New revelations on the role Australia plays in NSA intercepts emerged in RT. New revelations on espionage against Brazil are in O Globo.
Also, separately, Ezra Klein of the Washington Post, subbing for Rachel Maddow, reported the names of the FISA judges--10/11 of whom were Republican judicial nominees and all of whom have been appointed to the FISA court by the (Republican) Chief Justice. One of them was Susan Webber Wright, famous as the judge in the Paula Jones trial and in the Whitewater trial of James and Susan McDougal. Wright kept the Jones case alive when, as she finally conceded, it had no merit at all, and ordered Susan McDougal held in contempt in what seems to me to have been an attempt to force McDougal to perjure herself by accusing Bill Clinton of things he had not done.
What are the odds that Wright would end up on a court that issues unreviewable decisions bearing on the freedom of millions of Americans, based solely on the representations of the government?
And why did so many of those who engaged in the assault on democracy that culminated in the impeachment of Bill Clinton end up getting promoted?
(Crossposted from Mercury Rising)
(Crossposted from Mercury Rising)
The importance of the new revelations are that they:
1) name the Australian facilities used by the NSA for data collection,
2) raise the possibility that Brazil may re-consider Snowden's application for asylum, and
3) make it clear that espionage against Brazil and Latin America in general is commercial espionage, not obviously related to national security.
The latter point is extremely important in understanding world reaction to NSA spying. Most nations would tolerate anti-terrorist espionage, but the idea that the US may be using terrorism as a pretext to screw other nations financially is probably not tolerable.
There are voices being raised in Brazil to encourage asylum for Snowden. If Brazil decides that it needs to protect itself against economic espionage, asylum could provide some practical benefits. Snowden would probably be very helpful in making Brazlian communications more secure. And, of course, Brazil would provide a better haven for Snwden, since it is less susceptible to coups than Venezuela, Nicaragua, or Bolivia.
Here are the relevant excerpts.
RT:
Ex-NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden has disclosed his first set of documents outlining Australia’s role in NSA surveillance programs, picking out four facilities in the country that contribute heavily to US spying.
The locations of dozens of the US’s and associated countries signal collection sites have been revealed by Snowden, who leaked classified National Security Agency maps to US journalist Glenn Greenwald, which were then published in the Brazilian newspaper “O Globo.”
The sites all play a role in the collection of data and interception of internet traffic and telecommunications on a global level.
Australian centers involved in the NSA’s data collection program, codenamed X-Keyscore, include Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap in central Australia and three Australian Signals Directorate facilities: the Shoal Bay Receiving Station in the country’s north, the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Facility on the west coast, and the naval communications station HMAS Harman outside the capital, Canberra.
New Zealand also plays a role, with the Government Security Communications Bureau facility at Waihopai, on the northern point of South Island, also contributing to the program.
X-Keyscore is described as a “national Intelligence collection mission system” by US intelligence expert William Arkin, according to Australian newspaper ‘Age.’ It processes all signals prior to being delivered to various “production lines” that deal with more specific issues including the exploration of different types of data for close scrutiny.
The different subdivisions are entitled Nucleon (voice), Pinwale (video), Mainway (call records) and Marina (internet records).
Speaking of O Globo, several articles have appeared.
Brazil should offer Snowden asylum, Brazilian senators argue:
Senator Requião (PMDB-PR) called the whistleblower a "Hero" and lamented that other countries on the continent have offered asylum to Snowden, while Brazil, which was the target of espionage, did not. Senator Eduardo Suplicy (PT-SP) supported the complaint of his colleague.
Glenn Greenwald, Roberto Kaz and Roberto José Casado:
One aspect that stands out in the documents is that, according to them, the United States does not seem to be interested only in military affairs but also in trade secrets - "oil" in Venezuela and "energy" in Mexico, according to a listing produced NSA in the first half of this year (see above).
Colombia was the second priority target in Latin America over the past five years - after Brazil and Mexico - in spying activity of the National Security Agency. Agency documents,
Finally, in an unrelated matter, Ezra Klein, subbing for Rachel Maddow (and relying heavily on reporting by
Eric Lichtblau of the NYT), listed (8:05) the names if the judges on the FISA court. They were Reggie Walton, Rosemary Collyer, Claire Eagan, Martin Feldman, Thomas Hogan, Mary McLaughlin, Michael Mosman, Dennis Saylor, Susan Wright, and James Zagel.
Susan Webber Wright was, famously, the judge in the Paula Jones case, a case that--as Wright later conceded--was completely without basis. Wright nevertheless managed to keep it alive long enough for Kenneth Starr to get what he needed to launch the national embarrassment of the Clinton impeachment.
Wright was also the judge in the Whitewater trial of James and Susan McDougal. She ordered Susan McDougal held in contempt in what seems to me to have been an attempt to force McDougal to perjure herself by accusing Bill Clinton of things he had not done.
What are the odds of this key figure in the judicial coup against Bill Clinton being put on a court that--contrary to principles fundamental to the American system--is exempt from judicial or congressional review? What are the odds that 10/11 judges would have been Republican appointees?
Ezra Klein deserves credit for having described in perfect detail just how un-American the FISA court is.