NSA - Fausta's Blog

March 24, 2015 By Fausta

Today’s WSV* moment: Now Snowden wants to come back

Looks like those asylum offers from Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador came to naught, and Brazil turned him down, so now the NSA leaker is pleading with Obama to cut him a deal

Letting him return to the U.S. to make his case would be “the best resolution for the federal government and the public broadly,” the former National Security Agency employee told CeBIT technology conference in Germany last week. “We don’t want to be the kind of government where people who reveal serious wrongdoing have to seek shelter in other countries to seek any kind of justice.”

What do you mean “we,” Comrade Snowden? “We” didn’t flee to Russia.

Let’s play it!

*WSV = World’s Smallest Violin

December 19, 2013 By Fausta

Brazil: Snowden not in asylum

Not a mental asylum, but political asylum:

Brazil uninterested in giving Edward Snowden asylum: report
An unnamed Brazilian government officials said the nation wasn’t keen on investigating NSA spying in the country, potentially endangering vital ties with the U.S.

The facts so far: Snowden has not submitted an official request for asylum. A Brazilian government spokesman said that without a formal request, asylum will not be considered.

And Silvio Canto and I discussed the Snowden case in last night’s podcast.

November 4, 2013 By Fausta

Brazil: Why bug Dilma?

Mary O’Grady explains Why the NSA Watches Brazil
Some of the world’s least free countries are the country’s most important foreign-policy partners. Money quote:

Brazil’s best friends under the Workers’ Party of Ms. Rousseff and her predecessor, Lula da Silva, are Cuba, Iran and Venezuela. If U.S. spooks are not paying attention to Brazil, they’re not paying attention.

Dilma has plenty of baggage, too.

September 17, 2013 By Fausta

Brazil: Dilma not coming to US

Hardly surprising, considering how Putin’s shown himself to be top dog:
Brazil Leader Postpones U.S. Visit
The move comes amid allegations that the U.S. spied electronically on Brazilian politicians.

The U.S. sees Brazil a potential moderating force in a region where countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Cuba are openly hostile to the Washington. The White House invitation for Ms. Rousseff to attend a high-profile state dinner was the only such invitation Mr. Obama has extended this year to any head of state.

You may call it a slap in the face, yes. The NSA is only a pretext.

“As I noted about the French, the Brazilians, especially, should keep quiet about espionage. They have an active intel organization which collects on foreigners and Brazilians in touch with foreigners.”

Meanwhile, The Cubanization of Venezuela: Cuba’s G2 expands espionage operation in Venezuela

September 6, 2013 By Fausta

Spy vs Spy

A world gone Mad Magazine:

Dilma has her panties in a bunch,

Dilma Rousseff cancels preparations for US trip over spying row
Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff has cancelled preparations for her trip to the US ahead of her planned visit in October, it was reported, as tensions rise between the two countries over spying revelations.

while Cuba Spied on Terry McAuliffe before and during a four-day trade mission to Havana. (h/t Babalu).

Neither revelation should come as a surprise. Dilma needs soundbites for domestic consumption (especially if there are trade deals involved); Cuba spies on each and every visitor.

September 4, 2013 By Fausta

NSA spying: Mexico & Brazil not amused UPDATED

Brazil senate committee to probe US spying

Brazil’s senate has formed an Investigative Parliamentary Commission to follow up on reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
…
The committee, comprising 11 main members and seven substitutes, initially has 180 days to investigate claims that the NSA monitored emails between Rousseff and several of her top aides, and tapped her phone.

The investigative period can be extended by another 180 days if the commission needs more time.

They may also consider providing federal protection for Rio de Janeiro-based Glenn Greenwald and his partner David Miranda.

Over in Mexico, Mexico Summons U.S. Ambassador, Seeking Answers To Spying Claims

Mexico’s foreign ministry says that “alleged espionage activity involving Mexican citizens” is against international law and the charter of the United Nations.

Relations with Mexico have been strained following the Fast and Furious revelations.

UPDATE:
The Diplomad:

As I noted about the French, the Brazilians, especially, should keep quiet about espionage. They have an active intel organization which collects on foreigners and Brazilians in touch with foreigners. Whenever I was in Brazil, we always assumed our phones were tapped and, on occasion, being followed.

Chill, my Latin brothers, chill.

July 12, 2013 By Fausta

I guess they don’t have smart phones in Russia?

Russian guard service reverts to typewriters after NSA leaks
Leaks by US whistleblower Edward Snowden have fuelled Russian suspicions over electronic communications.

And no one would photograph or scan & email it?

In other Russian news,

SNOWDEN EMERGES: Accuses U.S. officials of ‘threatening behavior’…

REPORT: Has received asylum offers from Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador — and Russia…

Commercial flight ‘best bet for ticket to asylum’…

US intel braces for more NSA exposure…

Officials fear Snowden gained access to files on spying…

Secret files show scale of Silicon Valley co-operation on Prism…

June 24, 2013 By Fausta

Where is Snowden?

John Le Carre meets Waldo in the latest caper involving the young high school dropout whipper-snapper who left a $120,000/yr gig and a stripper girlfriend and headed to China and Russia with four, count ’em, four computers full of high-level classified information.

You can’t make up this stuff; there’s even an empty chair (in the form of a vacant airplane seat):

Olga Razumovskaya/The Wall Street Journal

No Sign of Snowden on Cuba Flight

Flight attendants on a flight from Moscow to Havana said Edward Snowden, the former security contractor wanted by U.S. authorities, wasn’t on board the flight.
…
Ecuador’s foreign minister said Mr. Snowden had arrived in Russia and the Ecuadorian government has been in touch with officials about Mr. Snowden’s request for asylum in Ecuador. Diplomatic cars from Ecuador’s embassy in Russia showed up at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, and a spokeswoman for the airport confirmed that Mr. Snowden was in the transit zone.

But Mr. Snowden wasn’t spotted in the airport, and no images or footage of him leaving the flight from Hong Kong surfaced. Passengers on the flight said some cars had met the airplane on the tarmac, leading to speculation that Mr. Snowden had been escorted off the flight privately.

Ecuador is cementing its reputation as a safe-haven for whistleblowers on the run, since Assange has roosted in their London embassy for a year.

Snowden is jumping from the pan into the fire, if he’s actually heading to Ecuador, a small country with such lighweight international “pull” that it hasn’t been able to get the UK to grant Assange safe passage to the airport, and more importantly, a country whose latest law,

The Communications Law that the Ecuadorian National Assembly approved on June 14, 2013, seriously undermines free speech. The law includes overly broad language that will limit the free expression of journalists and media outlets.

A country that, in effect, is turning against the culture of whistle-blowing.

The Wall Street Journal reported that “Mr. Snowden wasn’t spotted in the airport, and no images or footage of him leaving the flight from Hong Kong surfaced“. With four computers’ worth of secrets, you can bet Smiley’s people are after him.

For now, journalists from AP, AFP, BBC and NBC News, among others, are trapped on a 12-hour flight from Moscow to Cuba.

UPDATE,
Talked about Snowden in Silvio Canto’s podcast.