Kenya and Surveillance

Interesting!

U.S. was warned about Kenya mall attack 29 Sep 2013 U.S. intelligence received reports of a serious threat in Kenya before last week's terrorist attack at a Nairobi mall that left 62 dead and more than 150 injured, NBC News reported. Officials said that NSA reviewed intelligence of a "credible" threat. [Right, the US either *let it happen* -- or *made it happen* -- to 'justify' illegal NSA spying and drone strikes in Africa to steal the oil.]

Kenyan Attack: Security Bosses to Be Quizzed 30 Sep 2013 Kenyan intelligence officials are to be questioned by the country's MPs today about whether or not they had advance warning of the deadly Westgate shopping mall attack. Kenyans have become increasingly frustrated over the government's unwillingness to share information about the attack. Almost no details have been released about what happened after the first hours of the siege. Interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku has declined to give any information about the suspected attackers, saying "we do not discuss intelligence matters in public".

Westgate false flag unravels at breakneck speed: Kenyan authorities had been warned about threat to buildings 'day before attacks' --Intelligence agents were in Westgate a few hours before crowded shopping centre was struck by heavily armed terrorists 28 Sep 2013 Kenyan authorities had intelligence pointing to an attack in Nairobi a day before the Westgate mall attack. According to counter-terrorism documents, the government and military were warned that al-Shabaab was planning an attack on the capital where it would storm a building and hold hostages. There are also reports that Kenyan intelligence agents were at Westgate a few hours before the crowded shopping centre was struck by heavily armed terrorists last Saturday, in a four-day siege that left at least 67 people dead. "We cannot say that this attack comes as a surprise," said Farah Maalim, former deputy speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly.

American security team inside Kenya massacre mall - rescued lawyer --Was an American security team inside Kenya massacre mall? Harvard graduate claims she was rescued by 'Americans' after she saw man sat next to her shot dead 25 Sep 2013 An American woman who was trapped inside the Nairobi mall as terrorists ran amok claims she was eventually rescued by an 'American security team'. That is according to Bendita Malakia, the Harvard-trained lawyer who was caught up in the siege and hid along with 15 others in a store inside the mall for five hours before the armed men arrived to lead them to safety. While there has been no official confirmation of any direct American involvement in the stand-off between the heavily-armed militants from the Somalia-based al Shabaab and Kenyan Defence Forces, the statement from World Bank employee, Malakia, seems to suggest there was. As the attack carried on to its final conclusion, British MI6 agents were also reported to be providing assistance to their 'Kenyan counterparts.' However, it is not known who the 'American security team' who came to Malakia's rescue were working for or what capacity they were operating under.

U.S. concern grows about al Qaeda ties to Kenya mall attack 26 Sep 2013 The Islamist militant attack on a Kenyan shopping mall increasingly appears to have been carried out by a dominant faction of al Shabaab, which has ideological and personal ties to al Qaeda [al-CIAduh], U.S. officials said on Thursday. Based on initial reporting from the scene, which is still preliminary and uncertain, U.S. officials believe al Shabaab likely spent a great deal of time planning and staging the siege in Nairobi that killed at least 72 people.

Reporters to reveal 'US assassination program' 29 Sep 2013 Two American journalists are working together to expose the role of the US National Security Agency in what they described as a "US assassination program." Contributor to The Nation magazine Jeremy Scahill and Rio-based journalist Glenn Greenwald are working on the project. "The connections between war and surveillance are clear. I don't want to give too much away but Glenn and I are working on a project right now that has at its center how the National Security Agency plays a significant, central role in the US assassination program," Scahill said on Saturday.

FBI has been using drones since 2006, watchdog agency says 26 Sep 2013 Operating with almost no public notice, the FBI has spent more than $3 million to operate a fleet of small drone aircraft in domestic investigations, according to a report released Thursday by a federal watchdog agency. The unmanned surveillance planes have helped FBI agents storm barricaded buildings, track criminal suspects and examine crime scenes since 2006, longer than previously known, according to the 35-page inspector general's audit of drones used by the Justice Department.

Bin Laden raid 'one big lie' - Seymour Hersh --Seymour Hersh on Obama, NSA and the 'pathetic' American media 27 Sep 2013 Don't even get journalist Seymour Hersh started on the New York Times which, he says, spends "so much more time carrying water for Obama than I ever thought they would" - or the death of Osama bin Laden. "Nothing's been done about that story, it's one big lie, not one word of it is true," he says of the dramatic US Navy Seals raid in 2011. Hersh is writing a book about national security and has devoted a chapter to the bin Laden killing. He says a recent report put out by an "independent" Pakistani commission about life in the Abbottabad compound in which Bin Laden was holed up would not stand up to scrutiny.

Note from Navy Yard shooter says he was driven to kill, FBI says 25 Sep 2013 The Washington Navy Yard shooter believed he was being targeted by an "ultra low frequency attack" and left a note saying that this was "what I've been subject to for the last 3 months, and to be perfectly honest that is what has driven me to this," the FBI revealed Wednesday. Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old computer technician for a private Navy contractor, killed 12 people and wounded four others in the Sept. 16 rampage as he fired a sawed-off Remington 870 Express shotgun, into which he had etched several statements, including "End to the torment!"

UK seeks full cyber warfare capability, experts 29 Sep 2013 Britain will recruit hundreds of computer experts to defend its vital networks against cyber attacks and launch high-tech assaults of its own, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday. Addressing the annual conference of his ruling Conservative party, Hammond said Britain was spending increasing amounts of its defence budget, the fourth largest in the world, on cyber intelligence and surveillance. Hammond told the conference the government would recruit hundreds of experts in the coming months from a variety of backgrounds, including civilian computer experts, to join what he called a new Joint Cyber Reserve.

Senators Push to Preserve N.S.A. Phone Surveillance 27 Sep 2013 The Senate Intelligence Committee appears to be moving toward swift passage of a bill that would "change but preserve" the once-secret National Security Agency program that is keeping logs of every American's phone calls, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who leads the panel, said Thursday. Ms. Feinstein, speaking at a rare public hearing of the committee, said she and the top Republican on the panel, Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, are drafting a bill that would be marked up as early as next week. After the existence of the program became public by leaks from the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden, critics called for it to be dismantled.

N.S.A. Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens 29 Sep 2013 Since 2010, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans' social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with officials. The spy agency began allowing the analysis of phone call and e-mail logs in November 2010 to examine Americans' networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes after N.S.A. officials lifted restrictions on the practice, according to documents provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor.

NSA employees used phone tapping tools to spy on their girlfriends and 'cheating' husbands --12 employees admitted to participating in 'Loveint', the official name for Love Intelligence'. 27 Sep 2013 The NSA has revealed that there were at least a dozen employees who used the agency's spying capabilities to secretly eavesdrop on their romantic partners. The specific cases of employees listening in to their lovers' phone calls come as the investigation into widespread wiretapping and email surveillance by the National Security Agency is examined following the release of classified documents by Edward Snowden. The names of the federal employees who allegedly ordered these wire taps have not been revealed and six cases have been brought to the Justice Department for evaluation but it seems that none have resulted in criminal prosecution.

NSA: Some used spying power to snoop on lovers 27 Sep 2013 The National Security Agency's internal watchdog detailed a dozen instances in the past decade in which its employees intentionally misused the agency's surveillance power, in some cases to snoop on their love interests. A letter from the NSA's inspector general responding to a request by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, lists the dozen incidents where the NSA's foreign intelligence collection systems were abused. The letter also says there are two additional incidents now under investigation and another allegation pending that may require an investigation.

Google Must Face Most Claims in Gmail Wiretap Lawsuit 26 Sep 2013 Google Inc. must face most claims in a lawsuit alleging it illegally reads and mines the content of private messages sent through its Gmail e-mail service in violation of federal wiretap laws. U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California, today granted Google's request to throw out state claims, while allowing the plaintiffs to refile. She refused to dismiss federal claims, rejecting the company's argument that the plaintiffs agreed to let Google intercept and read their e-mails by accepting its service terms and privacy policies. [Hahaha! So glad NSAssociate Google is finally facing a lawsuit!]