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NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

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Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#21

Post by AlwaysBCoding »

rrich wrote: post #10
tmuir wrote: post #7

This was public relations, plain and simple. Paint Snowden like a weirdo, ask softball question after softball question, give vague hints about the scary threats that deem this all necessary, and blindly trust the answers of the guy in charge of the entire operation, as if he had no incentive whatsoever to mislead anyone. Then wrap it all up with "Just how did we get this access that no other news agency could?" Gee,…

Yes. Put them in front of a group of young college students that have had time to hone their critical thinking skills, instead of government media shills, and you will get a very different perspective.

If you haven't seen this yet, it's absolute gold. The NSA getting grilled at a UWisconsin recruiting session.

http://mobandmultitude.com/2013/07/02/the-nsa-comes-recruiti...

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#23

Post by olefoo »

aagha wrote: post #13
olefoo wrote: post #4

The fact that Clapper is still in office months after it was revealed that he had in point of fact lied to congress during sworn testimony should tell you everything you need to know. The surveillance machinery formerly known as Total Information Awareness is being built and fielded with or without the consent of the governed and most definitely without the consent of those of us who don't happen to be "US Persons".…

Fully agreed. What's sadder is that Congress doesn't seem to have demanded anything be done to punish him.

Not entirely true:

Sensenbrenner (R, author of PATRIOT act) http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/12/09/sensenbrenner-clapper-s...

did come out on the side of prosecution.

So far he is the only one.

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#24

Post by ChrisNorstrom »

Quick Question about encrypted email: For extremely sensitive data, rather than mess with PGP for Thunderbird and private and public keys. Can't you just email a TrueCrypt container with a hidden TrueCrypt container inside of it back and forth between your clients?

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#25

Post by zw123456 »

olefoo wrote: post #4

The fact that Clapper is still in office months after it was revealed that he had in point of fact lied to congress during sworn testimony should tell you everything you need to know. The surveillance machinery formerly known as Total Information Awareness is being built and fielded with or without the consent of the governed and most definitely without the consent of those of us who don't happen to be "US Persons".…

Just my intuition, but I just saw the 60 minutes piece on the NSA and the General Alexander scares the putties out of me. Something is very very wrong here.

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#26

Post by harshreality »

Here we go again with the false dichotomy of metadata vs data.

There Is No Difference. Collecting metadata enables you to infer some data, psychology, and behavior directly, or you can identify the individual and cross-reference with other databases that contain data.

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#27

Post by tinalumfoil »

tmuir wrote: post #7

This was public relations, plain and simple. Paint Snowden like a weirdo, ask softball question after softball question, give vague hints about the scary threats that deem this all necessary, and blindly trust the answers of the guy in charge of the entire operation, as if he had no incentive whatsoever to mislead anyone. Then wrap it all up with "Just how did we get this access that no other news agency could?" Gee,…

If you look at the "behind the scenes" stuff you see they avoided all the tough questions. It was less about the NSA's justifications for their actions as much as how the NSA and people feel about the situation.

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#28

Post by res0nat0r »

olefoo wrote: post #4

The fact that Clapper is still in office months after it was revealed that he had in point of fact lied to congress during sworn testimony should tell you everything you need to know. The surveillance machinery formerly known as Total Information Awareness is being built and fielded with or without the consent of the governed and most definitely without the consent of those of us who don't happen to be "US Persons".…

Him lying to Congress actually isn't that black and white.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intel-dir-james-clapper-lie-c...

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#29

Post by GhotiFish »

tmuir wrote: post #7

This was public relations, plain and simple. Paint Snowden like a weirdo, ask softball question after softball question, give vague hints about the scary threats that deem this all necessary, and blindly trust the answers of the guy in charge of the entire operation, as if he had no incentive whatsoever to mislead anyone. Then wrap it all up with "Just how did we get this access that no other news agency could?" Gee,…

Many people can't exercise critical thinking, or will be trusting of what is said, but none the less I am glad this was posted.

I have critical thinking skills, I can asses what is said based on it's merits, and I'm not the only one. So to me this was an interesting (though mildly infuriating) article.

I do believe it's fair to give the opposing position a fair say. In charged issues, it's not uncommon for anything an opposing party said to be labeled as malicious propaganda, while supporting parties hurling emotionally charged insults are propped up as uncompromising paragons of truth.

This should be taken at it's word, this article is telling us that many people in the NSA truly believe that holding this much data on everyone isn't a problem, that there are such devastating threats (such as a BIOS virus who's vector is social engineering). That the meta data is harmless.

Don't call it propaganda, just respond.

Re: NSA speaks out on Snowden, spying [video]

#30

Post by rdtsc »

rrich wrote: post #12
olefoo wrote: post #4

The fact that Clapper is still in office months after it was revealed that he had in point of fact lied to congress during sworn testimony should tell you everything you need to know. The surveillance machinery formerly known as Total Information Awareness is being built and fielded with or without the consent of the governed and most definitely without the consent of those of us who don't happen to be "US Persons".…

For me, this is probably the most worrisome evidence of the current state of the government. I know FDR said there is nothing to fear but fear itself, but I fear nothing more than the wizard of oz, and I fear the wizard and NSA are one and the same. Back to programming this stuff scares the crap out of me.

> this stuff scares the crap out of me.

I used to live in the ex Soviet Union. Yeah, it was a time when things were thawing out, and people had stopped disappearing. One thing that was still there, that I remember, was a persistent fear of the state. Not acute, but kind of like a dull pain -- in the background, you feel it, and are aware of it. Jokes in private were made about the party and government, inefficiency and corruption. One had to be careful not too say too much in public, or they might find themselves without a job, or maybe worse.

With the recent NSA revelation, I am feeling the same kind of fear. I don't think they'll knock on my door later tonight. But instead I think about "should I post this comment?". Does it mean I will be put an a no-fly list? What if they mis-interpret my joke and then I can't get a job on a project because they'll read this joke 15 years later to me taken out of context? I would got to a protest to DC, but hmm, facial recognition will probably shove my image another another black list. Does that mean constant IRS audits from then on? Stuff like that.

It is not a fake fear, it is there. People engage in self-censorship already. I do it.

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