Karzai: NATO Caused Lot of Suffering and Death, Yet Afghanistan Is Not Secure
[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_zHbMa0iJU']
Last week, we learned that Hamid Karzai's strong objection to the US continuing to control death squads inside Afghanistan after the NATO mission officially concludes at the…
The FBI's Official "CAIR Has Cooties Guidance Directive [Redacted]"
I had just about come to the conclusion that Michael Horowitz, DOJ's Inspector General who took over after Glenn Fine retired in 2010, was a worthy successor. In recent weeks, Horowitz has released reports critical of DOJ's handling of classified…
US Embarrasses Self Again on Symbolism of Newest Floating Prison
I fought what seemed to be a one-person battle over what appeared to me to be efforts by the United States to rehabilitate the image of the USS Bataan. In 2010, I pointed out the depravity of using a ship that once was a floating torture…
How Can NSA Protect Our Power Grid from Cyberattack When It Can't Keep Its Own Power On?
In the United States, it is usually a safe bet to attribute massive government fuck-ups to the bloated contractors we've outsourced our projects to.
And the electrical problems plaguing NSA's new UT data center -- described as lightening…
The Other Things the Government Is Hiding from Dzhokhar's Lawyers
As Josh Gerstein reported earlier today, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev repeatedly asked for a lawyer during his interrogation -- and the government has not turned over details about the extent of his requests to his lawyers.
That's interesting enough…
6 Years Later, Are the Internet Companies Trying to Expose Telecoms Stealing Their Data, Again?
Update: And now this, too, has been halted because of the shutdown (h/t Mike Scarcella). This motion suggests the government asked the Internet companies for a stay on Friday. This one suggests the Internet companies asked the government for…
McCaffrey the MilleniaLab's Trash Talk
[This week's Trash is by an esteemed guest poster, McCaffrey]
WOOOFFF!!
Hi there fine humans that inhabit and visit this here blog! My name is McCaffrey, and I allow Mr. and Mrs. Wheel to live with me in my house. Now, much like the grand…
I Con the Record Admits All This Spying Also Serves Counterintelligence
James Clapper has a statement up at I Con the Record trying to dismiss any concerns that the US is using the same kind of technologies as China uses against its people to crack Tor.
As per usual, Clapper complains that the stories don't paint…
"Tor Stinks" ... because It Requires Manual (Digital) Tails
"Tor stinks," the Guardian reports one NSA document asserting, in a new story on NSA's efforts to break that encryption system.
And while Bruce Schneier explains how the NSA uses similar techniques to those the Chinese government uses to…
Upstream US Person Collection: EO 12333 and/or FISA?
Keith Alexander had a really bizarre response to a question from Mazie Hirono in Tuesday's hearing.
SEN. HIRONO: I have one more question, Mr. Chairman. General Alexander, is PRISM the only intelligence program NSA runs under FISA Section 702?
GEN.…
The Scandal of Lying about "Thwarted" "Plots" Started 4 Years Ago
As predicted, one big takeaway from yesterday's NSA hearing (the other being the obviously partial disclosure about location tracking) is Keith Alexander's admission that rather than 54 "plots" "thwarted" in the US thanks to the dragnet, only…
Is Carmen Ortiz Subjecting Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to Solitary To Prevent Him from Learning about Developments in Florida?
On August 27, Attorney General Eric Holder imposed Special Administrative Measures on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the request of US Attorney Carmen Ortiz. Yesterday, Dzhokhar's lawyers challenged the SAMs.
Josh Gerstein provides a good overview…
Massive Obama Administration Leaks on Covert CIA Program Training Syrian Rebels
Last night, Remi Brulin pointed out on Twitter that Greg Miller's article in the Washington Post contains a lot of leaks describing a program that is supposed to be covert:
There sure R a lot of US officials talking about classified ops in…
EFF: The Fourth Amendment Is Not Top Secret
EFF is requesting that the judge in its FOIA for the October 3, 2011 John Bates FISA Court opinion, Amy Berman Jackson, review the redactions currently in the document to ensure they are properly classified. (h/t Mike Scarcella) It argues the…
David Kris: I'm Not Saying CIA Shoots Drones, Assassinates Americans, and Influences Media, But ...
In the passage of David Kris' paper that address more public transparency, he included on paragraph on covert action.
For example, the covert action statute 221 could be interpreted and applied in ways that may be extraordinarily important,…
James Clapper Proves Inadequate Oversight by Refusing to Answer EO 12333 Questions
The headlines from today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on NSA will no doubt be that Pat Leahy forced Keith Alexander to admit they've been lying about whether the 54 "plots" they "thwarted" were really "plots" or "thwarted" in the…
David Kris Outlines the Internet Dragnet Elephant
Way back on page 64 (of 67) of former Assistant Attorney General for National Security David Kris' paper "On the Bulk Collection of Tangible Things," he invokes the elephant metaphor the President used to promise more NSA disclosures on…
SOFA Unlikely Due to Karzai's Objection to Death Squads
The US has set the end of this month as its artificial deadline for signing a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA, also Bilateral Security Agreement, or BSA) with Afghanistan to govern the presence of US troops inside Afghanistan after the scheduled…
David Kris Joins Ben Wittes in His NAKED! Choir
I know, I know. I've promised my substantive post on David Kris' paper on the phone and Internet dragnets.
I know, I know. My repeated harping on the failure to inform the 2011 House freshmen about the dragnet is getting tedious.
But Kris…
David Kris Points to the Clause Loopholed Under David Barron on Metadata Collection
I'm working on a longer post on David Kris' paper on the phone [and Internet] dragnets.
But for the moment, I want to note that he strongly implies the US is relying on 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(f) to collect international metadata. He does it…