Here is a map showing the actual scope of what has been revealed the last week or so on the NSA spying thing.
The map, called Boundless Informant, is among documents released by Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and NSA contractor who says he is the person who this month leaked information about the U.S. metadata collection program known as PRISM.
About 3 billion pieces of metadata information were collected in a 30-day period, the map shows. That data includes calls made, location of the phone, time of the call and duration.
A handbook for the map says it uses "big data technology" to "produce near real-time business intelligence."
If you know time and location, you can physically track people. What this doesn't say is that you don't have to be making or taking a call on your phone for the cell network to track you. Your phone does that every few seconds the whole time its turned on.
In Canada?
Yep you betcha! The Globe and Mail reported Monday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay authorized Canada's super-secret Communications Security Establishment (CSE) to conduct its own "metadata" surveillance program in November 2011.
So, this gives whoever has access to this system the ability to track anybody they want, 24/7/365, in real-time or back in history for as long ans the data goes. We have other mentions in the news that this has been going on in Canada since at least 2005. That's what we -know-.
So there you go. Think up what -you- would do with 24/7 tracking of anyone you want since 2005, that's probably less than half of what they can actually do right now.
This is what I voted CPC in the election to PREVENT, and I'm sorely disappointed. CPC take note.
The Phantom
I noticed yesterday the news was that the government was now saying something along the lines of "It's not true, we don't really do that".
ReplyDeleteYeah, I believe it. That's why it took them so long to deny it, rather than just doing so immediately.
My guess is the administration had a legal pow-wow, realized this program was indefensible because of that pesky 4th amendment, and decided that - rather than try to defend it - the new strategy is to just say "nope, sorry, doesn't exist - next question?".
Must be nice not to ever have to answer to anybody.
Hi Alyric.
ReplyDeleteCan't fault your reasoning. All they have to do is run out the clock until the Next Shiny Thing comes along, and all the media will instantly forget their phones are tapped 24/7.
There will come a reckoning of course, even the Russian Communists eventually hit the wall, reign of terror or no. Took a fucking long time though, didn't it?