Tuesday, October 29, 2013

surveillance of the fittest...,


aljazeera | Since Edward Snowden took flight after leaking a trove of secret National Security Agency (NSA) documents, the story of US surveillance around the world has grown wings of its own, currently darkening skies in Europe after stopovers in Latin America.

The latest wave of releases were to the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel and the French left-leaning daily Le Monde, detailing a metadata sweep across millions of phone calls in France and accusations that a tap was placed on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Blackberry.

Neither was the controversy limited to Europe, with spying revelations causing a bump in US ties with Mexico and Brazil. The UK's Guardian newspaper capped off the week with a report that 35 world leaders had been spied on by the US.

The diplomatic tremors are the result of a purposeful media strategy. Rather than dumping the mass of data on the internet, the custodians of Snowden's leaks - chief among them Brazil-based investigative reporter Glenn Greenwald - have used journalistic collaborations and a methodical drip-feed of high-impact information.

The tactic has helped sustain the momentum of the broad debate on surveillance and the overreach of security practices into our private lives.

To discuss continuing global impact of the Snowden files, we speak to Le Monde editor Alain Franchon; Julian Borger, the diplomatic editor for the Guardian; national security journalist and author Shane Harris; and roving correspondent for Time Magazine, Vivienne Walt.

Our Newsbytes this week: The Chinese government begins mandatory training for all journalists; the editor at one of India's top newspapers departs amid acrimony; and a White House insider is fired for "bringing the snark" to the Beltway via an anonymous Twitter account.

Our feature this week looks at a controversial trend in photojournalism. With the power that photographers have to digitally develop their work, what are the ethical implications of enhancing the impact of images? The issue was one that gripped this year's World Press Photo awards whose top prize went to a photo that was accused of being a composite. The Listening Post's Nicholas Muirhead looks between the pixels.

For our video of the week we return to 2004 when the American Civil Liberties Union looked into their crystal ball to imagine what a world of mass surveillance and Big Brother-like monitoring might look when ordering a pizza in 2015. Given what we know now courtesy of Edward Snowden we will forgive them for being a few months out on the date.

11 comments:

BigDonOne said...

Our feature this week looks at a controversial trend in photojournalism...
Glimpse of USA Fuzzlamic Future...?? ---> http://www.dailykenn.com/zmeme20131028g


[You wanted photojournalism? *THAT's* photojournalism.......]

CNu said...

Help me out here BD. Was it that the article came from aljazeera that triggered this random outburst of your islamaphobia? Do you think that these medieval cats starvin like marvin - and who've been at war with somebody or another for the past 40 years - have anything in common with the nice folks running the mosques and schools round the way in a neighborhood near you?

Vic78 said...

It's past time to get out from under the bed. It's undignified.

BigDonOne said...

As previously commented, this has been on-going: Sharia Law thrust, Islam teaching in American schools, calling Fuzzlamic terrorism "workplace violence," etc. Lately, firing the our generals to weaken our Army/country. See First Fuzzlim image below, American flag burning, and Bin Laden portrait on the wall, it all adds up.....
,
Converting a country doesn't happen overnite. For example, who wudda thunk in 1960 that OOW_Breeding IQ-75 parasites would have bred themselves into an EBT-swiping politically-dominant voting bloc...??


Hey! Doesn't that third severed head from the left somewhat resemble CNu...??

CNu said...

Converting a country doesn't happen overnite.


Kochs been laboring in the vineyards for 40+years to generate a tidal wave of teatards and all they've got to show for it is a bunch of maroons who own the lampoon. What remains to be said for someone who gleefully endorses and embodies a caricaturization of his ilk in the New Yorker?

BigDonOne said...

OK. When your daughter comes home from college wearing a hajib, and proudly announces, "Meet my boyfriend, Abdul, he's president of the CAIR-student-union...," maybe you will wise up...

CNu said...

lol, I was at the "Y" lifting weights last night with the Leavenworth/Vidalia Penitentiary Alumni Association - marveling at how the 45lb bar is wont to sag when you have in excess of 300lbs on it. What tickled me was the fact that these big dudes were no match for my daughter's boyfriend (whose name happens to be very close to Abdul) and who can bench close to 600lbs - which fact is just flatly ridiculous on so many levels. That he also matriculates at one of the finest selective colleges and universities in the western hemisphere - is just icing on the cake.



If that young man held notions of modesty which included the wearing of "hijab", I wouldn't have any problems with it. I for one appreciate the stylish modesty and mysterious beauty of the many and sundry young muslim women who go to UMKC and who I see riding the bus to-and-fro here everyday. Matter fact, they're a sharp and much appreciated counterpoint to the inappropriately clad mugwumps and scaliwags one sees entirely too much of on these selfsame buses.

John Kurman said...

An associate of mine tells the story of when he and his associate/translator are in, I don't know, say Dubai, and a woman comes by who is in full cover, save for her eyes. They both turn to each other after she passes and exclaim "Did you see the EYES on her?". He said she had the most beautiful set of eyes he has ever seen. So, just goes to show you, you can look sharp without having to flaunt it.

Vic78 said...

I've been reading your postings and I have some advice; dust off that passport and spend some time away from the US. It'll do you some good to be around people that are different from you. You wouldn't be so damn mean all the time. There are some great people out there.

BigDonOne said...

Fuzzlim men routinely knock around their women, especially if they feel "disrespected" or otherwise shamed. It's hardcore Fuzzlamic culture. And it's not "starvin people who have been at war for 40 years," it's your Fuzzlim neighbor down the block---->

http://www.examiner.com/article/muslim-women-are-regularly-beaten-and-murdered-where-is-the-outrage "After several incidents of domestic abuse, Aasiya Hassan filed for divorce, and secured an order of protection against her husband. A few days after divorce papers were filed, she was beheaded. Her remains were left in the offices of the television station she and her husband owned, near Buffalo [NY]". "in Irving, TX, two Muslim girls, Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah, 17, were allegedly shot to death by their father Yaser, in an apparent 'honor killing'. Amina had been accepted to Texas A&M University, and was planning to become a doctor" Tennessee Fuzzlim kills wife & flees http://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/06/30/tennessee-muslim-man-kills-wife-flees-back-to-egypt-with-his-two-young-daughters/



Believe it, CNu, the very last thing you want is a Fuzzlim son-in-law who can bench 600 lb...........

CNu said...

Um...., no BD. Domestic violence is rooted in a lack of self-esteem. Now, hypothetically speaking, this young man may have 99 problems, but beyond any conceivable shadow of a doubt, self-esteem ain't one.

Africom Expelled From Niger Just Like Little French Bishes...,

abcnews  |   On Saturday, following the meeting, the junta’s spokesperson, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, said U.S. flights over Niger’s ter...