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10.7.13

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Military Resistance 11J3

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

IED Kills 4 American Soldiers In Southern Afghanistan

6 October 2013 Sunday Zaman A bomb killed four US soldiers in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, American and Afghan officials said. The US-led international military coalition says four of its service members were killed in the south, and a military official confirmed all were Americans killed by an improvised explosive device. Their deaths bring the toll among foreign forces to 132 this year, of which 102 are from the United States.

At least 2,146 members of the US military have died in Afghanistan as a result of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. They are part of a total of nearly 3,390 coalition forces that have died during the conflict. Javed Faisal, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, confirmed the four Americans were killed in the province by an IED. He had no further details.

POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR

Resistance Action

[Graphic: flickr.com/photos]

Oct. 4 (Xinhua) & Oct 06 Khaama Press According to local authorities in eastern Nuristan province of Afghanistan, a senior security official was killed following a roadside bomb explosion in this province. Provincial governor spokesman, Zahir Bahand confirming the report said, head of the operations department for Kunar security commandment, Momand Khan was killed following a roadside bomb explosion. Mr. Bahand further added that the incident took place in Wama district, and the explosion took place as a result of a remote controlled bomb. He said Momand Khan was on an official visit in Wama district to inspect the police forces in this district, and was on his way when the incident took place. MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan -- Four people, including two policemen, were killed and three others injured when the militants raided a security check-post in eastern Afghan province of Laghman overnight, the provincial government said in a statement Friday morning.

Taliban Chief Tells British Reporter We Are Approaching Total Success As Most Of The Country Is Now Under Our Control
As For Your Soldiers, We Did Not Go After Them To Other Countries
When They Travel That Far To Fight A War They Are Definitely Not Going To Be Presented With Flowers And There Will Be Deaths For Sure
And If I Say I Am Sorry For This Just To Make You Happy... Then That Would Be Wrong
4 October 2013 By Lauren Turner, The Independent A Taliban chief has told a British newspaper that the fundamentalist group is preparing to run Afghanistan when foreign forces leave. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, the man, using the pseudonym Qari Nasrullah, said: In Afghanistan, praise be to God, we are heading towards success. We are approaching total success as most of the country is now under our control. Our fighters have had huge successes with many attacks. We will be victorious. Once foreign forces have been exiled we foresee success. God willing, when Nato leaves it will be as it was before... the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan.

Speaking to the newspaper outside Peshawar, Pakistan, Nasrullah hinted that there could be talks with the Afghanistan government about entering a power-sharing agreement after forces leave in 2015. He said: We will unite all Afghans in one home as this is their home. We will sit together and decide between ourselves. We will do everything after the soldiers leave. Nasrullah, described by the newspaper as someone who has fought with the Taliban for years, added: This is our Afghanistan and regarding the unification of Afghans and forming government is an internal matter. We do want peace but we do not want others to direct us. We are well informed on how to unite our nation, our people and our country and do not need anyone else's directions. He dismissed the deaths of thousands of coalition troops at the hands of the Taliban since 2001 as what happens in war. He told the newspaper: Regarding your soldiers' death toll, when they travel that far to fight a war they are definitely not going to be presented with flowers and there will be deaths for sure. And if I say I am sorry for this just to make you happy... then that would be wrong. Thousands of our men have been martyred and as for your soldiers, we did not go after them to other countries. They came to our country and they have been torturing us and have sabotaged our government. The Daily Mirror reported that Nasrullah's aides referred to him as respected leader, adding that he was a member of its council network for Kunar Province in north east Afghanistan.

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MILITARY NEWS

Syria:
Rebel Fighters Launched Grad Rockets On The Hama Military Airport

Grad Rocket Launcher: Wikipedia 10.6.13 Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Hama province: Reports that rebel fighters took hold of the al-Madajen checkpoint, north of the Tibet al-Imam town, after violent clashes with regular forces as of earlier this morning, rebel fighters targeted an ammunition depot near the al-Madajen checkpoint which led to its explosion and reports of human losses from regular forces. Clashes broke out between rebel and regular forces in the perimeter of the al-Shaliout and al-Saman checkpoint which led to the puncturing of a regime tank at al-Saman. Clashes today in the perimeters of the Tibet al-Imam and Souran towns led to the puncturing of 3 regime tanks and the death of at least 8 regular soldiers. Areas in the Jub Abiad village of eastern Reef Hama were subject to aerial bombardment earlier this morning. A man from Kafrzeita died of wounds received 1 month earlier by aerial bombardment on the town. A woman from the Souran town was killed and several others injured, 3 of which are in a critical state, by aerial bombardment on areas of the town. Rebel fighters launched Grad rockets on the Hama military airport, reports of casualties and injuries from regular forces.

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose. Frederick Douglass, 1852

Hope for change doesn't cut it when you're still losing buddies. -- J.D. Englehart, Iraq Veterans Against The War

General Really Enjoying Forward Deployment To Kabul Restaurant Scene:

Its Exactly The Morale-Boost He Needs To Push Through Arduous Days Of Scrutinizing Meaningless Powerpoints

Kabul International Airport: Come for the war, stay for the sunsets and cant-miss cuisine!

The Haqqani Burger explodes with flavor! October 3, 2013 by Juice Box, The Duffel Blog KABUL, AFGHANISTAN Saying this briefing hes sitting through would be a real drag if not for the iced caramel macchiato in front of him, Maj. Gen. Thad Simon reports hes

actually having a pretty delightful time at the ISAF Joint Command headquarters in Kabul, thanks largely to the booming restaurant scene on post. Matter of fact, you think can we cut this snoozer short? Simon whispered to his aide. Im jonesing something fierce for a dark chocolate and raspberry crpe, which I can totally get here. Indeed, Kabul International Airport KAIA, for short is renowned by NATOs power players for its extensive catalogue of buzzed-about eateries and decidedly aboveaverage military dining facilities. Lets see, Simon said, considering his heap of culinary options in the middle of what sources confirm is still, in fact, a war zone. Theres the brick-oven pizza place, a smoothie bar, three coffee shops, Greek, Lebanese, Italian, and, if you dont mind the wait, a bumping Thai joint. Some days, Ill even mix it up with the European DFAC, but only once in a while, cause they can be real bastards about letting a brother snag an extra bowl of tiramisu for the road. While KAIAs rich gastronomical culture might seem at odds with the ongoing and, in some provinces, spiking violence in theater, Simon says its exactly the morale-boost he needs to push through arduous days of scrutinizing meaningless PowerPoints and shaking hands with people whose names he forgets instantly. Scuttling an entire war is damn hard work, Simon said. At the end of the day, its comforting to know therell be a delicious plate of green vegetable curry or shish tawouk waiting. Kinda reminds me of home, to be honest. Heck, he continued. If it werent for all these kooky foreigners walking around, it might be like I never left at all. Only thing Ive got to miss back in the States is my wife and the T.G.I. Fridays we go to every Wednesday. Speaking of, didnt they have a T.G.I. Fridays in Kandahar? Wheres my Fridays? Better yet, wheres my Ruths Chris? I know theres still money to burn on this war, and I could really spring for a dry-aged ribeye right about now. Come to think of it, would anyone care if we just picked up this whole operation and moved it to a steakhouse back in Arlington? Are people even following this fucking thing anymore?

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OCCUPATION PALESTINE

Zionist Mob Burns Palestinian Olive Trees South Of Hebron, As Usual

10/6/2013 (Ma'an) HEBRON -- A group of Israeli settlers destroyed over 50 olive trees in the south Hebron hills on Thursday, locals said. Palestinian farmer Jaber Ali Shatat told Ma'an that settlers from Susiya raided agricultural land next to the illegal settlement and damaged 50 trees. Settlers deliberately target olive trees during the harvesting season, Shatat added. Settlers routinely attack Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank with impunity. Annual figures compiled by Israeli rights group Yesh Din have repeatedly shown that nine out of 10 police investigations about settler crimes fail to lead to a prosecution. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law. The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

Zionist Mob Burns Olive Trees And Occupies Palestinian Village Of Sarta:
When Israeli Forces Arrived On The Scene They Informed Villagers That The

Area Had Been Declared Closed And Told Them To Leave

Illegal settlers and Israeli army invading Sarta (photo by Nima Musleh) September 27, 2013 International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team Sarta, Occupied Palestine Settlers burnt around 35 olive trees in the Palestinian village of Sarta late on Thursday night, following the area being declared a closed military zone in preparation for the construction of a new settler road. Around 60 settlers from the illegal Bruchin settlement and surrounding area, many armed with guns, set fire to the trees late on Thursday 26th September. At around midnight, the settlers arrived in Sarta. The town mayor asked the Palestinian Authority to liaise with the Israeli army in order to intervene, but when Israeli forces arrived on the scene they informed villagers that the area had been declared closed and told them to leave. Two days earlier, town residents witnessed four bulldozers arrive in the village to prepare the ground for the construction of the road, which will connect the settlement with road five and is part of an expansion plan for the settlement which will take it from 40 houses to around 550. The proposed road and settlement expansion is a source of concern to local Palestinians, who stand to lose much of their land under new plans, including local features such as a 500-year-old cemetery.

Nothing New Here:

Zionist Soldiers Beat And Kick Four Palestinian Children Near Occupied Bethlehem
September 26, 2013 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Wednesday evening (September 25, 2013) Israeli soldiers detained, for several hours, four Palestinian children in the Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, and violently beat them before handing them back to the Palestinians. Ahmad Salah, Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Al-Khader, told the Radio Bethlehem 2000 that the soldiers detained the four children for several hours in the Nashash area, at the southern entrance of Al-Khader. The four children have been identified as Hussein Shady Salah, 8, Ahmad Wael Salah, 9, in addition to Motasem Mustafa Al-Masry and his brother Hamza. He added that the children were violently beaten and kicked before the soldiers moved them to the District Coordination Office (DCO), west of Beit Jala city, and handed them to the Palestinian DCO. In related news, two Palestinians have been injured by rounds of live ammunition fired by the army at Palestinians at the entrance of the Al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The two have been identified as Mohammad Yousef Zomra, 24, and Mohammad Adnan, 21. Medical sources said that dozens of residents have also been treated for the effects of teargas inhalation. [To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded by foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves Israeli.]

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CLASS WAR REPORTS

Workers Set Factories Ablaze:

Up To 200,000 Garment Factory Workers Sustained A Third Day Of Protests In Bangladesh

The Protesting Workers Also Blocked Roads And Confiscated And Destroyed Rifles From Security Officials

Garment workers shout as they call other workers to join them, in front of Brothers Fashion Limited, during a protest in Dhaka September 23, 2013. (Photo: Reuters/Andrew Biraj) September 23, 2013 by Andrea Germanos, staff writer; Common Dreams [Excerpts] Up to 200,000 garment factory workers sustained a third day of protests in Bangladesh on Monday, forcing hundreds of factories to close as the workers' call for a better minimum wage was met with teargas and rubber bullets from police. Protests were held in the capital of Dhaka and surrounding areas, home to hundreds of factories that produce clothing that ends up stores like WalMart and H&M. At least two factories were set ablaze by protesters, Reaz-Bin-Mahmood, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Agence France-Presse. The protesting workers also blocked roads and confiscated and destroyed rifles from security officials. Resulting clashes with police left nearly 150 injured. The workers, 80% of whom are women, have demanded a $100 monthly wage for their contributions to the $20-billion industry, and called the factory owners' offer of just a 20% raise inhuman and humiliating.

Their current monthly wage is $38, prompting one protester to say, We work to survive but we can't even cover our basic needs. Despite the massive death toll from the Rana factory fire in April as well as countless, day to day, potentially lethal incidents at garment factories in the country, little seems to have changed in the working conditions at many factories. A BBC investigation unveiled a factory where workers are still working 19-hour shifts and are locked in, and deceptive books hide the truth about working hours from Western retailers.

MORE:

The Fifth Day Of Protests In Two Industrial Districts Near Dhaka, The Capital, Forced Authorities To Close More Than 100 Factories For The Day
We Are Not The Object Of Mercy, The Economy Moves With Our Toil
Authorities Attempted To Resume Operations In The Factories On Tuesday And Wednesday, But The Efforts Failed
[Thanks to Dennis Serdel, who sent this in.] By Sarah Lazare, Common Dreams & 26 September 2013 By Julhas Alam, Associated Press [Excerpts] Police in Bangladesh used batons, rubber bullets and tear gas Wednesday to stop ongoing protests by garment workers demanding higher wages, while factory owners feared they may miss shipments to the United States and Europe. The fifth day of protests in two industrial districts near Dhaka, the capital, forced authorities to close more than 100 factories for the day, police and news reports said. The districts - Gazipur and Narayanganj - house hundreds of factories that supply garment products to numerous global brands, including Wal-Mart and H&M.

Our backs are against the wall, so we don't have any alternative unless we raise our voice strongly, Nazma Akter, president of the United Garments Workers' Federation, which groups 52 garment worker's groups, told Saturday's protest, Reuters reports. We will not hesitate to do anything to realize our demand. We are not the object of mercy, the economy moves with our toil, Akter declared addressing Saturday's rally. After a three-day work suspension in the wake of the protests, authorities attempted to resume operations in the factories on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the efforts failed. The workers are demanding 8,114 takas ($100) instead of the current monthly minimum wage of 3,000 takas ($38), which is the lowest in the world. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment manufacturing country after China. The government earlier set up a panel to review the minimum wage for garment workers who are unwilling to wait until November, when the panel is supposed to make its recommendations. S.M. Mannan, a vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said it would be difficult for the factories to confirm shipments as scheduled. If we fail to operate our factories fully, how will we be able to keep our word to buyers? he said. A.K.M. Mosharaf Hossain, an assistant director of the Industrial Police in Gazipur, said the workers dispersed there after the police moved in Wednesday, but he did not say whether there were any injuries. The workers blocked two major highways, disrupting traffic for hours during the morning rush hour, he said. Hossain said that most factories resumed work in the troubled area in the morning, but that authorities closed many of them, fearing further violence. The Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper, citing a police official, reported that clashes in Narayanganj injured at least 10 people, with security officials firing rubber bullets. TV footage showed female workers fleeing streets in the district as police moved in. Bangladesh earns $20 billion a year from garment exports, mainly to the United States and Europe. The sector employs about 4 million workers, mostly women.

Death Of An Adjunct:

Margaret Mary Vojtko, An Adjunct Professor Of French For 25 Years, Died Underpaid And Underappreciated At Age 83;
She Had Just Been Let Go From Her Job As A Professor At Duquesne, That She Was Given No Severance Or Retirement Benefits
The Reason She Was Having Trouble Taking Care Of Herself Was Because She Was Living In Extreme Poverty
September 18, 2013 By Daniel Kovalik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette On Sept. 1, Margaret Mary Vojtko, an adjunct professor who had taught French at Duquesne University for 25 years, passed away at the age of 83. She died as the result of a massive heart attack she suffered two weeks before. As it turned out, I may have been the last person she talked to. On Aug. 16, I received a call from a very upset Margaret Mary. She told me that she was under an incredible amount of stress. She was receiving radiation therapy for the cancer that had just returned to her, she was living nearly homeless because she could not afford the upkeep on her home, which was literally falling in on itself, and now, she explained, she had received another indignity -- a letter from Adult Protective Services telling her that someone had referred her case to them saying that she needed assistance in taking care of herself. The letter said that if she did not meet with the caseworker the following Monday, her case would be turned over to Orphans' Court. For a proud professional like Margaret Mary, this was the last straw; she was mortified. She begged me to call Adult Protective Services and tell them to leave her alone, that she could take care of herself and did not need their help.

I agreed to. Sadly, a couple of hours later, she was found on her front lawn, unconscious from a heart attack. She never regained consciousness. Meanwhile, I called Adult Protective Services right after talking to Margaret Mary, and I explained the situation. I said that she had just been let go from her job as a professor at Duquesne, that she was given no severance or retirement benefits, and that the reason she was having trouble taking care of herself was because she was living in extreme poverty. The caseworker paused and asked with incredulity, She was a professor? I said yes. The caseworker was shocked; this was not the usual type of person for whom she was called in to help. Of course, what the caseworker didn't understand was that Margaret Mary was an adjunct professor, meaning that, unlike a well-paid tenured professor, Margaret Mary worked on a contract basis from semester to semester, with no job security, no benefits and with a salary of between $3,000 and just over $3,500 per threecredit course. Adjuncts now make up well over 50 percent of the faculty at colleges and universities. While adjuncts at Duquesne overwhelmingly voted to join the United Steelworkers union a year ago, Duquesne has fought unionization, claiming that it should have a religious exemption. Duquesne has claimed that the unionization of adjuncts like Margaret Mary would somehow interfere with its mission to inculcate Catholic values among its students. This would be news to Georgetown University -- one of only two Catholic universities to make U.S. News & World Report's list of top 25 universities -- which just recognized its adjunct professors' union, citing the Catholic Church's social justice teachings, which favor labor unions. As amazing as it sounds, Margaret Mary, a 25-year professor, was not making ends meet. Even during the best of times, when she was teaching three classes a semester and two during the summer, she was not even clearing $25,000 a year, and she received absolutely no health care benefits. Compare this with the salary of Duquesne's president, who makes more than $700,000 with full benefits. Meanwhile, in the past year, her teaching load had been reduced by the university to one class a semester, which meant she was making well below $10,000 a year.

With huge out-of-pocket bills from UPMC Mercy for her cancer treatment, Margaret Mary was left in abject penury. She could no longer keep her electricity on in her home, which became uninhabitable during the winter. She therefore took to working at an Eat'n Park at night and then trying to catch some sleep during the day at her office at Duquesne. When this was discovered by the university, the police were called in to eject her from her office. Still, despite her cancer and her poverty, she never missed a day of class. Finally, in the spring, she was let go by the university, which told her she was no longer effective as an instructor -- despite many glowing evaluations from students. She came to me to seek legal help to try to save her job. She said that all she wanted was money to pay her medical bills because Duquesne, which never paid her much to begin with, gave her nothing on her way out the door. Duquesne knew all about Margaret Mary's plight, for I apprised them of it in two letters. I never received a reply, and Margaret Mary was forced to die saddened, penniless and on the verge of being turned over to Orphan's Court. The funeral Mass for Margaret Mary, a devout Catholic, was held at Epiphany Church, only a few blocks from Duquesne. The priest who said Mass was from the University of Dayton, another Catholic university and my alma mater. Margaret Mary was laid out in a simple, cardboard casket devoid of any handles for pallbearers -- a sad sight, but an honest symbol of what she had been reduced to by her ostensibly Catholic employer. Her nephew, who had contacted me about her passing, implored me to make sure that she didn't die in vain. He said that while there was nothing that could be done for Margaret Mary, we had to help the other adjuncts at Duquesne and other universities who were being treated just as she was, and who could end up just like she did. I believe that writing this story is the first step in doing just that.

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

N.S.A. Spying On Relationships Of U.S. Citizens:

Collections Of Data Can Identify Their Associates, Their Locations At Certain Times, Their Traveling Companions, Acquire Clues To Religious Or Political Affiliations And Other Personal Information
In 2011 NSA Mainway Program Was Taking In 700 Million Phone Records Per Day. In August 2011, It Began Receiving

An Additional 1.1 Billion Cellphone Records

The agency can augment the communications data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data, according to the documents. Phone and e-mail logs, for example, allow analysts to identify peoples friends and associates, detect where they were at a certain time, acquire clues to religious or political affiliations, and pick up sensitive information like regular calls to a psychiatrists office, late-night messages to an extramarital partner or exchanges with a fellow plotter. September 28, 2013 By JAMES RISEN and LAURA POITRAS, The New York Times Company. James Risen reported from Washington and New York. Laura Poitras, a freelance journalist, reported from Berlin. [Excerpts] WASHINGTON Since 2010, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with officials.

The spy agency began allowing the analysis of phone call and e-mail logs in November 2010 to examine Americans networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes after N.S.A. officials lifted restrictions on the practice, according to documents provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor. The policy shift was intended to help the agency discover and track connections between intelligence targets overseas and people in the United States, according to an N.S.A. memorandum from January 2011. The agency was authorized to conduct largescale graph analysis on very large sets of communications metadata without having to check foreignness of every e-mail address, phone number or other identifier, the document said. Because of concerns about infringing on the privacy of American citizens, the computer analysis of such data had previously been permitted only for foreigners. The agency can augment the communications data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data, according to the documents. They do not indicate any restrictions on the use of such enrichment data, and several former senior Obama administration officials said the agency drew on it for both Americans and foreigners. N.S.A. officials declined to say how many Americans have been caught up in the effort, including people involved in no wrongdoing. The documents do not describe what has resulted from the scrutiny, which links phone numbers and e-mails in a contact chain tied directly or indirectly to a person or organization overseas that is of foreign intelligence interest. The new disclosures add to the growing body of knowledge in recent months about the N.S.A.s access to and use of private information concerning Americans, prompting lawmakers in Washington to call for reining in the agency and President Obama to order an examination of its surveillance policies.

The Decision To Revise The Limits Concerning Americans Was Made In Secret, Without Review By The Nations Intelligence Court Or Any Public Debate
Almost everything about the agencys operations is hidden, and the decision to revise the limits concerning Americans was made in secret, without review by the nations intelligence court or any public debate. As far back as 2006, a Justice Department memo warned of the potential for the misuse of such information without adequate safeguards.

An agency spokeswoman, asked about the analyses of Americans data, said, All data queries must include a foreign intelligence justification, period. The legal underpinning of the policy change, she said, was a 1979 Supreme Court ruling that Americans could have no expectation of privacy about what numbers they had called. Based on that ruling, the Justice Department and the Pentagon decided that it was permissible to create contact chains using Americans metadata, which includes the timing, location and other details of calls and e-mails, but not their content. The agency is not required to seek warrants for the analyses from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. N.S.A. officials declined to identify which phone and e-mail databases are used to create the social network diagrams, and the documents provided by Mr. Snowden do not specify them. The agency did say that the large database of Americans domestic phone call records, which was revealed by Mr. Snowden in June and caused bipartisan alarm in Washington, was excluded. (N.S.A. officials have previously acknowledged that the agency has done limited analysis in that database, collected under provisions of the Patriot Act, exclusively for people who might be linked to terrorism suspects.) But the agency has multiple collection programs and databases, the former officials said, adding that the social networking analyses relied on both domestic and international metadata. They spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the information was classified. The concerns in the United States since Mr. Snowdens revelations have largely focused on the scope of the agencys collection of the private data of Americans and the potential for abuse. But the new documents provide a rare window into what the N.S.A. actually does with the information it gathers. A series of agency PowerPoint presentations and memos describe how the N.S.A. has been able to develop software and other tools one document cited a new generation of programs that revolutionize data collection and analysis to unlock as many secrets about individuals as possible. The spy agency, led by Gen. Keith B. Alexander, an unabashed advocate for more weapons in the hunt for information about the nations adversaries, clearly views its collections of metadata as one of its most powerful resources. N.S.A. analysts can exploit that information to develop a portrait of an individual, one that is perhaps more complete and predictive of behavior than could be obtained by listening to phone conversations or reading e-mails, experts say.

Phone And E-Mail Logs, For Example, Allow Analysts To Identify Peoples Friends And Associates, Detect Where They Were At A Certain Time, Acquire Clues To Religious Or Political Affiliations
Phone and e-mail logs, for example, allow analysts to identify peoples friends and associates, detect where they were at a certain time, acquire clues to religious or political affiliations, and pick up sensitive information like regular calls to a psychiatrists office, late-night messages to an extramarital partner or exchanges with a fellow plotter. Metadata can be very revealing, said Orin S. Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University. Knowing things like the number someone just dialed or the location of the persons cellphone is going to allow them to assemble a picture of what someone is up to. Its the digital equivalent of tailing a suspect. The N.S.A. had been pushing for more than a decade to obtain the rule change allowing the analysis of Americans phone and e-mail data. Intelligence officials had been frustrated that they had to stop when a contact chain hit a telephone number or e-mail address believed to be used by an American, even though it might yield valuable intelligence primarily concerning a foreigner who was overseas, according to documents previously disclosed by Mr. Snowden. N.S.A. officials also wanted to employ the agencys advanced computer analysis tools to sift through its huge databases with much greater efficiency. The agency had asked for the new power as early as 1999, the documents show, but had been initially rebuffed because it was not permitted under rules of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that were intended to protect the privacy of Americans. A 2009 draft of an N.S.A. inspector generals report suggests that contact chaining and analysis may have been done on Americans communications data under the Bush administrations program of wiretapping without warrants, which began after the Sept. 11 attacks to detect terrorist activities and skirted the existing laws governing electronic surveillance. In 2006, months after the wiretapping program was disclosed by The New York Times, the N.S.A.s acting general counsel wrote a letter to a senior Justice Department official, which was also leaked by Mr. Snowden, formally asking for permission to perform the analysis on American phone and e-mail data. A Justice Department memo to the attorney general noted that the misuse of such information could raise serious concerns, and said the N.S.A. promised to impose safeguards, including regular audits, on the metadata program. In 2008, the Bush administration gave its approval. A new policy that year, detailed in Defense Supplemental Procedures Governing Communications Metadata Analysis, authorized by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, said that since the Supreme Court had ruled that metadata was not constitutionally protected, N.S.A. analysts could use such

information without regard to the nationality or location of the communicants, according to an internal N.S.A. description of the policy. After that decision, which was previously reported by The Guardian, the N.S.A. performed the social network graphing in a pilot project for 1 years to great benefit, according to the 2011 memo. It was put in place in November 2010 in Sigint Management Directive 424 (Sigint refers to signals intelligence). In the 2011 memo explaining the shift, N.S.A. analysts were told that they could trace the contacts of Americans as long as they cited a foreign intelligence justification. That could include anything from ties to terrorism, weapons proliferation or international drug smuggling to spying on conversations of foreign politicians, business figures or activists. Analysts were warned to follow existing minimization rules, which prohibit the N.S.A. from sharing with other agencies names and other details of Americans whose communications are collected, unless they are necessary to understand foreign intelligence reports or there is evidence of a crime. The agency is required to obtain a warrant from the intelligence court to target a U.S. person a citizen or legal resident for actual eavesdropping. The N.S.A. documents show that one of the main tools used for chaining phone numbers and e-mail addresses has the code name Mainway. It is a repository into which vast amounts of data flow daily from the agencys fiber-optic cables, corporate partners and foreign computer networks that have been hacked. The documents show that significant amounts of information from the United States go into Mainway.

In 2011 Mainway Was Taking In 700 Million Phone Records Per Day. In August 2011, It Began Receiving An Additional 1.1 Billion Cellphone Records
An internal N.S.A. bulletin, for example, noted that in 2011 Mainway was taking in 700 million phone records per day. In August 2011, it began receiving an additional 1.1 billion cellphone records daily from an unnamed American service provider under Section 702 of the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, which allows for the collection of the data of Americans if at least one end of the communication is believed to be foreign. The overall volume of metadata collected by the N.S.A. is reflected in the agencys secret 2013 budget request to Congress. The budget document, disclosed by Mr. Snowden, shows that the agency is pouring money and manpower into creating a metadata repository capable of taking in 20 billion record events daily and making them available to N.S.A. analysts within 60 minutes. The spending includes support for the Enterprise Knowledge System, which has a $394 million multiyear budget and is designed to rapidly discover and correlate complex relationships and patterns across diverse data sources on a massive scale, according

to a 2008 document. The data is automatically computed to speed queries and discover new targets for surveillance. A top-secret document titled Better Person Centric Analysis describes how the agency looks for 94 entity types, including phone numbers, e-mail addresses and IP addresses. In addition, the N.S.A. correlates 164 relationship types to build social networks and what the agency calls community of interest profiles, using queries like travelsWith, hasFather, sentForumMessage, employs. A 2009 PowerPoint presentation provided more examples of data sources available in the enrichment process, including location-based services like GPS and TomTom, online social networks, billing records and bank codes for transactions in the United States and overseas. At a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday, General Alexander was asked if the agency ever collected or planned to collect bulk records about Americans locations based on cellphone tower data. He replied that it was not doing so as part of the call log program authorized by the Patriot Act, but said a fuller response would be classified. If the N.S.A. does not immediately use the phone and e-mail logging data of an American, it can be stored for later use, at least under certain circumstances, according to several documents. One 2011 memo, for example, said that after a court ruling narrowed the scope of the agencys collection, the data in question was being buffered for possible ingest later. A year earlier, an internal briefing paper from the N.S.A. Office of Legal Counsel showed that the agency was allowed to collect and retain raw traffic, which includes both metadata and content, about U.S. persons for up to five years online and for an additional 10 years offline for historical searches.

Obamas Justice Department: Trumpeting A New Victory In War On Freedom Of The Press
Theres Something Profoundly Despicable About A Justice

Department That Would Brazenly Violate The First And Fourth Amendments While Spying On Journalists
While Mouthing Platitudes About Respecting Press Freedom, The President Has Overseen Methodical Actions To Undermine It
The Broader Purpose Is To Destroy Independent Journalism -- Which Is To Say, Actual Journalism -- Which Is To Say, Freedom Of The Press

September 24, 2013 By Norman Solomon, www.normansolomon.com

Theres something profoundly despicable about a Justice Department that would brazenly violate the First and Fourth Amendments while spying on journalists, then claim to be reassessing such policies after an avalanche of criticism -- and then proceed, as it did this week, to gloat that those policies made possible a long prison sentence for a journalistic source. Welcome to the Obama Justice Department. While mouthing platitudes about respecting press freedom, the president has overseen methodical actions to undermine it. We should retire understated phrases like chilling effect. With the announcement from Obamas Justice Department on Monday, the thermometer has dropped below freezing. You could almost hear the slushy flow of public information turning to ice in the triumphant words of the U.S. attorney who led the investigation after being handpicked by Attorney General Eric Holder: This prosecution demonstrates our deep resolve to hold accountable anyone who would violate their solemn duty to protect our nations secrets and to prevent future, potentially devastating leaks by those who would wantonly ignore their obligations to safeguard classified information. Translation: This prosecution shows the depth of our contempt for civil liberties. Let this be a lesson to journalists and would-be leakers alike. Audibly on the chopping block are provisions in the Bill of Rights such as freedom of the press and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. The Obama administrations pernicious goal is to normalize circumstances where journalists cant credibly promise confidentiality, and potential leakers dont believe they can have it. The broader purpose is to destroy independent journalism -- which is to say, actual journalism -- which is to say, freedom of the press. Impacts are crystal clear to just about any journalist who has done reporting thats much more than stenographic services for official government and corporate sources. When unofficial sources are choked off, not much is left other than the Official Story. The Official Story is routinely somewhere between very selective and mendacious. A case in point, ironically enough, is the Justice Departments righteous announcement that the prison term for the leaker of information to The Associated Press reflected the Departments deep resolve to hold accountable anyone who would violate their solemn duty to protect our nations secrets. Hold accountable anyone? (Laugh, scream or cry; take your pick.) Like others before it, the Obama administration has made a frequent practice of leaking classified secrets to media outlets -- when its calculus is that revealing

those secrets will make the administration look good. Of course in those cases the Justice Department doesnt bother to track down the leakers. Such extreme hypocrisy in high places has become so normalized that major media outlets often seem completely inured to it. To the top echelons of quasi-journalistic enterprises that are bankrolled by corporate advertisers and underwriters, the disappearance of confidentiality -- along with routine violations of the First and Fourth Amendments -- might hardly matter. Official sources flood the media zone. But the New York Times coverage should have given attentive readers indigestion over breakfast Tuesday: A former F.B.I. agent has agreed to plead guilty to leaking classified information to The Associated Press about a foiled bomb plot in Yemen last year Federal investigators said they were able to identify the man, Donald Sachtleben, a former bomb technician, as a suspect in the leak case only after secretly obtaining AP reporters phone logs, a move that set off an uproar among journalists and members of Congress of both parties when it was disclosed in May. The Times added: Sachtleben has agreed to serve 43 months in prison for the leak, the Justice Department said. His case is the eighth leak-related prosecution under the Obama administration. Only three such cases were prosecuted under all previous presidents. How did the Justice Department catch Sachtleben in the first place? By seizing records of calls on more than 20 phone lines used by Associated Press reporters over a two-month period. This is more than a chilling effect on the First Amendment; its an icy wind, threatening to put real freedom of the press into a deep freeze. Journalists -- and the rest of us -- should respond with outraged opposition.

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U.S. soldier in Beijia village Iraq, Feb. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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