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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'Obama putting Clapper In Charge Of NSA Commission That Reports Back To Clapper-Big FU America'
President Obama putting Clapper in charge of the #NSA commission *that reports back to Clapper* is a giant Fuck You to America.http://inagist.com/all/367049264431501312/?utm_source=inagist&utm_medium=rss
In the memo Obama just released ordering James Clapper to form such a committee, those words outside and independent disappear entirely.
The Review Group will assess whether, in light of advancements in communications technologies, the United States employs its technical collection capabilities in a manner that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations, such as the risk of unauthorized disclosure and our need to maintain the public trust. Within 60 days of its establishment, the Review Group will brief their interim findings to me through the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Review Group will provide a final report and recommendations to me through the DNI no later than December 15, 2013.
And neither Obama nor the Intelligence Committees get to hear from this Group themselves. It all goes through James Clapper.
What on Friday was an outside and independent group is now branded by the Director of National Intelligence as the Director of National Intelligence Group.
The Review Group will assess whether, in light of advancements in communications technologies, the United States employs its technical collection capabilities in a manner that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations, such as the risk of unauthorized disclosure and our need to maintain the public trust.
Huh. It took exactly 72 hours for that good idea to fizzle into a navel gaze directed by the guy who lies to Congress.
MORE:
http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/08/12/this-technical-review-group-brought-to-you-by-the-booz-allen-hamilton-director-of-national-intelligence/
leftstreet
(36,097 posts)JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)mick063
(2,424 posts)Full 3D with realistic sights and sounds.
A hybrid of "Elysium", "Hunger Games", and "Starship Troopers".
Only in ACT I of course. The introduction. The world still appears to be "normal".
The best is yet to come.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)We aren't just living through the same pattern.
There are a few differences -- the names for one thing, and some other things too, but there are eery parallels between what our country is going through and what the Roman Republic went through as it neared its end and devolved into a dictatorship.
Can we learn from the past?
RC
(25,592 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, words without end, amen.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)burnodo
(2,017 posts)"Chickens should be on the alert" the Fox said, blood dripping from his lips.
Amonester
(11,541 posts)So.
Not.Gonna.Happen.Anytime.Soon.
Face_Reality.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)We need to hold those involved accountable. If our Representatives won't stand up for our rights, they need to be primary challenged. I have already cut off all donations to politicians. Instead that money goes to the ACLU. The reason should be obvious. The ACLU is fighting for me, instead of working to subjugate me.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)occupy powerful positions in our government, and/or wield unprecedented power over this Congress and WH. No matter which party is in power.
Response to kpete (Original post)
Cali_Democrat This message was self-deleted by its author.
He's not even trying, is he?
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Nothing wrong with giving America the middle finger, right?
So Obama gave a big fuck you to America?
LOL
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Obviously General Clapper is running the show.
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)Is he mocking us? because it sure seems like it.
MotherPetrie
(3,145 posts)JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)Maybe that's the problem, that the Beast can be investigated only by those whom the Beast has vetted?
Isn't it interesting that elected and appointed officials of the elected government get vetted by the Beast, and not vice-versa?
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)A public advocate watching the NSAs actions will need a high level security clearance being that they will be looking at case files of those who are actually getting warranted.
Union Scribe
(7,099 posts)Fixed.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)Anything they can know, we should know, period. Knowledge is power, secret knowledge is secret power, why do you think certain types of people are attracted to it? Can terrorists operate in an open-information enviroment? Do terrorists like secrets?? Why yes, yes they do. This set a snake to catch a snake approach just ensures lots of snakes killing each other in the bushes.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)do certain groups and individuals in our government get access to knowledge about what specific Americans are doing, how they are voting, what they are saying, that the rest of us cannot reach if we wish to do so?
The question is whether a small clique have superior knowledge about our communications, about the communications of millions of people and can that knowledge be used to gain more power, to propagandize, to spread rumors, to tilt the playing field of opinion, information and knowledge in one direction or the other.
The surveillance is about acquiring and asserting and using power only available to very few, those few being the same people who control our military/industrial complex and our political parties. That combination could easily lead to a dictatorship.
I think that is where we are headed.
Civilization2
(649 posts)accepted by the intelligentsia so long as it is being undertaken by people on "our side."
Secret corporate-mercenary spying is a direct threat to DEMOCRACY, this move only heightens the absurdity of elected representatives creating secrets to begin with,. oh what a tangled web..,
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)It keeps the perpetrators safe from justice.
totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)Response to JaneyVee (Reply #12)
Marrah_G This message was self-deleted by its author.
synapticwave
(52 posts)It's illegal for your son (or anyone with a clearance) to tell you what his security level is. I suspect he (and certainly his superiors and ISSO) would not like you posting this on a public political message board.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)wasn't thinking
1awake
(1,494 posts)another_liberal
(8,821 posts)Clapper does, that is. The NSA doesn't have access to everyone's private communications without coming across some really good blackmail material. At least that is my guess.
Elmer Fudd saw his budget and his control of a vast intelligence empire were at risk, so maybe he shared a few "Special Files" with their subjects among the high and mighty in the Obama administration. That is exactly the way J. Edgar Hoover held on to the FBI Directorship despite being hated by at least four of the last five Presidents he worked for.
IDemo
(16,926 posts)Bank on it. Or, let me rephrase that -FU!
mick063
(2,424 posts)Put Clapper in charge of picking his own oversight.....as a reward for telling falsehoods to Congress.
Personally, I think they have this ass backwards.
How about impeach Clapper?
I hope the committee doesn't slap his wrists too hard.
I have an idea. Let Wyden choose the committee.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts):shakes-head:
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
forestpath
(3,102 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)frylock
(34,825 posts)bank it.
[center]Americans Wait For Their Freedumb
[/center]
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Who knew?
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)A foreign media source, now that is somebody we can't trust.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)FYI
BTW: There's this new fangled thing all the kids are raving about called the internet... you can actually get news from all over the world on it, you gotta check it out
Vanje
(9,766 posts)Really.
totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)the hen house? Absolutely nothing. No matter what Snowden did or did not do it is fact that Clapper lied to Congress and now he is going to investigate the NSA. Don't you see anything wrong with that or has your partisanship blinded you so much that you cannot reason?
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)For Clapper to investigate after all Snowden "investigated". Don't use a double standard here.
totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)anything. In fact he has been indicted. Yet they appointed a proven perjurer to investigate NSA spying. Why didn't they indict Clapper for perjury? It sure didn't take them long to indict Snowden. That is the real double standard.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)anything. Snowden took this upon himself to do so, he has also proven himself as a liar when he agreed to the Code of Ethics and then broke those rules. Yep, there is a double standard here.
totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)What do you think about Clapper? This thread is about him.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)the intelligence community and has experience in how this industry works.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)Someone who witnesses wrong doing,
and has the courage to stand in public and Blow the Whistle,
that is somebody we CAN trust.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)This code, wrong doing on Snowden's part, no double standards here. He was wrong in the path he could have taken in order to be a whistleblower so he blew that also and now he has been charged with crimes. If it was important to be the whistleblower but he has proven he did not take that course of action. Once a thief always a thief.
GoneFishin
(5,217 posts)bvar22
(39,909 posts)because that Code that Supersedes is the reason WHY we have a United States today.
It is The Code of the Inalienable Rights bestowed by our Creator.
Are you familiar with THAT Code?
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)bvar22
(39,909 posts)I AM saying that the our nation was created and founded on the PRINCIPLE that OUR RIGHTS were bestowed upon us by a source OUTSIDE & Greater Than our government,
and are "inalienable".
(Inalienable = Unable to be taken away)
Here is only one of them.
You should familiarize yourself with this:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
The benevolent government did NOT "give" us this inalienable right,
and can not take it away.
The government that was established AT the creation of our country
was FORBIDDEN to infringe upon these rights for any reason because it was subordinate to these RIGHTS. Our government was specifically NOT given the power to do so.
So ANY rationalization or excuse for the Government claiming the right to infringe upon these rights is BOGUS from the start,
no matter how good it sounds,
or how "safe" it makes you feel.
A bogus, perpetual War on a Tactic doesn't stand up under this examination.
Do you expect the government to return these "inalienable" rights to you after the word "Terror" has been defeated?
Big Brother LOVES you,
and only wants what is GOOD for you,
whether YOU like it or not.
You will know them by their [font size=3]WORKS.[/font]
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)bvar22
(39,909 posts)Most of them didn't believe in the common Christian concept of god as a benevolent but vengeful Santa Clause sitting on a golden cloud either.
And that isn't the point anyway.
You CAN be an atheist and still believe that Basic Human Rights
exist outside of and beyond the Government, and are bestowed by our creator, even if that creator is only nature doing its thing.
I do.
I also believe the following to be Basic Human Rights,
as did FDR:
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be [font size=3]established for allregardless of station, race, or creed.[/font]
Among these are:
*The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
*The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
*The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
*The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
*The right of every family to a decent home;
*The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
*The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
*The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens."
FDR, SOTU, 1944
The reason I joined the Democratic party in 1965 was because, like FDR, I believed that these are basic Human Rights.
There was a time, not so long ago, when voting FOR the Democratic party
was voting FOR these rights.
Sadly, this is no longer True,
and we get farther away from those rights every day.
Whatever one chooses to believe in, whether or not it is framed as a grandfather sitting on a Golden Throne doesn't change the "inalienability"
of these RIGHTS.
It just so happens that OUR country (I assume you are a citizen of the USA)
was ESTABLISHED on the concept that these RIGHTS are above and beyond mere governments.
Most of the founders did not believe in Santa Clause either.
That doesn't change the principles of our Democracy.
Have you read what our founders had to say about a government that attempts to rescind or abridge these "inalienable" rights?
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Attacking Snowden's character is irrelevant with regard to the NSA's illegal spying.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)of my rights, Freedom of Speech, you don't want me to say Snowden lied, he did and he also stole what was not his to steal.
Erose999
(5,624 posts)overlords. I mean maybe Fox would run the story but... they're fucking Fox. And any independent media outlet running the story would be in the same pickle as Snowden. It had to go to foreign media.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)this OP? I hope you dont think you can get away with insinuating that since Snowden cant be trusted that therefore Gen Clapper can.
Once again, Snowden's character has nothing to do with whether or not the NSA is illegally spying on Americans.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)thinking he is great, Clapper has much more integrity than Snowden will ever have.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)I can see how you might wish that to be true. You want it to be true soo badly. You want to think your authoritarian leader will take care of you. You should read, "And they thought they were free." So I am guessing you are against transparency. And you dont think the NSA needs to have oversight. Tell me if I am wrong.
As fare as me agreeing that Snowden cant be trusted. I dont like it when you put words in my mouth.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)putting words in you mouth and then you practice the same, no, I don't buy your words of what I think and I am not think out of your mind.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)mick063
(2,424 posts)Clapper is so much better at deciding what is best for us.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)mick063
(2,424 posts)You might freak out.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)Response to kpete (Original post)
Douglas Carpenter This message was self-deleted by its author.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release August 12, 2013
August 12, 2013
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/12/presidential-memorandum-reviewing-our-global-signals-intelligence-collec
MEMORANDUM FOR THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
SUBJECT: Reviewing Our Global Signals Intelligence Collection and Communications Technologies
The United States, like all nations, gathers intelligence in order to protect its national interests and to defend itself, its citizens, and its partners and allies from threats to our security. The United States cooperates closely with many countries on intelligence matters and these intelligence relationships have helped to ensure our common security.
Recent years have brought unprecedented and rapid advancements in communications technologies, particularly with respect to global telecommunications. These technological advances have brought with them both great opportunities and significant risks for our Intelligence Community: opportunity in the form of enhanced technical capabilities that can more precisely and readily identify threats to our security, and risks in the form of insider and cyber threats.
I believe it is important to take stock of how these technological advances alter the environment in which we conduct our intelligence mission. To this end, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I am directing you to establish a Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies (Review Group).
The Review Group will assess whether, in light of advancements in communications technologies, the United States employs its technical collection capabilities in a manner that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations, such as the risk of unauthorized disclosure and our need to maintain the public trust. Within 60 days of its establishment, the Review Group will brief their interim findings to me through the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Review Group will provide a final report and recommendations to me through the DNI no later than December 15, 2013.
You are hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/12/presidential-memorandum-reviewing-our-global-signals-intelligence-collec
ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)it didn't show up on my computer. You deleted the post I responded to.
silvershadow
(10,336 posts)SamKnause
(13,087 posts)I am waiting for President Obama to assign, appoint, or nominate Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, and George Walker Bush to his administration.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)pa28
(6,145 posts)Running afoul of the Washington consensus scares him to death so I'm sure we're already well on the way to much less ridiculous sounding solution.
Th1onein
(8,514 posts)Arrogant.
I am appalled.
Pholus
(4,062 posts)But I hoped for better.
Feel safer yet?
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Is it the fact that Clapper gets a copy of the report? I'm missing the cause for outrage.
Pholus
(4,062 posts)Clapper will be picking the people evaluating his business.
At least the report will not cause a scandal, I suppose.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,262 posts)Obama on Friday, talking about 'outside experts':
Letter specifying what the group is for, with no mention that anyone from 'outside' should serve on the group:
'Unauthorized disclosure' sounds more like preventing leaks than abuse. The problem is that the secret court authorizes whatever the NSA wants. And without worrying about abuse, 'maintaining the public trust' can just come down to a PR exercise. If I read the letter Obama sent without hearing what he said in the press conference, I'd say it says "stop another Manning or Snowden happening again", rather than "stop spying on Americans more than they are happy with".
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Balancing them is always the trick.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,262 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)I knew it was never about fairness and accuracy.
historylovr
(1,557 posts)Safetykitten
(5,162 posts)Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)better....more hope and change!
CrispyQ
(36,413 posts)Did anyone ever tell this president that actions speak louder than words?
totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)L0oniX
(31,493 posts)FlyByNight
(1,756 posts)National surveillance and empire maintenance aren't for the truthful. I guess that's what's called "realpolitik".
Orwell would, yet again, be impressed. Sadly typical of the administration these days.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)deutsey
(20,166 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)And will lie whenever the need arises. Hopefully they can keep Congress on script next time!
Rebellious Republican
(5,029 posts)The Clapper Sound Activated On/Off Switch enables you to turn on and off various home appliances by merely clapping your hands twice or thrice. This device has two outputs two claps and three claps. With two claps you can switch on the appliance attached to the two-clap output, and with three claps you can turn on the device attached to the three-clap output. This clap sensitive switch features lights that glow when proper claps are detected. It also features a sound sensitivity dial that can be adjusted for soft or loud claps. This noise-activated switch can be plugged into standard light sockets. These lapper switches can also serve as limited security devices when they are turned on and placed in the Away mode. Switch on and off your home appliances from the comfort of your couch with this clap sensitive light switch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cfgN5tUgjb8
NSA spying lights on, NSA spying lights off, problem solved.
CanonRay
(14,080 posts)Thanks a lot Mr. President.
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Life Long Dem
(8,582 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)morningfog
(18,115 posts)B Calm
(28,762 posts)GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)He doesn't answer to the people, he answers to the money.
As my mother used to say, "Ya gotta dance with the one that brung ya."