-Caveat Lector- From: Paul Wolf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Wired: Echelon 'Confirmation:' Not This story in Wired (at least online) contests a BBC article I mailed to you a few days ago. Steven Aftergood and John Gilmore are both quoted in the Wired article as saying that Bill Blick's comments only refer to the interception of radio signals - something readily apparent from reading the BBC article and not requiring expert interpretation - and that Blick did not confirm anything else. Wired is right - the quoted material did not support the journalist's article. If Blick said nothing more than was quoted, BBC really didn't have much to write an article about. However, the Wired article goes on to cast doubts on the existence of an NSA telephone interception system. Wired's editors should know better. "Those who have maintained Echelon exists say that its reach into the lives of private citizens is especially sinister. The network, believed to have close ties to the US National Security Agency..." Close ties indeed. The BBC journalist, by not mentioning other evidence pointing to the existence of such a system (which has in one form or another existed for more than 30 years), left himself wide open, and Wired took advantage of that to imply that it's all just a hoax. The BBC author also quoted Duncan Campbell out of context, I believe, since Campbell maintains that "word spotting" is too difficult for the NSA to do on a large scale. (as I've said before, I don't believe this can be proven either way and don't find his IC2000 report to be convincing) By the way, the "jam echelon" campaign mentioned in the Wired article was apparently led by Linda Thompson, the producer of an controversial underground video about the Waco massacre, and one of the leaders of the U.S. "militia movement." Thompson imagines that the the FBI goons responsible for the Waco attack were inflitrated by militia supporters, and that the footage shows agents shooting at other agents. I think she's a nut. Now that I've got all that off my chest, I'm writing a letter to Bob Barr. I think we can all agree that whatever ECHELON is called, and whatever it's capable of, it's time for a congressional inquiry into what exactly it is the NSA does with all those 90,000 employees and $ 4 billion budget. I'll bet they're intercepting telephone calls and analzying them with computers. **** ed. comment: I've been suspicious for a long time that Linda Thompson at best is being exploited in a discrediting-the-enemy role and at worst is an intentional pro-dark forces agitprop mule/ **** http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/echelon.htm ________________________________________________________________ Echelon 'Confirmation:' Not by Chris Oakes 11:45 a.m. 3.Nov.1999 PST Spy and security experts yawned at reported comments by an Australian intelligence official that Project Echelon -- the name of a purported international surveillance network -- exists. But the statements by Australia's inspector general of intelligence, Bill Blick, did fuel one US congressman's call for his government to investigate the possible existence of the secret project. "If these reports are accurate, the sheer power and potential for abuse created by Project Echelon demands congressional attention," Representative Bob Barr (R-Georgia) said in a statement released by his office early Wednesday. Blick was quoted in a story published Tuesday by the British Broadcasting Corporation and headlined "Global Spy Network Revealed" as confirming the existence of a coordinated spy network. The Americans and British have consistently denied that anything called Echelon exists. "As you would expect there are a large amount of radio communications floating around in the atmosphere, and agencies such as the [Defense Signals Directorate] collect those communications in the interests of their national security," Blick told the BBC. Blick said the DSD forms part of the Echelon network. Asked if information is then passed on to the United States or Britain, Blick said that "in certain circumstances" it was. Others were not so impressed with the implications of Blick's quotes. "That doesn't tell me anything I didn't know five years ago," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy. "What he is saying is that intelligence agencies do 'signals intelligence' -- they intercept and analyze communications and other signals. And secondly, [Blick said that] Australia cooperates with its allies in intelligence matters. "Neither of those points is either new or shocking," Aftergood said. Ditto for Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Gilmore. "In this article, what's being quoted is already known -- that the Australians have a Defense Signals Directorate that listens to signals and that they might be passed onto other countries," Gilmore said. Similar reports came out of Australia a year ago that also suggested such a network exists, he said. "It doesn't look to me like news. The news is that the BBC is talking about it." Those who have maintained Echelon exists say that its reach into the lives of private citizens is especially sinister. The network, believed to have close ties to the US National Security Agency, can reputedly eavesdrop on any phone call, fax, or email, anywhere on earth. Proving Echelon's existence has become something of a Holy Grail for an assortment of privacy advocates, hackers, and journalists. A widely publicized effort to jam Echelon's signals by including highly charged keywords in emails was conducted two weeks ago. To probe Echelon, Barr earlier this year amended intelligence legislation in the House of Representatives to require US intelligence agencies to report on legal standards used in surveillance activities. The legislation -- which targets the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Justice -- remains in a House-Senate conference committee awaiting action. Barr, a former CIA official and United States attorney, serves on the House Judiciary and Government Reform committees. Barr has accused the NSA of conducting a "dragnet" of communication and "invading the privacy of American citizens." Blick's comments "underscores the need for open public hearings on the legal standards [that] intelligence agencies use when they intercept the communications of American citizens," Barr said Tuesday. While skeptical of Blick's remarks, Aftergood welcomed any progress toward a congressional investigation into the issue of surveillance in general, if not Echelon in particular. "What we don't know is the scope of actual collection activities and the extent and intimacy of our intelligence liaison relationships," Aftergood said. "I'd hope that efforts in Congress do lead to that increased clarity -- and to an affirmation of the privacy rights of American citizens." Wired News reporter Lindsey Arent contributed to this report. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32302,00.html?tw=wn19991104 ___________________________________________________________ BBC, Tuesday, November 2, 1999 Published at 18:01 GMT Global spy network revealed Listening in to your phone calls and reading your emails By Andrew Bomford of BBC Radio 4's PM programme Imagine a global spying network that can eavesdrop on every single phone call, fax or e-mail, anywhere on the planet. It sounds like science fiction, but it's true. Two of the chief protagonists - Britain and America - officially deny its existence. But the BBC has confirmation from the Australian Government that such a network really does exist and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are calling for an inquiry. On the North Yorkshire moors above Harrogate they can be seen for miles, but still they are shrouded in secrecy. Around 30 giant golf balls, known as radomes, rise from the US military base at Menwith Hill. Linked to the NSA Inside is the world's most sophisticated eavesdropping technology, capable of listening-in to satellites high above the earth. The base is linked directly to the headquarters of the US National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Mead in Maryland, and it is also linked to a series of other listening posts scattered across the world, like Britain's own GCHQ. The power of the network, codenamed Echelon, is astounding. Every international telephone call, fax, e-mail, or radio transmission can be listened to by powerful computers capable of voice recognition. They home in on a long list of key words, or patterns of messages. They are looking for evidence of international crime, like terrorism. Open Oz The network is so secret that the British and American Governments refuse to admit that Echelon even exists. But another ally, Australia, has decided not to be so coy. The man who oversees Australia's security services, Inspector General of Intelligence and Security Bill Blick, has confirmed to the BBC that their Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) does form part of the network. "As you would expect there are a large amount of radio communications floating around in the atmosphere, and agencies such as DSD collect those communications in the interests of their national security", he said. Asked if they are then passed on to countries like Britain and America, he said: "They might be in certain circumstances." But the system is so widespread all sorts of private communications, often of a sensitive commercial nature, are hoovered up and analysed. Journalist Duncan Campbell has spent much of his life investigating Echelon. In a report commissioned by the European Parliament he produced evidence that the NSA snooped on phone calls from a French firm bidding for a contract in Brazil. They passed the information on to an American competitor, which won the contract. "There's no safeguards, no remedies, " he said, "There's nowhere you can go to say that they've been snooping on your international communications. Its a totally lawless world." Breaking the silence Both Britain and America deny allegations like this, though they refuse to comment further. But one former US army intelligence officer has broken the code of silence. Colonel Dan Smith told the BBC that while this is feasible, it is not official policy: "Technically they can scoop all this information up, sort through it, and find what it is that might be asked for," he said. "But there is no policy to do this specifically in response to a particular companies interests." Legislators on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to sit up and take notice. Republican Congressman Bob Barr has persuaded congress to open hearings into these and other allegations. In December he is coming to Britain to raise awareness of the issue. In an interview with the BBC he accused the NSA of conducting a broad "dragnet" of communications, and "invading the privacy of American citizens." He is joined in his concerns by a small number of politicians In Britain. Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has tabled a series of questions about Menwith Hill, but has been met with a wall of silence. "There's no doubt its being used as a listening centre," he said, "There's no doubt its being used for US interests, and I'm not convinced that Britain's interests are being best served by this." ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day. ================================================================= DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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