NewsRack: newstrust/US/National-Security

The NSA Hearing, by the Numbers - Wired Top Stories

Kim Zetter — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

The NSA Hearing, by the Numbers

Google challenges U.S. gag order, citing First Amendment - Washington Post

Craig Timberg — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it’s forced to give the government. ...

Civil liberties groups file lawsuit over NYPD surveillance of Muslims - The Guardian -- World Latest

Ryan Devereaux — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

New York police accused of religious profiling and suspicion-less surveillance of Muslim New Yorkers in years since 9/11 Asad "Ace" Dandie, a 20-year-old college student and Brooklyn native, thought nothing of the Facebook friend request he approved in March 2012. The 19-year-old at the other end of the exchange, Shamiur Rahman, told Dandia that he was struggling with a dark past and hoped to become a better Muslim. Rahman asked Dandia about "any events or anything" coming up. Dandia believed he was acting in accordance with his Muslim faith by inviting the young man to meet his friends in Fesabeelillah Services of NYC , an Islamic charity organization. "I gladly took him. We bonded. We shared stories," Dandia said. "He would come to me and he would tell me how I changed his life and I helped him become a better person." Seven months later, after inviting Rahman into his home for dinner with his family on numerous occasions and once hosting him overnight, Dandia learned the truth about ...

NSA Director Unable To Say If Secret Programs Alone Foiled Terrorist Plots - Think Progres

Hayes Brown — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

NSA Director Unable To Say If Secret Programs Alone Foiled Terrorist Plots

China rejects spy claims against Snowden - New Kerala: World News

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Beijing, June 17 : A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman on Monday described as "sheer nonsense" claims that a former U.S. intelligence contractor who is hiding in Hong Kong was an agent of China.

The terror diaspora - Le Monde Diplomatique

Nick Turse — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

The Gulf of Guinea. He said it without a hint of irony or embarrassment. This was one of U.S. Africa Command's big success stories. The Gulf... of Guinea.
Never mind that most Americans couldn't find it on a map and haven't heard of the nations on its shores like Gabon, Benin, and Togo. Never mind that just five days before I talked with AFRICOM's chief spokesman, the Economist had asked if the Gulf of Guinea was on the verge of becoming “another Somalia,” because piracy there had jumped 41% (...) - Open page

Edward Snowden's live Q&A: eight things we learned - The Guardian -- World Latest

Haroon Siddique — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Key points from the whistleblower's responses to questions about the NSA leak On Monday the whistleblower Edward Snowden gave an exclusive live Q&A to the Guardian to answer questions about the biggest intelligence leak in NSA history and revelations about government surveillance. Here are some key things we learned: 1. There is very little information on private individuals the intelligence services cannot get access to The reality is this: if an NSA, FBI, CIA, DIA [Defence Intelligence Agency], etc analyst has access to query raw SIGINT [signals intelligence] databases, they can enter and get results for anything they want. Phone number, email, user id, cell phone handset id (IMEI), and so on – it's all the same. The restrictions against this are policy based, not technically based, and can change at any time. Additionally, audits are cursory, incomplete, and easily fooled by fake justifications. For at least GCHQ, the number of audited queries is only 5% of those performed … If ...

Father urges NSA leaker: 'Come home' - BBC: World

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

The father of ex-CIA document leaker Edward Snowden, who is in hiding in Hong Kong, urges his son not to commit "treason" and to face justice.

Beijing rejects claim of Snowden being Chinese spy - Hindustan Times: World

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Beijing rejects claim of Snowden being Chinese spy

Why The FISA Court Is Not What It Used To Be - NPR: Morning Edition

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

President Obama says federal judges have been "overseeing" the recently exposed government surveillance programs. But few, if any, experts in the Bush or Obama administrations believe that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has the enforcement teeth it once had.

Syria, NSA Spying, Popular Mobilization and History: Cole Interview in La Prensa (Ricky Martinez) - Informed Comment

Juan Cole — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Interview with Juan Cole by Ricky Martínez (These are the English notes of the interview rearranged in pyramid form; they were translated and published in a different sequence in Spanish at La Prensa of Panama City). Many thanks to Mr. Martinez for a wide-ranging conversation! RM: How is Syria different from Libya? Syria is different [...]

North Korea says surveillance leaks prove U.S. is 'kingpin' of rights abuse - Chicago Tribune: Nation

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

North Korea says surveillance leaks prove U.S. is 'kingpin' of rights abuse

Witness: Man who disrupted flight ranted about CIA - AP National

By KATIE ZEZIMA — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A man loudly ranted about national security, the CIA and international spying aboard a flight from Hong Kong to Newark Monday, causing passengers to tackle him and bind his hands and feet for the duration of the flight....

Video: Charlie Rose With President Obama on Syria, Iran, and NSA Leaks - Little Green Footballs

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

FLV Movie

Via CharlieRose.com.

China dismisses hints that Snowden was its spy - Hindustan Times: World

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

China dismisses hints that Snowden was its spy

NSA leaker Edward Snowden: I'm not a spy for China - MSNBC

Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

NSA leaker Edward Snowden: I'm not a spy for China

UK Grapples with Spying Disclosure - ConsortiumNews.com

Consortiumnews.com — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

UK Grapples with Spying Disclosure

Turkey and Russia react with fury to G20 spying revelations - The Guardian - Google News India

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Turkey and Russia react with fury to G20 spying revelations The Guardian Turkey and Russia have angrily rounded on the British government and demanded an explanation following revelations that their politicians and senior officials were spied on and bugged during the 2009 G20 summit in London. The foreign ministry in Ankara ... Report: NSA Leaker Says Britain Spied on Foreign Diplomats in London Voice of America As G8 kicks off, Snowden documents reveal snooping at past summit Christian Science Monitor The Guardian: Britain, United States spied at summits Washington Post Bloomberg The Guardian New York Times all 140 news ...

Hong Kong says it will follow law in Snowden case - New Kerala: World News

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Beijing, June 17 : The government of Hong Kong, headed by Leung Chung-ying, said it will conduct itself in accord with the laws in the case of US former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, who is believed to be in hiding at an unknown location in the coastal enclave.

Udall says balance needed on privacy and security - Denver Post: Local

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Udall says balance needed on privacy and security

British Gov’t Spied on Diplomats at G20 (& on UN before Iraq War) - Informed Comment

Juan Cole — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

The Guardian is reporting that: “Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the instructions of their British government hosts, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Some delegates were tricked into using internet cafes which had [...]

NSA targeted Dmitry Medvedev at London G20 summit - The Guardian -- World Latest

Ewen MacAskill, Nick Davies, Nick Hopkins, Julian Borger, James Ball — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Leaked documents reveal Russian president was spied on during visit, as questions are raised over use of US base in Britain American spies based in the UK intercepted the top-secret communications of the then Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, during his visit to Britain for the G20 summit in London, leaked documents reveal. The details of the intercept were set out in a briefing prepared by the National Security Agency (NSA), America's biggest surveillance and eavesdropping organisation, and shared with high-ranking officials from Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The document, leaked by the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and seen by the Guardian, shows the agency believed it might have discovered "a change in the way Russian leadership signals have been normally transmitted". The disclosure underlines the importance of the US spy hub at RAF Menwith Hill in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, where hundreds of NSA analysts are based, working alongside liaison officers from GCHQ. ...

Pakistani militants shoot dead two polio vaccination workers - The Guardian -- World Latest

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Murders raise to nearly 20 the number of health workers killed on campaign to help rid Pakistan of endemic disease Gunmen have killed two anti-polio health workers in north-west Pakistan, police said on Sunday, in the latest violence directed at efforts to eradicate the endemic disease from the country. Two attackers shot the Pakistani health workers, who were on a vaccination drive in Kandar village, said Swabi district police chief, Mohammad Saeed. The gunmen arrived on foot and later disappeared, he added. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. But some militant groups oppose the vaccinations and accuse the workers of spying for the US. They point out the case of the CIA using a Pakistani doctor to collect blood samples from the family of Osama bin Laden in order to track him down and kill him in Pakistan in 2011. Militants also try to block inoculation campaigns by portraying them as a conspiracy to sterilise and reduce the world's Muslim population. Over the past year, ...

Minnesota Poll finds acceptance of NSA data collection program - Star Tribune: Politics

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

In fight against terror, most Minnesotans support NSA program.

Data behind calls, Web use reveals a lot - Twincities.com: Nation

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:30:00 GMT

The general's mistress thought she was being clever by using anonymous e-mail accounts and sending messages using hotel WiFi networks. But metadata -- in this case the Internet protocol addresses pointing to network locations -- gave her away.