
GCHQ spy base revealed - jjgreen
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/03/revealed_beyond_top_secret_british_intelligence_middleeast_internet_spy_base/
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chippy
There are two pages to this article. The link to page 2 in my opinion is not
obvious.

Here is the link to the article on one page "printer friendly"
[http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2014/06/03/revealed_beyon...](http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2014/06/03/revealed_beyond_top_secret_british_intelligence_middleeast_internet_spy_base/)

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Create
We begin therefore where they are determined not to end, with the question
whether any form of democratic self-government, anywhere, is consistent with
the kind of massive, pervasive, surveillance into which the Unites States
government has led not only us but the world.

This should not actually be a complicated inquiry.

[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/27/-sp-
privac...](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/27/-sp-privacy-
under-attack-nsa-files-revealed-new-threats-democracy)

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willvarfar
But _why_ do they reveal it? For the lulz?

The specific details don't seem to particularly add anything to the story, and
the story would stand if describing things abstractly.

They just want clicks, I guess.

~~~
alextingle
These capabilities present an existential threat to our democratic freedoms.
The potential damage that terrorist could do to us pales into insignificance.

In essence, GCHQ & NSA have constructed a giant totalitarian state, with
almost unlimited power. The only reassurance that it's not to be used against
us is "trust us". However much we might trust them for now, that's simply not
a good enough guarantee. Like Checkov's gun, the very existence of this weapon
means that it almost certainly _will_ be fired, eventually.

The only way for us to ensure our safety is to make sure that the weapon is
put beyond use, ASAP.

~~~
_mulder_
Your post could read word for word about any military or civil program with
the ability to wield force.

Should we also scrap our space program, navy, air force, police force or even
law courts?

I agree with your point, but this is just a new instance of an age old
problem.

~~~
dmix
> this is just a new instance of an age old problem.

The issue of limiting state force is extremely old but it is entirely a
_solved_ problem. It was solved by warrants, given by judges, and policy
scrutinized by the public and constitutional limitations on executive power.
Aka civilian oversight. The issue is that these agencies are operating in
total secrecy, with their own rubber-stamp courts for domestic surveillance
and absolutely zero oversight if the targets are foreign.

People try to frame this as a technology problem. Technology creating new
opportunities and everyone (even the state) was caught off guard and our
legal/political system was ill prepared for it. But thats not true. The entire
growth of SIGINT was on the basis of the government utilizing state secrecy
laws more often than ever in history. Entirely bypassing any scrutiny or
limitations.

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DCKing
Ugh, the 'NSA sysadmin'. Snowden himself addressed this point that this is a
framing move on the part of the US government to downplay his knowledge of
what the NSA was really up to. He actually did participate in spying
activities! Such a shame that this framing even persists in news of his leaks.
(Yes I am aware of The Register's reputation.)

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BgSpnnrs
How the hell does the register get it's hands on this?

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mortov
Because right now people have access to GPG and can send information
reasonably securely to journalists.

But don't worry, a 3 [or 4] letter agency near you is working real hard on
that.

The stuff about terrorists can wait as that's not quite as important as
stopping you knowing about what the agency is up to. The supposed masters in
charge of limiting them - government ministers - are willfully compliant in
the manipulation and deceit.

[edit:spelling; I wish english was my first language.]

~~~
tomp
> [edit:spelling; I wish english was my first language.]

Don't. Chances are, you'd never be incentivized to learn a foreign language,
which stretches your mind and broadens your culture.

~~~
panarky
And those of us who are native English speakers do unspeakable violence to the
language with words like "incentivized".

[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Incentivize](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Incentivize)

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Shivetya
based on the first paragraph, I wonder how many outages because of damaged
undersea cables are caused by intelligence agencies botching their cable taps?

~~~
ds9
Even a "correct" tap installation might cause an outage due to the particulars
of optical-fiber manipulation. There have been occasional reports of cable
breaks in the news - I've noticed since about the 1990s. They have been
attributed, usually to ship anchors, or other accidental occurrences.
(Supposedly also, sharks bite cables, attracted by current, but this may apply
more to wire than fiber)

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sirdogealot
Can anyone find the link on Google Maps?

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mnw21cam
Not that hard to find:

[https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@23.6743589,58.1219272,1185m/d...](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@23.6743589,58.1219272,1185m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en)

~~~
sirdogealot
It drives me batty looking for things which I am not sure where they are
located on a map so thank you for that.

