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Catherina
Catherina's Journal
Catherina's Journal
June 23, 2013
Nothing in there that gives the US a leg to stand on.
Here's a copy of the Ecuador/US Extradition Treaty
http://www.oas.org/juridico/mla/en/traites/en_traites-ext-usa-ecu.pdfNothing in there that gives the US a leg to stand on.
June 23, 2013
Part 2
Glenn Greenwald: As Obama Makes "False" Spy Claims, Snowden Risks Life
DEmocracyNow!
Glenn Greenwald: As Obama Makes "False" Spy Claims, Snowden Risks Life to Spark NSA Debate
Part 1
Part 2
June 23, 2013
This "but we revoked his passport!" argument U.S. officials are making is hilarious. Snowden has justifiably requested political asylum.
Game Set Match: 'US loses as Snowden slips from their hands'
Game Set Match: 'US loses as Snowden slips from their hands'
This "but we revoked his passport!" argument U.S. officials are making is hilarious. Snowden has justifiably requested political asylum.
June 23, 2013
https://twitter.com/WilliamsJon/statuses/348825711454339072
The US revoked Snowden's passport. LMAO!
Akiko Fujita ?@AkikoFujita 2m
#Snowden's US passport revoked on Saturday 6/22. Senior US official tells @ABC: "We have little idea how he left Hong Kong"
https://twitter.com/AkikoFujita/status/348824572243628033
#Snowden's US passport revoked on Saturday 6/22. Senior US official tells @ABC: "We have little idea how he left Hong Kong"
https://twitter.com/AkikoFujita/status/348824572243628033
https://twitter.com/WilliamsJon/statuses/348825711454339072
ABC reports that Snowden's passport was revoked on Saturday, leaving US officials even more baffled as to how he was allowed to fly out from Hong Kong. It is, however, unlikely to be a problem for Russia – if Snowden is in transit and never leaves the airport, his immigration status is not Moscow's issue.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2013/jun/23/edward-snowden-leaves-hong-kong-moscow-live#block-51c716eee4b0852763cb4d1c
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2013/jun/23/edward-snowden-leaves-hong-kong-moscow-live#block-51c716eee4b0852763cb4d1c
June 23, 2013
Russia knows nothing. Nothing!
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said: "I don't (know if he's planning to stay in Moscow). I heard about the potential (arrival) from the press. I know nothing."
On whether Moscow would still consider a request for asylum from Snowden, Peskov added: "Every application is considered so it's standard procedure … We are not tracing his movements and I know nothing."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/23/edward-snowden-arrives-moscow
On whether Moscow would still consider a request for asylum from Snowden, Peskov added: "Every application is considered so it's standard procedure … We are not tracing his movements and I know nothing."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/23/edward-snowden-arrives-moscow
June 23, 2013
Senator Tears Into Russian Government For ‘Aiding’ NSA Leaker
By Annie-Rose Strasser on Jun 23, 2013 at 10:01 am
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) went on a furious tirade against Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, just as the airplane of Edward Snowden, the leaker of top-secret National Security Administration, landed in Moscow.
News broke overnight Hong Kong officials had allowed Snowden to exit the country, and that the leaker was en route to Russia. And though some reports indicate that Snowden will only use Moscow as a hub to travel potentially to Cuba, and then on to Venezuela, Schumer appeared certain that Putin had cleared the leaker — who politicians have largely labeled treasonous — for passage through Russia. Schumer tore into Putin for what he considers a growing track record of actions that go against American interests:
Reports indicated that Snowden, upon landing, was not in possession of a visa to enter Russia. This led Schumer to point out, “something at this level in a state-controlled country… the minute Aeroflot got the notification he would be coming, I believe that Putin, it’s almost certain he knew, and it’s likely he approved it.”
Should he go on to Venezuela, Snowden will likely continue to wreak diplomatic havoc.
...
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/06/23/2199751/schumer-putin-snowden-nsa/?mobile=nc
Sen. Chuck Schumer Tears Into Russian Government For ‘Aiding’ NSA Leaker
Senator Tears Into Russian Government For ‘Aiding’ NSA Leaker
By Annie-Rose Strasser on Jun 23, 2013 at 10:01 am
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) went on a furious tirade against Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, just as the airplane of Edward Snowden, the leaker of top-secret National Security Administration, landed in Moscow.
News broke overnight Hong Kong officials had allowed Snowden to exit the country, and that the leaker was en route to Russia. And though some reports indicate that Snowden will only use Moscow as a hub to travel potentially to Cuba, and then on to Venezuela, Schumer appeared certain that Putin had cleared the leaker — who politicians have largely labeled treasonous — for passage through Russia. Schumer tore into Putin for what he considers a growing track record of actions that go against American interests:
SCHUMER: What’s infuriating here is Prime Minister Putin of Russia aiding and abetting Snowden’s escape. The bottom line is very simple. Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States, whether it is Syria, Iran, and now, of course, with Snowden. That’s not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship. [...]
CROWLEY: And just could you tell me a couple of what those — what serious consequences?
SCHUMER: Well, who knows? We have all kinds of relationships with Russia, and in some ways it works out pretty well. We’re trying to mutually reduce the number of nuclear arms that each country has. But there are many different kinds of relationships that are political, economic. And I don’t think we can shrug our shoulders and say this is how Putin is.
Reports indicated that Snowden, upon landing, was not in possession of a visa to enter Russia. This led Schumer to point out, “something at this level in a state-controlled country… the minute Aeroflot got the notification he would be coming, I believe that Putin, it’s almost certain he knew, and it’s likely he approved it.”
Should he go on to Venezuela, Snowden will likely continue to wreak diplomatic havoc.
...
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/06/23/2199751/schumer-putin-snowden-nsa/?mobile=nc
June 23, 2013
by Government Accountability Project on June 22, 2013 ( The Whistleblogger / 2013 )
Federal prosecutors have charged National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden with multiple felonies. The charges include espionage, although several prominent lawmakers have questioned the legality of the intelligence-gathering programs revealed by Snowden, and whistleblower protections should shield him from retaliation if his disclosures expose illegal actions. Snowden is the seventh whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act.
The Government Accountability Project (GAP), the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization, which represents two of the whistleblowers charged with Espionage by this administration (NSA whistleblower Tom Drake and CIA/Torture whistleblower John Kiriakou) released the following statement regarding this latest development:
GAP released a statement on Snowden and the NSA surveillance that can be found here. Media calls regarding this statement can be directed toward GAP President Louis Clark at <redacted> or <redacted>, or GAP Communications Director Dylan Blaylock at <redacted> or <redacted>.
Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/44-2013/2804-gap-statement-on-the-espionage-charge-filed-against-edward-snowden
GAP Statement on the Espionage Charge Filed Against Edward Snowden
GAP Statement on the Espionage Charge Filed Against Edward Snowdenby Government Accountability Project on June 22, 2013 ( The Whistleblogger / 2013 )
Federal prosecutors have charged National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden with multiple felonies. The charges include espionage, although several prominent lawmakers have questioned the legality of the intelligence-gathering programs revealed by Snowden, and whistleblower protections should shield him from retaliation if his disclosures expose illegal actions. Snowden is the seventh whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act.
The Government Accountability Project (GAP), the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization, which represents two of the whistleblowers charged with Espionage by this administration (NSA whistleblower Tom Drake and CIA/Torture whistleblower John Kiriakou) released the following statement regarding this latest development:
The Obama administration’s charge of espionage against Edward Snowden is not a surprise. This administration has continually sought to intimidate federal employees – particularly intelligence community workers – and suppress any attempt they might make to speak out against gross corruption, wrongdoing, and illegality.
In GAP’s view, Edward Snowden is a whistleblower. He disclosed information about a secret program that he reasonably believed to be illegal, and his actions alone brought about the long-overdue national debate about the proper balance between privacy and civil liberties, on the one hand, and national security on the other. Charging Snowden with espionage is yet another effort to retaliate against those who criticize the overreach of U.S. intelligence agencies under this administration. The charges send a clear message to potential whistleblowers: this is the treatment they can expect should they speak out about constitutional violations.
It is particularly noteworthy that Snowden spoke truthfully to the public about NSA surveillance after Director of National Intelligence James Clapper intentionally lied in his testimony before the U.S. Senate about these same activities. Clapper, however, has not even been admonished for his purposeful, deliberate deception of both the Senate and the public.
It must be emphasized that the channels internal to intelligence agencies for whistleblowers are neither effective nor confidential. Their gross inadequacy is best illustrated by what befell GAP clients and NSA whistleblowers Tom Drake, William Binney and J. Kirk Wiebe, all of whom suffered retaliation after they reported internally serious misconduct at the NSA. Like these three men, Snowden will face serious consequences for exposing the wrongdoing and crimes of others. At the same time, those who stretched their interpretation of laws to invade the private lives of Americans, while lying to the Congress and the public about their actions, will simply continue working.
GAP released a statement on Snowden and the NSA surveillance that can be found here. Media calls regarding this statement can be directed toward GAP President Louis Clark at <redacted> or <redacted>, or GAP Communications Director Dylan Blaylock at <redacted> or <redacted>.
Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/44-2013/2804-gap-statement-on-the-espionage-charge-filed-against-edward-snowden
June 23, 2013
Mysterious privacy board touted by Obama has deep government ties (Privacy & Civil Liberties Board)
Mysterious privacy board touted by Obama has deep government ties
Privacy & Civil Liberties Board at the heart of Obama's effort to address NSA surveillance scandal is itself a Washington enigma
Dan Roberts in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Friday 21 June 2013 18.33 BST
A security guard at 2100 K Street in Washington said he had no record of the mystery body that claimed to occupy suite 500. Photograph: Dan Roberts for the Guardian
The body charged by President Obama with protecting the civil liberties and privacy of the American people exists in shadows almost as dark as the intelligence agencies it is designed to oversee.
The Privacy & Civil Liberties Board (PCLOB) was due to meet Obama at the White House on Friday afternoon at 3pm in the situation room to discuss growing concerns over US surveillance of phone and internet records – or, at least, that's what unnamed "senior administration officials" said would happen.
...
To be fair, that might be because the PCLOB does not have a website, nor an email address, nor indeed any independent full-time staff. Its day-to-day administration is currently run by a government official on secondment from the office of the Director of National Intelligence.
In fact, even the office address given out by the PCLOB in the few public letters that exist does not appear to be functioning. A security guard at the federal buildings on 2100 K Street in Washington said he had no record of the mystery body that claimed to occupy suite 500.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/21/privacy-civil-liberties-obama-secretive
June 23, 2013
In a similar, but non-governmental, vein
GCHQ monitoring described as a 'catastrophe' by German politicians / PRISM affects health care media
GCHQ monitoring described as a 'catastrophe' by German politicians
Federal ministers demand clarification from UK government on extent of spying conducted on German citizens
Conal Urquhart and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 22 June 2013 18.03 BST
The German justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, said the accusations 'sound like a Hollywood nightmare'. Photograph: Ole Spata/Corbis
Britain's European partners have described reports of Britain's surveillance of international electronic communications as a catastrophe and will seek urgent clarification from London.
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the German justice minister said the report in the Guardian read like the plot of a film.
"If these accusations are correct, this would be a catastrophe," Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement to Reuters. "The accusations against Great Britain sound like a Hollywood nightmare. The European institutions should seek straight away to clarify the situation."
...
"The accusations make it sound as if George Orwell's surveillance society has become reality in Great Britain," said Thomas Oppermann, floor leader of the opposition Social Democrats.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/22/gchq-spying-catastrophe-german-politicans
Federal ministers demand clarification from UK government on extent of spying conducted on German citizens
Conal Urquhart and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 22 June 2013 18.03 BST
The German justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, said the accusations 'sound like a Hollywood nightmare'. Photograph: Ole Spata/Corbis
Britain's European partners have described reports of Britain's surveillance of international electronic communications as a catastrophe and will seek urgent clarification from London.
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the German justice minister said the report in the Guardian read like the plot of a film.
"If these accusations are correct, this would be a catastrophe," Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement to Reuters. "The accusations against Great Britain sound like a Hollywood nightmare. The European institutions should seek straight away to clarify the situation."
...
"The accusations make it sound as if George Orwell's surveillance society has become reality in Great Britain," said Thomas Oppermann, floor leader of the opposition Social Democrats.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/22/gchq-spying-catastrophe-german-politicans
In a similar, but non-governmental, vein
How Edward Snowden and PRISM affect health care social media
T.J. Derham | Social media | June 19, 2013
So now the penny drops, and we all know why GCHQ has long refused to allow government departments to store information classified at "Restricted" or above in US cloud computing services. But what about the private sector? Well, Edward Snowden's revelations are now causing something of a crisis in the IT industry as its international customers start thinking through the implications. In the past week I've heard of big firms reconsidering plans to spend hundreds of millions on services that would have been hosted in the US, as they start to realise that US agencies might snoop on their data and use it to tip off their competitors. US service firms now fear this will harm their growth, and it's not just Microsoft and Google; many other companies such as Amazon, Salesforce and Rackspace could lose out.
But how will the Prism affair affect ordinary middle-class people in Britain, like doctors, lawyers, accountants and engineers? Surely we're of no interest to the analysts at the NSA?
Yet some of our patients and clients surely will be. As well as being an academic, I also do occasional expert-witness work, mostly in computer forensics. A few years ago I had a defendant in a terrorism trial as a client. I cannot use a US webmail service if it will leak attorney-client conversations straight to the prosecution. Perhaps for such cases I'd better get on a train to London for a conference at the defence barrister's chambers, as we all did years ago. But as the Legal Services Commission is reluctant to pay for that any more, perhaps I'll have to have a separate email service for sensitive cases.
But you can't always tell in advance which cases might be sensitive. A client I recently helped to get acquitted of a rather dubious fraud charge turned out to be a refugee from a South Asian country whose secret police work closely with the Americans. This emerged only after I'd accepted instructions. So I'd better have a non-US service for all client work. But how can I tell which service to use? For years, BTinternet was outsourced to Yahoo. Where can I find a service that will guarantee to keep my confidential data in the UK? The information commissioner can't help: data-protection law has "safe harbour" loopholes designed to allow US service companies to pretend that they follow European law, even when their own government won't let them.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/20/nsa-surveillance-doctors-lawyers-clients-snooped?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
T.J. Derham | Social media | June 19, 2013
So now the penny drops, and we all know why GCHQ has long refused to allow government departments to store information classified at "Restricted" or above in US cloud computing services. But what about the private sector? Well, Edward Snowden's revelations are now causing something of a crisis in the IT industry as its international customers start thinking through the implications. In the past week I've heard of big firms reconsidering plans to spend hundreds of millions on services that would have been hosted in the US, as they start to realise that US agencies might snoop on their data and use it to tip off their competitors. US service firms now fear this will harm their growth, and it's not just Microsoft and Google; many other companies such as Amazon, Salesforce and Rackspace could lose out.
But how will the Prism affair affect ordinary middle-class people in Britain, like doctors, lawyers, accountants and engineers? Surely we're of no interest to the analysts at the NSA?
Yet some of our patients and clients surely will be. As well as being an academic, I also do occasional expert-witness work, mostly in computer forensics. A few years ago I had a defendant in a terrorism trial as a client. I cannot use a US webmail service if it will leak attorney-client conversations straight to the prosecution. Perhaps for such cases I'd better get on a train to London for a conference at the defence barrister's chambers, as we all did years ago. But as the Legal Services Commission is reluctant to pay for that any more, perhaps I'll have to have a separate email service for sensitive cases.
But you can't always tell in advance which cases might be sensitive. A client I recently helped to get acquitted of a rather dubious fraud charge turned out to be a refugee from a South Asian country whose secret police work closely with the Americans. This emerged only after I'd accepted instructions. So I'd better have a non-US service for all client work. But how can I tell which service to use? For years, BTinternet was outsourced to Yahoo. Where can I find a service that will guarantee to keep my confidential data in the UK? The information commissioner can't help: data-protection law has "safe harbour" loopholes designed to allow US service companies to pretend that they follow European law, even when their own government won't let them.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/20/nsa-surveillance-doctors-lawyers-clients-snooped?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
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Name: CatherinaGender: Female
Member since: Mon Mar 3, 2008, 03:08 PM
Number of posts: 35,568
