Monthly Archives: October 2014

Longtime reporters who cover the NSA know that any time we ask the obstinate spy agency for information, were probably going to hit a brick wall. But who would have thought that trying to obtain information about information the agency has already given us would lead to the same wall?

Thats what happened when the Federation of American Scientists filed a FOIA request with the Defense Department (of which the NSA is a part) earlier this year seeking information about any authorized leaks of intelligence made to the media during the previous 12 months.

The response they got (.pdf) from the National Security Agency might well have come from Winston Smiths Ministry of Truth.

The document responsive to your request has been reviewed by this Agency as required by the FOIA and has been found to be currently and properly classified in accordance with Executive Order 13526, the letter read. The document is classified because its disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.

Last year, Congress amended the Intelligence Authorization Act to require government officials to notify lawmakers whenever they disclose national security secrets to the media as part of an authorized leak. Under Section 504 of the statute (.pdf), the government official responsible for authorizing the disclosure has to submit to congressional intelligence committees a timely report about the disclosure, if the information is classified at the time of the leak or was declassified for the purpose of making the leak, and if the information being disclosed was made with the intent or knowledge that such information will be made publicly available.

There have been numerous authorized leaks over the years, including the controversial White House leaks about the killing of Osama bin Laden. There have been even more unauthorized leaks, howeverby government officials and workers. It makes sense for Congress to want to know when classified information has been leaked or declassified in order to distinguish official leaks from unauthorized ones. Lawmakers on the intelligence committees look silly when they tell reporters they cant talk about something, while government officials are freely yapping about the same topic behind their backs. They also look silly when they publicly call for a criminal investigation into a leak that turns out to have been authorized. And, of course, members of both parties in Congress want to know when the party in power in the White House might be authorizing leaks for political gain.

But once those leaks are made to the media and published, why shouldnt the public also be able to know when the information came from an authorized source or an unauthorized one?

Steve Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, noted in his letter to the NSA appealing its response (.pdf) that It is well established that information, including classified information, that has been publicly disclosed on an authorized basis loses its exemption from disclosure under FOIA.

He has a theory, however, about why the NSA might not want to disclose what it has disclosed. He says that even though the statute refers to information that the leaker expects will be made public, the NSA might not want the public to know which information was part of an authorized leak because some might have been provided off the record.

I think its more likely that these disclosures were part of a negotiation with news organizations, he told WIRED. In that case, the disclosures in question were not actually published, rather they were part of a dialogue with a reporter perhaps in an effort to dissuade her or him from publication.

Original post:
NSA Mind-Bender: We Wont Tell You What Info We Already Leaked to the Media

By Trevor Mogg

(REUTERS/Francois Lenoir)

Representatives from some of the biggest names in tech had some harsh words to say about the US government surveillance scandal on Wednesday during a meeting examining the potential ramifications of the spying activities.

The special event in Palo Alto involved the likes of Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith, and Dropbox representative Ramsey Homsany, Cnet reported.

The panelists put their views to Democratic senator for Oregon Ron Wyden , with Schmidt warning that the impact of the surveillance is not only severe and getting worse, but could even end up breaking the Internet.

Former NSA contractorEdward Snowden last year blew the lid off the governments surveillance activities, releasing official documents that showed surveillance of Web usersto be far more extensive than most people had imagined.

Global effects

During the meeting, the speakers focused on the global knock-on effects of the Snowden revelations, highlighting how some governments are seeking to make tech firms build data centers within their borders in a bid to improve security. If every country ends up following this path, the tech companies said, the costs would be astronomical and could ultimately damage the US economy.

Related:Googles Schmidt blasts NSA activities

Fallout from the NSA scandal has already hit American firms, including Verizon, which recently lost its contract with the German government over concerns linked to network security. Snowdens documents suggested that more than 120 world leaders were targeted for surveillanceby the NSA, with German leader Angela Merkel among them.

Read the original:
Google's NSA fears

Sports News of Friday, 10 October 2014

Source: sportscrusader.com

Dr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, former Chief Executive of the National Sports Authority (NSA) has called on the Ministry of Youth and Sports to appoint Magnus Rex Danwuah Chief Operating Officer of the Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations as the Director-General of the NSA.

He said in an interview that, though Rex Danquah, has been playing a consultancy role for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, he will be the best person to manage affairs of the NSA taking into consideration his track record.

According to Dr. Owusu-Ansah, the former COO of Ghana 2008 is visionary, hardworking and aggressive when it comes to implementation of sports policies and strategies.

The former Chief Executive of the NSA, said the current leadership of NSA is weak and lacks the requisite knowledge to change the dwindling fortunes of the NSA.

Dr. Owusu-Ansah, who resigned recently as the Director of the Sports Directorate of the University of Ghana, said, Rex Danquah, will within two years change the face of the NSA and sports in Ghana.

He urged the Ministry of Youth and Sports to consider offering him the job in the near future since he has the magic wand to turn things around.

See original here:
Give NSA to Rex Danquah Former CEO