Panel Urges Major NSA Spying Overhaul 242
wiredmikey writes "A board set up to review the NSA's vast surveillance programs has called for a wide-ranging overhaul of National Security Agency practices while preserving 'robust' intelligence capabilities. The panel, set up by President Obama, issued 46 recommendations, including reforms at a secret national security court and an end to retention of telephone 'metadata' by the spy agency. The 308-page report (PDF) submitted last week to the White House and released publicly Wednesday says the US government needs to balance the interests of national security and intelligence gathering with privacy and 'protecting democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law.' Panel members said the recommendations would not necessarily mean a rolling back of intelligence gathering, including on foreign leaders, but that surveillance must be guided by standards and by high-level policymakers."
4th amendment? (Score:4, Informative)
I notice it says the goal is to "protect democracy*", but doesn't seem to mention the Bill of Rights or, specifically, the 4th amendment.
Telling, although not surprising.
* - It's possibly worth noting here that the United States is a republic, not a democracy.
Re:Bah! (Score:5, Informative)
Fox news? You mean the same people who complain about too much government involvement until it's their kind of government involvement?
Also, we also have to thank Glenn Greenwald and we have to not-thank the US press for failing to be trustworthy enough to be government watchdogs.
Re:Bah! (Score:2, Informative)
The fact that a board was even set up to review the NSA's surveillance programs is change that would not have occurred without Snowden making a stand.
The patriotism I'm talking about is something obviously over your head. It involves sacrifice to uphold what is right, no matter who you might piss off in the process.
Re:Won't make a difference (Score:5, Informative)
"However, several IAO projects continued to be funded and merely run under different names, as revealed by Edward Snowden during the course of the 2013
Re:Bah! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Bah! (Score:0, Informative)
Snowden has offered to help Brazil investigate US intelligence. Is that the patriotism you were referring to?
Why, yes, Yes it is.
Any spying on Brazil was for economic reasons, probably at the behest of corporations, not due to any threat to the US.
Smug AND clueless. Nice. Nice.
THE NEW CHINA-BRAZIL AXIS
http://prospect.org/article/new-china-brazil-axis [prospect.org]
"Last week, an interview at a Brazilian defense website revealed that China and Brazil had come to an agreement regarding the training of Chinese naval personnel on board the Sao Paulo, Brazil's only aircraft carrier. Brazil is one of the only four countries in the world to possess an aircraft carrier capable of launching and recovering conventional aircraft; the others are France, Russia, and the United States."
China Carrier Starts Second Round of Jet Tests
http://news.usni.org/2013/06/19/china-carrier-starts-second-round-of-jet-tests [usni.org]
"The People’s Liberation Army Navy has conducted a second round of jet tests aboard its aircraft carrier with its J-15 carrier-based fighter on Wednesday, according to a report from the Xinhua news agency.
The Chinese are being trained in carrier aviation —the most complicated military aviation operations — by a cadre of Brazilian carrier pilots."
Brazilian Nuclear Cooperation with the People's Republic of China
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/brazilian-nuclear-cooperation-the-peoples-republic-china [wilsoncenter.org]
Brazil, China build military industry ties
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2009/11/17/Brazil-China-build-military-industry-ties/UPI-86341258474208/ [upi.com]
Brazil builds Russian defense ties with missile plan
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/16/brazil-russia-idUSL1N0I61NC20131016 [reuters.com]
Brazil’s Iran Diplomacy Worries U.S. Officials
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/world/americas/15lula.html?_r=0 [nytimes.com]
Proposed Russian-Cuba-Venezuela Space Cooperation Raises Many Questions
http://jasonpoblete.com/2008/09/22/proposed-russian-cuba-venezuela-space-cooperation-raises-many-questions/ [jasonpoblete.com]
Yep, nooooo reason at all to be interested there.
Re:Thank you (Score:5, Informative)
Snowden's justification for his actions fall short of what a person truly concerned about civil liberties would have done. If I'm going to denounce my government's actions, I want the police to come. I want to be arrested, charged, and put on trial.
Two people prior to Snowden trusted the system, went through the official channels, and faced the music; William Binney [wikipedia.org] and Thomas Drake [wikipedia.org]. They were harrassed and prosecuted by the executive, marginalized and ignored by the major media. Their most significant achievement was making it clear to Snowden that he could not trust our legal system to seek truth and justice nor the old guard of the fourth estate to do its investigative duty.
Re:Bah! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Bah! (Score:2, Informative)
Yup, and as a consequence, Boeing just lost a 5 billion Dollar Brazillian aircraft order to the Swede SAAB.
That damned NSA, always costing Western Europe, costing the French business! Was it spying? Or just a business decision to go with the LOW BIDDER?
UPDATE 3-Saab wins Brazil jet deal after NSA spying sours Boeing bid [reuters.com]
Dassault, for its part, said it regrets Brazil's decision and called Saab's fighter an aircraft that was inferior to its Rafale jet.
"The Gripen is a lighter, single engine aircraft that does not match the Rafale in terms of performance and therefore does not carry the same price tag," it said.
Saab says the Gripen NG has the lowest logistical and operational costs of all fighters currently in service.
France soothes nerves over Dassault jets after Brazil setback [reuters.com]
Dassault Aviation shares fall after Brazil snubs rafale jet [reuters.com]
The simple fact is that Saab has a very competitive fighter that has won contracts in a number of countries, both in and out of Europe in the last few years, long before the NSA controversy. I think it is quite likely that they won completely on the merits but this is just a "twist of the knife" at an opportune time, but it has little reality. If you want to claim that it was really about the NSA instead of Saab being the low bidder with its fabulous Grippen, then you need to explain how Dassault lost too. Or is it French spying to blame? Why haven't we heard about that?
Brazil is continuing to do business with Russia aren't they? If you think that Brazil isn't crawling with Russian spies that are at least as aggressive as any the US has you are crazy. The Brazilians thought that the Russians warranted being spied up, just like they spied on the US.
Report: Brazil spied on property, personnel from US, Russian, Iranian embassies [startribune.com]
The Brazilian government confirmed Monday that its intelligence service targeted U.S., Russian, Iranian and Iraqi diplomats and property during spy activities carried out about a decade ago in the capital Brasilia.
Swedish industry has many fine products. They won contracts before the NSA scandal, they will continue to win them after the scandal. The only difference is now various people will engage in demagoguery proclaiming that every win by Sweden over the US, even if the rest of Europe competed and lost, will be because of NSA. "See! See! NSA!"
Thank goodness this isn't a food blog. Every order for Swedish lingonberries, meatballs, or aquavit would be proclaimed a victory over NSA.
Re:You had it coming (Score:4, Informative)
That is basically a strawman argument. Snowden hasn't provided any proof that the US engages in industrial espionage to directly benefit it's industry.
They've already been caught with their fingers in the pie a few times now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON#Examples_of_industrial_espionage [wikipedia.org]
Re:You had it coming (Score:4, Informative)
That is basically a strawman argument. Snowden hasn't provided any proof that the US engages in industrial espionage to directly benefit it's industry.
Maybe Snowden hasn't, but others have.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/10/nsa-busted-conducting-industrial-espionage-in-france-mexico-brazil-and-other-countries.html
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130909/04383424450/latest-leak-shows-nsa-engaging-economic-espionage-not-fighting-terrorism.shtml
So, yeah.