2013-10-08

Our daily compendium on the world of spooks, political users and abusers, and corporateers who emulate them begins with this from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Polls Continue to Show Majority of Americans Against NSA Spying

From Techdirt, contempt of Congress or contempt for Congress?:

Former CIA Director Morell Skips Surveillance Review Board Meeting; Pats Self On Back For Not ‘Distracting’ Congress From Shutdown

from the taking-one-for-the-team dept

The Verge offers a non-surprise:

Obama’s surveillance review panel is the latest government shutdown casualty

While Techdirt covers a plea to the absentees:

Technologists To NSA Review Group: Don’t Forget About The Interests Of Non-US Persons

from the because-that-matters-too dept

From TechCrunch, an observation:

The NSA Oversight Farce

A pattern has become clear, regarding the surveillance activities of both the United States and the United Kingdom, most especially when it comes to their keeping tabs on their own citizenry: Clarity with the opacity of wet mud.

While the McClatchy Washington Bureau offers some minor hopes:

Congress now is expected to revise NSA, FISA court operations

From disinformation, hit “Search”:

NSA Tracks Google Ads to Find Tor Users

And from a Wired piece by Bruce Schneier, one of the world’s leading computer security experts, commending what he calls the “air gap”:

Want to Evade NSA Spying? Don’t Connect to the Internet

Writing at his own blog [Schneier on Security], he describes some of the techniques employed by the spooks

How the NSA Attacks Tor/Firefox Users With QUANTUM and FOXACID

From RT, they’re under every rock [and listening to everyh line]:

Canadian spy agency ‘dissected’ Brazilian Energy Ministry

Canada, as well as the US, infiltrated and spied on the Brazilian Energy Ministry, a new leak by Edward Snowden has revealed. The leaked documents show how the data gleaned through espionage was shared with international spy network the ‘Five Eyes.’

More from the CBC:

Brazil spying allegations elicit no comment from Canada

Canadian officials refuse to say whether they listened in on Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry

And from The Guardian, ignorant in Old Blighty:

Cabinet was told nothing about GCHQ spying programmes, says Chris Huhne

Ex-minister says he was in ‘utter ignorance’ of Prism and Tempora and calls for tighter oversight of security services

From the World Socialist Web Site, like we said, under every rock:

German state intelligence agency spies on journalists

The intelligence agency of the state of Lower Saxony has for years been illegally spying on journalists involved in researching and publishing information about extreme right-wing circles.

And from To Vima, another rock in Athens, other ears?:

Government and Opposition clash over telephone surveillance

Tsipras allegedly claimed at Parliamentary Group Assembly that SYRIZA’s telephone lines were monitored

From EUbusiness, a tale of inaction:

Despite data privacy scandal, no deal yet on new EU laws

EU justice ministers meeting for the first time since revelations of US spying on Europeans, agreed on Monday that new data protection laws were needed but disagreed on how to proceed.

From U.S.News & World Report, the daily d’uh:

Governments Worldwide Increase Online Surveillance, Report Shows

U.S. drops from second to fourth place in global Internet freedom ranking

The Guardian covers another opportunity for spookless profit. . .or is it?:

Australia’s Fastmail secure email service claims it is ‘NSA proof’

The email provider joins a growing number of communications firms claiming to be out of reach of US intelligence agencies

And from Al Jazeera English, Hope™-less:

Human rights groups say Obama has failed on Guantanamo

Groups criticize president for failing to follow through on commitments to close controversial prison

The Daily Dot brings us a reminder of the ubiquity of of corporate iniquity:

How apps capture your kids’ data—without you even knowing

And The Verge reports latter-day legal blackmail:

Google, payment providers take action against firms profiting from mug shots

While CNN’s iReport reminds us that whistleblowers oftenpay a price:

Whistleblower Terminated from Northwestern for Revealing Human Experimentation:Top Secret Writers

Why would a bright and promising cardiologist be fired from the University hospital that she had practiced at since 2000? Apparently, protecting her patients is grounds for dismissal. At least, that is the case at Northwestern University in Illinois.

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