The NSA, Journalism, and Status Anxiety
National Security Agency whistleblower Russ Tice took to MSNBC’s Countdown yesterday to talk about Bush administration surveillance policies that, like many
Jul 31, 202084K Shares3.2M Views
National Security Agency whistleblower Russ Tice took to MSNBC’s “Countdown” yesterday to talk about Bush administration surveillance policies that, like many others, he didn’t want to get into while George W. Bush was still president. Among those revelations was that the NSA didn’t just take so-called meta-data (the address on the envelope) from Americans without a warrant, but the actual data (the letter inside the envelope); NSA surveillance targets could be as broad as conversations that were, say, two minutes long, if it was determined that terrorists spoke on the phone for two minutes (” … or it could be someone ordering a pizza,” Tice told Keith Olbermann); and — oh yeah — journalists’ communications were spied on in particular. Mike Calderone at Politicoand Marcy Wheeler at Emptywheelhave more. Marcy:
“„I guess I was right to doubtthe government’s claim–made to the [FISA Court of Review] –that it does not have a database of the communications of incidentally collected non-targeted persons, seeing as how this separate collection of journalists’ communications would be just that kind of database. (Unless, of course, the Bush thugs want to admit they deliberately targeted journalists as suspected terrorists.)
We’ll see if they do! For my part, I’ll be seriously crestfallen if it turns out the Bush administration didn’t consider me worth illegally spying upon.
Dexter Cooke
Reviewer
Dexter Cooke is an economist, marketing strategist, and orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years of experience crafting compelling narratives that resonate worldwide.
He holds a Journalism degree from Columbia University, an Economics background from Yale University, and a medical degree with a postdoctoral fellowship in orthopedic medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Dexter’s insights into media, economics, and marketing shine through his prolific contributions to respected publications and advisory roles for influential organizations.
As an orthopedic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive knee replacement surgery and laparoscopic procedures, Dexter prioritizes patient care above all.
Outside his professional pursuits, Dexter enjoys collecting vintage watches, studying ancient civilizations, learning about astronomy, and participating in charity runs.
Latest Articles
Popular Articles