The NSA and DNI Told Trump to Take a Hike

In March, after FBI Director James B. Comey told the House Intelligence Committee the FBI was investigating links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, President Trump asked Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Daniel Coats and NSA Director Michael Rogers to say there was nothing to the Trump-Russia story. They declined to spread disinformation about a sister agency’s ongoing investigation, even at the president’s request. The CIA had already determined that there was Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

More:

“Trump asked intelligence chiefs to push back against FBI collusion probe after Comey revealed its existence,” Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post

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Technology Shields German Government from Spies

“German politicians are considering a return to using manual typewriters for sensitive documents in the wake of the US surveillance scandal.

The head of the Bundestag’s parliamentary inquiry into NSA activity in Germany said in an interview with the Morgenmagazin TV programme that he and his colleagues were seriously thinking of ditching email completely.”

More:

“Germany ‘may revert to typewriters’ to counter hi-tech espionage,” Philip Oltermann, The Guardian

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Stop Spying!

More than 570,000 people have signed the StopWatching.Us petition demanding that Congress probe the NSA’s Internet spying programs and reform the USA PATRIOT Act and the FISA< Amendments Act that allow it.

StopWatching.Us is broad bipartisan coalition of organizations including the ACLU, American Library Association,  the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Free Press, Freedom Works, the Libertarian Party, Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition, MoveOn.org, Mozilla, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, PEN American Center, RootsAction.org, Women in Media & News, World Wide Web Foundation, Writers Guild of America West, and many others. They’re all gathering in Washington DC on Saturday, October 26th to protest against mass surveillance. Participants will gather at Columbus Circle in front of Union Station at Noon and march to the Capitol Reflecting Pool. More here.

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Et Tu, Skype? Yipe.

“Skype is being investigated by Luxembourg’s data protection commissioner over concerns about its secret involvement with the US National Security Agency (NSA) spy programme Prism, the Guardian has learned.

The Microsoft-owned internet chat company could potentially face criminal and administrative sanctions, including a ban on passing users’ communications covertly to the US signals Intelligence agency.

Skype itself is headquartered in the European country, and could also be fined if an investigation concludes that the data sharing is found in violation of the country’s data-protection laws.”

— “Skype under investigation in Luxembourg over link to NSA,” Ryan Gallagher The Guardian

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Congress Chooses Vacation Over NSA Hearings

The U.S. Senate was shocked – shocked! – to learn that the NSA is conducting activities Congress had approved and promptly scheduled hearings about them. Senators then went on vacation instead of attending the hearing.

Members of Congress hold fast to one sacred principle: A three-day workweek. Nothing must interfere with that.

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Cheney Says Leaking His Secret Spy Legacy is Treason

Former Vice President, millionaire government contractor,  Satan spawn, and G.W. Bush puppet master Dick Cheney is the father of  U.S. telecom data-mining and warrantless wiretapping. He defended his secret surveillance legacy on Fox New Sunday:

“Well, I understand people’s concern about it, but an intelligence program that does reveal sources and methods, which in fact is what you’re talking about, is significantly less effective because you’re not just revealing it to the American people, you’re revealing it to your targets, to your adversaries, to the enemy.”