NSA collected US email records in bulk for more than two years under Obama

Today's Guardian article courtesy of docs leaked by Mr Edward J Snowden esq.

It seems this was started under Bush illegally in 2009 before being legalised and continued under Obama. It collected blanket email metadata from US citizens, thanks to FISA court 90-day renewals.

The Obama administration for more than two years permitted the National Security Agency to continue collecting vast amounts of records detailing the email and internet usage of Americans, according to secret documents obtained by the Guardian.

The documents indicate that under the program, launched in 2001, a federal judge sitting on the secret surveillance panel called the Fisa court would approve a bulk collection order for internet metadata "every 90 days". A senior administration official confirmed the program, stating that it ended in 2011.

The collection of these records began under the Bush administration's wide-ranging warrantless surveillance program, collectively known by the NSA codename Stellar Wind.

NSA collected US email records in bulk for more than two years under Obama

Whether it has been stopped is unclear but the last paragraph says:

A senior administration official queried by the Washington Post denied that the Obama administration was "using this program" to "collect internet metadata in bulk", but added: "I'm not going to say we're not collecting any internet metadata."

Being an Australian, I don't know what dark and ugly things you've got crawling around over there but I really don't understand why any free and open democracy would have the need for secret courts.

Once again, this is bloody appalling and you can say it's not a surprise and nothing new until you're blue in the face, it still doesn't change the fact that it's occurring.

The developer of this program, and NSA operative of 40 years, William Binney, quit and become a whistleblower after the NSA turned his program, originally written to be used against foreign targets only, on American citizens en masse after 9/11. He couldn't take the constitutional violation and quit.

If you want to hear him talk about it or if you want to generally learn what you're up against in terms of PRISM or why you should care that it's happening as well as some strategies to deal with it, check out this video.

Originally posted by Archie
Today's Guardian article courtesy of docs leaked by Mr Edward J Snowden esq.

It seems this was started under Bush illegally in 2009 before being legalised and continued under Obama. It collected blanket email metadata from US citizens, thanks to FISA court 90-day renewals.

The Obama administration for more than two years permitted the National Security Agency to continue collecting vast amounts of records detailing the email and internet usage of Americans, according to secret documents obtained by the Guardian.

The documents indicate that under the program, launched in 2001, a federal judge sitting on the secret surveillance panel called the Fisa court would approve a bulk collection order for internet metadata "every 90 days". A senior administration official confirmed the program, stating that it ended in 2011.

The collection of these records began under the Bush administration's wide-ranging warrantless surveillance program, collectively known by the NSA codename Stellar Wind.

NSA collected US email records in bulk for more than two years under Obama

Whether it has been stopped is unclear but the last paragraph says:

A senior administration official queried by the Washington Post denied that the Obama administration was "using this program" to "collect internet metadata in bulk", but added: "I'm not going to say we're not collecting any internet metadata."

Being an Australian, I don't know what dark and ugly things you've got crawling around over there but I really don't understand why any free and open democracy would have the need for secret courts.

Once again, this is bloody appalling and you can say it's not a surprise and nothing new until you're blue in the face, it still doesn't change the fact that it's occurring.

The developer of this program, and NSA operative of 40 years, William Binney, quit and become a whistleblower after the NSA turned his program, originally written to be used against foreign targets only, on American citizens en masse after 9/11. He couldn't take the constitutional violation and quit.

If you want to hear him talk about it or if you want to generally learn what you're up against in terms of PRISM or why you should care that it's happening as well as some strategies to deal with it, check out this video.

edit on 28-6-2013 by Archie because: (no reason given)

Don't shallow your message by trying to pin this on the Obama administration. This has been going on FOR A LONG TIME, free of partisanship and party. If you only focus on the Obama administration, you aren't seeing the big picture.

I'm just postulating a theory here but wouldn't this have started years before with the Patriot Act even?

Originally posted by GhostLancer
Don't shallow your message by trying to pin this on the Obama administration. This has been going on FOR A LONG TIME, free of partisanship and party. If you only focus on the Obama administration, you aren't seeing the big picture.

Uh, i was just reporting the Guardian article verbatim - it's today's NSA leak from Snowden. No domestic political agenda here. Maybe take your concerns to Glenn Greenwald, the journalist. He hasn't got enough to worry about right now .

reply to post by GhostLancer

Don't shallow your message by trying to pin this on the Obama administration. This has been going on FOR A LONG TIME, free of partisanship and party. If you only focus on the Obama administration, you aren't seeing the big picture.

You do have a point.
But.....
Who is in charge right now? Who is calling for the arrest of Ed Snowden?
Is it George W. Bush?
Bill Clinton?
George H W Bush?
Ronald Reagan?

No, it is Barack Obama. He is the guy in charge right now.

Or is it some guy at the NSA pulling the strings?
Maybe, but Obama does admit to being the POTUS, doesn't he? Or is he denying that now?

Don't shallow your message by trying to pin this on the Obama administration. This has been going on FOR A LONG TIME, free of partisanship and party. If you only focus on the Obama administration, you aren't seeing the big picture.

Why the hell not?

He knew before he took the job made it an issue himself so the buck stops with him.

Case in point:

reply to post by GhostLancer

Don't shallow your message by trying to pin this on the Obama administration. This has been going on FOR A LONG TIME, free of partisanship and party. If you only focus on the Obama administration, you aren't seeing the big picture.

No but the Obama administration continued that illegal painting on......There could have been an end to it, but they must have thought that picture needed extended?

Don't back this administration up either, or you are denying ignorance also! It currently fell into their hands and did nothing about it....Just as much a responsibility as the previous administration!

reply to post by Archie


What do you think meta data is? When a mail server receives delivers an email it records several things, it records the server it came from, the From: the To: and the information about how the email is formed, IT DOES NOT contain the body. The actual information in the email. So they are capturing who sent email to whom. By the way, your Mail host has all this information. They don't know whats in the body, but they have to know where it came from and who it is destined for.

You make it sound like they are collecting the information contained in the email. This is false.



V

reply to post by Archie

Uh, i was just reporting the Guardian article verbatim - it's today's NSA leak from Snowden. No domestic political agenda here. Maybe take your concerns to Glenn Greenwald, the journalist. He hasn't got enough to worry about right now

My man, what you need is an Australian Snowden to get proper context. Rest assured, if a target email address passed to an Aussy mail server, there would be an attempt to gather information on it. Fortunately for Australia, no one gives a rats ass about them. They have very little world power, take comfort in that fact. Don't think this bubble will last forever, Australia is a big country, in a hundred years you will be dealing with what the United States is now. Bet on it.

V

We have one, his name is Julian Assange. He and the Wikileaks Party are running for a seat in the Senate
at the next Federal Election in September. But, yes, indeed, we could use our own Snowden and the call has gone out.

Australia is in lock-step with the United States. We are very important to them strategically which is why they have a couple of thousand US marines positioned on our northern shores right now (and for quite a few years to come).

According to veiled comments from one member of the press, it was given a D-notice when the first leaks about mass surveillance came out, which is why the country is fairly silent in issue - most people do not know it is happening. They've only started focussing on Snowden and running stories since the US indictment came out and it turned into "Where's Wally".

Rest assured, there are many who understand the implications and many who care. Sure it's only a small minority at this stage but it will grow as people come to an understanding of the situation. Everything that goes through our servers ends up in either the US or UK or with ASIO thanks to the taps on the undersea cables that connect our internet to the rest of the world.

As for poster that talks about metadata, if you believe that just because it's metadata, it's somehow less of a threat, you obviously didn't watch the video I provided. The NSA uses it, along with your phone records, credit card and banking records et al to build graph of your social networks. As a former Stasi officer said today, "If you think they've got all this information and they're not going to use it, you have rocks in your head," - I paraphrase.

I highly suggest your watch the video so you can understand more fully what you're dealing with.

absolutely we should focus on Obama. For now.

Once he is out of office, go after Bush.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." – Washington, D.C., August 5, 2004 – George W. Bush.

reply to post by VonDinkinDunken


I have never seen that quote, LMAO. That is a good way to start off the morning!

V