Resigned NSA Official Bill Binney and Author/Journalist Marcy Wheeler, PhD. discuss the impunity given NSA officials for lying to Congress and the scope of the illegal, unconstitutional, but most significantly, ineffective electronic data collection (spying) of US citizens. Binney reveals that to protect their jobs and bureaucratic boondoggle, NSA analysts refused software that would have made them more effective and top level managers rejected something similar in an auditing program for their expenditures and effectiveness in achieving their mission. Binney states that bulk collection of data is not only unprofessional for intelligence but leaves the US vulnerable to further attacks. Public Radio host of "Worldview ", Jerome McDonnell is interlocutor. The event was one of many taking place around the globe as a part of Stand Up For Truth, a campaign to broaden public awareness of the value and importance of whistle blowers; people who reveal criminal activity in the public interest.
Chicago Area Peace Action http://chipeaceaction.org North Park University
*William Binney* had a 30-year career with the NSA, culminating as the Technical Leader for Intelligence. In that capacity he designed an information processing system named ThinThread, which was designed to sift through electronic communications while protecting the privacy of US citizens. This system was shelved (three weeks prior to 9/11) in favor of a more comprehensive system, TrailBlazer, that lacked privacy provisions. That program would grow to the massive worldwide eavesdropping system exposed by Edward Snowden. Binney resigned in protest at what he felt was a violation of the Constitutional rights of Americans.
His story is told in some detail in James Risen's book Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War.
*Marcy Wheeler* is an independent journalist who writes regularly on issues of national security, surveillance and civil liberties. She has written the blog Empty Wheel since 2011 and authored the book Anatomy of Deceit: How the Bush Administration Used the Media to Sell the Iraq War and Out a Spy
LINKS Chicago Area Peace Action: http://ChiPeaceAction.org Stand Up for Truth: http://standupfortruth.org/ Bill Binney: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Binney_%28U.S._intelligence_official%29 Marcy Wheeler: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcy_Wheeler Risen's Book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0544341414/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=7000153633&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5yae2v5b18_e Empty Wheel: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/ Recent article on Binney in TruthDig: http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/nsa_whistleblower_william_binney_seeking_the_power_to_blackmail_20150515
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