Glenn Greenwald: Low-Level NSA Analysts Have ‘Powerful and Invasive’ Search Tool

[kpete]

“NSA officials are going to be testifying before the Senate on Wednesday, and I defy them to deny that these programs work exactly as I just said,” Greenwald said.

SUN JUL 28, 2013 AT 01:35 PM PDT
Greenwald on ABC: Low-Level NSA Analysts Read, Listen Via Database of "Trillions" of Emails, Calls
by bobswern

After reporting this story here for over 18 months, citing numerous, top, former NSA I.T. employees, senior AT&T technicians, and even a former FBI counterterrorism professional--all telling us that the NSA was capturing the content of billions of calls on a monthly basis, both domestically and internationally--Glenn Greenwald has just done the same, this morning with George Stephanopoulos on "This Week," over at ABC.

Maybe--just maybe--now the public will believe this incredibly Orwellian truth (and how Congressman Jerrold Nadler obviously had it right, the first time, last month via CNET, despite our government--and even folks here at DKos (OR HERE AT DU, including myself up until recently) parroting that propaganda--bending over backwards to obfuscate and/or outright lie about it to us, yet again)...

Glenn Greenwald: Low-Level NSA Analysts Have ‘Powerful and Invasive’ Search Tool
Kari Rea
ABC News
Jul 28, 2013 10:17am
Today on “This Week,” Glenn Greenwald – the reporter who broke the story about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs – claimed that those NSA programs allowed even low-level analysts to search the private emails and phone calls of Americans.

“The NSA has trillions of telephone calls and emails in their databases that they’ve collected over the last several years,” Greenwald told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. “And what these programs are, are very simple screens, like the ones that supermarket clerks or shipping and receiving clerks use, where all an analyst has to do is enter an email address or an IP address, and it does two things. It searches that database and lets them listen to the calls or read the emails of everything that the NSA has stored, or look at the browsing histories or Google search terms that you’ve entered, and it also alerts them to any further activity that people connected to that email address or that IP address do in the future.”

Greenwald explained that while there are “legal constraints” on surveillance that require approval by the FISA court, these programs still allow analysts to search through data with little court approval or supervision.

“There are legal constraints for how you can spy on Americans,” Greenwald said. “You can’t target them without going to the FISA court. But these systems allow analysts to listen to whatever emails they want, whatever telephone calls, browsing histories, Microsoft Word documents.”

“And it’s all done with no need to go to a court, with no need to even get supervisor approval on the part of the analyst,” he added…

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/07/glenn-greenwald-low-level-nsa-analysts-have-powerful-and-invasive-search-tool/

[railsback]

1. I have a car, that could be used as a weapon

According to Greenwald, it should be taken away from me.

[FreakinDJ]

2. Only if you use it to justify Shredding the Constitution

[railsback]

3. Well, there's that POSSIBILITY

and, according to Greenwald, POSSIBILITY is ARMAGEDDON.

[FreakinDJ]

4. But its OK because Obama did it

If it were Bush on the other hand we would be in an outrage

"Children - can we say INTEGRETTY"

[railsback]

5. You are ASSUMING

and creating your own reality. It doesn't make it so. It just makes it FOX.

[JDPriestly]

15. The problem is that if you exchange e-mails with someone who exchanges e-mails with

their daughter who is studying in Paris, then your e-mails could be scrutinized.

That was my understanding from statements and testimony in Congress very recently. They take the e-mail accounts of genuine suspected terrorists and then go a step further to all who communicate electronically with one of their suspects and then beyond that with all who communicate electronically with someone who communicates electronically with someone who communicates with, etc.

So, if you communicate with people in foreign countries (which a good portion of Americans do), you could easily be part of the network of people who are under surveillance. And if you communicate with someone who communicates with someone overseas and then on and on.

That came out in a congressional hearing very recently. It is really shocking. Hard to believe. I can understand why people deny that it can be true. But unfortunately, it is true. Because it was discussed in Congress as being a shocking truth.

[chimpymustgo]

6. "...despite our government--and even folks here at DKos (OR HERE AT DU, including myself up until

"... recently) parroting that propaganda--bending over backwards to obfuscate and/or outright lie about it to us, yet again)..."

Pick up the clue phone.

[kpete]

7. I am a Liberal---I was born leaning left

What that means to me is that when I process "new" info,
I sometimes change my mind as I try to understand the meaning and the results...

The Snowden stuff is difficult, because the info is old but the opportunity for airing is new...

I have spent the last few months, STUCK on this (old stuff)
...........and yes, trying...........so hard............to stay true blue............but



guess what keeps tripping me up?

Yep, that

Bush:
- Constitution
'Just A Goddamned
Piece Of Paper'

I cannot abide by that whether it's Bush or Obama

I want our constitution back

so much political angst
but,
peace, kp

[chimpymustgo]

8. On the side of the Constitution here. It's gratifying to see people open their minds

and process some very difficult information.

[Civilization2]

9. Amazing how the pro-corporate spying puppets can post their misinfo. with a straight face.

The facts are coming to light and they keep pushing their lines back further and further,. yup anyone who speaks the truth is an evil lier and a bad person,. sure that makes sense. dumbasses.

Facts are the NSA, CIA, etc,. are braking the law, and lying about it. Can't handle the truth,. then don't post stupid character attacks, and pointless nonsense as is only shows what a simpleton you are.

[kpete]

10. huh?

[Civilization2]

11. aimed at "railsback" et al,.. .

[nashville_brook]

12. glad you've seen thru the *scandal* confusion on this.

it's clear that this is the only thing Obama and the GOP in congress agree on. in an environment where the GOP is trumping up fake scandals it's easy to become cynical about anything scandalous.

you know...the gist of the Michael Hastings piece on McCrystal was that the Pentagon showed no intention of playing democratically with POTUS. one would think that the president's most ardent supporters would take that to heart. the military is not our friend.

[Riftaxe]

13. I am not sure, J Carney is lying a hell of a lot lately

Which makes a bit more smoke then where it really should be if there were not an ember or two.

[midnight]

14. K&R