Morbid Internet Memes of Missing Malaysia Airlines Flt. MH370

PUBLISHED : MON, 17 MAR 2014, 05:23 PM
UPDATED : WED, 26 MAR 2014, 9:00 AM

• RELATED : Satellite locates debris field of 122 objects possibly of missing MH370 jet (The New York Post | March 26, 2014 | 12:22 AM)

Did Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Land On Gilligan's Island ?

"Are we desensitized to the point of not being able to truly empathize, or is this our way of coping with tragedies since we’ve had to endure them in different ways than have previous generations ?" asked the Web site Elite Daily in a post trying to make sense of the morbid Internet memes about the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Jokes about the missing airplane could be a way for people to cope with the outrageousness that the U.S. government can be so incompetent and impotent, given how much technology exists today, given how the limited computer power of a smartphone can now power record-breaking robots, but seemingly, by comparison, the U.S. government could still be blind-sided by the inadequate technology aboard jet airplanes over a decade after terrorists used airplanes as weapons of mass destruction during the attacks of 9/11.

These Internet memes are funny, when you think of the irony, but then they become tragic, when you think of the missing people and the pain and agony of their surviving friends and families. The government's continuing negligence in failing to update airline black box technology could be one of those concerns that Edward Snowden was warning us about : the danger that the U.S. government's dragnet surveillance program would inundate the government with so much useless information in such large quantities that the government would lose focus of more important issues, like finding missing airplanes, improving airplane black box technology, or being able to predict that Russia would pounce on Crimea, and, more importantly, when.

Internet Memes : When the implied butt of the joke is the impotent government

As the public's imagination has turned from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flt. 370 to morbid memes that the flight has accidentally landed on Gilligan's Island, or when the public imagines that Tattoo from Fantasy Island, who was famous for announcing the arrival of "The plane ! The plane !" would probably do a better job of locating the missing flight than the government, you know that the public's perception of government competence is in the gutter.

How soon before Republicans seize on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight as a flashpoint to demonstrate that President Barack Obama failed to improve world-wide aviation safety in the post-9/11 world ?

When is the U.S. government going to wise up, stop gutting the U.S. Constitution with its dragnet surveillance programs, and, instead, focus on the things the government should be addressing : like ensuring adequate safety technology being deployed and functional aboard every airplane ?

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• RELATED : Nobody is asking why Boeing, the manufacturer of the missing aircraft, cannot explain or is not being asked to explain why the tracking systems failed on a plane believed to have continued its flight for several hours after last contact. (FAA, clueless to help, grateful it was neither an American flight that disappeared, nor that the disappearance took place near America * NYC : News & Analysis)
• RELATED : If the transponders had not gone silent on 9/11, air traffic controllers would have quickly realized that two jetliners en route to Los Angeles had made dramatic course changes and were bound straight for Manhattan. (Out of Control : Why Does the FAA Allow Pilots To Turn Off Transponders ? * The New York Times)

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A lingering, yet compelling, question facing investigators is whether Malaysia Airlines offered its passengers Wi-Fi service. If so, did the Wi-Fi signal remain available, even though other communication services aboard the flight seem to have been deliberately disabled ? Because some airlines place Wi-Fi service behind a paywall, how many passengers on the flight had paid to access any available Wi-Fi service ? Since the Federal Aviation Administration and other airline agencies heavily regulate passenger use of cellphones, PDA's, digital tablets, and laptops aboard commercial aircraft, do airline regulators inadvertently cut-off communication technology that is undoubtedly "smarter" than black boxes and deactivation-prone transponders ?

Senator Feinstein Outraged by CIA Spying on Senate, But She Defends NSA Spying on Citizens

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is shocked -- SHOCKED!! -- that the government has been discovered to be illegally spying and subverting the U.S. Constitution !

This, from the same madame chairwoman, who so righteously defends N.S.A. spying powers :

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and the chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, said that the Central Intelligence Agency had violated federal law and undermined Congress’s constitutional right to oversee the actions of the executive branch. The dispute stems from the agency's illegal search of computers used by the Senate intelligence committee to investigate C.I.A. interrogation procedures at its secret Bush-era prison system. “I am not taking it lightly,” she said.

RELATED : C.I.A. Accused of Illegally Searching Computers Used by Senate Committee (The New York Times)

RELATED : Edward Snowden : Sen. Dianne Feinstein is a Hypocrite for Blasting C.I.A. Spying (NBC News)

And in a forceful editorial, the likes of which we have not read in ages coming from normally staid Editorial Board of The New York Times, the editors excoriated President Obama over the C.I.A. torture and detention programs. The Editorial Board demanded that the Obama administration release a Senate report and a C.I.A. internal review of the torture and detention practices, and the editors further demanded that President Obama reverse an earlier decision to forego an investigation into the C.I.A.'s interrogation procedures, calling for an end to the "lingering fog about the C.I.A. detentions."

Some of the comments to The New York Times's article and editorial plainly indicate that Sen. Feinstein has recourse to the rogue actions of the C.I.A :

"Congress has the power of the purse. Demand the ouster of anyone, and I mean anyone, involved in this illegal action and the appointment of an ombudsman accountable only to Congress and with full security clearance to monitor the agency's actions, or defund it and transfer its responsibilities to one of the other intelligence agencies, which also needs a Congressional ombudsman. Checks and balances must not be circumvented or short-circuited; they are our Constitution's key safeguard against tyranny," wrote Mark from Boston, MA, in response to the article.

"Senator Feinstein has been providing a professional courtesy to the CIA and the administration by withholding the committee's report since December 2012. If she wants to demonstrate that Congress really does have independent oversight authority, she could simply release the report as is. Of course, that would set off a firestorm and occupy the White House and parts of Congress for a few months, to the detriment of other pressing matters. Nonetheless, if she feels wronged by the CIA, she has a potent tool at her disposal," wrote Ken L from Atlanta, GA, in response to the editorial.

NSA Hacking Computer Networks To Spread Viruses, Malware

The NSA Probably Has Installed a Virus on Your Computer — and Everyone Else's

From : PolicyMic

The news: According to yet another National Security Agency (NSA) slide hidden among the treasure trove of documents leaked by Edward #Snowden, the NSA has infected upwards of 50,000 computer networks worldwide with malware in an attempt to riddle the internet with hidden access points accessibly by U.S. agents.

A presentation from 2012 examined by Dutch news outlet NRC explained the backdoor method in which the NSA collects information worldwide. It uses "Computer Network Exploitation" (CNE), or in other words, massive malware attacks, to secretly infiltrate tens of thousands of networks. According to the NRC, one such scheme was unmasked in Belgium in September. Foreign intelligence agents in the British intelligence service (GCHQ) were revealed to have gained access to telecom provider Belgacom by tricking its employees into visiting a fake Linkedin page.

Translated from Dutch by CNET :

"The American intelligence service -- NSA -- infected more than 50,000 computer networks worldwide with malicious software designed to steal sensitive information.

"Documents provided by former NSA employee Edward #Snowden and seen by this newspaper, prove this.

"(...) The NSA declined to comment and referred to the US Government. A government spokesperson states that any disclosure of classified material is harmful to our national security."

The background: The NSA's hacking missions are handled by a special division with over 1,000 hackers named the TAO (Tailored Access Operations). The Washington Post estimated based on secret budget reports that by 2008, the unit had successfully infiltrated over 20,000 networks. By mid-2012 that number had grown to 50,000 and presumably has continued to expand to this day.

According to the Post profile, the TAO is a "highly secret but incredibly important NSA program that collects intelligence about foreign targets by hacking into their computers, stealing data, and monitoring communications." It's also supposedly integral to the development of complex programs that could destroy or damage foreign computer systems following an order from the commander-in-chief.

These kind of cyber attacks don't just bring down computer systems — much like Jurassic Park, they can have catastrophic real-world effects by ordering hardware components and infrastructure controlled by the network to malfunction or operate against programming constraints. Stuxnet, a virus which infected Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, was designed to attack uranium enrichment centrifuges and cause serious damage to the equipment over time (even though it was capable of causing catastrophic damage at any one point).

The Post found that for all the supposed secrecy, some NSA employees were relatively cavalier on their Linkedin profiles:

"For instance, Brendan Conlon, whose page lists him as a former Deputy Chief of Integrated Cyber Operations for the NSA and former Chief of TAO in Hawaii, says that he led "a large group of joint service NSA civilians and contractors in executing Computer Network Exploitation (CNE) operations against target networks." Barbara Hunt, who is listed as a former Director of Capabilities at TAO in Fort Meade, similarly claims she was 'responsible for end-to-end development and capability delivery to build a versatile computer network exploitation effort.'

"Dean Schyvincht, who claims to currently be a TAO Senior Computer Network Operator in Texas, might reveal the most about the scope of TAO activities. He says the 14 personnel under his management have completed 'over 54,000 Global Network Exploitation (GNE) operations in support of national intelligence agency requirements.' Just imagine how productive the team in Fort Meade, rumored to have about 600 people, must be."

What does this all mean for you? Well, it means that NSA surveillance of the world-wide internet is even more sophisticated and widespread than the average observer might have concluded. For better or for worse, it looks like the NSA has infiltrated large numbers of telecom services, ISPs, financial institutions, and others worldwide that would allow it to gain access to large amounts of data for bulk collection.

The NSA isn't alone in hacking the world; in early 2013, security company Mandiant exposed a Chinese group called Advanced Persistent Threat 1 which they claimed had ben responsible for hundreds of attacks against Western targets and requiring a support staff of hundreds.

And some experts warn that mass NSA infiltration of other networks comes with a price. The Electronic Frontier Foundation writes that by secretly introducing vulnerabilities into the world's internet infrastructure, the NSA risks allowing anyone who discovers those vulnerabilities to obtain immense power to bypass the security restrictions which keep the internet safe and reliable."

Tom McKay
26 November 2013

Image:
NSA Slide :
Driver1 : Worldwide SIGINT/Defense Cryptologic Platform - jpg

U.S.A. Has Been Spying On Angela Merkel Since 2002

La N.S.A. Espionnait Les Français by connaissable

Did Barack Obama Know About N.S.A. Wiretaps on Angela Merkel's Cellphone ?

"Le quotidien Bild am Sonntag cite ce dimanche des sources des services de renseignement américains selon lesquelles le chef de la NSA, Keith Alexander, avait informé Barak Obama d'une opération d'écoute des communications de la chancelière allemande dès 2010," meaning that President Obama knew of the spying on Angela Merkel since 2010.

"Le Spiegel indiquait samedi soir, au vu de documents de la NSA, que la chancelière figurait sur une liste d'écoutes depuis 2002, et l'était encore quelques semaines avant la visite du président américain à Berlin, en juin dernier," meaning that Merkel was still on the list of spy targets just a few weeks before President Obama's visit to Berlin last June.

However, the article ends in confusion, because it was reported that, " Selon Der Spiegel, le président américain lui aurait dit que s'il l'avait su, il y aurait immédiatement mis fin," meaning that Obama said that he would have ended the spying on Merkel if he had known about it, creating a contradiction between what Der Spiegel and Bild am Sonntag are reporting. If President Obama said he would have ended the spying on Merkel if he had known about it, then why are there indications that he was informed of it in 2010, but Merkel continued to appear on the spy list until this year ?

Source : Scandale de la NSA : Angela Merkel était écoutée depuis 2002 (Le Parisien)

The N.S.A. spy programme is causing a growing diplomatic crisis for Obama

La N.S.A. Espionne Les Françaises by connaissable

Did White House officials approve the N.S.A.'s spying of 35 world leaders ?

The growing scandal of the U.S. spying on our European allies is threatening to engulf the White House, and, typically, administration officials are trying to protect the president from accountability for the scandal. "Inside the administration it has touched off behind-the-scenes recriminations between the White House and the intelligence agencies over how much detail was given to White House officials about which world leaders are being monitored," The New York Times is reporting, adding, "A senior administration official declined to say what Mr. Obama knew or did not know about monitoring of Ms. Merkel’s phone, but said the president 'doesn’t think we are in the right place.' " If it is illegal to spy on Germans without proper legal authority, did the Obama administration break German law by spying on the German chancellor ? If the Republicans weren't such a joke right now, they should be leading the charge to investigate these allegations.

• N.S.A. monitored calls of 35 world leaders after U.S. official handed over contacts ; NSA encourages departments to share their 'Rolodexes' (The Guardian)
• Angela Merkel and François Hollande lead push at E.U. summit to reshape transatlantic spying and agree new code of conduct (The Guardian)

The official U.S. response has "evolved" from accusing the N.S.A. contractor Edward Snowden of being a "spy," to denying reports that the U.S. has spied on European citizens, to trying to isolate the White House from legal and political ramifications of the unconstitutional and illegal N.S.A. surveillance programme. Since our own impotent reporters inside the Beltway appear to enable the Obama administration's expansion of the NSA espionage programme, then the only outside pressure that is going to make a real difference is going to be the foreign press, especially from our allies. Let's see if our allies have the courage to "draw a line in the sand" or to propose economic sanctions against the U.S. until President Obama dismantles the illegal surveillance state his administration steadfastly helped to build ? The N.S.A's espionage may now amount to acts of crime in the eyes of foreign nations. If American courts are not going to recognize the violations of law by the N.S.A., then surely the courts of our allies will.

Meanwhile, the political legitimacy of the N.S.A. surveillance programme continues to come under fire. President Obama's rationale for spying was that it was intended for foreigners, not Americans. Now that European leaders are complaining about the tracking of "foreigners," how legitimate is the N.S.A. surveillance programme now ?

(Updated : Friday 25 Oct 2013 8:20 a.m.)

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France In The NSA Crosshairs : Phone Networks Under Surveillance

I was unable to post this information as a status update on Facebook this morning, so I am sharing it here, hoping that I can link back to it on Facebook.

France summoned the U.S. ambassador on Monday to the French Foreign Ministry office on the Quai d'Orsay to protest allegations in Le Monde newspaper about large-scale spying on French citizens by the U.S. National Security Agency.

"If an allied country spies on France or spies on other European countries, that's totally unacceptable," French interior minister Manuel Valls told Europe 1 radio, according to a Reuters report published by The New York Times.

Meanwhile, CNN is also reporting that according to Le Monde, this is how the system worked : "When a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS (text) messages and their content using key words. Finally, the NSA apparently stores the history of the connections of each target -- or the meta-data." It wasn't immediately clear from the article if the conversations were being recorded or just the data surrounding each call. The CNN report added that the Le Monde investigation followed a separate report in the German news magazine Der Spiegel, which showed that the NSA "systematically" eavesdropped on the Mexican government. It hacked the public e-mail account of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, which was also used by Cabinet members, according to Der Spiegel.

Separately, in an article published in English this morning by Le Monde, Glenn Greenwald shared a by-line in an article questioning why France has not been as critical as Germany or Brazil of the U.S. spy programme on sovereign nations. The article concludes with indication of the global nature of the U.S. spy programme : "One of the documents which Le Monde was able to consult notes that between 8 February and 8 March 2013, the NSA collected, throughout the world, 124,8 billion telephone data items and 97,1 billion computer data items. In Europe, only Germany and the United Kingdom exceed France in terms of numbers of interceptions."

(Originally Posted : Monday 21 Oct 2013 9:15 a.m.)

Guardian wins Gannett Foundation Awards for NSA and GCHQ Files Reporting

"The Guardian has won two 2013 Online Journalism Awards. At a ceremony in Atlanta on Saturday night, the Guardian accepted the Gannett Foundation Award for Investigative Journalism and the Gannett Foundation Watchdog Journalism Award, both for its work on the issue of National Security Agency surveillance. Now working in partnership with the New York Times and ProPublica, since June the Guardian has investigated and reported upon NSA files leaked to it by the former NSA analyst Edward Snowden. The investigation has expanded to the include the operations of GCHQ, the British government's surveillance centre. The three journalists who broke the story were Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Ewen MacAskill," The Guardian is reporting.

"The OJAs are awarded by the Online News Association, the world's largest association of digital journalists, working in partnership with the University of Miami's School of Communication. Other winners on Saturday night included the Boston Globe, which was honoured for its coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing and other stories, the Texas Tribune and the New York Times," the report concluded.

Read more : Guardian wins two online journalism awards for NSA Files reporting : Guardian wins Gannett Foundation Award for Investigative Journalism and Watchdog Journalism Award in Atlanta

BBC NEWSNIGHT : Glenn Greenwald full interview on Snowden, NSA, GCHQ and spying

Exclusive interview with journalist Glenn Greenwald on Edward Snowden, the PRISM revelations and mass surveillance. BBC journalist Kirsty Wark conducted a deeply hostile interview on Thursday night's edition of Newsnight, and Mr. Greenwald defended his courageous role in standing up to out-of-control government surveillance.

• The NSA debate is as much about journalism as surveillance (The Guardian)

Obama Charges Edward Snowden Under Espionage Act

2013-06-14 Espionage Act Charges Complaint : USA v. Edward J. Snowden

From The New York Times :

"Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor whose leak of agency documents has set off a national debate over the proper limits of government surveillance, has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and stealing government property for disclosing classified information to The Guardian and The Washington Post, the Justice Department said on Friday."

Read more : Ex-Contractor Is Charged in Leaks on N.S.A. Surveillance

Edward Snowden PFC Bradley Manning Videos

REVEALED : Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance