News you may have missed #844 (analysis on Snowden leak)
July 9, 2013 6 Comments
By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
►►Daniel Ellsberg: Snowden was right to flee US. “Many people compare Edward Snowden to me unfavorably for leaving the country and seeking asylum, rather than facing trial as I did. I don’t agree. The country I stayed in was a different America, a long time ago”, says Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. And he continues: “I hope that he finds a haven, as safe as possible from kidnapping or assassination by US Special Operations forces, preferably where he can speak freely”.
►►NSA ‘in bed’ with German intelligence says Snowden. The fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden alleged on Sunday that the National Security Agency was “in bed together” with German intelligence despite claims by politicians in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition that they were shocked by the extent of American spying in Germany. Snowden claimed that the NSA provided German intelligence, with analysis tools to help the organization monitor data flowing through Germany.
►►Can Snowden fly from Moscow to Caracas without being stopped? How can Snowden get from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, where he’s been holed up for nearly two weeks, to Venezuela, Bolivia or Nicaragua, which have indicated that they are willing to offer him political asylum? Former CIA analyst Allen Thomson took to Google Earth to answer the question of whether there’s a route Snowden might take that would allow him to fly from Moscow to, say, Caracas without crossing, as he puts it jokingly, the airspaces of “los Yanquis and their running dogs”.
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I’m thinking the venezuela offer is sounding like a trap. the prez of V wanted S to say if he accepts their offer and when he plans to come. If S tells his plans, i wdnt put it past the P of V to sell him out to the USA for some return favor. that way, the USA looks tough by getting their man [probably thru some dramatic maneuver] and the P of V maybe gets some nice trade deal.
Assange got the Equador embassy in London as his prison cell, Snowden got the International airport in Moscow, Bobby got Iceland. Wonder how many agents from how many country are now in that airport, and how busy Mr. Putins men must right now.
Re “Can Snowden fly from Moscow to Caracas without being stopped?”
Snowden’s chances of flying or ship travel from Russia to Cuba or to Caracas-Venezuela are very much dependent on the degree of Russian cooperation-assistance. If he is flying Aeroflot the military hence political power of Russia provides him better protection than other nationality carriers from being diverted to the US or friends of the US territory.
More protection and flexibility would come from flight in a Russian military or Russian flagged VIP aircraft. A Russian warship is an even more secure option. All of these modes regularly or occasionally reach Cuba at least.
But Russia may not wish to be seen as getting too involved. Against that Snowden in a Russian military or VIP flight-ship may provide a high degree of secrecy allowing Russia to deny it gave Snowden help – if/when Snowden just appears in a Latin American country.
Still, Snowden should not get too comfortable. Any country in Latin America is more open than European countries to US political and economic pressure. Or perhaps a Special Forces visit – with eventual tacit agreement of the host country leadership .
Pete
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/516846/the-science-of-familiar-strangers-societys-hidden-social-network/
Snowden says something to the effect of NSA wanting to record every act of communication, I got the feeling he also meant non-electronic communication, even non-vocal but dismissed that thought as paranoia. So goosbumps! when I read these paragraphs in above article :
“But while many researchers have studied the network of intentional links between individuals—using mobile-phone records, for example—little work has been on these unintentional links, which form a kind of hidden social network.
Today, that changes thanks to the work of Lijun Sun at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore and a few pals who have analysed the passive interactions between 3 million residents on Singapore’s bus network (about 55 per cent of the city’s population). ”This is the first time that such a large network of encounters has been identied and analyzed,” they say.
The results are a fascinating insight into this hidden network of familiar strangers and the effects it has on people.”
@TFH
I think you’re on to something there. At a minimum commercial outfits like Google can monitor the search terms people use when “Googling”. In response Google can tailor its on-screen advertisements and pop-ups to the search terms one uses. Googling is passive in the sense that one is not trying to communicate with another person.
Skype might be able to be used to collect passive cues – including facial expressions and talking to oneself. Its possible Skype camera and microphones can always be “on”. “Skype set up secret project to enable government snooping” https://intelnews.org/2013/06/21/01-1284/ indicated some Skype cooperation with governments – one can extrapolate from that. This is all at a more selective, intensive and tailored level than metadata-PRISM.
Cheers
Pete
@Pete. Today’s flat-screen televisions have in-built cameras in the screen and Samsung advertises its units ability to recognize different family members and note their favourite shows. Strange how 1984 is coming true thanks to the consumer.