Published September 15, 2014

Sept. 15, 2014 - Former NSA systems analyst turned leaker Edward Snowden appears via video link from Russia to hundreds at the Auckland, New Zealand Town Hall. Snowden says the NSA is collecting mass surveillance data on New Zealanders through its XKeyscore program and has set up a facility to tap into vast amounts of data.(AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand Former National Security Agency systems analyst turned leaker Edward Snowden said Monday that the NSA is collecting mass surveillance data on New Zealanders through its XKeyscore program and has set up a facility in the South Pacific nation's largest city to tap into vast amounts of data.

Snowden talked via video link from Russia to hundreds of people at Auckland's Town Hall.

Shortly before he spoke, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key issued a statement saying New Zealand's spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau, or GCSB, has never undertaken mass surveillance of its own people. Key said he declassified previously secret documents that proved his point.

"Regarding XKeyscore, we don't discuss the specific programs the GCSB may or may not use," Key said. "But the GCSB does not collect mass metadata on New Zealanders, therefore it is clearly not contributing such data to anything or anyone."

Snowden, however, said Key was carefully parsing his words, and that New Zealand agencies do collect information for the NSA and then get access to it.

"There are actually NSA facilities in New Zealand that the GCSB is aware of and that means the prime minister is aware of," Snowden said. "And one of them is in Auckland."

He said Key was avoiding the main issue by not talking about XKeyscore.

"To this day, he's said I won't talk about this. I won't talk about this because it's related to foreign intelligence," Snowden said. "But is it related to foreign intelligence if it's collecting the communications of every man, woman and child in the country of New Zealand?"

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Snowden: NSA collecting data on New Zealanders

Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden's claims that the GCSB carries out mass surveillance inside New Zealander are "simply wrong", Prime Minister John Key says.

Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden's claims that the GCSB carries out mass surveillance inside New Zealander are "simply wrong", Prime Minister John Key says.

"There is not, and never has been, mass surveillance of New Zealanders undertaken by the GCSB," he said after Snowden, a former US National Security Agency (NSA) analyst, published his claims on The Intercept website.

They're part of the "Moment of Truth" revelations Kim Dotcom is about to announce in Auckland.

"If you live in New Zealand, you are being watched," Snowden wrote.

"At the NSA I routinely came across the communications of New Zealanders in my work with a mass surveillance tool we share with the GCSB, called XKEYSCORE.

"It allows total, granular access to the database of communications collected in the course of mass surveillance. It is not limited to or even used largely for the purposes of cybersecurity, as has been claimed, but is instead used primarily for reading individuals' private email, text messages, and internet traffic."

Mr Key, who has always denied the GCSB carries out mass surveillance or does anything outside the law, says he's setting the record straight.

"I believe New Zealanders deserve better than getting half of a story, embellished for dramatic effect and political gain, and based on incomplete information," he said in a statement after Snowden had published his claims.

"The GCSB undertakes cyber security operations to protect individual public and private sector entities from the increasing threat of cyber attack."

The rest is here:
NZ PM rejects Snowden's spying claims

WASHINGTON: The National Security Agency was unable to find evidence that leaker Edward Snowden ever raised concerns internally about its sweeping surveillance programs, after an exhaustive search that included deleted emails, court documents showed.

NSA Associate Director for Policy and Records David Sherman said that the agency had launched a "comprehensive" investigation after media reports were published about classified NSA spy programs based on information leaked by Snowden.

As part of last year's probe, the NSA collected and searched Snowden's "sent, received and deleted email," including that "obtained by restoring back-up tapes" Sherman said in a sworn declaration filed yesterday.

"The search did not identify any email written by Mr Snowden in which he contacted agency officials to raise concerns about NSA programs."

Searches for the emails included the records from the agency's Office of General Counsel, Office of the Inspector General and Office of the Director of Compliance.

The findings contradict Snowden's claim in an interview with NBC News in May that he did raise concerns through "internal channels" within the NSA and was told to "stop asking questions" before ultimately deciding to leak the secret files.

Sherman, who has worked with the NSA since 1985, has the authority to classify information as "top secret."

The NSA made its declaration in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by VICE News against the NSA earlier this year.

The only relevant communication uncovered was a previously released email between Snowden and the Office of General Counsel inquiring about material in a training course he had completed.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said at the time that the exchange "poses a question about the relative authority of laws and executive orders -- it does not register concerns about NSA's intelligence activities."

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Edward Snowden didn't raise concerns internally: National Security Agency

Edward Snowden - the Che Guevara for the IT Help Desk #39;Radicals #39;
Such a devious psy-op.

By: Thomas Sheridan

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Edward Snowden - the Che Guevara for the IT Help Desk 'Radicals' - Video

Shocking Edward Snowden Interview That American Media Blacked-Out
Shocking Edward Snowden Interview That American Media Blacked-Out, Barack Obama and His People Have Dirt On Every Damn One http://whateverhappentocommonsense.com/?p=4764 http://newsninja2012.com...

By: Promoting Common Sense One Person At A Time

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Shocking Edward Snowden Interview That American Media Blacked-Out - Video

We're now just 15 months removed fromEdward Snowden's first bombshell revelation about the United States' massive surveillance apparatus. But with Islamic extremists putting down roots in Syria and Iraq, Americans are very much reverting to a pre-Snowden attitude towardcivil liberties.

Or perhaps we should call it "post-Snowden."

While the Snowden revelations led to a lot of American soul-searching when it came to just how much of our civil liberties we want to yield in the name of protecting ourselves from terrorism, the soul-searching has largely come to an end, according to a new poll.

The Pew Research Center poll shows 50 percent of Americans say the government has not gone far enough to protect the country, while 35 percent are more concerned about the government going too far to restrict civil liberties. That's the most pro-security postureAmericans have had on this question since 2009 and one of the highest on record since Sept. 11, 2001.

In contrast, 10 months ago, in the midst of several big Snowden leaks, significantly more Americans favored the civil liberties emphasis (47 percent) over taking additional steps to secure the homeland (35 percent).

The reason for the shift? People are scared.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll this week showed fearsofAmerican vulnerability to an attack is at its highest level since 9/11. Fully 47 percent of Americans think we're less safe than we were before 9/11 -- a scary thought if there ever was one. Only 26 percent say we're more safe.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll, meanwhile, showed 91 percent of people view the Islamic State as a serious threat to the United States' vital interests (not the same as a direct threat, I would note). About six in 10 (59 percent) say the extremist group is a "very serious" threat.

Given that very real fear, it's perhaps not surprising to see people willing to cash in some of their civil liberties in exchange for peace of mind when it comes to their safety.

But it also suggeststhe shift toward civil libertarianism and the criticism of the National Security Agency in the aftermath of all the Snowden revelations -- of which more could certainly come and change things again -- were very temporary. Kind of like the GOP's brief flirtation with non-interventionism.

Original post:
The Fix: Welcome to the post-Edward Snowden era

We're now just 15 months removed fromEdward Snowden's first bombshell revelation about the United States' massive surveillance apparatus. But with Islamic extremists putting down roots in Syria and Iraq, Americans are very much reverting to a pre-Snowden attitude towardcivil liberties.

Or perhaps we should call it "post-Snowden."

While the Snowden revelations led to a lot of American soul-searching when it came to just how much of our civil liberties we want to yield in the name of protecting ourselves from terrorism, the soul-searching has largely come to an end, according to a new poll.

The Pew Research Center poll shows 50 percent of Americans say the government has not gone far enough to protect the country, while 35 percent are more concerned about the government going too far to restrict civil liberties. That's the most pro-security postureAmericans have had on this question since 2009 and one of the highest on record since Sept. 11, 2001.

In contrast, 10 months ago, in the midst of several big Snowden leaks, significantly more Americans favored the civil liberties emphasis (47 percent) over taking additional steps to secure the homeland (35 percent).

The reason for the shift? People are scared.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll this week showed fearsofAmerican vulnerability to an attack is at its highest level since 9/11. Fully 47 percent of Americans think we're less safe than we were before 9/11 -- a scary thought if there ever was one. Only 26 percent say we're more safe.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll, meanwhile, showed 91 percent of people view the Islamic State as a serious threat to the United States' vital interests (not the same as a direct threat, I would note). About six in 10 (59 percent) say the extremist group is a "very serious" threat.

Given that very real fear, it's perhaps not surprising to see people willing to cash in some of their civil liberties in exchange for peace of mind when it comes to their safety.

But it also suggeststhe shift toward civil libertarianism and the criticism of the National Security Agency in the aftermath of all the Snowden revelations -- of which more could certainly come and change things again -- were very temporary. Kind of like the GOP's brief flirtation with non-interventionism.

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Welcome to the post-Edward Snowden era

Naked Celebrities, Edward Snowden, Comcast/Warner Merger, Natural Gas Fracking [Scrapple TV News]
From high atop the Scrapple News tower in Downtown Philadelphia, I #39;m AP Ticker and this is is a term paper I wrote last minute two inch margins and size sixteen font. We begin with the...

By: Scrapple TV

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Naked Celebrities, Edward Snowden, Comcast/Warner Merger, Natural Gas Fracking [Scrapple TV News] - Video

The federal governments largest background check company was fired by the Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday after a spate of bad news, including a Justice Department lawsuit, a cyberattack and congressional scrutiny over its vetting of Edward Snowden.

The Virginia-based USIS said OPM notified the company that the agency was declining to exercise its remaining options on a contract for background investigations fieldwork and support services.

We are deeply disappointed with OPMs decision, particularly given the excellent work our 3,000 employees have delivered on these contracts, the company said in a statement late Tuesday.

While we disagree with the decision and are reviewing it, we intend to fulfill our obligations to ensure an orderly transition.

The company also said it continued to provide high quality service to other government agencies.

OPM announced its decision a day after USIS issued a lengthy and detailed public defense in the face of increasing calls for the government to cut ties with the company.

Lawmakers from both parties have raised questions about the timing of a border security contract this year worth up to $190 million awarded to USIS professional services division, which the company says is separate from its background investigations arm.

The contract was awarded months after the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit accusing USIS of collecting millions of dollars in bonuses while falsely certifying that hundreds of thousands of unfinished background investigations had been completed.

The company has sought to distance itself from those accusations, saying nobody currently with the company has ties to any of the accusations outlined in the governments lawsuit.

Under federal contracting law, past scandals dont necessarily mean future contracts are in jeopardy. Contractors need to show only that they are presently responsible.

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Feds fire firm that checked backgrounds of Snowden, Alexis

MOSCOW, July 28 (RIA Novosti) One year after disclosures on the global surveillance, Washington is less interested in reaching a deal with former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, political journalism organization Politico reported Monday.

"As time goes on, the utility for us of having that conversation becomes less It's been over a year since he had access to our networks and our information so the need for us to understand that greater level of detail is lesser and lesser," Politico cited NSA Deputy Director Rick Ledgett as saying.

Ledgett was one of the first US officials to publically discuss the possibility of amnesty or leniency for Snowden if he did not publish the remaining secret documents that he possessed. According to the NSA, a year ago Snowden had about 1.5 million unpublished documents.

Ledgett, who was recently promoted after handling the NSA's response to the Snowden revelations, thinks that over time Snowdens lawyers might have a weaker bargaining position.

"So, as time goes on, his information becomes less useful," Ledgett said.

Nevertheless, Ledgett acknowledged that the impact of Snowden's leaks on the spy agency's ability to gather information was serious.

In June 2013, Snowden leaked information about the extensive electronic surveillance programs conducted by the US government around the globe, including eavesdropping on US citizens and foreign leaders. The revelations strained relationships between Washington and their European partners.

The United States charged Snowden with espionage and revoked his passport. Snowden is now settled in Russia, which granted him asylum status for a year. As the term ended in July 2014, Snowden applied for an extension of his stay.

Back at home, Snowden is accused of theft, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified documents to an unauthorized person. Each of the three charges carries a maximum possible prison term of 10 years.

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US Says Now Less Interested in Deal with Snowden – Reports