Edward Snowden Q&A: NSA whistleblower answers your questions

Originally posted by xavi1000

Originally posted by HumanPLC
Thought i would share this as i found it a pretty interesting read.

Its live blog coverage of NSA director Keith Alexander's testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence related to the NSA surveillance programs. The live coverage has just finished so its now up in its entirety if anyone wants a read.

www.guardian.co.uk...

I heard more lies today on CSPAN than all my life

Anything you can actually list as verified lies where you have evidence of that, or is it more your opinion that there were more lies than you have heard in your life? Just curious, usually there is a difference.

Originally posted by uncommitted

If they don't get a warrant to actually read the email, I understand it's not admissable in court.

The PRISM program is top secret...it is not admissable in court anyways?

The NSA doesn't operate like the FBI or Local cops...thier end game can involve black-ops, drones etc.

I think the NSA using PRISM for prosecutorial purposes within the US Justice system is likely a rare occurance.

Originally posted by uncommitted
To identify the fact email traffic has been exchanged between particular individuals may then lead to a warrant being requested. That isn't in question and I'm still a little confused why people are so up in arms about that.

This is what you see?...

Booze Allen - Monitoring of call logs/numbers/email communications...

Booze Allen - If American Citizen is flagged by an algorithim as having a suspicious communication profile. Keywords or International contacts etc.

Booze Allen - Notifies NSA, who then requests a FISA Warrant based on that algorithim flag? Then they get back to Booz-Allen and give them the OK for a deep dive? Full taping of communications...email, phone et al.?

Snowden was pretty clear that Analysts had the "authority" to tap anyones communications they wanted...he also claimed that his complaints surrounding this ability was dismissed by his superiors.

What do I think? I think no one is minding the store, that the NSA contracting out the work to private contractors creates a culture of the wild west. Those private contractors are encouraged, not through "policy" but through culture to "produce" results. It's a for profit business. An NSA employee swears an oath to the constitution, where as a private contractor is thier to bring in profits....show the NSA that they can produce...sign the big contracts. It is the same culture that gives Snowden and thousands of others access to top-secret programs that gives them access to our personal communications.

So...I think the NSA was telling the truth when it said that it had only obtained 200 or so warrants to deep dive into specific American citizens...AND I think it happens without FISA warrants a hundred fold by private analysts...if they strike gold they can request warrants retro-actively and secretly...nothing to stop them.

But more to the point...whether I am right or not can not be known because there is not any oversight at the Private contractors to tell us if they are abiding by the constitution of the united states...and wether I am right or not...that is an issue.

Originally posted by Indigo5

But more to the point...whether I am right or not can not be known because there is not any oversight at the Private contractors to tell us if they are abiding by the constitution of the united states...and wether I am right or not...that is an issue.

edit on 18-6-2013 by Indigo5 because: (no reason given)

That is by design and it is a very clever setup.

reply to post by cripmeister


Right...The Congressional Comittee for Intelligence Oversight purportedly checks on the NSA (Congress) and the FISA court purportedly oversees the NSA (Judicial)...though they never turn down a request...

But who the eff is providing a constitional check in the checks and balances to the PRIVATE, FREE MARKET CAPITALISM...folks that the intelligence community has outsourced our security to? They just forward end-product analysis to the NSA, but operate with all the resources of the US Gov. and Our Tax Dollars....to the tune of 40 Billion a year...No check there.

reply to post by Indigo5


I don't have much faith in that Congressional oversight.
The FISA court issued a ruling that the NSA was going outside of the bounds of the Constitution, when 2009? Back then, we got an inkling of it from Wyden and Udall, but it looks like someone shut them up.
I suspect that they had skeletons in their closet that the NSA knew about, or they threatened them with worse.
Either way, the DOJ is still fighting against allowing the ruling to be made public.

Originally posted by Indigo5

Originally posted by butcherguy

Any one of those companies involved could have blown the whistle on the government just like Snowden did, but they rolled over and took it.

They suck.

Google CEO...in 2009 no less!!!

On December 2009, after privacy concerns were raised, Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, declared:

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines—including Google—do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities."

en.wikipedia.org...

Not to mention, it was Public Relations Damage Control.
The reality is that there are a lot of traitors at top levels in this country that somehow feel that the lessons our forefathers learned do not apply to them.

They say that this is a different time then when the founders of this country were alive.

Different How? We have done away with corruption and the need to control others?
Nope that is not it.

I also hear, we live in a Informational Technical Age is one of the reasons and should get used to it.

Which makes the aformentioned (Corruption and Control) even more dangerous with the ability of our liberties more easily trampled on, not less.

The other day I was busy in the kitchen and just listening in on the news and apparently the NSA director stated that by using all the info they gather secretly from everyone's private information they have foiled a terrorist plot to bomb against Wall Street. Just now this info is being revealed? If something that big was thwarted why not release it then to MSM?? I don't know about you, but my B.S. Meter is going off.

If you are familiar with trojans or botnets you could easily surmise that they have created a giant botnet out of us in addition to all of the data logging. After all they have been building up offensive strike capabilities in this realm. So keep that in mind if you just dismiss this data logging and listening to conversations. If you have a video and sound hooked up to your computer they can watch you in real time. It brings back the debate over secret ports on your computer or other backdoors built into windows itself. Also there are all of these malware programs all over the damn place plugging into every thing you can think of and hiding everywhere. They took down a nuclear power plant in Iran and damaged companies in other countries as well. I think it's safe to assume back door access is always there for them to all of your files, and if you start playing with that webcam or microphone they can see you. You start posting on forums like this and get their attention in any way... they'll be there watching you for a minute and browsing around. I think it's a little bit deeper than logging information.

Originally posted by Indigo5

Originally posted by uncommitted

If they don't get a warrant to actually read the email, I understand it's not admissable in court.

The PRISM program is top secret...it is not admissable in court anyways?

The NSA doesn't operate like the FBI or Local cops...thier end game can involve black-ops, drones etc.

I think the NSA using PRISM for prosecutorial purposes within the US Justice system is likely a rare occurance.

Originally posted by uncommitted
To identify the fact email traffic has been exchanged between particular individuals may then lead to a warrant being requested. That isn't in question and I'm still a little confused why people are so up in arms about that.

This is what you see?...

Booze Allen - Monitoring of call logs/numbers/email communications...

Booze Allen - If American Citizen is flagged by an algorithim as having a suspicious communication profile. Keywords or International contacts etc.

Booze Allen - Notifies NSA, who then requests a FISA Warrant based on that algorithim flag? Then they get back to Booz-Allen and give them the OK for a deep dive? Full taping of communications...email, phone et al.?

Snowden was pretty clear that Analysts had the "authority" to tap anyones communications they wanted...he also claimed that his complaints surrounding this ability was dismissed by his superiors.

Snipped for purpose of response. This does though lead me to question the huge outrage here. Snowden has made an allegation that implies reading of emails and listening in on calls is commonplace - or more to the point, people are assuming that is what he implies. From your conjecture above (apologies, but obviously all of this is conjecture) any deep diving is when there is a cause to do so rather than as some people on ATS have stated, the analysts are bored or want to get off on reading saucy emails/listening to personal phone calls with no reason to.

Originally posted by sean
The other day I was busy in the kitchen and just listening in on the news and apparently the NSA director stated that by using all the info they gather secretly from everyone's private information they have foiled a terrorist plot to bomb against Wall Street. Just now this info is being revealed? If something that big was thwarted why not release it then to MSM?? I don't know about you, but my B.S. Meter is going off.

edit on 18-6-2013 by sean because: (no reason given)

Do you think it's also possible that if they made a big deal about it (and also the other attempts that may have been similarly thwarted) then it would have compromised their ability to continue using the same methods?

reply to post by butcherguy


On a different, but related note:

Booz Allen sought but failed to obtain a lucrative contract known as "Ramp" earlier this year.

The contract, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was to fill jobs at the CIA's National Clandestine Service, the agency's spy arm. The U.S. official asked not to be named because the official was not authorized to discuss the classified contract.

www.npr.org...

This is confirmation of what a lot of people in intelligence circles already know....That it is not just Tech. and Analysis that is being "outsourced".

The CIA's "Clandestine Services" is the spys in the field branch. Human intelligence, plus "NOCs" etc.

They are outsourcing thier actual in the field operatives.

That is a scary concept. That means secret CIA operations are being run by corporations. Picture Private corporation X fully employing black-ops teams complete with drones, spies and operatives with the authority and approval of the US Gov.

Originally posted by uncommitted

Originally posted by sean
The other day I was busy in the kitchen and just listening in on the news and apparently the NSA director stated that by using all the info they gather secretly from everyone's private information they have foiled a terrorist plot to bomb against Wall Street. Just now this info is being revealed? If something that big was thwarted why not release it then to MSM?? I don't know about you, but my B.S. Meter is going off.

edit on 18-6-2013 by sean because: (no reason given)

Do you think it's also possible that if they made a big deal about it (and also the other attempts that may have been similarly thwarted) then it would have compromised their ability to continue using the same methods?

It's their duty to reveal such things and not keep it secret. They serve the people not the other way around. They don't have to reveal all methods. However, it has come out that their methods is also against the LAW. That's like saying it's alright to kill a few innocent Americans to capture one terrorist. No that is not OK. If the government servants cannot abide by the laws of the land then their position in power is null and void. Their whole operation is null and void. If they was capturing these terrorist in a lawful manner everything would be fine. Our government is becoming what they despise the most. Besides how hard is it to encrypt information they say they caught 50 yeah and there probably is 150 more that they don't know about and will never know about. If the US stopped all the wars and meddling into other countries business we wouldn't have all these problems. If the US government bombed and killed all your family, you would be a terrorist too. We're creating terrorist just by being there overseas. They need to bring our troops home and quit the bs and start repairing the problems here home.

This guy is a Russian spy Edward Snowden lol living the american dream in Hawaii. He feels bad about spying on americans and the privacy but give info to china

Originally posted by sean

Originally posted by uncommitted

Originally posted by sean
The other day I was busy in the kitchen and just listening in on the news and apparently the NSA director stated that by using all the info they gather secretly from everyone's private information they have foiled a terrorist plot to bomb against Wall Street. Just now this info is being revealed? If something that big was thwarted why not release it then to MSM?? I don't know about you, but my B.S. Meter is going off.

edit on 18-6-2013 by sean because: (no reason given)

Do you think it's also possible that if they made a big deal about it (and also the other attempts that may have been similarly thwarted) then it would have compromised their ability to continue using the same methods?

It's their duty to reveal such things and not keep it secret. They serve the people not the other way around. They don't have to reveal all methods. However, it has come out that their methods is also against the LAW. That's like saying it's alright to kill a few innocent Americans to capture one terrorist. No that is not OK. If the government servants cannot abide by the laws of the land then their position in power is null and void. Their whole operation is null and void. If they was capturing these terrorist in a lawful manner everything would be fine. Our government is becoming what they despise the most. Besides how hard is it to encrypt information they say they caught 50 yeah and there probably is 150 more that they don't know about and will never know about. If the US stopped all the wars and meddling into other countries business we wouldn't have all these problems. If the US government bombed and killed all your family, you would be a terrorist too. We're creating terrorist just by being there overseas. They need to bring our troops home and quit the bs and start repairing the problems here home.

edit on 19-6-2013 by sean because: (no reason given)

Sorry, I appreciate your opinion, but that doesn't make it a fact. It isn't their 'duty' to reveal any such thing - you believe it should be I guess and that's not the same. Nothing as of yet has come out in all of this that can be proven to actually be illegal as far as I'm aware - unpalatable? Maybe, illegal? Show me the law that can be proven to be broken.

Originally posted by uncommitted

Originally posted by sean

Originally posted by uncommitted

Originally posted by sean
The other day I was busy in the kitchen and just listening in on the news and apparently the NSA director stated that by using all the info they gather secretly from everyone's private information they have foiled a terrorist plot to bomb against Wall Street. Just now this info is being revealed? If something that big was thwarted why not release it then to MSM?? I don't know about you, but my B.S. Meter is going off.

edit on 18-6-2013 by sean because: (no reason given)

Do you think it's also possible that if they made a big deal about it (and also the other attempts that may have been similarly thwarted) then it would have compromised their ability to continue using the same methods?

It's their duty to reveal such things and not keep it secret. They serve the people not the other way around. They don't have to reveal all methods. However, it has come out that their methods is also against the LAW. That's like saying it's alright to kill a few innocent Americans to capture one terrorist. No that is not OK. If the government servants cannot abide by the laws of the land then their position in power is null and void. Their whole operation is null and void. If they was capturing these terrorist in a lawful manner everything would be fine. Our government is becoming what they despise the most. Besides how hard is it to encrypt information they say they caught 50 yeah and there probably is 150 more that they don't know about and will never know about. If the US stopped all the wars and meddling into other countries business we wouldn't have all these problems. If the US government bombed and killed all your family, you would be a terrorist too. We're creating terrorist just by being there overseas. They need to bring our troops home and quit the bs and start repairing the problems here home.

edit on 19-6-2013 by sean because: (no reason given)

Sorry, I appreciate your opinion, but that doesn't make it a fact. It isn't their 'duty' to reveal any such thing - you believe it should be I guess and that's not the same. Nothing as of yet has come out in all of this that can be proven to actually be illegal as far as I'm aware - unpalatable? Maybe, illegal? Show me the law that can be proven to be broken.

edit on 20-6-2013 by uncommitted because: typo

Well we elect them in office, we pay their wages, we trust them to tell us information. How can it not be their duty? They are government servants. So you're saying that they have a right to lie, cheat, steal, commit fraud, breaking constitution laws. Last time I checked the fourth amendment was still in effect. Until they ratify it in congress they are breaking the law. That's not opinion that's fact. Recording private conversations without a warrant last time I checked is breaking the 4th. It's felony for anyone else and it's the same for government employee's.

Is this anything to do with that "Booz_Allen insurance" file that was available for download a while ago. Is the code on that website for unlocking that?

This guy is really pulling back the curtain on how our foreign policy works! Spying on the Brazilian presidents emails!?

Now they threaten to cancel state visits!?

NSA doing wonders for our stance in the world!

"Cognitive infiltration". Anybody remember that? The people who are running the intelligence apparatus of the most powerful country on earth are not amateurs.

reply to post by Indigo5


That is scary.
I wish I could live in a different time and place. Like 'Father Knows Best' or 'Dennis the Menace'( one that never existed, but hey).

reply to post by butcherguy


Yah..For me the scary part is accountability. Where as when the government gets busted for a bad operation...Iran/Contra, Watergate etc. ...people are impeached, people go to jail and voters kick them out of office. None of that accountability applies to private corporations conducting CIA Clandestine Operations, soup-to-nuts. As we discovered with the financial crisis, you can't put a corporation in jail, you can't impeach them, you can't hold them accountable for anything, certainly not to the obscure "shell" corporations that are created for these contracts..and if things ever get to hot, the simply "dissolve" and change their name to a new corp, like Blackwater did...and I know personally some of the BW folks, you don't want to know some of the crazy things they did for CIA/Black ops.