Mass Surveillance

Anti-terrorism mass surveillance practices examined by Kurzgesagt (German for “in short; in a nutshell”).

More:

“What’s the Evidence Mass Surveillance Works? Not Much,” Lauren Kirchner, Pro Publica

“Peekaboo, I See You: Government Authority Intended for Terrorism is Used for Other Purposes,” Mark Jaycox, Electronic Frontier Foundation

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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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Image (“The Miracle of Skype, after Stan Galli”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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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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Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-gPQ

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

 Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

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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.”