

NSA fact sheet pulled after being challenged by Sen. Mark Udall - johnny9822
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23537059/nsa-chief-pulls-fact-sheet-challenged-misleading

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pfortuny
They cannot post an updated version because:

 _Udall and Wyden were not able to describe what about the program 's
description was inaccurate, saying that would divulge classified information._

So that if they correct the 'mistakes' they are divulging classified
information.

Either this is another Catch-22 or someone (more) is lying.

~~~
mtgx
They can't ask Udall and Wyden in private about it?

Besides, I think they already knew where the "mistakes" were, otherwise they
wouldn't have retracted them if they didn't think something was wrong with
them themselves.

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mokus
I don't think they are saying they don't know what the "mistakes" were -
rather, that to reveal what they were would be to reveal classified
information. And publishing a fixed version would reveal what the mistakes
were.

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lawnchair_larry
And they didn't even bother to post a corrected version, instead going back to
their default position of "it's legal, trust us".

~~~
mikevm
The corrected version would probably just lead to more public outrage.

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tenpoundhammer
Secrecy and classification have become a huge threat to freedom of speech and
freedom in general.

When the government or any of it's agencies is given the authority to lie
indiscriminately, that entity will become a threat to the constitution.

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CWuestefeld
_NSA spokeswoman Judith Emmel said the actual words in the Patriot Act are the
"best possible representation" of how the government has interpreted the law's
authority._

I notice that the 4th Amendment doesn't factor into it.

~~~
mtgx
"best possible representation" \- or you know, "least untruthful".

~~~
blueprint
Except that it's not, even.

~~~
nateabele
I think that's the point.

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nathas
This is the "fact sheet" in question:
[http://pastebin.com/5d7rHmYe](http://pastebin.com/5d7rHmYe)

~~~
breck
They very clearly put limits only around "targets". What about information
picked up "incidentally"? Also, the whole parts about "information must be
immediately terminated", reminds me of some big cos where they had rules that
"all code must be fully unit tested". It's not going to happen unless there
are steep penalties for not doing it.

Instead of "guidelines", I would love to see actual numbers:

The NSA collected X,000 Terabytes of Information in 2012, consisting of
X,000,000,000,000,000 records. At the end of the year, 2TB and X number of
objects were kept, and the rest deleted properly (data actually written over).

That would be so much __simpler __and better.

~~~
oblivionawaits
They have asked the simple question before, [Paraphrased] "How many Americans
are you spying on?", and the NSA said it would violate our freedoms for them
to even mention the number.

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primitur
My mind looks at this statement:

""Alexander also noted that the NSA, under this part of the law, cannot
intentionally target Americans in or outside the United States.""

.. and makes the conclusion that the NSA thinks it has the right to manage any
relationship an American may have, by keeping data on all foreigners. In other
words, the NSA thinks it has the right to know how your foreign friends are,
American, and formulate a shadow around you consisting of a hole in the
matrix.

What is it about American culture that allows itself to produce an entire body
of citizens who truly believe they can operate as members of the broader
conscious body of humans, existing as they do quite literally, gazing at
navels?

I propose that Americans are fine being watched, because they _want_ to be
watched, primally. I think there is a deep-seated desire to actually have
someone big, strong and brave, standing there watching every single thing you
do. It can be seen as a reflection through the broader spectra of how we 'know
these cultures'.

Perhaps the most criminal device in the world that has ever been used to
attempt to cure cannibalism is indeed, the mirror ..

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Zigurd
#leastuntruthful

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godgod
I feel like this entire episode is like a teacher rejecting homework from a
student and saying, this is crap, do it again.

