…
On the Growing Fight Against America's Secret Enemies
Cora Currier describes the absurd response she got when she asked for a list of our enemies.
At a hearing in May, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., asked the Defense Department to provide him with a current list of Al Qaeda affiliates.
The Pentagon…
Eric Holder: Well, Maybe Just a Little Forced Nudity and Solitary Confinement...
Eric Holder has written a letter to Russian Minister of Justice Alexander Valdimirovich Konovalov. In it, he claims to address the issues Edward Snowden raised in his application for asylum to Russia (I'm not sure he accurately represents the…
FBI's Warrantless Drone Surveillance
The FBI has responded to Rand Paul's request for information on how it uses drones.
It provides several paragraphs detailing the use: They've used drones in kidnapping, drug interdiction, fugitive, and search and rescue cases, for a total…
Will Souring US-Russian Relations Enable US-Iran Bilateral Nuclear Technology Talks?
Michael Gordon reports in the New York Times that Iran may be making overtures for direct bilateral talks on Iran's nuclear technology. As Gordon points out, however, news of the overture came to the US through Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki,…
Candidate Obama's Tribute to "Courage and Patriotism" of Whistleblowers Disappears 2 Days after First Snowden Revelations
Sunlight Foundation discovers the Obama Administration has removed access to his 2008 campaign promises from the White House website. It suggests one of the promises Obama may want to hide has to do with his support for whistleblowers.
While…
SIGAR's Sopko re $50 Million Sole Source Rule of Law Contract: "You Can't Make This Up"
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has discovered that the State Department has awarded a sole source contract for nearly $50 million to provide training on the rule of law in Afghanistan. Remarkably, the…