Security Expert: All Occupiers Phones were logged.
In light of news that every day the entirety of telecom giant Verizon’s call system records are handed over to the NSA, news that Occupy Wall Street protest attendees’ cellphones were logged should hardly come as a shock. It nonetheless bears noting that cellphone metadata of march and rally participants was likely specifically logged, as security expert Steven Ramdam recently noted. This means that individuals were directly targeted for their engagement with First Amendment-protected activity.
So, let me see if I have this right. As a result of my coverage of Occupy events in New York City where I went to observe and cover the protests and marches for this blog and exercise my First Amendment Rights, my cell phone was put on a surveillance regime. Not only that but the phone usually ends up in bed with me at night while I listen to various podcasts and books so I have been literally sleeping with the enemy and depending on what technology they’ve been using, they have been able to record everything that I did or didn’t do there. Everything that happened in my house has probably been recorded for posterity and stored on a cloud server at the NSA. I should probably warn the new owners of my old house…
Lovely.
Now, I can imagine a bunch of stupid whip kissers out there thinking that anyone who went to an Occupy event deserved this because nothing bad happens to you if you are obedient and pious. But I’d like to know if 2nd Amendment assholes who threaten to shoot the shit out of anyone who threatens to take away their guns are similarly targeted and if not, why not.
Someone has some explaining to do, preferably in front of a Congressional committee.
Lest we forget who we are talking about, this picture was taken at the peak of the Occupation of Zuccotti Park in October 2011. These are the people who were bugged. We’re not talking about lice infested anarchists. We’re talking about ordinary Americans who went to the park on a nice October day to check things out and talk to other like minded people about economics. For this, we’re not entitled to privacy. It just goes to show how powerful Occupy was to the ruling elite and their politicians. More than ever, I’m glad I went. I rocked the boat just by showing up. How many Americans can say that they were considered dangerous enough to be bugged simply because they were there? The rest of you can hold your manhoods cheap.
Come to think of it, that means Paul Krugman and his wife were probably bugged too but in their case, they’ve always been rabble rousers and trouble makers.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Cell phone, NSA, Occupy, surveillance |
I happened to see DiFi assert that everything that’s been done is totally legal. These people are crazy. Do they really believe that passing a secret law makes something right?
I think I’ve passed being a Democrat in Exile. I don’t see myself ever joining that club again.
Well, I guess I should find it comforting that the NSA has been able to legally spy on me in my bedroom.
I wonder if DiFi would find that comforting?
By the way, what exactly did I do that merited this legal spying on me? Was there a presumption of wrongdoing for attending and observing a protest? When did this rise to the category of “suspicious behavior”?
Who gets to read the transcripts?
No clue. I hope they enjoy all of the snoring and talking in my sleep.
Ari Fleischer is in utter joy at telling the world that this is Bush’s fourth term in office…Obama after all has gone farther than Bush and has codified/protected Bush from protection (protecting himself in the process) of wrong doing.
Sickening. 😦
Yes. Great. I rocked the boat too. I even brought students to Zucotti Park! I guess I should have been fired. Luckily, I have retired instead.
We happy few, we band of rebels…
RD, I was with you when you took that photo and I did hear some rocking, but I thought it was a nearby train. Now I know I was wrong.
I hate to remind you….but you went to Occupy Congress in January 2012, too! No doubt you are on the list! (Just laughing – my husband is on the list, too…Lambert borrowed his cell phone while in DC!)
Let’s see…I’ve been to Occupy Tucson, Occupy Congress, the NATO protests in Chicago and Occupy Denver…oh, and I stopped at Occupy Honolulu, too. I’m toast!!!
{{snort}} Lambert is such a privacy freak he doesn’t even have a google account. Now the NSA knows who he is because he borrowed a phone.
OMG, Marsha, you know what’s even funnier?? The three of us shared a hotel room and a bottle of wine I brought back from France! What did you two do after I passed out?
YOU guys might not remember but, the data-miners never forget!
ROTF! The extent of our conspiracy consisted of getting a little toasted and calling into a blogtalkradio show. Clearly, we are menaces to society. And I totally forgot that when we went to the museum, the security people gave us a hard time about some occupy stickers or something. It was ridiculous
Ah, slept? Ha! But NSA thinks Lambert is my husband!
I was afraid you two had posed me looking stupid and taken pictures.
I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that…..
Call the NSA and ask them what you did 🙂
I should clarify…you and I shared a bed…..
And we both woke up with our jammies on!
Yup!
Isn’t there a big Occupy Everywhere event planned for Chicago (?) this summer? Where did I read that?
If there is and you find it, please let me know!
Look for another 1968 style police riot.
Just don’t bring your cell phone…