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The NSA: An Inside View

lorensr.me

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Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#141

Post by christianmann »

revelation wrote: post #46
jonknee wrote: post #37

Interesting to get a look at what it's like to be inside the bubble. It's compartmentalized enough that the individual actors can justify their actions by the assumed competence and benevolence of the others. > I didn't test it, but I'm sure there was automated analysis that prevented or flagged use of US selectors. The mental leap here is subtle, but substantial. Since I have been told I can't use US selectors , I a…

Well, following his explanations, you can fail the polygraph and just do it again. The cost of failure is zero, so really just keep trying. (I personally loved the bizarre mix between cyber war, nukes and North Korea. He seems to have the mindset of a paranoid Stalin, always wary of others when he's the one terrorizing.)

At a certain point they're likely to cut you off and stop wasting their time watching you fail the poly.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#142

Post by SwellJoe »

This is why I don't believe the president's assertion about the employees of the NSA being innocent of wrongdoing or anyone's assertion of them being "good guys".

This is apologia for crimes against the world and the American people. This is saying, "If you don't have anything to hide, you have nothing to worry about." This is demonstrably filled with lies and misrepresentations, whether intentional or through ignorance of what the rest of the NSA beast has been up to (but, if he has followed the Snowden leaks with more than passing interest, he would know he's lying in blatant and obvious ways).

I'm sure this article is meant to quell fears about NSA spying practices, but it only makes me more angry and more fearful. It confirms something I suspected but didn't want to believe: The entire organization from low-level analysts on up to the leadership (who will repeatedly lie to Congress to serve their ends) is corrupt and will exhibit little or no remorse even when caught red-handed, and will spread astroturf and refuse to acknowledge that their behavior crosses lines that should have never been crossed by a US agency.

I'm getting close to believing that starting any online service in the United States is unethical, because of what it will do to its users.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#143

Post by csandreasen »

pera wrote: post #61
lorendsr wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offense taken. I was not asked to write this, nor guided in its contents by the government.

Really? why should anyone trust in anything coming from the NSA when you are systematically lying again and again? why should we listen to anything you say when historically, part of your strategy is to try to influence the PoV of society || specifics groups? Specifically: how are you so sure about what the NSA is doing? in your article you say that the NSA does not do SI on US citizens without a warrant, but how can…

why should anyone trust in anything coming from the NSA when you are systematically lying again and again?

That's a bold claim - do you have any evidence that lorendsr, who is by his own admission no longer employed by the NSA, has been systematically lying again and again? Or that historically, part of his strategy is to try to influence society or specific groups? Or are you claiming that part of the NSA's employment process is the removal of independent thought and plugging into the collective hive mind?

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#144

Post by shitlord »

atmosx wrote: post #116

I stopped reading after the patriot paragraph. I don't like concepts that divide people and patriotism is inherently bad for the world. It brings only war and pain. I love my country but I never met a patriot that could think straight.

> I stopped reading after the patriot paragraph.

So you read two sentences and felt qualified to post a comment about the article anyway? You're nitpicking.

> I love my country but I never met a patriot that could think straight.

If you bothered to read more, you would realize that you/OP are talking about the same thing: "I care about the US and its future". You merely disagree on the means to that end.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#146

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

jjoonathan wrote: post #138
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> by the very nature of the restricted work environment at intelligence agencies, it's not reasonable to expect him to have a complete picture. How is that different from "he lacks credibility" ?

Credibility and scope are two different things. His claims can have limited scope and still be credible. I don't see any reason to doubt his character.

> I don't see any reason to doubt his character

His character is secondary to his veracity.

> His claims can have limited scope and still be credible.

His claims were about the NSA. That is the scope over which we all agree he is not a credible source on.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#147

Post by shitlord »

csandreasen wrote: post #143
pera wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? why should anyone trust in anything coming from the NSA when you are systematically lying again and again? why should we listen to anything you say when historically, part of your strategy is to try to influence the PoV of society || specifics groups? Specifically: how are you so sure about what the NSA is doing? in your article you say that the NSA does not do SI on US citizens without a warrant, but how can…

why should anyone trust in anything coming from the NSA when you are systematically lying again and again? That's a bold claim - do you have any evidence that lorendsr, who is by his own admission no longer employed by the NSA, has been systematically lying again and again? Or that historically, part of his strategy is to try to influence society or specific groups? Or are you claiming that part of the NSA's employme…

> Or are you claiming that part of the NSA's employment process is the removal of independent thought and plugging into the collective hive mind?

That is most likely the reason. Even reddit doesn't jerk this hard.

The OP's submission is a valuable one, even if you disagree with his views.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#148

Post by cinquemb »

Interestingly enough, 60 minutes will have an "Inside View" of the NSA tonight. This just keeps getting better… I'll be sure to absorb this message and the probable similar message that will be broadcasted to the masses tonight.

Yeah, buddy, I'll believe you… just keep telling me over and over and it will sink in eventually. ;)

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#149

Post by manish_gill »

> Analysts don’t care about what’s going on in your life. Only until they do

> the Agency makes the distinction that looking at data is surveillance, while gathering it from locations outside the US is not. We gathered everything, and only looked at a tiny percentage of it."

"Cheer up, we're just collecting everything about your private life, we're not looking at it...mostly!"

So, besides a lot of fear mongering about Cold War and Nuclear Weapons (yes it is fear mongering, and mostly irrelevant to the debate, given your average citizen, whom you're spying on, is not about to go detonate one), what you have to offer is anecdotal evidence of your own time at NSA, who are all supposedly highly intelligent and trained individuals who can do no wrong. And what you're saying is that essentially, we're supposed to feel at ease because you don't care about our lives.

...and of course, your post is approved for publication by the NSA.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#150

Post by femto »

lorendsr wrote: post #29
mtgentry wrote: post #19

No offense to OP, but this reads like propaganda to me. It feels like someone at the Pentagon realized they weren't winning the war of the minds of hackers, so they encouraged some of their own to blog about their experiences. I hate to sound like a tin hat wearing conspiracist. I really do. But I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of concerted effort by the NSA to encourage a dialogue with hackers on platf…

No offense taken. I was not asked to write this, nor guided in its contents by the government.

> nor guided in its contents by the government.

Are you sure about this?

The government tells you what is classified and what isn't. If you have ever been privy to any classified material, you will have made the decision to self-censor that information, to keep the essay unclassified. In other words, you will have removed information that the government told you it didn't want published.

Granted the control wasn't overt, but the government has influenced your writing via your past and the controls that were embedded when you went though your initial security induction.

If it works differently to this, please do explain it to me, as I would be interested to know.

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