66 thoughts on “«We have implemented global surveillance»”
I don’t call anyone a Nazi because the so-called “Nazis” didn’t call themselves that. Nazi appears to be an invented epithet used as a slur against the National Socialists in Germany during the Weimar Republic. I do refer to those pesky little Autumn insect swarms as “gnatzis” but maybe I should come up with something different to call them.
and I saw this; http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/56974620-90/utah-data-center-fourth.html.csp
” Anti-NSA group adopts highway to get close to Utah Data Center
Protest » Restore The Fourth-Utah will carry picket signs as it picks up litter.
By nate carlisle
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Oct 09 2013 01:01 am • Last Updated Oct 09 2013 04:49 pm
An organization opposed to surveillance by the National Security Agency has been approved to “adopt” the section of highway running past the Utah Data Center, a move that would place the group’s protest-oriented name on signs outside the spy building.”
@ badger
I also read somewhere that there is a group who are advocating that the state of Utah turn off the water supply to the NSA spy building. Without 1.7 million gallons of cooling water daily the computers can’t function. I like the idea of turning off the tap on the biggest information tapping pogram (as in destruction of privacy) ever attempted.
and @Em, surely there is serious competition and demand for that water for other purposes.
How do neighbouring states like Nevada, and other residents of Utah feel about the water and energy draw of the NSA facility? Water is needed not just for cooling, but in the production of whatever kind of energy fuels the installation.
Faced with the size of the US deficit, do US citizens agree that this is the best use of their tax dollars and of the environment?
The NSA is unhappy that Utah is also imposing an energy tax on the data center/ federal government. http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/05/nsa-tax/
“…..The NSA will spend around $40 million per year on energy bills for the data center, according to one estimate. But those energy costs may be a bit higher than expected, thanks to a new state law that could levy a 6% energy tax on the facility, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports.”…..
……”If the $40 million per year estimate holds, the agency would pay up to $2.4 million per year. Sure, $2.4 million a year is a lot, but is a 6 percent bump on an already massive energy bill enough to nuke the project?
“Data center site selection is very competitive — particularly for the larger projects, as states often end up in bidding/benefits war to secure advantage,” says Greenpeace IT analyst Gary Cook. He says any increase in power costs will cast a long shadow on future operational costs of the facility. It’s a reminder that changes in the local tax or regulatory environment can blow the financial models for big data centers, by adding millions in unexpected costs.
Cook also points out that the NSA chose to locate the data center in a state that is still heavily dependent on coal power, despite the Obama administration’s commitment to having the federal government lead the way on renewable resources…..”
A new law allows Utah to collect an energy tax of up to 6 percent that would benefit a state agency; NSA has expressed its concern and discussions continue.’
By nate carlisle
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published May 18 2013 01:01 am • Last Updated May 23 2013 02:26 pm
Under a bill the 2013 Utah Legislature passed, the National Security Agency’s new Bluffdale data center might be taxed on the millions of dollars of energy it is expected to consume, providing a potential windfall for an obscure state authority.
The NSA is protesting the possible tax, even though a Utah attorney said he informed the agency about HB325, and the top U.S. electronic spy agency voiced no opposition until an official emailed Gov. Gary Herbert’s staff weeks after Herbert signed the measure”……..
@Wondering comment at 10:40
You are correct. Capitulation to FATCA by signing an IGA is similar to the Munich agreement of 1938. Prime Minister Chamberlain and others were wrong to pay any price to avoid what they believed was – upcoming war. It is probable that they didn’t understand that they were already at war with Germany. Germany was already at war with the world. The world just didn’t know it or found it politically convenient to not believe it.
FATCA is an extreme act of U.S. aggression against the rest of the world. The response to FATCA is a combination of: appeasement (IGAs) and misunderstanding (this is just an issue of tax evasion). The U.S. is trying to impose FATCA on the world. The successful implementation of FATCA will result in a world that will pay Tribute to the U.S.
At the end of the day FATCA must be resisted. The question is not WHETHER to resist, but rather HOW and WHEN to resist. To sign an IGA is to delay. The longer the delay the harder it will be to resist.
What is it going to take for the world to see what is really going on?
You can see what Winston Churchill had to say Chamberlain’s Munich agreement here:
And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.
@ USCitzenAbroad
Chamberlain, right or wrong; Churchill, right or wrong; Hitler, right or wrong — all I know is that the victors have written our history and that it takes a lot of digging to find the truth BUT right now, in the present, I know for certain that the USA with its FATCA fatwa is dead wrong. I see it, hear it and feel it. I don’t have to rely totally on someone’s interpretation of it. Nevertheless, you are so right that capitulation to this latest form of US hegemony is not in the best interests of we the people. Canada should be a non-capitulator and in so doing it would become the terminator of FATCA and earn the gratitude of the whole world.
Better than a try … it’s a keeper! The last part about Tina Turner ties it all together beautifully. Thank you Shadow Raider.
@Shadow Raider
Not bad… I liked that. Very appropriate song!
Very cool work, Shadow Raider!!
@Shadow Raider, sweet! I tweated it to my 151 followers.
The UK , Canada , Australia and New Zealand along with #NSA are known as the “Five Eyes” of spying.
And they are spying on “France” as one of many…
The question remains…
The future will tell, perhaps, one day, why Paris has remained so quiet, compared to Rio or Berlin after the revelations about the U.S. electronic spying programs worldwide. Because France was equally focused and now has tangible evidence that its interests are covered daily.[google translate]
The Swiss “Blick” newspaper has an article today on the anti-FATCA video produced by “Le Lobby des Citoyens”, translated below. Blick is a high-circulation, quick-read newspaper published in German-speaking Switzerland:
Analyst: US spies on other nations ‘because we can’
Thu Oct 24, 2013 2:50AM GMT
An American foreign policy analyst says the US spying activities across the globe continues because its Western allies do not object to it, although they are also victimized.
“The [first] reason we do it is because we can. We believe that the rules of international conduct that we demand of others, do not apply to us,” said James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst in a phone interview with Press TV on Wednesday.
Revelations of massive spying operations by the United States have triggered condemnations across Europe and Latin America.
Germany, France and several other countries have expressed concerns about US spying activities after former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden disclosed classified information about US surveillance programs.
France’s President Francois Hollande has demanded answers from his American counterpart Barack Obama about the US National Security Agency’s spying on French citizens.
Mexican interior minister has also ordered a major probe into reports of US electronic spying on Mexico’s current President Enrique Pena Nieto as well as his predecessor Felipe Calderon.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called US President Barack Obama on Wednesday after she learned that the NSA may have monitored her.
“Secondly, we don’t have allies, we have satellites. We have countries that we call allies but are allies in so far as they do what we tell them to do and the third thing is, it’s their own fault,” Jatras said.
Jatras believes that Western countries complain about Washington’s violation of international law but follow whatever they are told to by the US government.
“Right now the United States is imposing another law, called FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which basically demands private financial institutions all over the world provide information to the IRS which is then provided to the NSA,” he said
“The same countries that are complaining about the NSA surveillance are then turning around and submitting to this diktat from Washington.”
This is sweet!
This dude just eavesdropped on former #NSA director Michael Hayden. He tweeted about it. http://wapo.st/1a44arP @tommatzzie #howdoesitfeel
Diplomatic relations are built on trust. If America’s credibility is in question, the U.S. will find it harder to maintain alliances, influence world opinion and maybe even seal trade deals.
Those that would trade liberty for security should never find out that that decision has already been made for them.
I don’t call anyone a Nazi because the so-called “Nazis” didn’t call themselves that. Nazi appears to be an invented epithet used as a slur against the National Socialists in Germany during the Weimar Republic. I do refer to those pesky little Autumn insect swarms as “gnatzis” but maybe I should come up with something different to call them.
http://justice4germans.com/2013/04/16/exposing-the-nazi-epithet-who-started-it-why-how-and-who-benefits/
In terms of US global surveillance, on another thread, Em http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/consulate2/comment-page-15/#comment-591843 drew our attention to this: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/08/nsa-data-centre-utah-electrical-surge
and I saw this;
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/56974620-90/utah-data-center-fourth.html.csp
” Anti-NSA group adopts highway to get close to Utah Data Center
Protest » Restore The Fourth-Utah will carry picket signs as it picks up litter.
By nate carlisle
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Oct 09 2013 01:01 am • Last Updated Oct 09 2013 04:49 pm
An organization opposed to surveillance by the National Security Agency has been approved to “adopt” the section of highway running past the Utah Data Center, a move that would place the group’s protest-oriented name on signs outside the spy building.”
and here are other stories about the centre and it’s incredible cost, use of water and energy, as well as a protest movement picketing outside;
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56973004-78/center-utah-data-corps.html.csp
http://www.govtech.com/federal/New-NSA-Data-Center-Too-Big-Not-to-Explode.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/10/14/activist_group_restore_the_fourth_utah_adopts_highway_to_nsa_data_center.html
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/360231
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/08/230520905/nsa-says-it-has-mitigated-meltdowns-at-utah-data-farm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/15/the-nsas-giant-utah-data-center-will-probably-hold-a-bunch-of-spam/
@ badger
I also read somewhere that there is a group who are advocating that the state of Utah turn off the water supply to the NSA spy building. Without 1.7 million gallons of cooling water daily the computers can’t function. I like the idea of turning off the tap on the biggest information tapping pogram (as in destruction of privacy) ever attempted.
and @Em, surely there is serious competition and demand for that water for other purposes.
How do neighbouring states like Nevada, and other residents of Utah feel about the water and energy draw of the NSA facility? Water is needed not just for cooling, but in the production of whatever kind of energy fuels the installation.
Faced with the size of the US deficit, do US citizens agree that this is the best use of their tax dollars and of the environment?
The NSA is unhappy that Utah is also imposing an energy tax on the data center/ federal government.
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/05/nsa-tax/
“…..The NSA will spend around $40 million per year on energy bills for the data center, according to one estimate. But those energy costs may be a bit higher than expected, thanks to a new state law that could levy a 6% energy tax on the facility, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports.”…..
……”If the $40 million per year estimate holds, the agency would pay up to $2.4 million per year. Sure, $2.4 million a year is a lot, but is a 6 percent bump on an already massive energy bill enough to nuke the project?
“Data center site selection is very competitive — particularly for the larger projects, as states often end up in bidding/benefits war to secure advantage,” says Greenpeace IT analyst Gary Cook. He says any increase in power costs will cast a long shadow on future operational costs of the facility. It’s a reminder that changes in the local tax or regulatory environment can blow the financial models for big data centers, by adding millions in unexpected costs.
Cook also points out that the NSA chose to locate the data center in a state that is still heavily dependent on coal power, despite the Obama administration’s commitment to having the federal government lead the way on renewable resources…..”
Here is the state tax on the NSA center
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/56304956-90/utah-data-nsa-mida.html.csp
” In surprise to NSA, Utah Data Center may pay tax on electricity
A new law allows Utah to collect an energy tax of up to 6 percent that would benefit a state agency; NSA has expressed its concern and discussions continue.’
By nate carlisle
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published May 18 2013 01:01 am • Last Updated May 23 2013 02:26 pm
Under a bill the 2013 Utah Legislature passed, the National Security Agency’s new Bluffdale data center might be taxed on the millions of dollars of energy it is expected to consume, providing a potential windfall for an obscure state authority.
The NSA is protesting the possible tax, even though a Utah attorney said he informed the agency about HB325, and the top U.S. electronic spy agency voiced no opposition until an official emailed Gov. Gary Herbert’s staff weeks after Herbert signed the measure”……..
@Wondering comment at 10:40
You are correct. Capitulation to FATCA by signing an IGA is similar to the Munich agreement of 1938. Prime Minister Chamberlain and others were wrong to pay any price to avoid what they believed was – upcoming war. It is probable that they didn’t understand that they were already at war with Germany. Germany was already at war with the world. The world just didn’t know it or found it politically convenient to not believe it.
FATCA is an extreme act of U.S. aggression against the rest of the world. The response to FATCA is a combination of: appeasement (IGAs) and misunderstanding (this is just an issue of tax evasion). The U.S. is trying to impose FATCA on the world. The successful implementation of FATCA will result in a world that will pay Tribute to the U.S.
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/10/05/how-fatca-will-enslave-the-world-in-2-easy-steps/
At the end of the day FATCA must be resisted. The question is not WHETHER to resist, but rather HOW and WHEN to resist. To sign an IGA is to delay. The longer the delay the harder it will be to resist.
What is it going to take for the world to see what is really going on?
You can see what Winston Churchill had to say Chamberlain’s Munich agreement here:
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/speeches-of-winston-churchill/101-the-munich-agreement
His speech ends with:
@ USCitzenAbroad
Chamberlain, right or wrong; Churchill, right or wrong; Hitler, right or wrong — all I know is that the victors have written our history and that it takes a lot of digging to find the truth BUT right now, in the present, I know for certain that the USA with its FATCA fatwa is dead wrong. I see it, hear it and feel it. I don’t have to rely totally on someone’s interpretation of it. Nevertheless, you are so right that capitulation to this latest form of US hegemony is not in the best interests of we the people. Canada should be a non-capitulator and in so doing it would become the terminator of FATCA and earn the gratitude of the whole world.
Here is my try on a parody video.
http://youtu.be/xyIj252r4PM
Better than a try … it’s a keeper! The last part about Tina Turner ties it all together beautifully. Thank you Shadow Raider.
@Shadow Raider
Not bad… I liked that. Very appropriate song!
Very cool work, Shadow Raider!!
@Shadow Raider, sweet! I tweated it to my 151 followers.
The UK , Canada , Australia and New Zealand along with #NSA are known as the “Five Eyes” of spying.
And they are spying on “France” as one of many…
The question remains…
http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2013/10/21/comment-la-nsa-espionne-la-france_3499758_651865.html
The Swiss “Blick” newspaper has an article today on the anti-FATCA video produced by “Le Lobby des Citoyens”, translated below. Blick is a high-circulation, quick-read newspaper published in German-speaking Switzerland:
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blick.ch%2Fnews%2Fschweiz%2Fwestschweiz%2Fwelsche-politiker-vergleichen-obama-mit-hitler-id2484018.html
My video got blocked because of copyright, so I’m removing it.
@ Shadow Raider
Oh too bad but I’m glad I got to watch it a few times.
@Shadow Raider…
I wondered if that would happen, but it was good while it lasted!
…and I hope, similarly, nothing affects Lynne’s excellent YouTube statement! Yours can’t be removed from my head, Shadow Raider.
James Jartas on PressTV interview
Analyst: US spies on other nations ‘because we can’
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/24/330981/us-spies-other-nations-because-we-can/
Analyst: US spies on other nations ‘because we can’
Thu Oct 24, 2013 2:50AM GMT
An American foreign policy analyst says the US spying activities across the globe continues because its Western allies do not object to it, although they are also victimized.
“The [first] reason we do it is because we can. We believe that the rules of international conduct that we demand of others, do not apply to us,” said James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst in a phone interview with Press TV on Wednesday.
Revelations of massive spying operations by the United States have triggered condemnations across Europe and Latin America.
Germany, France and several other countries have expressed concerns about US spying activities after former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden disclosed classified information about US surveillance programs.
France’s President Francois Hollande has demanded answers from his American counterpart Barack Obama about the US National Security Agency’s spying on French citizens.
Mexican interior minister has also ordered a major probe into reports of US electronic spying on Mexico’s current President Enrique Pena Nieto as well as his predecessor Felipe Calderon.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called US President Barack Obama on Wednesday after she learned that the NSA may have monitored her.
“Secondly, we don’t have allies, we have satellites. We have countries that we call allies but are allies in so far as they do what we tell them to do and the third thing is, it’s their own fault,” Jatras said.
Jatras believes that Western countries complain about Washington’s violation of international law but follow whatever they are told to by the US government.
“Right now the United States is imposing another law, called FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which basically demands private financial institutions all over the world provide information to the IRS which is then provided to the NSA,” he said
“The same countries that are complaining about the NSA surveillance are then turning around and submitting to this diktat from Washington.”
This is sweet!
This dude just eavesdropped on former #NSA director Michael Hayden. He tweeted about it. http://wapo.st/1a44arP @tommatzzie #howdoesitfeel
US intelligence drowning in spy data
There will be zero impact on the relations. There is a lot of bla-bla in the media, that’s all.
Germany, France demand ‘no-spy’ agreement with U.S.
Of course, it would never occur to them to us FATCA as a bargaining chit! They deserved to be spied on, the lame poodles they are!
@BBCNews – #NSA: New reports in German media deepen US-Merkel spy row http://bbc.in/1eXg3VS So take action, and cancel the FATCA IGA !!
NSA surveillance: Merkel’s phone may have been monitored ‘for over 10 years’ http://gu.com/p/3jq3v/tw via @guardian Cancel the #FATCA IGA
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nsa-spying-threatens-to-undermine-u-s-foreign-policy-1.2252893
Diplomatic relations are built on trust. If America’s credibility is in question, the U.S. will find it harder to maintain alliances, influence world opinion and maybe even seal trade deals.
Those that would trade liberty for security should never find out that that decision has already been made for them.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-30-2013/a-bugged-life—plausible-deniability-scramble