NSA Watch: Climate as 'Terrorism', War on Journalism and Anonymity, Anger in Europe and Angry Birds
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-01-30 12:37:56 UTC
- Modified: 2014-01-30 12:37:56 UTC
Summary: A roundup of yesterday's and today's news about the NSA
New Leaks
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The document, with portions marked "top secret," indicates that the NSA was monitoring the communications of other countries ahead of the conference, and intended to continue doing so throughout the meeting. Posted on an internal NSA website on Dec. 7, 2009, the first day of the Copenhagen summit, it states that "analysts here at NSA, as well as our Second Party partners, will continue to provide policymakers with unique, timely, and valuable insights into key countries' preparations and goals for the conference, as well as the deliberations within countries on climate change policies and negotiation strategies."
Illegal Collection of 'Evidence'
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A man charged with aiding a terrorist organization has asked a U.S. court to throw out information collected by the National Security Agency, saying the NSA's surveillance of his Internet communications violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Prosecuting Anonymisers
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In oral arguments heard on Tuesday, Lavabit and federal prosecutors each presented their cases in front of a three-judge panel at the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. The case is an appeal of contempt-of-court charges against Lavabit, a now-defunct e-mail hosting service that once offered secure communication.
In the summer of 2013, Lavabit was ordered to provide real-time e-mail monitoring of one of its users, widely believed to be Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor-turned-leaker. When Lavabit told the feds that the only way it could hand over communications was through an internal process that would deliver results 60 days after any communication was sent, the authorities returned with a search warrant for Lavabit's SSL keys, which could decrypt the traffic of all of Lavabit's users. Ladar Levison, the CEO of Lavabit, handed over the SSL keys but then shut down his 10-year-old business rather than expose all of Lavabit's users.
War on Journalism
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James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, has issued a blistering condemnation of Edward Snowden, calling the surveillance disclosures published by the Guardian and other news outlets a “perfect storm” that would endanger American lives.
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Director of National Intelligence James Clapper urged former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and his “accomplices” to return leaked documents during a hearing on Wednesday.
Europe
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A former Ukrainian president warned on Wednesday that the country is now on “the brink of civil war,” and Russia added to the gloom by announcing the suspension of its financial aid package, which was all that had been keeping Ukraine solvent.
[...]
Protesters for weeks had suspected that the government was using location data from cellphones near the demonstration to pinpoint people for political profiling, and they received alarming confirmation when a court formally ordered a telephone company to hand over such data.
Earlier this month, protesters at a clash with riot police officers received text messages on their phones saying they had been “registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.”
Then, three cellphone companies — Kyivstar, MTS and Life — denied that they had provided the location data to the government or had sent the text messages. Kyivstar suggested that it was instead the work of a “pirate” cellphone tower set up in the area.
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Former employee of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Edward Snowden will be invited to the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), APA’s Europe bureau reports.
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Chancellor says Germany and US still 'far apart' on sweeping surveillance and spying activities revealed by Edward Snowden
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Berlin and Washington are still "far apart" in their views on the US National Security Agency's (NSA) mass surveillance of Germany but they remain close allies, Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament on Wednesday.
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The German government and the German Federal Intelligence Service are facing legal action because they allegedly aided the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) data collection program.
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THE EUROPEAN UNION JUSTICE COMMISSIONER has spoken out on Data Protection Day about national security agency surveillance.
US Politics
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Ever since leaked NSA documents first started popping up this summer, the battle against NSA surveillance has proceeded on multiple fronts: legislators pushing for new laws, journalists pushing for new stories, and tech companies fighting to regain users’ trust. Yesterday, one of the major fronts closed down. Since July, tech companies had been putting pressure on the Department of Justice, fighting for the right to say more about their interactions with law enforcement. Yesterday they made peace, reaching a settlement and withdrawing a class action suit that had drawn in some of the most powerful companies in America. On this front at least, reformers have likely gotten all they’re going to get.
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Senator Patrick Leahy questioned how the Constitution allows the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of U.S. telephone records and repeated his calls for President Barack Obama’s administration to end the program during a hearing Wednesday.
The Obama administration should heed the recent advice of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) and end the phone records collection program, said Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.
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The NSA's new data center in Utah has provided the flashpoint for legislation targeted at "nullifying" the agency by cutting off its access to public utilities and/or leveraging the powers granted to states to combat federal government overreach. An activist group known as The Tenth Amendment Center proposed a state law that would cut off the new data center's much needed water supply, along with any other public utility or service, like sanitation and road repair, in hopes of (at minimum) forcing the NSA to reconsider its collection tactics, or failing that, to find a new home.
Angry Birds
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Some users trying to access the www.angrybirds.com website late Tuesday were greeted by an image depicting the Angry Birds game characters accompanied by the text "Spying Birds." The U.S. National Security Agency's logo was also visible in the image.
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Reacting to recent revelations that smartphone apps such as Angry Birds and Google Maps are being used by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain’s Government Communications Headquarter (GCHQ) to spy on their users, the Application Developers Alliance has condemned the NSA for damaging the industry.
BBC
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When the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers published the first of Edward Snowden's NSA-GCHQ leaks in June, it unleashed a stream of abbreviations, acronyms and jargon describing the cyberspies' activities.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XIII - Is EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan in Cahoots With the "Alicante Mafia"?
- that deserves much media attention, political intervention, and condemnation
- “Wikilaundering” Explained
- "London PR firm rewrites Wikipedia for governments and billionaires"
- Some Slopfarms and Some Real News Sites Cover Richard Stallman’s (RMS) Talk
- If his message about Software Freedom spreads, then we're all better off
-
- Online 'Gathering' Held Today to Organise Industrial Actions in EPO, Strikes Will be Starting Shortly
- "Online Extraordinary General Meeting on Action Plan"
- It's Not About What You Know, It's About Who You Know (and Stay Quiet About the Cocaine)
- This is not an organisation that exists to ensure laws are followed
- FOSDEM 2026: democracy panel: FSFE uses women as stooges, gerrymander
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Must Use Proprietary JavaScript to Submit Feedback to the European Commission About Moving From GAFAM to Free Software
- Nevertheless, go tell them why Software Freedom would benefit Europe's defence and economy
- Distortion of the Facts About Mass Layoffs at IBM
- more layoffs are ahead
- Gemini Links 27/01/2026: "Waiting Isn't a Waste", Posting from Lynx, and Bookmarks
- Links for the day
- Links 27/01/2026: "Oracle Debt and TikTok Transition Troubles Vex the Ellison Media Empire", Richard Stallman Quoted on Copyrights
- Links for the day
- Steven Field (Red Hat) Speaks of "Recent Layoff" (RA/Wave) in Red Hat
- IBM really doesn't like it when people talk about "RAs"
- A Week Ago We Contacted the EPO's Stephen (Steve) Rowan About Cocainegate
- Tomorrow we'll write some more about Rowan
- IBM Reports 'Results' Tomorrow, Expect More "RAs" (Mass Layoffs)
- they use words like "efficiency", "optimisation", "AI", "pivot", "modernisation" and so on
- Earlier This Month Microsoft Lunduke Said in Public It Was Good That Renee Good Was Murdered, Now He Mocks or Demonises People for Saying the US is Unsafe
- Don't be easily conned by demagogues
- Google News and "Linux" Slop
- Why won't Google be interested in tackling this issue? Instead Google has been trying to participate in this issue.
- IBM Kills Red Hat in the Darkness
- What IBM does to Red Hat is malicious
- IBM Red Hat's Goal Is Not Real Security (It Probably Never Was)
- Spies and trolls are very malicious people and sometimes they're the same thing
- With Absurd Lies About Slop, Which Lacks Intelligence or Financial Potential, GAFAM and IBM Will Twist Mass Layoffs as 'Efficiency Drive' or 'AI Pivot'
- More layoffs are on the way
- Animal Advocacy Works
- All it takes is effort and determination
- EPO Strike This Week
- What has happened to Europe?
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 26, 2026
- IRC logs for Monday, January 26, 2026
- For the EPO to Survive, António Campinos and the "Alicante Mafia" Must Fall on Their Sword
- There are EPO insiders who are convinced Campinos too is (or was) a cocaine addict
- Gemini Links 26/01/2026: Pocket Power Pack, Batteries, and Breaks
- Links for the day
- "Microsoft Vista 11 Emergency Update" as Windows Fails to Boot (Again)
- Microsoft is desperately trying to find some new business model as the debt soars
- 4 Hours Ago The Register MS Published Paid-for Spam About "AI" (Slop, Buzzwords)
- "AI" mentioned 13 times in the page
- IBM 'Results' Due Wednesday Evening, Expect Clues About Mass Layoffs
- Don't expect IBM to say anything about "layoffs" or "RAs"
- The Fall of the EPO (or the "Alicante Mafia" at EPO) Will be Due to This Reckless Lawyer Who Does Cocaine in Public While Speaking for the EPO
- The longer European politicians (and media) turn a blind eye to this corruption, the worse it'll get
- Why RMS is Scary to GAFAM 'Engineers' and the GAFAM Apologists (or Addicts)
- especially because of his ideas and his way of life
- Firefox 'Market Share' Down to All-Time Low in 2026, Adding to It User-Hostile 'Features' Only Worsens Things
- What is the goal of Mozilla at this point?
- Links 26/01/2026: Windows Back Doors, American Winter Storm, and Report Says Iran's "Protest Death Toll May Exceed 30,000"
- Links for the day
- Life Got Simpler and Therefore Also Healthier and Happier
- Some people envy not wealth but happiness (which they're unable to attain, even with hoarding and accumulation)
- Richard Stallman's Experiences With 'Cancel Brigades' Ought to Educate Linus Torvalds
- Now they talk about "if Linus dies" scenarios
- Links 26/01/2026: Financial Stress in German Farms and Germany Wants to Take Its Gold Reserves Out of the US
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 26/01/2026: "Lack of Meaningful Things" and Getting Back to Programming
- Links for the day
- Strong Correlation Between the Slop Ponzi Scheme (or Bubble) and Major Disasters
- BitCoin ruins the planet; so does slop
- We Will Never Allow the "Alicante Mafia" to Hide "Cocainegate"
- transparency typically scares malicious actors
- Fewer Involuntary Interruptions This Year
- This year we're doing much better
- Prisons Are for Dangerous People Who Pose a Threat to the Public, Not People Who Inform the Public
- At the end of the week EPO workers go on strike
- Microsoft Loses Grip on Indian Ocean
- Many countries, including in older allies of the US (such as Canada and the US), look for ways to get out of Microsoft dependence urgently
- XBox Consoles Nearly Dead by Now, the 'XBox' (ex-Box) Brand Now Stands for Something Full of Slop, Spam, Filler, and Chaff
- We're seeing the last day (maybe year) of "XBox"
- The Great "AI" CON Explained by Dr. Andy Farnell
- LLMs are basically advertisers of sorts
- Links 26/01/2026: "Journalists Detained", in Germany "Unjustly Jailed Man Gets €1.3 Million Compensation"
- Links for the day
- Red Hat Quietly Going Extinct After Bluewashing in 2026
- At this point it would be rather foolish to assume that IBM will let Red Hat just "do its own thing" or maintain its corporate culture, identity, projects etc.
- The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XII - Kris De Neef and Roberta Romano-Götsch, Who Stepped in for the Cokehead, Have No Comment on His Cocaine Usage (and the EPO's Cover-up)
- Sh-t floats to the top.
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, January 25, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, January 25, 2026
- Gemini Links 26/01/2026: Cold Perception, Software Patches in NixOS, and Sunk Cost Fallacy
- Links for the day
- Fake IBM Retirements (IBM Gives Older Workers Ultimatums, Deadlines, and Carrots on Sticks)
- As they point out, IBM is desperate to lower costs
- Linuxiac is Basically a Fake News Site, But It's Being Fed by Google News
- Because Google News is run by Google, a slop pusher
- Links 25/01/2026: Slop "Tribalism", Nike Apparently Cracked
- Links for the day
- Claims That PIPs Are Abused for Silent Mass Layoffs at IBM (Without Severance) or Forced Retirements
- Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) "clearly bogus as everyone on my team who has been on one has been fired"
- WebM Version of Richard Stallman's Latest Talk (Georgia Tech Talk)
- The file size is smaller
- After Half a Decade Vista 11 is Still a Giant Failure
- Don't expect Microsoft to gain a foothold
- Details on IBM Layoffs in the EU Last Week, Same Allegedly Coming to the US Shortly
- "Around 50 people affected in Belgium."
- Technology Trends Driven by DRM Giants, Planned Obsolescence, Not the Needs of the Buyers
- The "pushers" think of customers as "users"; and they encourage passivity, Stockholm Syndrome
- Links 25/01/2026: Microsoft BitLocker Backdoored for Decades Already, Microsoft-Backed ICE Still Murders Civilians
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 25/01/2026: "Expert in a Dying Field" and Global Commands
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 24, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, January 24, 2026
- After the Slop Bubble
- At the end, looking back, we'll all generally understand that the net effort of slop was environmental destruction
- IBM CEO Says IBM is Just Reliant on Buzzwords That Are Overhyped
- IBM has nothing to show anymore and telling fairytales to shareholders is a temporary 'fix'
- The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XI - No Comment From Steve Rowan, Niloofar Simon, and Christoph Ernst About Cocaine Inside EPO
- What kind of patent office is this?