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Two articles have been received regarding the NSA and its activities:
NSA chief knew of Snowden file destruction by Guardian in UK
Surprising absolutely no one, the Guardian reports that Keith Alexander was fully briefed and supportive of the GCHQ's plan to destroy Snowden-related computers at the Guardian's offices in London.
The revelation that Alexander and Obama's director of national intelligence, James Clapper, were advised on the Guardian's destruction of several hard disks and laptops contrasts markedly with public White House statements that distanced the US from the decision.
White House and NSA emails obtained by Associated Press under freedom of information legislation demonstrate how pleased Alexander and his colleagues were with the developments. At times the correspondence takes a celebratory tone, with one official describing the anticipated destruction as "good news".
A Compromise with the NSA
"The NSA wants to know everything we do? Fine, but only if We the People see everything the NSA does. The real problem with the current mass surveillance is asymmetry."
Now we all know that the NSA is not going to open its doors and reveal its secrets - that would be foolhardy in the extreme and seriously endanger the US and its citizens. And despite the sincerely-held views of many of our members and others elsewhere, from the outside there doesn't appear to be anything like a groundswell of dissent in the US regarding Snowden's revelations about the NSA's activities.
However, perhaps by being a little more open it might begin to win back the trust of those who currently doubt that the NSA is working in their interests. What would it take for you to be convinced that the NSA was under control and acting in the best interests of every US citizen, and not just the interests of a small number who appear to use it to cling to power? What amount of spying on allies and partners would be acceptable while remembering that each time such activity is discovered it weakens the trust of the ally and can have serious repercussions for US business? Would clearly stating which terrorist plots had been thwarted by intelligence gathered, in part at least, by the NSA be enough? Or have we already passed the point of no return?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by lgsoynews on Saturday July 12 2014, @07:51PM
I disagree. Asymmetry IS a big problem. But the root of the problem is the existence of all those spying programs run amock. And the fact that the people running the show think that they are doing what is RIGHT. Which is the most frightening thing of all! Nothing worse than an unchecked self-righteous fool/nut with some authority.
Endanger the US? Why? How? Even if the NSA were 100% transparent (ie: explaining exactly the scope of each of their operations), how would it be a problem? They shouldn't have anything to hide! Now, of course, they would not make the collected data available for anyone to download... But I fail to see why an almost-complete transparency would be that bad or in any way dangerous.
You hit the sore point here. I still wonder why there have not been riots or at least massive protests about what the NSA are doing. But, knowing how most people are woefully ignorant on the topic of privacy and its implications, I'm not that surprised in fact. Sad, and afraid for the future, but not really surprised.
Nothing could convince me. The only real solution would be a complete disbanding of this agency. But of course, it can't happen (too big, too many interests involved). A complete -or almost complete- transparency should be possible. There is not real justification for this black-ops mentality. It has always encouraged abuses and corruption.
Another important thing to change would be to force them to change their attitude. Their shadowy, abusive & self-righteous (us against THEM) mentality is a big part of the problem.
I'm really afraid of that. It's too late. I have no doubt that there will be some superficial changes: lip-service paid to some of the concerns -as usual-. But the REAL problem is that in the US governement & in the NSA they still are convinced that they are the good guys & as such can't do wrong. That's what you need to change if you want things to get better. Given the crap that has been going those past decennies -especially since 9/11- I won't hold my breath.
But I'm not american, so what can I say...
Not that the situation is great in france either, there are some very similar problems and attitudes here.
Most people here too don't understand the issues, even among the programmers & highly technical people I've met, they are incredibly uninformed (and don't care). And don't get me started about all the idiots that spew the old "I've nothing to hide" line, grr.