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EVIL PRESIDENT SPYING ON EVERYBODY
60 Minutes investigates the NSA’s illegal/unconstitutional/impeach-Bush-NOW! spying capers:
If you made a phone call today or sent an e-mail to a friend, there’s a good chance what you said or wrote was captured and screened by the country’s largest intelligence agency. The top-secret Global Surveillance Network is called Echelon, and it’s run by the National Security Agency and four English-speaking allies: Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
The mission is to eavesdrop on enemies of the state: foreign countries, terrorist groups and drug cartels. But in the process, Echelon’s computers capture virtually every electronic conversation around the world.
How does it work, and what happens to all the information that’s gathered? A lot of people have begun to ask that question, and some suspect that the information is being used for more than just catching bad guys.
The report includes claims from an NSA insider that an ordinary housewife was listed as a possible terrorist following illegal/unconstitutional/impeach-Bush-NOW! telephone surveillance. As Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wuss) said the other day: “This shocking revelation ought to send a chill down the spine of every American.”
That particular 60 Minutes episode went to air on February 27, 2000.
(Via Mark Levin)
UPDATE. Eric Berlin: “If anything, it seems to be more of a blanket program than what Bush approved, and yet I don’t remember anybody getting even a slap on the wrist over it.”
Here’s some math for you.
Assume 250,000,000 people spend 30 minutes on the phone daily:
250,000,000 x 30 minutes x 60 seconds/minute = 450,000,000,000 seconds worth of voice recordings
Now assume a compression ratio of 10 kilobits/second (for comparison, an average MP3 is between 128-320kbps). We now have:
4,500,000,000,000,000 bits of data
Divide that by 8 (8 bits to a byte) and we get:
562,500,000,000,000 bytes
or 562 terabytes of data (1 terabyte = 1,000 gigabytes).
That’s per day, with only 5% of the world’s population, at an insane compression ratio. Common sense has got to kick in at some point.
Dont worry, when a terrorist event does happen, you can bet the hand wringers will cry that the Government should have done ‘something’. Look at Howard, he’s already being blamed for the sydney riots, with the same donkeys criticising Police for a lack of gathered intelligence. I suppose they never wondered where authorities got such information.
Echelon is news to someone? It’s been around (in one form or another) as long as I have.
What are these ignorant wretches doing in government?
Posted by Mike Jericho on 2005 12 19 at 05:25 AM • permalinkHasn’t 60 minutes heard of Wikipedia?
This is, as #8 points out, ancient news. The mindset of 60 Minutes is such that, had it been around at the time, it would have complained that the Zimmerman telegram intercept was a gross breach of privacy.
We in Australian are proud to host not one but 4 Echelon facilities in our country.
Posted by walterplinge on 2005 12 19 at 05:35 AM • permalinkI blame the JOOs.
So does this bloke but in a more caring, tin foil willy protector type way.http://www.sydney.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=62725&group=webcast
Can we adopt a Kindymedia site as our new mocking post?
Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2005 12 19 at 06:20 AM • permalinkThe House wife was probably Ma Sheehan on a good day!
Walter have you downloaded the Pallywood movie which features 60 minutes gloating over the Netzarim Junction Israeli “massacre”. They quoted 30 dead when even Dan Rather would have realised the footage was from a movie production.
I’m afraid that truth no longer matters and we are into degenerate news reporting to the full.
The Al Durah film is now downloadable at seconddraft.org
This has got to be the worst case of corrupt journalism ever!
James Morrow writes a fine article in today’s Australian on the increasing levels of self hatred in the intellectual and Journalistic left.
All the articles attacking Australia seem to be written by disgruntled Expats like Pilger or Greer in newspapers of steadily falling circulation. They thus ingratiate themselves to their moronic marxists mates.The reason it’s easy to mock 60 Minutes is that it’s aimed at the technical expertise of women.
(Voiceover) We can’t see them, but the air around us is filled with invisible electronic signals, everything from cell phone conversations to fax transmissions to ATM transfers. What most people don’t realize is that virtually every signal radiated across the electromagnetic spectrum is being collected and analyzed.
The men have left the room at that point.
Women are the target audience.
They’re suckers for a voiceover
Try this one from the latest “Big Issue”, the fortnightly mag street people sell and an excellent mag and cause, mostly. However,Dec 5 issue has this in its Ear2Ground column:
“‘Among the insurgents killed were six-year-old Muhammad Salih Ali, who was buried in a plastic bag after relatives collected what they believed to be parts of his body; four-year-old Saad Ahmed Fuad; and his eight-year-old sister , Haifa, who had to be buried without one of her legs as her family were unable to find it.’ Iraqi born novelist Haifa Zangana, who was imprisoned under Saddam Hussein’s regime, tells the Guardian about the events of 16 October in Ramadi, Iraq. In retaliation for an earlier incident in which five American soldiers were killed, a US fighter jet fired onto the crowd and later claimed it had killed 70 insurgents without harming any civilians."
My b/s detector is going ballistic. Firstly, novelists generally write FICTION. Secondly, can anyone check out whether there is any or no truth in this superbly anti-American tale?The report includes claims from an NSA insider that an ordinary housewife was listed as a possible terrorist following illegal/unconstitutional/impeach-Bush-NOW! telephone surveillance.
Oh, you must be reading Tim Dunlop’s postings. It’s Christmastime in Australia based on the prospects for impeachment, or at least on Tim D’s blog. I was going to provide a link, but really don’t bother.
(sometimes Tim D surprises even me with his over the top rhetoric)
Posted by wronwright on 2005 12 19 at 07:06 AM • permalinkWronwright, the level of moonbattery over there has been edging up. What was once a sensible and thoughtful leftist site, well worth reading, now more resembles DU or Indymedia.
This is a real shame. For an example, see whatsisname… Kemp. Check him out. He states as fact some really moonbat assumptions about ‘stolen elections’, ‘diebold machines’, yaddayadda the usual yammerhead stuff. This sort of lunacy used to be rare over there, it is now common. Pity.
MarkL
CanberraTry this one from the latest “Big Issue”, the fortnightly mag street people sell and an excellent mag and cause, mostly. However,Dec 5 issue has this in its Ear2Ground column:
“‘Among the insurgents killed were six-year-old Muhammad Salih Ali, who was buried in a plastic bag after relatives collected what they believed to be parts of his body; four-year-old Saad Ahmed Fuad; and his eight-year-old sister , Haifa, who had to be buried without one of her legs as her family were unable to find it.’ Iraqi born novelist Haifa Zangana, who was imprisoned under Saddam Hussein’s regime, tells the Guardian about the events of 16 October in Ramadi, Iraq. In retaliation for an earlier incident in which five American soldiers were killed, a US fighter jet fired onto the crowd and later claimed it had killed 70 insurgents without harming any civilians.”
My b/s detector is going ballistic. Firstly, novelists generally write FICTION. Secondly, can anyone check out whether there is any or no truth in this superbly anti-American tale?Hang on...let me check. Nup...not ghost written by the US military and given to compliant Iraqi jounalists. Must be false.
By the way, Rebecca, I went over to your house yesterday to pick up the power tools that Stooped Over Drunk on Free Beer left at your house. Your hubby said you were doing some Secular Holiday shopping at the “Please Somebody Shop at Elder Beermans so We Don’t File Chapter 11 Again Sale”.
I asked him about my power tools. He said he didn’t know anything about them. Rebecca, I would have believed him except he was cutting a board with what looked very much like my circular saw. I’m almost certain of it since it still has Richard McEnroe’s initials and “DO NOT TOUCH OR YOU DIE SWAMPY!” stenciled on it. I almost made a scene, but I thought better since, you know, he was holding my circular saw and all.
I want my power tools back Rebecca.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 12 19 at 07:29 AM • permalinkMarkL, you’re right. And the interesting thing is, it’s not just debating points with them. They actually believe much if not most of the conspiracy theories over there.
We make fun of these theories here. What with the cabal of neocon functionaries trying to take over the world, regardless of the loss of innocent blood. But they believe it.
It makes having a fruitful debate with the left difficult.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 12 19 at 07:34 AM • permalinkallah, nuclear warhead, attack, infidels, virgins…
Now that I have your attention, a big G’day from Australia NSA dudes, keep up the good fight, it may not look it but some of us appreciate what you’re doing. Don’t worry about the moonbats, vocal as they are the numbers are dwindling. Say G’day to Bush for us!
#13, Davo - You’re right, that James Morrow article is spot on.
Posted by HisHineness on 2005 12 19 at 08:21 AM • permalinkAny bit of quote-unquote reportage which straight-facedly suggests that Canada is in fact an “ally” of the United States has to be looked at with more than a bit of skepticism. The “special relationship” was declared dead decades ago by Richard Nixon, and, though resurrected briefly during Mulroney-Reagan, is a dead letter as long as the entrenched Fiberal party continues to run Soviet Canuckistan. Their PM, Martin, rocked by scandal, faces an election in a month after a no-confidence vote, and is trying to save his own arse by bashing the Yanks at an unprecedented clip.
As for New Zealand, if anyone over here knew anything at all about the perfidious Hulun Cluck, we’d know we have but one true antipodean ally-- thank god for Oz. But NZ does send a lot of good harness horses over here, so I guess this sort of smooths things over with the Kivs & Sallys.
Posted by VegemiteLovinSeppo on 2005 12 19 at 09:47 AM • permalinkThe reason it’s easy to mock 60 Minutes is that it’s aimed at the technical expertise of women.
Hey!
I could resent that (except I don’t watch 60 Minutes).
-- Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 12 19 at 09:55 AM • permalink"How does this new outrage differ?”, Eric Berlin asks. Dunno, but GWB sure was grumpy about the story being leaked to the NYTimes (which had withheld it for more than a year). But how can a story which was on 60 Minutes five years ago now be called a leak? There must be some point of difference; can someone explain to me and Eric?
percypup — Because if you can’t get truth from street people…
By the way, were you people cleared to post these comments?
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 12 19 at 11:12 AM • permalinkslammer:
I think everyone knew, even in 2000, that if the Echelon story wasn’t complete BS, it was heavily exaggerated.
Now that the technology is there, and the scope is limited to a reasonable level (intercontinental communications), it’s got the moonbats worried that their terrorist buddies’ constitutional rights are being violated.
’there’s a good chance ‘
I’m with #5 - there’s like a snowballs chance in heck unless you’re making a cell call to Waziristan.
Posted by IcallMasICM on 2005 12 19 at 03:52 PM • permalinkIsn’t Echelon old hat? I thought Carnivore was the technology that should have us worried stiff.
Posted by walterplinge on 2005 12 19 at 04:37 PM • permalink#20 Wronwright
It makes having a fruitful debate with the left difficult.
I went to a lefty site last night (now I can’t find it - don’t remember its name, but ender was there), one that was linked to from here. I read a few posts, and I realized that they not only believe the conspiracy stuff, but they did not understand the function of irony at all. They used Tim’s blog here as an example of how terrible the right is (kudos, Tim!*) and quoted some of our comments which illustrated beautifully what RWDBism is. But never did they say how funny some of it was. The belief in conspiracy theories coupled with lefty dead-seriousity must have caused some kind of brain wave obstruction and prevented them from enjoying themselves.
So… I wrote as clear a post as I could, explaining, in some detail, what irony was and what humor meant. I even used some of this “humor" in a sentence in case someone might ever like to try it sometime. I haven’t been back to check so I can’t comment on their rib-cracking rejoinders, but I have a feeling that they did not appreciate my paws-across-the-water gesture of Peace Through Standup.
*This is a perfect example of what they do not understand. We think stuff like this is funny, they think it is pathetic. No wonder we can’t have a fruitful debate.
Believe me ekw, I’ve tried to do the same. I pointed out that a typical leftwing blog is as dull as watching my dachsund chew her rawhide bone. I suggested they do something, anything, to spice it up a bit. Tim Dunlop tried a bit of satire, his usual commenters applauded, and it pretty much went back to the daily squawk about the neocons.
Here we take the latest complaint made against Bush, Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al and write a parody. We all chip in and it makes it funny and fun.
Except for Stoop Davy Dave. He drinks my beer and steals my power tools. He’s very bad.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 12 19 at 11:22 PM • permalinkYeah. Stoop DD hasn’t really recovered from when Tim was away for such a long time. The whole weekend drunkathon was pretty much his undoing. Obviously, his wife doesn’t let him do anything.
You’re right, wron, there’s no greater weapon than humor and my personal favorites, mockery and ridicule. Especially when we mock by parodising. As soon as the left comes up with what they see as a real nasty killer zinger like Chimpy McHitlerBush or whatever the original thing was, we co-opted it and made it a million times worse. We elaborated on it, extemporized on it, took it to its most rococo conclusion with a contest for goodness sake. We wrecked it for them!
Now imagine, if you can, any one of the leftist blogs where the kind of anarchical, satirical, parodic, and good old-fashioned mean-spirited, ad hominem, and demeaning humor like we use is practiced. Pretty hard, init? I think one large part is that we can make jokes at our own expense. We have self-effacing asides, we take cracks at one another, all in fun, except, of course, where richardmcenroe is concerned. That’s different…
Anyway, I think the inability to laugh at ourselves is poisonous, and that inability pretty much defines the lefty bloggers and their commenters.
Yes, IMHO there are three things the right has over the left in spades:
. A sense of humour.
. Succinctness (the left’s motto is ‘why use only one word when you could use six?’).
. Basic things like spelling and grammar (which are obviously part of the vast neo-con conspiracy).The American left can sometimes be funny, but they have much better material to work with: the far right and bible bashers. The Howard Government is, in general, just so freakin moderate it doesn’t give wannabe comics much to work with.
My favourite left comic is, I’m afraid to say, Ted Rall. Yes, he is often really vile, and he’s pig ignorant, but he’s sometimes so over the top outrageous that I find myself laughing in spite of everything.
Posted by Lionel Mandrake on 2005 12 20 at 03:15 AM • permalinkre post #15> Given that my scepticism was challenged (see champy’s post 18), I have researched the issue as follows:
The five US soldiers killed in Ramadi on October 16 is an accurate rendition. seehttp://www.mnf-iraq.com/Releases/Oct/051016e.htm
The ‘retaliation’ attack as described in The Guardian bears very little relation to the US official account, other than the estimate of 70 terrorists killed. see
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/Releases/Oct/051017a.htm
While the US here may or may not be guilty of some ‘spin’ in their account, the Guardian/novelist version appears to be majorly garbled and in my view is unreliable.An estimated 70 terrorists killed near Ramadi
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq—Coalition forces continued counter-terrorism operations in areas of Al Anbar Province Oct. 16, killing an estimated 70 terrorists in separate actions.
At approximately 1:25 p.m., Coalition forces conducted an air strike against a group of terrorists attempting to emplace an improvised explosive device east of Ramadi.
While conducting a combat air patrol, crewmembers from an F -15 observed 20 men arrive in four vehicles at the crater site of a previously-detonated IED which had killed five U.S. and two Iraqi Soldiers on Oct. 15. The terrorists were in the process of emplacing another IED in the same spot when the F- 15 engaged them with a precision-guided bomb, resulting in the death of terrorists on the ground.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., a UH-1N Huey and AH-1W Cobra helicopter team on patrol north of Ramadi had been observing a group of military age males gathered at a suspected terrorist safe house. After realizing their position had been compromised, the terrorists fled the scene and engaged the Cobra with small arms fire. The Cobra returned fire with 20 mm. munitions, resulting in the death of an estimated 10 terrorists. At approximately 7:50 p.m., a team of F/A-18’s resumed observation at the suspected safe house where they found an additional 35-40 terrorists loading their vehicles with weapons and driving to another location to unload the weapons. The F/A-18 targeted the terrorists with a precision-guided bomb, killing terrorists on the ground. The combined strikes resulted in approximately 50 terrorists killed.
The strikes took place in the Abu Faraj region, north of Ramadi, where a large number of indirect fire and IED attacks against civilians, Iraqi infrastructure, Iraqi security forces and Coalition forces have originated.
At approximately 8:00 p.m., Coalition forces guarding the Government Center in Ramadi were attacked by a small-arms fire attack from multiple locations within an adjacent building. After requesting air support to neutralize the increasing volume of fire, an F/A-18 engaged the target with a maverick missile at approximately 8:50 p.m. When the small arms fire continued, Coalition forces engaged the targets with two shoulder mounted multipurpose assault weapons (SMAWs), resulting in the cessation of all movement from within the structure. An estimated 1-3 terrorists were killed in the strike.
All the attacks were timed and executed in a manner to reduce the possibility of collateral damage. There were no reports of Coalition or civilian casualties.
-30-
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE 2D MARINE DIVISION PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER ATI agree ekw. The key here is to take the joke, even if you’re the brunt of it in a given situation. And add to it.
I’m not exactly sure how we came to creating this evil cult in which Bush is leader and Karl Rove is the key henchman. And where many of us are either members in full standing or earnest aspirants. But it makes it enjoyable to play the latest complaint by the left and explain how it works into our overall plan to take over the world.
I suspect Margo and her conspiracy theories may have helped start it. Or maybe we simply continued with the sense of humor exhibited by Tim Blair here.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 12 20 at 06:47 AM • permalinkI’m not sure why you haven’t been approached by the dark side yet MarkL. I imagine there’s many factors involved. But I suspect you’re just not evil enough.
Work on your evilness, especially the laugh of devilish satisfaction, and it might draw notice. As far as the fun part goes, if washing and waxing black op helicopters and moving lakes is your idea of fun, you’re in store for a lot of it.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 12 20 at 09:42 AM • permalinkwronwright
I thought my orange juice tasted funny this morning. It must have been spiked with Rovian Brain Juice when that guy was here about the cable...hang on! I didn’t call the cable guy, he just showed up! I thought it was something to do with the neighborhood being upgraded so we get more than the three porn channels. Hmmm. But how did he...? Ohhh, it was when he put those clips on my ears and told me it wouldn’t take a second. Something about grounding something or other. Must’ve blacked out or something ‘cause next thing I knew I was in the kitchen with a glass of orange juice in my hand…
Mark L you’ve a good chance at henching, as wronwright says, try hanging around the black-ops heli depot with a rag and a bottle of polish. Hey, it’s a start.
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What a load of codswallop, written by people who have no clue. You can suck up all the voice comms you want. At the end of the day, someone (yes, a human being) has to LISTEN TO THEM in real time, one on one.
As these agencies do not employ several hundred thousand people, the perverted sexual secrets of the moonbats are perfectly safe.
These people are ‘cretans’, to quote Chris Shiels.
MarkL
Canberra