Surveillance of US Citizens Is Worse Than We Think

by Robert Wilkinson

It seems our government is spying on us to a much greater degree than they've previously admitted to. Our 4th Amendment rights seem to have been cancelled with no notice.

Based in a New York Times story reported by NBC news titled NSA 'dragnet' wider than previously suspected, says NYT we read “The NSA has been sifting through international email and text messages of Americans who mention information about foreign targets, according to a New York Times report citing unnamed intelligence officials. Critics are calling the actions illegal under current U.S. law.”

Here’s more from the story:

The move, which further raises the question about whether or not the U.S. government is invading the privacy of citizens in its hunt for foreign terrorists, seems to go beyond the scope of previous reports.

The revelations from NSA leaker Edward Snowden, which first ran in the Guardian, said that the agency was filtering the electronic communications of people in direct connection with foreign suspects, and that it simply had the capability of deeper domestic surveillance.

But in this new scenario, according to the Times report, the NSA is sifting through the electronic correspondence of anyone who so much as mentions a name, email address or other shred of information linked to an overseas target when sending an email or other message across the border into another country.

Privacy advocates are quick to stress the potential constitutional illegality of such a move… "The program described by the New York Times involves a breathtaking invasion of millions of people's privacy," wrote Jameel Jaffer, American Civil Liberties Union deputy legal director, in a statement. "The NSA has cast a massive dragnet over Americans' international communications, collecting and monitoring virtually all of them, and retaining some untold number of them in government databases. This is precisely the kind of generalized spying that the Fourth Amendment was intended to prohibit."

Of course the NSA sez it’s all good and they’re only doing what’s legal and they’re not listening in on anyone who doesn’t deserve it. Uh huh. I’m sure they’ve never once recorded one of my phone calls with my overseas clients. And that’s the sad thing. They’re sifting through millions of private communications around the world that are no threat whatsoever to US interests. What a stupid waste of time.

By all means go over to the story and read the whole thing. I do believe Edward Snowden has ripped the veil open that cloaked the grey men, and we can no longer afford to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” It’s all out there and I suspect as we continue to delve into what’s been happening, millions around the world will be outraged at what looks to be illegal and immoral actions of the US government.

© Copyright 2013 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[ka]

This is no joke. I was reported by PayPal to the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) two days ago. For an international payment for an item that cost $8 USD. It's pretty amazing.

[Robert]

Hi ka - I have no doubt that all my overseas clients who pay via paypal have the transaction reported to someone. Our world has become ridiculous. But I figure that as those who are recording my work, reading my posts, and listening to what I say to my clients, their consciousness is opened to concepts they're never imagined before that moment. And then part of them is free, once their conscious mind and subconscious mind meet somewhere they can comprehend. But what an enormous waste of time, energy, money, and lives. Many have forgotten why we're here in a body interacting with other Beings whose nature is Love.

[Iris]

Ka - I'm curious - how did you know that Pay Pal reported you to OFAC?

[caliban]

Good for you Robert, maybe somebody out there will learn something from you. Like you wrote, it's a good thing.

[Tolly]

So what do we do about it? We elect them, we pay them, they take our tax money and use it to oppress us. When this news broke, I thought heads would roll. But it's mostly business as usual.

What do we do? If this blows over, what does that say about what we are willing to take?

[Shelley]

Hi, Robert... When I talk to others about how much our privacy is being invaded these days, the response I usually get is "Well, I don't care." or "They can listen to me, I'm not a terrorist!" Like they know nothing about history, or the constitution. Sigh... :( It really is a crime, not just what is happening these days, but the lack of awareness and apathy for basic human rights that pervades our society. By the time people realize why our privacy is important and something to be treasure, we might no longer have any. Namaste, Shelley

[caliban]

Hi Tolly, I guess I'm just a civilian in a war zone. But I have been. I've been hacked, email stolen and relationships messed up, identity stolen, stalked, and home invaded. And it wasn't the government. So I don't know what to say. This has been going on for me for a long time now with fellow citizens. I guess they are legalizing all that activity now.

[Garden]

As a tech junkie, I kinda knew this was all possible for years, as a political junkie, I kinda knew this was all possible for years. As a conspiracy theorist, no one wanted to listen to me, for years. I'm glad there was an awakening to these issues, even if everyone doesn't wake up with us.

Oh, and Robert, you're right, I hope their conscience is open to concepts they have never imagined before by now if they're tracking you. We should all continue on the path of enlightenment as an example.

[heyho]

It feels to me that the combined problems of survelience, big pharma, big agra, and the continuing stranglehold on alternative therapies and natural medicine ( check out this link for an outrageous example of whats going on in the USA http://www.undergroundhealth.com/city-of-arlington-swat-raid-on-peaceful-organic-farmers-is-a-big-budget-bust/) is all part of the same gig.

what fascinates me is that the cardinal cross years seem to be unearthing (pluto) so much and pushing it to the surface and transmitting it round the world via social media ( uranus). So we can no longer deny whats going on. so what do we do now?

i wrk in fashion and view life thru that lends - it fascinates we that flares were the biggest deal ever in the late 60s and early 70s and then went out of fashion globally OVERNIGHT once punk came in. I cant help feeling that now so much is known and exposed were are near the end times, The powers that were know the game is up which is why they are using so many hard core draconian efforts to keep their power.

one of my friends kids was explaining to me the other night the power of Bit Coin - its value is going thru the roof as teenagers use it to score drugs annonymously online and cartels use it to launder money - its is a currency but it is untraceable - so far.....

i know we need to stay out of fear and try and stay positive but on days like this - Fukishima spewing continuously, monsanto screwing us all, good men imprisoned for telling the truth, pornography war famine and violence at epedemic levels im not sure we humans are gonna make it as a species.....

[Garden]

Robert, I would be very interested in reading a piece related to how the astrology of these times is playing a role in these new revelations. I'm hoping you're already working on it :)

[ka]

Iris -- PayPal's compliance department sent me an email first thing on the Saturday morning after I tried to make the payment. Explicitly, "As a result of the violation, details of your account and the transaction have been reported to OFAC." They threatened to close my account if I do not hoop-jump through their system and upon any further violation. This is like being reported to the government by your neighbors, and I keep remembering suddenly how I felt within the very closed/locked/baffled communication style of Eastern Europe in the early 1990s. PayPal reported me to the US government for a one-time transaction over a set of postage stamps from a "prohibited country". I have been buying similar items through that company for over 14 years. I don't know anyone else who has been reported. Yet.

I stopped journalling weeks ago because something has just gone weird. I feel like I am watching slow planetary collision, galactic pile-up. Sensing light ahead in September, don't know why. Waiting it out with patience and faith but super tired of it.

[caliban]

This thing has been ping ponging back and forth in my noggin. The information is out there en masse. And probably will be absconded for misuse by those elements that are prone to do so. I was interested to hear eric holder announce plans to release non violent "offenders" from a too big prison system. He said something to the effect that persons should not be jailed because of social mores.

Recently a young man was interviewed on one of the late night talk shows. He had been incarcerated for 2 years for some kind of activism. The interviewer said prison must have been tough. His reply was, not really. Since the privatization of the American prison system, it is filled with non violent, non criminal people. That's what happens when corporations write the laws.

The difficulty I see is with the 2 party polarization in America where everything a party or that party's candidates do is acceptable to the person that is a party loyalist. An example I hear all the time is from people who support a state governor and legislature that continues to take away worker rights, but then complain about their workplace conditions. I really don't know what to say to them.

I would say legislating lifestyle choices would seem to be the danger here.

[Iris]

Ka - Thanks for replying. Strange times, indeed. I don't purchase anything internationally; I had no idea PayPal was such a watchdog for the powers that be. I try to stay away from PayPal, but that's almost like trying to stay away from freeways.