Source: Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The director of the National Security Agency on Tuesday mounted his most vigorous defense of two controversial data-surveillance programs, saying they helped thwart more than 50 terror plots and contending the agency might have been able to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had it had such capabilities.

Testifying before a mostly receptive House Intelligence Committee, Gen. Keith Alexander, flanked by four other top government officials, said the programs have helped the U.S. stave off another major attack on its soil. He and his colleagues disclosed two new examples of known terrorist plots they said were disrupted by the programs, including an attack on the New York Stock Exchange.

He also repeatedly described the surveillance programs as rigorously overseen by various branches of the government.

The comments came at a hastily arranged hearing at which lawmakers and intelligence officials tried to reframe the debate over government surveillance that exploded in the days since former contractor Edward Snowden leaked details of the two NSA programs. One collects phone-call records from millions of Americans, and another, called Prism, uses U.S. Internet companies to intercept foreign communications. On Tuesday, Google Inc. GOOG +1.62% asked a secret surveillance court for permission to say more about its involvement in Prism.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324520904578553302776398828.html

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PB

...someone's responded to a post of mine, even before I click on the "My Posts" to find out where the response is, my left hand is already flipping the bird at the monitor as my right hand moves the mouse to click on the response. Most of the time I don't even raise my left hand, it's almost entirely a subconscious response. I'm pretty sure I've been doing this (mostly) without thinking about it for at least five years, now.

I started to wonder recently if I've ever done this IRL without knowing it.



PB

ps - A friend was watching me use DU and she got to sniggering. When I finally asked her what it was about (I didn't realize she was watching me), she did an impression of me moving the mouse around with one hand while the other, at my side or in my lap, was reflexively flipping the bird on and off, like flashing spots on an angry cuttlefish.

The President said there was a line and then today the Whitehouse said the line had been crossed.

You can't argue with The Line!

The President? Hands are tied. Blame The Line.

The Line exists so we know when somebody crosses it.

For fuck's sake: If somebody crosses the line and you don't have A Line, then it's like you...shit...it's like the old times when everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off and chopping down wheat with sickles and playing giant harmonicas to pass the time.

If you don't have a line, what do you have? You have a bunch of people discussing and arguing about shit, that's what.

Do we want to return to those dark days?

Discussing the merits of military action while some grizzled asshole plays "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain" on a harmonica the size of your goddamned leg?

Really?

I didn't think so. So it's settled. End of discussion.

If you feel compelled to discuss something with your filthy bored mouths, discuss who we're going to toss the no-bid school building contracts to. We need to get those ducks lined up in a row because if we don't have those plans down, something might fuck up after we win and ruin it.

No, your Summer War this year is with Syria. Did you have some better war in mind? No? Oh color me surprised! If you don't have a better country to attack maybe you should just sit down, clam up and go back to browsing Pinterest, howsaboutthat?

PB

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., flips through coupons on Monday as he goes on a shopping trip designed to draw attention to a Republican plan to slash the federal food stamp program. DeFazio tried to stay within the average weekly food stamp budget of $31.50 at the Springfield WinCo grocery store. He was joined by FOOD for Lane County Executive Director Beverlee Hughes (right). (Brian Davies/The Register-Guard)

From The Register-Guard:


More at the link!



PB

Ellsberg: Snowden's NSA leak more important than my Pentagon Papers:



More at the link!

PB

That's some Change a lot of us would appreciate right about now...

PB

Oh, Israel!

How can the sunrises seem full of hope and the sunsets full of accomplishment if there isn't someone cowering in chains at your feet?

Coiled up with the bodies of your nobler sons, slaughtered.



A fair tree, pruned into villainy.

PB

Yep. That's about it.



PB

PB

When I think of storm chasing...I dunno. Like fighting a herd of elephants all at once and being able to continually sneak out through their trampling legs each time before getting a paycheck. There are a lot of things in life you arguably "roll the dice" when you do. Hell, crossing the street is rolling them dice. But with storm chasing...I mean...Damn.

It's like storming Omaha Beach for a living.

PB