Yesterday we reported that in a historic first,
an unknown group of hackers, the "Shadow Brokers" had hacked the NSA's
cuberattack hacking division, "The Equation Group." Many were wondering
what are the strategic implications of this dramatic escalation, which
took place just as the US was accusing Russia of virtually every other
recent prominent hacking, and whether it suggested something bigger was
taking place behind the scenes.
Today, the most famous NSA (ex) employee, Edward Snowden, chimed in
on this topic in a tweetstorm in which he tries to explain who did it:
Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicates Russian
responsibility. I suspect this is more diplomacy than intelligence,
related to the escalation around the DNC hack
... why they did it:
This leak is likely a warning that someone can prove US responsibility for any attacks that originated from this malware server.
... and the consequences:
That could have significant foreign policy consequences. Particularly
if any of those operations targeted US allies. Particularly if any of
those operations targeted elections. Accordingly, this may be an
effort to influence the calculus of decision-makers wondering how
sharply to respond to the DNC hacks.
and concludes as follows:
this leak looks like a somebody sending a message that an escalation in the attribution game could get messy fast.
In effect, Snowden suggest that Russia has either had enough of being
accused for every hack in the US, or of being hacked itself, and is now
retaliating. If he is correct, this is a far greater transgression by
the Kremlin, and one which would absolutely necessitate a proportional
US response to something which very well may have originated in Russia.
The question is whether the administration, which has so far lobbed
softballs as Putin for DNC hacks which may well have been done by 16
year old American hacker, will have the guts to retaliate to what is the
first real act of global cyberagression.
Here is his full series of tweets on the topic (it can be found here in its original).
The hack of an NSA malware staging server is not unprecedented, but
the publication of the take is. Here's what you need to know:
1) NSA traces and targets malware C2 servers in a practice called
Counter Computer Network Exploitation, or CCNE. So do our rivals.
2) NSA is often lurking undetected for years on the C2 and ORBs
(proxy hops) of state hackers. This is how we follow their operations.
3) This is how we steal their rivals' hacking tools and
reverse-engineer them to create "fingerprints" to help us detect them in
the future.
4) Here's where it gets interesting: the NSA is not made of magic.
Our rivals do the same thing to us -- and occasionally succeed.
5) Knowing this, NSA's hackers (TAO) are told not to leave their
hack tools ("binaries") on the server after an op. But people get lazy.
6) What's new? NSA malware staging servers getting hacked by a rival
is not new. A rival publicly demonstrating they have done so is.
7) Why did they do it? No one knows, but I suspect this is more
diplomacy than intelligence, related to the escalation around the DNC
hack.
8) Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicates Russian responsibility. Here's why that is significant:
9) This leak is likely a warning that someone can prove US
responsibility for any attacks that originated from this malware server.
10) That could have significant foreign policy consequences. Particularly if any of those operations targeted US allies.
11) Particularly if any of those operations targeted elections.
12) Accordingly, this may be an effort to influence the calculus of
decision-makers wondering how sharply to respond to the DNC hacks.
A convenient summary:
13) TL;DR: This leak looks like a somebody sending a message that an escalation in the attribution game could get messy fast.
And a bonus take:
Bonus: When I came forward, NSA would have migrated offensive
operations to new servers as a precaution - it's cheap and easy. So?
So...
The undetected hacker squatting on this NSA server lost access in
June 2013. Rare public data point on the positive results of the leak.
You're welcome, @NSAGov. Lots of love.
“The way things are supposed to work is that we’re
supposed to know virtually everything about what [government officials]
do: that’s why they’re called public servants. They’re supposed to know virtually nothing about what we do: that’s why we’re called private individuals. This dynamic – the hallmark of a healthy and free society – has been radically reversed. Now, they know everything about what we do, and are constantly building systems to know more.
Meanwhile, we know less and less about what they do, as they build
walls of secrecy behind which they function. That’s the imbalance that
needs to come to an end. No democracy can be healthy and functional if
the most consequential acts of those who wield political power are
completely unknown to those to whom they are supposed to be
accountable.” ― Glenn Greenwald
Government eyes are watching you.
They see your every move: what you read, how much you spend, where
you go, with whom you interact, when you wake up in the morning, what
you’re watching on television and reading on the internet.
Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and
tabulated in order to form a picture of who you are, what makes you
tick, and how best to control you when and if it becomes necessary to
bring you in line.
Simply by liking or sharing this article on Facebook or retweeting it on Twitter, you’re most likely flagging yourself as a potential renegade, revolutionary or anti-government extremist—a.k.a. terrorist.
Yet whether or not you like or share this particular article, simply
by reading it or any other articles related to government wrongdoing,
surveillance, police misconduct or civil liberties is enough to get you
categorized as a particular kind of person with particular kinds of
interests that reflect a particular kind of mindset that might just lead you to engage in a particular kinds of activities.
Chances are, as the Washington Post reports, you have already been assigned a color-coded threat score—green,
yellow or red—so police are forewarned about your potential inclination
to be a troublemaker depending on whether you’ve had a career in the
military, posted a comment perceived as threatening on Facebook, suffer
from a particular medical condition, or know someone who knows someone
who might have committed a crime.
In other words, you might already be flagged as potentially anti-government in a government database somewhere—Main Core, for example—that identifies and tracks individuals who aren’t inclined to march in lockstep to the police state’s dictates.
The government has the know-how.
As The Intercept recently reported,
the FBI, CIA, NSA and other government agencies are increasingly
investing in and relying on corporate surveillance technologies that can
mine constitutionally protected speech on social media platforms such
as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to identify potential
extremists and predict who might engage in future acts of
anti-government behavior.
Now all it needs is the data, which more than 90% of young adults and 65% of American adults are happy to provide.
When the government sees all and knows all and has an abundance of
laws to render even the most seemingly upstanding citizen a criminal and
lawbreaker, then the old adage that you’ve got nothing to worry about
if you’ve got nothing to hide no longer applies.
Apart from the obvious dangers posed by a government that feels
justified and empowered to spy on its people and use its ever-expanding
arsenal of weapons and technology to monitor and control them, we’re
approaching a time in which we will be forced to choose between obeying
the dictates of the government—i.e., the law, or whatever a government
official deems the law to be—and maintaining our individuality,
integrity and independence.
When people talk about privacy, they mistakenly assume it protects
only that which is hidden behind a wall or under one’s clothing. The
courts have fostered this misunderstanding with their constantly
shifting delineation of what constitutes an “expectation of privacy.”
And technology has furthered muddied the waters. However, privacy is so
much more than what you do or say behind locked doors. It is a way of
living one’s life firm in the belief that you are the master of your
life, and barring any immediate danger to another person (which is far
different from the carefully crafted threats to national security the
government uses to justify its actions), it’s no one’s business what you
read, what you say, where you go, whom you spend your time with, and
how you spend your money.
Unfortunately, privacy as we once knew it is dead.
George Orwell’s 1984—where “you had to live—did live, from
habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made
was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized”—has
become our reality.
We now find ourselves in the unenviable position of being monitored,
managed and controlled by our technology, which answers not to us but to
our government and corporate rulers.
Consider that on any given day, the average American going about his
daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in
more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and
ears. A byproduct of this new age in which we live, whether you’re
walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to
friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government
agency, whether the NSA or some other entity, is listening in and
tracking your behavior.
As I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People,
this doesn’t even begin to touch on the corporate trackers that monitor
your purchases, web browsing, Facebook posts and other activities
taking place in the cyber sphere.
For example, police have been using Stingray devices mounted on their cruisers to intercept cell phone calls and text messages without court-issued search warrants. Doppler radar devices,
which can detect human breathing and movement within in a home, are
already being employed by the police to deliver arrest warrants and are
being challenged in court.
License plate readers, yet another law enforcement spying device made
possible through funding by the Department of Homeland Security, can record up to 1800 license plates per minute. Moreover, these surveillance cameras can also photograph those inside a moving car.
Reports indicate that the Drug Enforcement Administration has been
using the cameras in conjunction with facial recognition software to
build a “vehicle surveillance database” of the nation’s cars, drivers
and passengers. Sidewalk and “public space” cameras,
sold to gullible communities as a sure-fire means of fighting crime, is
yet another DHS program that is blanketing small and large towns alike
with government-funded and monitored surveillance cameras. It’s
all part of a public-private partnership that gives government
officials access to all manner of surveillance cameras, on sidewalks, on
buildings, on buses, even those installed on private property.
Couple these surveillance cameras with facial recognition and behavior-sensing technology and you have the makings of “pre-crime” cameras,
which scan your mannerisms, compare you to pre-set parameters for
“normal” behavior, and alert the police if you trigger any computerized
alarms as being “suspicious.”
State and federal law enforcement agencies are pushing to expand
their biometric and DNA databases by requiring that anyone accused of a
misdemeanor have their DNA collected and catalogued. However, technology
is already available that allows the government to collect biometrics
such as fingerprints from a distance, without a person’s cooperation or
knowledge. One system can actually scan and identify a fingerprint from nearly 20 feet away.
Developers are hard at work on a radar gun that can actually show if you or someone in your car is texting. Another technology being developed, dubbed a “textalyzer”
device, would allow police to determine whether someone was driving
while distracted. Refusing to submit one’s phone to testing could result
in a suspended or revoked driver’s license.
It’s a sure bet that anything the government welcomes (and funds) too
enthusiastically is bound to be a Trojan horse full of nasty, invasive
surprises. Case in point: police body cameras. Hailed as the easy fix
solution to police abuses, these body cameras—made possible by funding from the Department of Justice—will
turn police officers into roving surveillance cameras. Of course, if
you try to request access to that footage, you’ll find yourself being
led a merry and costly chase through miles of red tape, bureaucratic footmen and unhelpful courts.
The “internet of things” refers to the growing number of “smart”
appliances and electronic devices now connected to the internet and
capable of interacting with each other and being controlled remotely.
These range from thermostats and coffee makers to cars and TVs. Of
course, there’s a price to pay for such easy control and access. That
price amounts to relinquishing ultimate control of and access to your
home to the government and its corporate partners. For example, while Samsung’s Smart TVs are capable of “listening” to what you say,
thereby allowing users to control the TV using voice commands, it also
records everything you say and relays it to a third party, e.g., the
government.
Then again, the government doesn’t really need to spy on you using your smart TV when the FBI can remotely activate the microphone on your cellphone and record your conversations. The FBI can also do the same thing to laptop computers without the owner knowing any better.
Drones, which are taking to the skies en masse, are the converging
point for all of the weapons and technology already available to law
enforcement agencies. In fact, drones that can listen in on your phone
calls, see through the walls of your home, scan your biometrics,
photograph you and track your movements, and even corral you with
sophisticated weaponry.
Technology has upped the stakes dramatically.
All of these technologies add up to a society in which there’s little
room for indiscretions, imperfections, or acts of
independence—especially not when the government can listen in on your
phone calls, monitor your driving habits, track your movements,
scrutinize your purchases and peer through the walls of your home.
In such an environment, you’re either a paragon of virtue, or you’re a criminal.
This is the creepy, calculating yet diabolical genius of the American
police state: the very technology we hailed as revolutionary and
liberating has become our prison, jailer, probation officer, Big Brother
and Father Knows Best all rolled into one.
Thus, to be an individual today, to not conform, to have even a shred
of privacy, and to live beyond the reach of the government’s roaming
eyes and technological spies, one must not only be a rebel but rebel.
As Philip K. Dick, the visionary who gave us Minority Report and Blade Runner, advised:
If, as it seems, we are in the process of becoming a
totalitarian society in which the state apparatus is all-powerful, the
ethics most important for the survival of the true, free, human
individual would be: cheat, lie, evade, fake it, be elsewhere, forge
documents, build improved electronic gadgets in your garage that’ll
outwit the gadgets used by the authorities.
Karen Stewart, with companion and protector, Mariska, the Anatolian Shepherd In Karen’s own words: Born in the late 1950s, to
an Air Force Officer and his wife. We lived all over the country and in
Germany during his career. I had an interest in foreign languages and
art, so I got the equivalent of a double major at FSU in German and Fine
Art. When I graduated college I applied to the National Security Agency
to work as a linguist (translate and report foreign material of
interest to the government), and after a stringent background check, was
hired in 1982 by NSA. I lived in Columbia, Maryland with my husband. I
worked at NSA until 2010 when I was railroaded out of NSA just two years
before I could retire because I had dared ask the Inspector General to
investigate a matter involving work credit and promotion theft. I moved
to Florida in 2011 to get away and wait for the lawsuit (appeal to
forbidden retaliatory firing) to be adjudicated by the Judge Lawrence
Gallagher at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in
Baltimore.
Ramola D: Thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview. I
have been reading scripts of your Renew America interviews and have
listened to your conversations on Wheel of Freedom and Boiling Frogs
Post with much interest. To encapsulate somewhat, it sounds like a complaint process
you began internally with the NSA Inspector General about an
Intelligence report you had authored but wasn’t credited for led to all
sorts of repercussions—threats to give you an unfavorable psychological
evaluation contrary to routine periodic psychological test results,
being cheated out of a double promotion, being transferred to a menial
job to punish you for pursuing an IG complaint, then termination, and
NSA Security then stalking you, surveilling you, harassing you. Was that
how it started? Karen Stewart: Yes, an intelligence report series I
authored in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom was purposely
mis-credited to an unremarkable, under-educated woman who was sleeping
her way through male managers above me in the Weapons and Space
Directorate, in order to get ahead, and they rewarded her sexual favors
to them with a double promotion for my seminal work which had engendered
a large project that others estimated had saved hundreds of lives if
not more. I simply asked the NSA Inspector General to look into a claim
by a promotion board member that my Technical Lead and my Office Chief
had lied to the promotion board to get the wrong person promoted.
I had no idea that the full might of NSA Security and the Inspector
General’s Office would come down on me to utterly destroy me and my
career for simply asking that an egregious wrong be corrected. I was
astonished at NSA Security feigning of oblivious ignorance of the evil
done to me while refusing to interview my witnesses or look at proof,
when NSA routine internal propaganda always encouraged fair play and
bringing problems to light and even touted their dedication to the
Federal “No Fear Act”, which specifically encouraged employees to report
wrong doing with no fear of repercussions.
But their immediate attack-dog approach to fabricating wrong-doing on
my part (coaching the villains who had done me wrong to accuse me of
leaking the first information ex-NSA executive Thomas Drake had actually
leaked) in order to derail and discredit my legitimate request for IG
assistance belied that façade. It was truly a nightmare trying to deal
with the cadre of well-rehearsed, pathological liars that populated NSA
Security, the likes of which I had never known previously existed at
NSA.
I had passed my initial interview polygraph easily in 1982 and had
always passed my re-investigation polygraphs with no problem for more
than 20 years (until Security decided to demand a polygraph just before
which I was screamed at and threatened due to my pursuing recourse for
my stolen work credit and double promotion), and never had had any
situation occur previously in regard to my behavior that necessitated
the interest of NSA Security much less their involvement.
Over the years, I had indeed heard the occasional story of Security
stupidity, such as Security hassling a female employee for dating a
foreigner – who was a Canadian citizen, fully cleared to work at NSA,
which is where she had met him, yet they hassled her as if she were
dating a North Korean spy, so you knew Security was rather 1-dimensional
like police tend to be.
But I had not yet heard the vicious NSA Security persecution stories
from others until Security decided it would be better to wrongfully
destroy me as well as my career than admit that Weapons & Space’s
managers were trading promotions for sexual favors and correct that
situation. (Worse yet, all these managers were now compromised and
subject to blackmail). You’ve said the persecution and harassment actually followed
you from Maryland to Florida, and escalated into covert EMF and
Directed-Energy-Weapon (DEW) attacks. You are the second NSA
whistleblower, I think, after Mark Novitsky, to speak openly of
harassment with DEW attacks—although others have reported extreme
harassment too–and I am learning Thomas Drake has, too. Were you aware
of any of this kind of illegal and criminal surveillance and assault
with DEWs when you worked at NSA? Karen Stewart: Once word spread about my situation
during the workplace harassment (2006-2009), a handful of others
volunteered their own NSA Security wrongful persecution stories.
In one case, Security hounded a woman in order to drive her out of the agency merely for dating the wrong man! Her
boyfriend worked at NSA also. The man’s mother did not like her and did
not want her as a daughter-in-law, so she told a female friend who was
an executive at NSA. The executive suggested falsifying claims to the
FBI that the young woman had given her classified information regarding
9/11, so she did. The FBI found no such evidence and dropped the issue.
NSA Security however, viciously hounded the woman out of a job anyway as
a favor to the executive. Several such insane attacks were related to
me after I was targeted but I had not heard such stories before.
NSA’s stalking harassment of me lasted the first time from 2006-2009,
with Security involving duped civilians in Columbia, MD where I lived,
the last four months of that time period. The effort collapsed however
once I began approaching the civilians and telling them the true story.
Apparently fights began breaking out in the neighborhood meeting house
in Phelps Luck when the proxy stalkers realized they had been played for
fools.
At no time had I ever heard of electronic harassment being used by NSA before it began happening to me in 2015 though.
And I would venture to say that the vast number of NSA employees
working legitimate targets (foreign threats on foreign soil) would have a
hard time imagining that NSA has this deeply depraved and rogue,
unaccountable, evil side. Were people inside NSA aware of other aspects of your
harassment by NSA Security? Did your colleagues learn about these
electronic harassment programs mainly from you? Karen Stewart: Those closest to me either saw the
harassment by Security at work, experienced it second hand because of
their relationship to me, or having known me many years, trusted my
judgment and integrity to believe me, or they had heard a similar NSA
Security harassment nightmare story from another co-worker.
But at that time no one I knew had heard of electronic harassment and
I would venture to say most NSA employees now either have not or think
it’s a myth of some kind. (And even now, disinformation about this is
finding a place in Wikipedia to dissuade non-victims from heeding our
warnings that we are watching our own government ramping up for a
holocaust of its own citizens.) I have been keeping certain NSA friends
informed about the addition of the electronic harassment and they are
horrified. No one understands what sense it makes to do this to any
human being, much less why a government would dedicate such vast
resources to gratuitous torture and murder of its best citizens.
The real NSA Security in my experience looking back, was all about
covering up the abuses of upper management not about correct, fair, or
lawful no matter the internal propaganda. And they could well be the
most effective blackmail force within the NSA, sending loose women to
compromise managers for the agenda of those running NSA Security or
their masters, whoever they actually are.
In a discussion face to face with ex-NSA whistleblower, Russell Tice,
arranged by a mutual friend, we compared our wanton persecutions for
doing our jobs too well. At that point, around 2010, we did not know
about electronic harassment either but by then we knew there were many
stories about recent (then) Security stalking harassment cases. Did NSA Security change in any way after 9/11? Is it possible
these covert programs are being hidden even from employees? Would
people from inside whistle-blow if they knew? Karen Stewart: Russell Tice credited the change in
NSA Security from a much more professional group before 9/11 to a rogue,
criminal element with the promotion by former Director of NSA (DIRNSA)
General Hayden of a middle manager, L. Kemp Ensor III, to operational
head of NSA Security.
This middle manager was later rumored to be an actual psychopath
obsessed with paintings of Dante’s Inferno (people being tortured) which
he displayed on his office walls.
NSA is segregated into many compartmented areas as well as by topic
and target area. For instance, you could not necessarily just walk into
another office, many had restricted access – unless you worked the
project, you could not enter the office. So any such project that
targeted American citizens such as electronic harassment would have been
deeply hidden not only because it was blatantly unconstitutional and
criminal but its existence would have cost NSA many good people leaving
NSA employ in protest. Because they would not have been legally able to
tell the world about such a program without being subject to arrest for
divulging classified information–even if it was evidence of a crime,
which is yet another proof of the blatant flaws in Congressional
oversight programs. Have you been approached by major media yet to tell your story? Karen Stewart: I attempted to contact media during the first stalking and harassment campaign in 2009, and Siobhan Gorman of the Wall Street Journal even
informed me that my story about being aggressively stalked by NSA
Security was very similar to not only other “whistleblowers” but to
stories other journalists told each other about also being stalked and
harassed by NSA Security after they had written a less than flattering
story about NSA.
I was on the verge of giving my story to Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post that
same year when NSA demanded that the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) judge, Lawrence Gallagher, at the EEOC in Baltimore,
order a gag order on my EEOC appeal to NSA’s planned wrongful
termination of me at the 28-year point in my career.
Since I was facing imminent termination (based on outrageous Security
lies even they could not speak with a straight face), I could not spare
the money to fight the order.
But obviously I am breaking it now because NSA did so itself in order
to play the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the
Tallahassee FBI for fools. NSA’s 1-trick pony in persecuting
whistleblowers is viciously slandering the person based solely on NSA
Security lies and fabrications. This was used to elicit the help of the
FDLE and their civilian vigilante group “Infragard” to participate in
criminal, organized stalking. This was NSA’s immediate reaction to my
lawyer’s subpoena in February 2015 of evidence corroborating the
identity of NSA executive Eric Hagemann, now retired, the man who I had
seen leaving my home after a break-in shortly after I had contacted the
NSA Inspector General (2006) about investigating the theft of my work
credit and a double promotion in 2004/2005. Karen Stewart, also artist and caricaturist, offers this
caricature of the NSA burglar she saw who broke into her home within a
couple weeks of her IG complaint, whom she saw 2 days later at NSA. “Eric packed up and fled Laurel, MD after the subpoena, his
retirement photo business, Solstice Photos went dead. He must have done
some REALLY bad things in addition to what he did to me. When I tried to
look him up in Searchlight (NSA directory) by profession after seeing
him at NSA in 2006, only one computer/electronics executive had replaced
his prestigious Flag-Badge photo with a silly photo of a Meerkat, Eric
Hagemann. So I remembered the name.” (The pictures from the Solstice Photo website show a static
site. The Justia Trademarks show that Eric Hagemann owns Solstice
Photo.)
And with the start of NSA-ordered electronic harassment in November
2015 (apparently, by former Deputy Director of NSA Bill Black, Jr. of
Pasadena, MD) and the involvement of the criminal class in Tallahassee
in these DEW attacks, I told my lawyer that I felt it necessary to go
public now before NSA and their proxy thugs (and I include the FBI in
that description) could kill me as clearly is their intent.
16th Deputy Director of NSA, 2000-2006, Bill Black, Jr./Wikipedia
Prestigious “Flag Badge” Photo of Bill Black, Jr., 16th Deputy Director of NSA, whom Karen suspects put her in for
electronic harassment right after they had a heated discussion on
Twitter about 9/11 in late Nov 2015. ” (On Twitter,) I said I had been
told by two separate analysts who worked that topic that NO ONE had had
to die, it was entirely preventable, but that NSA management refused to
allow them to issue the pertinent warnings. ”
My lawyer, J. Duke of Melville Johnson PC in Atlanta, GA, had at my
behest written to the EEOC to alert them to new NSA criminal harassment
but was ignored. So, the EEOC certainly bears the blame for my being
forced to go public, whether from the EEOC’s incompetence or complicity
with the NSA agenda.
As of yet, no such journalists with the mainstream media (ABC, CBS,
NBC, FOX or any major newspapers) have shown an interest in my story
though without syndicated columnist Sher Zieve being brave enough to
write two columns on this topic, I would not be speaking with people as I
am now. Are you aware there are thousands of Americans currently—and
thousands worldwide—who have been reporting DEW/EMF assaults and
uber-surveillance, and organized group stalking as something they have
experienced for years? (From before 9/11 apparently, although numbers
have increased since 2001 and the Patriot Act.) We also know Intel
agencies and the Department of Justice are working with Military groups,
as per Memoranda of Understanding on joint development/use of these
classified EMF “non-lethal” neuroweapons on innocent Americans (research
from Dr. Nick Begich here)—without charge, without due process. Is NSA one of the groups doing this to civilians, do you think? Karen Stewart: I first learned of “organized
stalking” in 2009 when it was happening to me. For 2 ½ years NSA
Security goons and contractors had stalked me, then suddenly it became
my neighbors. I did not understand the transition until I found David
Lawson’s book “Cause Stalking”. I was shocked at the lack of morality or
common sense which that phenomenon showed was present in the general
population. Then to learn this was happening across the world was a
shock to my very core.
Neither I nor any of my NSA friends (to my knowledge) knew anything
of “electronic harassment” while working for NSA and I really have just
started learning about it with my becoming such a target. The number of
people being so attacked and tortured is mind-boggling as well as
heart-wrenching. It is like the walls of hell have come down and hell is
invading earth.
In regard to NSA and possible military cooperation in using weapons
of war (Directed Energy Weapons) against American citizens, that appears
true based on my recent experience.
During the years 2011 through 2014, I got on with my life in Florida
while patiently awaiting the adjudication of my EEOC lawsuit and did not
pay much attention to NSA in the news, but last year I did learn that
the Naval Security Group aka “Silent Warriors“ (their Directed Energy
Weapons command) had moved their headquarters to Ft. Meade, Maryland,
which is where the NSA HQ is located as well.
Since Admiral Rogers is now the Director of NSA, I do wonder if that
marriage between Navy and NSA has led to the inclusion of “Silent
Warrior” mobile Directed Energy Weapons into the arsenal of NSA’s
criminal brown shirts and enemies of Democracy–NSA Security, during the
years between their first attack on me and the second.
Photo Stalker from Naval Security Group, April 2015, photographed by Karen
I had originally thought, based on my experience (2006-2009), that
only NSA Security used this harassment technique on NSA whistleblowers,
journalists, or anti-NSA activists, which was bad enough by itself. But
then I met a whistleblower from the Department of Justice who knew NSA
was involved in her being targeted for slander and stalking harassment
as well, so I realized how broadly the Federal government was using
criminal harassment with NSA more than happy to help with its ever
increasing network of compromised or gullible law enforcement officials
and ready-to-roll civilian stalking groups.
In the last year, the DOJ whistleblower has reported to me that she
is now also being targeted for electronic harassment. So that would
appear to support the idea that with the collocation of the two at Ft.
Meade, that NSA and the Naval Security Group are indeed cooperating in
the use of mobile versions of weapons of war from the ‘Silent Warrior’
arsenal. And since the 9/11 tragedy allowed NSA to focus inside the USA
for the first time in its history, and a much broader demographic of the
civilian populace is reporting being targeted by such devices than
NSA-related whistleblowers, reporters, and critics, is it not logical to
infer that NSA has a huge role in this new, treasonous war on Americans
and others?
If this is the situation, it is quite obvious that our legislative
branch needs to take a hard look at its own unforgivable, grossly
negligent, lack of even minimal oversight of NSA, NSA Security, and
other Intelligence Community entities who could indeed be in the
position to threaten, control, blackmail or murder anyone in U.S.
leadership who does not fit their agenda for themselves, or who simply
“displeases” NSA Security.
This leaves us wondering if the intent of NSA Security was to subvert
NSA proper, and in so doing to have NSA subvert the United States
government while trying to maintain a façade that we still live in the
representational Republic our Founding Fathers intended, often
mistakenly less precisely called a Democracy. Excerpt from article by Xkeyscore, Intellihub News: National Security Racketeering Analysis You may know of the late Ted Gunderson, Special Agent-in-Charge/LA, FBI’s 2011 affidavit regarding these harassment and organized stalking programs as FBI- and NSA-run. Intellihub News has an article by Xkeyscore currently on the FBI’s expanded COINTELPRO programs—where
there’s a lot of disclosure on how “Targeted Individuals” get special,
extrajudicial and libelous treatment from the FBI—falsified records,
major defamation and smear campaigns in the community. John Whitehead also writes about the FBI’s part in this. Have you experienced FBI harassment as well? Karen Stewart: I was horrified and stupefied enough
in 2009 to learn of “organized stalking” when my neighbors in Columbia,
Maryland bought into the outrageous smear job NSA and likely FBI
sycophants did on me there and gleefully joined into the (paid) mass
bullying effort with not one of the gullible civilian fools asking why
legitimate law enforcement would abandon rule of law and due process in
favor of civilian-based mob rule and harassment.
That’s when I met the previously mentioned stalking victim in the
vicinity who was a contract lawyer with the Department of Justice who
was experiencing the same slander and stalking campaign that I was for
reporting criminal behavior by another contractor. She was aware that
NSA and FBI were involved in her wrongful persecution.
I knew FBI had had some involvement in mine as well, but was not sure
if they were complicit or just played for fools by NSA Security. They
did seem to be lied to by NSA after I tried to get the IG to do his job
and did seem to investigate me in their oafish way but seemed to
disappear when they could find no evidence of any wrong-doing on my
part, though that did not sway NSA Security.
Possible NSA Management Level Stalker/April 2009/Photographed by Karen
From Karen: In
2009 I slipped out of the house in the wee hours in Maryland to
impersonate a stalker, i.e., oversized hoody covering my features. Waved
down this man who oddly enough, stopped in the dark, and rolled down
the window to a supposed total stranger in suspicious garb, whom he
could not identify. I drew his attention to my right to get a photo from
the camera in my left. He was shocked/horrified to see who had gotten
his photo and spent the next 15 minutes furiously texting someone. The
car he was driving turned out to be that of a black male stalker from
the neighborhood. A couple weeks later, he saw me “see” him in a local
bookstore café and literally jumped up and ran out the back door. Could he be a top level NSA (Security?) manager running illegal stalking harassment?
But with the second campaign in Florida beginning in early 2015, it
was quite evident from the start that the Florida FBI were indeed
complicit. Phone calls to the national FBI phone line were cut off as
soon as I identified myself and registered letters to FBI Headquarters
in Washington DC as well as Jacksonville, Florida were stolen and never
delivered either.
So, it does look like criminals have infiltrated the FBI just as they infiltrated the watch dog
Possible FBI Stalker/Photographed by Karen
entities at NSA, such as the EEO, the IG, the Counsel General, etc., to make sure complaints never get heard.
I had indeed heard of Ted Gunderson and greatly admired him. I
learned about COINTELPRO and “Zersetzung” while investigating organized
stalking. It’s no good thing to learn that the FBI thought the Stasi
practice of “Zersetzung” was actually something to be emulated in the
form of the COINTELPRO program in the 1960’s and 1970’s. That was a
deeply shameful time in our history but little did we know that our own
government was capable of so much worse. Many observers note the NSA has grown so unwieldy yet so
powerful in its capabilities with surveillance technologies—including
Neurotechnologies—that with the CIA, FBI, DHS, they are operating like
rogue government agencies accountable to no-one: they pursue secrecy,
commit crimes of covert assault and harassment against Americans of
ethicality, integrity, community spirit—people who are not and have
mostly never committed crimes of any kind—and they are getting
communities to assist them. So we have a very strange situation here, where abuses of
power are occurring. Why is that? Why have our mechanisms of oversight
and accountability failed? Karen Stewart: In regard to our government turning
on us with such unthinkable programs, the replacement of honest,
dedicated personnel in watchdog entities first, is how you successfully
subvert a government.
Then that evil leadership is now accountable to no one, then
purposely allows the country’s economy to be debauched so that only the
government and the entwined super rich corporations and individuals have
money, thus making ordinary citizens so desperate for funds that morals
are given a backseat.
Then that ill-intended leadership purposely allows enemies of the
country to overrun and infiltrate the country, causing widespread angst
among the population. At that point, the evil people may then freely
target those who oppose or sound the alert to the sedition they intend,
by labeling patriots as traitors or threats.
But I think that our grandparents and great-grandparents never would
have fallen for this gratuitous slander of individuals (much less abuse)
or even tolerated any authority abusing its position so outrageously.
Their morals were clear, people knew right from wrong as where many
Americans today are in a quagmire of muddy morality, having jettisoned
common sense, reason, and any interest in our Creator and his
instructions for attaining and retaining his wisdom and blessings in
this life. They would have sent such Federal gossips and hate- and
fear-mongers, packing, then demanded to know what was going on and
demanded to have an end put to it.
But we now are a people who don’t know our own history and origins,
so we don’t know who and what we are. We have set ourselves adrift from
God, who ordained our creation to be a light to the world, a blessing to
it, but now we are becoming a curse and accursed as well. The blessings
are drying up and the protection that went with that is as well. As a retired NSA Intelligence analyst, what is your advice?
What would be the best way to tackle this scourge and criminality openly
and lawfully? How do people convince their neighbors and communities they
shouldn’t be assisting these rogue Intel and military programs and these
crimes of EMF assault and covert murder, let alone stalking and
harassment? Karen Stewart: My assessment of how we got here is
this, the usurpation of a free nation’s government for a dictatorship
can be accomplished when the population is so frustrated by their years
of political and economic impotence, by their leadership betraying them
at every turn, by endless broken promises, that for money and an
opportunity to take out their frustrations on a scapegoat or whipping
boy, they eagerly jump at the chance to “punish someone, anyone”, no
matter that the individual fits no profile of a threat or enemy to the
country or them whatsoever.
This appears to be a sociopathic state induced upon a population to
groom it to betray itself and walk itself into servitude, having
silenced or murdered anyone with integrity, character, or discernment
among them.
But with few or no exceptions, this is a now a global phenomenon in
part because the disinformation campaign by those intending evil, has
been so successful.
The whole world is now under a terror threat, the whole world is
under threat of an economic collapse, so now there is a “join the mob or
die” mentality growing in many places which is always antithetical to
free thought and free (responsible) living.
Certain humans, i.e., organized stalkers, are now forming packs like
animals and going on hunting frenzies like pack animals with no second
thoughts. And like animal packs, the most vicious rise to the top. The
devolution of civilization is obviously progressing faster than we ever
imagined it would.
How to combat this? Certainly more, more, more, articles to engender
awareness and discourse. There was actually a lull in the second round
of organized stalking against me last year when I put a link to an
article by Sher Zieve (to which I contributed general information) about
NSA corruption on the back of my car. Many of my stalkers looked it up,
and I was able at times to see their faces when they realized that they
had been played for fools. NSA had to think up a new batch of lies to
tell new people after that, and it took them a few days to do so.
So information can sway the more intelligent who were fooled into
thinking they were doing something patriotic (though you have to be
pretty pathetically gullible to think a legitimate government would
sanction criminal harassment). Seeing something in print will sway some
people before speaking to them will. One frustrating aspect of confronting this criminality is the
NSA/FBI is apparently using National Security Letters and FISA court
warrants, and showing people false criminal and investigation records
with fabricated information and lies, and in secret (imposing gag orders
with threats of fine, jail time), as they defame and destroy
individuals–how do we fight back, as law-abiding Americans who would
like to see our Constitutional Republic and basic rule of law restored? Karen Stewart: People have to band together and defy
the illegitimate NSLs, the Federal gag order to keep secret Federal
crimes against American citizens quiet.
Though apparently some stalkers rebelled and refused to continue in
my case, they did nothing to demand the fraudulent effort stop, so
whatever moral stance they took, aided me little. I almost blame people
who know the truth but do nothing more than the people doing the evil.
Organizing and having numerous people sending many logically
presented letters to the same leaders on the same topic will begin to
tip them off that these stories are much more than random ravings by the
occasional crackpot, that the perpetrators want society to believe
until it is too late for everyone. The explanation by the perpetrators
that these stories come from mass delusions is belied by the
non-existence of mass delusions of such a nature as well, so mental
health care professionals in the know need to debunk these lies
publicly.
In larger cities, you may be able to find others being targeted and
approach local leaders, media, or even individual perpetrators with a
group they cannot ignore. Remember, such harassers are rank cowards and
hate to be culled from the anonymity of their fascist gang. The group
can also provide mutual support as many of the TIs are ostracized for
various reasons by family and friends.
And most importantly, connect or re-connect to God in prayer, where
we should be strengthened and renewed, as well as receive our marching
orders. I wanted to mention neuro-experimentation before we close. You may be familiar with the John St. Clair Akwei lawsuit,
which details invasive Signals Intelligence including Radiation
Intelligence which the NSA collects—essentially, people’s brainwaves and
EMFs. Magnus Olsson, the Swedish activist, has written about how the DoD/CIA/NSA have all been pursuing Neurological Research. Robert Duncan, ex-CIA scientist, has
detailed CIA mind-hacking projects, brain-mapping, brain-computer link,
and no-touch torture projects in his books, including Project Soulcatcher. Then you have the President’s Bioethics Commission chaired by Amy Gutmann turning a deliberate blind eye even when people come forward to inform them of non-consensual experimentation on their bodies and brains. Why do you think our Government is engaging in covert experimentation and research programs with such impunity? Karen Stewart: The Protect America Act (PAA) and the
NDAA I have always thought were horrific ploys more than mere mistakes.
You do not take away the rights of the citizens to protect them from
the enemies whom you are purposely allowing access to them. This is
outrageous illogic. But people are acceding, losing their freedoms and
quite willingly because their fear is overwhelming their ability to
think.
Maybe it’s the fluoride in our water making us sheeple, maybe it’s
the lack of modern America’s former generally homogeneous national
Judeo-Christian social philosophy and morals that have been lost in the
Right versus Left discourse of the last 50 years, which had kept us
united as a strong, cohesive culture and a benevolent civilization
(mostly).
But we have lost our humanity and moral compass to the point where we
have created leadership by psychopaths, and they are indulging in the
worst that humanity can imagine in the melding of science and depravity,
i.e. electronic harassment.
Remember, as the quality of a society declines, so therefore does its
leadership. The first step in reversing this, lies in your mirror. Inexplicably, mainstream media still refuses to cover this
vital issue of our times, even though hundreds of thousands are
affected, both here and abroad, possibly via Intelligence agreements—and
our government completely ignores our outrage. But this situation has to change. Your speaking out
as an NSA insider who has also experienced this will surely help change
this scenario—I thank you enormously for that, for your courage in
speaking out, and for your tremendous insights and advice. Karen Stewart: When I learned of the vast numbers
affected, I at that moment understood somewhat why Jesus sat and cried
for Jerusalem, I felt like that for this vast population of innocents
being subjected to demonic abuse by counterfeit humans who have lost
every vestige of their humanity.
Why the voices of human beings crying out for help is being ignored I
cannot fathom, but if my story about being an unwitting insider
targeted out of petty vengeance can help those who were likely randomly
or speciously targeted, then let it go out for discussion and
elucidation.
Then let it come back as a battering ram to get the attention of
those who CAN disassemble the 21st Century sadistic torture holocaust
under everyone’s noses. The Bible says we are “wonderfully and fearfully
made” (in God’s image) and we need to remind our leaders that they have
no authority to revoke the immense value of each of our lives for their
perceived “entertainment”. We are not their property, only a
Satanic form of government would delude itself into thinking that and
America was not created for evil, it was created for good – with each of
the original 13 colonies dedicating their founding to God and Jesus
Christ and advancing God’s kingdom on earth, so with this covenant to
God broken by our evil leadership, God will and must act soon, I
believe. I pray Psalms 91 and 94 daily as a place to start. You mentioned a wonderful program of group prayer on Wheels of Freedom—would
you like to share that initiative—perhaps, with others reading this, we
can all work to affect our collective consciousness field and fully
change this situation in our country, and the world. Karen Stewart: I have called previously for a
seven-minute prayer to be said every Sunday at 7 pm for the deliverance
of all electronic harassment victims from this evil.
Maybe that will be the fuel for the pushback against this evil even
if no mainstream media ever pick this story up. If you are of the
Judeo-Christian belief system, feel free to start your prayers like I do
with the recitation of the above Psalms, then add what you will.
Consider it, please, all who take the time to read this. And thank
you Ramola for your passion and your determination, that takes courage
beyond measure. God bless you and deliver us soon. Resources: Wheel of Freedom interview with Karen Stewart:
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/14/2016 12:51 -0400 http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-14/microsoft-sues-obama-administration-keep-secrecy-exception-not-rule The "most transparent administration ever"
appears to be making no friends in the tech industry. Following its
debacle with Apple, the Obama administration now faces a suit from
Microsoft that, in their words, stands up for "customers’ constitutional and fundamental rights – rights that help protect privacy and promote free expression."
As Microsoft's Brad Smith notes, with rare exceptions consumers and
businesses have a right to know when the government accesses their
emails or records, and the suit centers around the fact that since cloud
storage accelerated, it’s becoming routine for the U.S.
government to issue orders that require email providers to keep these
types of legal demands secret. Microsoft believe that this goes too far. As Bloomberg reports,Microsoft
Corp. sued the U.S. Justice Department in an attempt to stop the
government from forcing it to turn its customers’ e-mails and other data
over to law enforcement without their knowledge.
The lawsuit, which names the Justice Department and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, ratchets up the pressure by technology companies against the U.S. government and echoes a struggle by Apple Inc. to protect its customers’ privacy by refusing to undermine the encryption on its iPhones. Microsoft
has been fighting the U.S. over customer privacy and its ability to
disclose what it’s had to turn over to investigators for more than two
years.
Microsoft called the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act unconstitutional,
citing its own First Amendment free speech rights and its customers’
Fourth Amendment right to know if the government has searched or seized
their property. The law essentially places the company under an
unlimited gag order, according to the complaint filed Thursday in U.S.
district court in Seattle. While it’s concerned with protecting civil
liberties, Microsoft said it also wants to preserve its ability to sell
Internet-based services that customers trust.
“It’s very important for businesses to know when the government is
accessing their file room, whether the file room is down the hall or in
the cloud," said Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith,
noting that consumers and privacy groups have expressed concern about
the issue. “People shouldn’t lose their rights simply because technology is moving to the cloud.”
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft argues that the statute
violates the company’s First Amendment free-speech rights by placing it
under an unlimited gag order and customers’ Fourth Amendment right to
know if the government has searched or seized their property.
The rapid growth of cloud computing, in which
customer data is stored by providers like Microsoft, Apple Inc.,
Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. in the technology companies’ own data
centers, has increased both the frequency of warrants seeking data and government abuse of its search powers, Microsoft
said in the filing. The law in question predates the invention of the
World Wide Web by three years, and was enacted more than two decades
before widespread use of cloud computing, Microsoft said. But, according
to the complaint below...
The
government, however, has exploited the transition to cloud computing as
a means of expanding its power to conduct secret investigations. As
individuals and business have moved their most sensitive information to
the cloud, the government has increasingly adopted the tactic of
obtaining the private digital documents of cloud customers not from the
customers themselves, but through legal process directed at online cloud
providers like Microsoft. At the same time, the government seeks
secrecy orders under 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b) to prevent Microsoft from
telling its customers (or anyone else) of the government’s demands.
These secrecy
orders generally assert that abiding by the centuries-old requirement of
seeking evidence directly from its owner would jeopardize the
government’s investigation. Most of the time, these
secrecy orders prohibit notification for unreasonably long (or even
unlimited) periods of time, which Section 2705(b) permits whenever a
court has “reason to believe” any of several adverse consequences might
otherwise ensue—including any time notice would “seriously jeopardiz[e]
an investigation or unduly delay[] a trial.”
This morning we filed a new lawsuit in federal court against the United States government to
stand up for what we believe are our customers’ constitutional and
fundamental rights – rights that help protect privacy and promote free
expression. This is not a decision we made lightly, and hence we wanted to share information on this step and why we are taking it.
An issue of fundamental rights
We believe that with rare exceptions consumers and businesses
have a right to know when the government accesses their emails or
records. Yet it’s becoming routine for the U.S. government to issue
orders that require email providers to keep these types of legal demands
secret. We believe that this goes too far and we are asking the courts
to address the situation.
To be clear, we appreciate that there are times when secrecy around a
government warrant is needed. This is the case, for example, when
disclosure of the government’s warrant would create a real risk of harm
to another individual or when disclosure would allow people to destroy
evidence and thwart an investigation. But based on the many secrecy
orders we have received, we question whether these orders are grounded
in specific facts that truly demand secrecy. To the contrary, it appears
that the issuance of secrecy orders has become too routine.
The urgency for action is clear and growing. Over
the past 18 months, the U.S. government has required that we maintain
secrecy regarding 2,576 legal demands, effectively silencing Microsoft
from speaking to customers about warrants or other legal process seeking
their data. Notably and even surprisingly, 1,752 of these secrecy
orders, or 68 percent of the total, contained no fixed end date at all.
This means that we effectively are prohibited forever from telling our customers that the government has obtained their data.
We believe these actions violate two of the fundamental rights that
have been part of this country since its founding. These lengthy and
even permanent secrecy orders violate the Fourth Amendment, which gives
people and businesses the right to know if the government searches or
seizes their property. They also violate the First Amendment,
which guarantees our right to talk to customers about how government
action is affecting their data. The constitutional right to
free speech is subject only to restraints narrowly tailored to serve
compelling governmental interests, a standard that is neither required
by the statute being applied nor met by the government in practice here.
An issue with important practical consequences
The issue also has practical implications, and it’s important to consider them.
First, the issue has vital practical ramifications given the
evolution of technology. Before the digital age, individuals and
businesses stored their most sensitive correspondence and other
documents in file cabinets and desk drawers. As computers became
prevalent, users moved their materials to local computers and
on-premises servers, which continued to remain within a user’s physical
possession and control. In both eras, the government had to give notice
when it sought a warrant to seize private information and
communications, except in the rarest of circumstances.
Cloud computing has spurred a profound change in the storage of private information.
Today, individuals increasingly keep their emails and documents on
remote servers in data centers – in short, in the cloud. But the
transition to the cloud does not alter people’s expectations of privacy
and should not alter the fundamental constitutional requirement that the
government must – with few exceptions – give notice when it searches
and seizes private information or communications.
The same is true for businesses large and small. In the past, when a
business’ email server was housed in its own building, the government by
definition had to give notice in order to enter the building or
otherwise require the business to produce an employee’s emails. Now
businesses actively are migrating their information technology
infrastructure to servers hosted by cloud service providers. In
this new context, the government’s secrecy orders forbid cloud service
providers from letting businesses know that the government has obtained
their data. Not surprisingly, business customers regularly
convey to us their strong desire to know when the government is
obtaining their data. And not surprisingly, they want the opportunity
for their own lawyers to review the situation and help decide whether to
turn over information or contest the issue in court.
In 2013 we committed publicly
to challenging individual secrecy orders for legitimate business
customers, given our belief that the government can often obtain the
information it needs from the headquarters of a business without
notifying a specific individual there who is under investigation. In
some cases we’ve convinced the government to redirect its request to
our business customers. In other cases we’ve litigated the issue, and,
in one recent situation, the government argued that we should be held in
contempt for refusing to turn over email until a court ruled on the
secrecy issue. Fortunately, we prevailed on the contempt issue in that
case. But as we’ve monitored requests over time, we’ve concluded that
this issue is recurring and needs to be considered in the context of the
broader constitutional rights that are at stake.
It’s also important to consider the issue in the practical context of government investigations.
Even if there is a solid basis for secrecy at the beginning of an
investigation, circumstances can change. The government may drop the
investigation or may take some step that alerts an individual to its
existence. Yet even then these lengthy or permanent secrecy orders
prevent cloud service providers from discussing with the customer the
fact that his or her emails were accessed.
An issue that calls for a principled solution
Whenever we raise concerns such as these, we try to couple our focus
on the problem with some suggestions for possible solutions. We
definitely appreciate that we do not have all the answers and that
others may offer better ideas than we have thought about so far. But we
believe it’s important to help think constructively about possible steps
forward.
While today’s lawsuit is important, we believe there’s an
opportunity for the Department of Justice to adopt a new policy that
sets reasonable limitations on the use of these types of secrecy orders.
Congress also has a role to play in finding and passing
solutions that both protect people’s rights and meet law enforcement’s
needs. If the DOJ doesn’t act, then we hope that Congress will amend the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act to implement reasonable rules. In
fact, secrecy provisions in ECPA today are out of step with other U.S.
laws that contain clearer limitations on secrecy provisions and allow
law enforcement flexibility for extensions.
If policymakers update the rules governing secrecy orders, we hope
they will be guided by three principles that we think are important for
our customers and for law enforcement. First, transparency:
People have a right to know as soon as reasonably possible when the
government serves a provider with a legal demand to access their records
or emails. Providers like Microsoft have a right to inform customers
and be transparent with the public. Second, digital neutrality: Customers generally shouldn’t be entitled to less notice just because they have moved their emails to the cloud. And finally, necessity:
Secrecy orders should be adapted to what’s necessary for the
investigation, and no more. If there’s a good reason to justify a
secrecy order initially and that reason continues, prosecutors should be
able to extend the order based on necessity. If not, we should be able
to tell our customer what happened.
As I noted at the beginning, we don’t take lightly this type of
action – filing a lawsuit against any government. We only do so when we
believe that critical principles and important practical consequences
are at stake. Today’s lawsuit is the fourth public case we’ve filed
against the U.S. government related to our customers’ right to privacy
and transparency. The first lawsuit resulted in a good and appropriate settlement allowing us to disclose the number of legal requests we receive. The second
resulted in the government withdrawing a National Security Letter after
we challenged a non-disclosure order attached to the letter. The third,
a challenge to a U.S. search warrant for customer email in Ireland belonging to a non-US citizen, is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Today’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, can be found here.
Ultimately, we view this case as similar to the other three that we have filed. It
involves the fundamental right of people and businesses to know when
the government is accessing their content and our right to share this
information with them.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/17/2016 10:13 -0500 http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-17/who-do-they-think-they-are-donald-trump-slams-apple-decision-refuse-hacking-iphone
Earlier we reported that in a sign of
"defiance", Tim Cook said he would oppose the "chilling" government
demand to help the FBI hack its own phones, and that it vehemently
opposes the government's intention to implement a back door in iPhones.
Just hours later Donald Trump has decided to join the fray in the
biggest topic of the day, by insisting that Apple should unlock the
iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.
"To think that Apple won't allow us to get into her cell phone," Trump said on Fox and Friends Wednesday morning. “Who do they think they are? No, we have to open it up."
As the Hill reports, Trump argued vehemently that Apple should help investigators crack the phone’s encryption system.
"Apple, this is one case, this is a case that certainly we should be able to get into the phone," he
said. "And we should find out what happened, why it happened, and maybe
there's other people involved and we have to do that."
To be sure, this is not Apple's first time standing up for encryption
and personal security: Cook has repeatedly argued that building any
guaranteed access for law enforcement into devices — what has been
short-handed as a “back door” — would undermine the overall security of
the device.
“There have been people that suggest that we should have a backdoor.
But the reality is if you put a backdoor in, that backdoor's for
everybody, for good guys and bad guys,” Cook said in a December
interview with “60 Minutes.”
Trump disagreed stridently on Wednesday, calling it a matter of “common sense.”
"I agree 100% with the courts," the business mogul said. "In that
case, we should open it up. I think security over all — we have to open
it up, and we have to use our heads. We have to use common sense."
However, as we further showed earlier, it would appear that both
sides of the argument are merely padding on theatrics to an issue that
has long ago been resolved in favor of the government. Once again, this
is what we reported back in September 2013 in, when the revelations from
Edward Snowden's whistleblowing campaign emerged:
NSA Mocks Apple's "Zombie" Customers; Asks "Your Target Is Using A BlackBerry? Now What?"
The following slide comes from a secret presentation called "Your target isusing a BlackBerry? Now what?"
It shows an email from a Mexican government agency which was sent using
BlackBerry encryption technology -- and intercepted by the NSA
nonetheless.
But the kicker is when, in another secret presentation, the NSA itself mocks Orwell, using a reference from the iconic Apple "1984" advertisement...
... As it says the man who has become "Big Brother" is none other than AAPL's deceased visionary leader Steve Jobs...
... And is so very grateful for Apple's paying client "Zombies" who make its job so much easier
In other words, not only does the government already have easy access
to any iPhone it seeks to "enter", but today's dramatic and vocal
defense by Cook, and the likewise just as dramatic theatrics by Donald
Trump are just that.
You may remember the ridiculous doomsday prophecies and outrageous fear-mongering that defined the Republican campaign against President Obama’s nuclear peace deal with Iran. The motivation behind their unwise and ultimately ineffective resistance to the President’s diplomatic agenda has finally come to light. A new report from the Wall Street Journal reveals that NSA wiretaps found that the the Israeli Prime Minister and other officials of the Israeli governments attempted to, and most likely succeeded, to bribe American legislators in exchange for their support against the deal.
“A U.S. intelligence official familiar with the intercepts said Israel’s pitch to undecided lawmakers often included such questions as: “How can we get your vote? What’s it going to take? Mr. Netanyahu and some of his allies voiced confidence they could win enough votes.” The answers to Israeli proposals have yet to be fully revealed, but it is clear that favors were offered – bribes were proposed – and from the subsequent behavior of Republican lawmakers, we can only infer that our legislators accepted those bribes, from a foreign government in exchange for opposing the diplomatic efforts of the Obama Administration. At the very least, the very discussion itself indicates that they conspired with a foreign government to undermine the foreign policy agenda of their elected Commander-in-Chief, which certainly amounts to treason.
Given the fact that Republican politicians are notorious for the amount of money they accept from special interests within the United States, what makes anyone think they wouldn’t accept them from a foreign government? The fact that forty-seven Republican Senators sent a letter to the Iranian government without consulting the administration in a direct attempt to undermine the President’s policies is only further evidence of their treachery, putting their ill-gotten rewards above the effectiveness of our foreign policy and consequently the good of our nation and the security of the voters they claim to represent.
It’s painfully ironic that the Republican Party is a major supporter of the NSA’s rampant spying on American citizens without warrants, but as soon as the tables are turned, they are suddenly die-hard supporters of privacy and free speech – which only further implicates them for treasonous activities, strongly implying that they have something to hide. While the Israeli government shrugged off the revelations that they had been spied upon (“Everyone listens to everyone else all the time”), the Republicans in Congress and the right-wing echo machine is working overtime to paint President Obama as the bad guy and accusing him of committing some kind of enormous diplomatic sin, while having laughed off the complaints of our allies when our intelligence organizations targeted Germany and the United Kingdom.
Their incredibly hypocrisy only confirms just how deeply the Republican Party is beholden to Israeli lobbying groups like AIPAC and to the government of Israel itself. This is just more evidence that they having been actively working to undermine American foreign policy to the detriment of our international prestige and overseas influence, even as they disparage our President for being “feckless” and “weak.” Their efforts look even more foolish now that it is clear the peace deal is being fully implemented by Iran, who just turned over their stockpile of enriched uranium to the Russians this week in accordance with the deal. These traitors have no business interfering with the Obama administration’s diplomatic efforts, and certainly no business conspiring with the officials of foreign governments against our elected government.
Karen Stewart, with companion and protector, Mariska, the Anatolian Shepherd
