Tempora, Prism's cousin across the pond.

Tempora is Brightens version of Prism, and it may be even worse then it's cousin across the pond. 

Rather than waste it's time going directly to sites like Facebook, Yahoo, and Google for their data, Tempora has found an easier way. It intercepts it on the world’s network of fiber-optic cables. According to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the British spy agency GCHQ has tapped 200 of the world’s fibre optic cables, and is surveilling more than 600 million “telephone events” a day. It can also intercept e-mails, check Internet users’ access of sites, and can keep tabs on what people are posting on Facebook, according to documents revealed by Snowden to the Guardian.

It has also been revealed that the Tempora program  is sharing it's data with 850,000 NSA employees and private contractors. Do you feel comfortable with that many people having access to your personal data?

Snowden’s documents indicate that GCHQ has built up It's capability over a five year time-span by signing secret agreements with data transmission companies to attach probes to the trans-Atlantic cables where they meet British soil.

A good chunk of what GCHQ is intercepting would be pretty difficult to understand, or use. Internet traffic can be encrypted, and the massive amount of data would be nearly impossible to decrypt in a useful time frame. However, much of the data would be in-the-clear, like metadata about phone calls, and more often then not, web browsing data about what sites you’ve visited. Your Facebook activity can also be sent unencrypted over ordinary HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), although this can be fixed with a visit to Facebook’s security settings. You can enable secure browsing to encrypt your Facebook sessions, which would make them hard, but not imposable to understand.

When asked how many people Tempora has targeted, the agency’s lawyers replied that it would be impossible to say because “this would be an infinite list which we couldn’t manage.” Not very promising. 

How many other Countries also have equivalents to Prism and Tempora? 

Is there any way to protect our privicy?

                                        [Who's watching you?]

Edward Snowden: An Uncertain Future

                                                                       [Edward Snowden]

At just 29, Edward Snowden had a comfortable salary, a good position as technical assistant for the CIA, and as the current employee of the defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell. But he is also the "whistleblower" responsible for bringing to light one of the most significant leaks in America's political history, and the NSA is not at all pleased.

despite the fact that he is shinning an unwanted light on the actions of the NSA, and possibly putting himself on the radar of a lot of unhappy and powerful men, he has opted out of anonymity, and chose to reveal his identity, stating the following:

"I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he said.
In a note included in the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

While Snowden chose not to hide his identity, he has asked that media coverage focus on the Government, and not on him. "I don't want public attention because I don't want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the US government is doing." But he claims that this is not because of fear, stating- "I know the media likes to personalize political debates, and I know the government will demonize me."

 "I really want the focus to be on these documents and the debate which I hope this will trigger among citizens around the globe about what kind of world we want to live in." He added: "My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."

It is not without great sacrifice that this information has come to us, Snowden had a comfortable life, a salary of $200,000, a girlfriend he shared a home with in Hawaii, and a loving family. "I'm willing to sacrifice all of that because I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building." He said.

After copying all the documents he planned to disclose, he told his NSA supervisor that he needed to be away from work for "a couple of weeks" in order to receive treatment for epilepsy, a condition he learned he suffers from after a series of seizures last year. He then went home, packed his bags, and told his girlfriend he had to leave for a few weeks, something he said was not all that unusual  for someone who has spent the last decade working in the intelligence world. On May 20, he boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he has remained ever since. He said he chose Hong Kong because he believed that it was one of the few places in the world that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government. He has been staying in a hotel, and says he has left his room only a few times.

He has reason to fear. Having worked for the NSA for nearly a decade, he is well aware of just how powerful it is. And he knows the U.S. Government has no shortage of resources and technology that can assist in his capture. At this point his future is very uncertain.

"Yes, I could be rendered by the CIA. I could have people come after me. Or any of the third-party partners. They work closely with a number of other nations. Or they could pay off the Triads. Any of their agents or assets," he said.

"We have got a CIA station just up the road – the consulate here in Hong Kong – and I am sure they are going to be busy for the next week. And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be."

He thinks the government will launch an investigation and "say I have broken the Espionage Act and helped our enemies, but that can be used against anyone who points out how massive and invasive the system has become".

 "The only thing I fear is the harmful effects on my family, who I won't be able to help any more. That's what keeps me up at night," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.

The Blind And Unquestioning Public

We are living in a time of unparalleled  ignorance. We don't comprehend in entirety the level of brainwashing that has taken place in this country. We don't even realize how influenced by media we are. Think about this, my fellow Americans:

We pick up an item in the store and turn it over to see the nutrition facts. We don't recognize half the ingredients on the label, but buy the product because it only has a hundred calories. You don't wonder for a minute what all those unfamiliar ingredients on that label are, because we believe that the FDA, and our Government has taken care of that for us.

We hear that there is sodium fluoride in our water, and instead of questioning why this is, and what effects it might have on us, we assume that our Government wouldn't put it in our water unless it was wonderfully beneficial, and never give it a second thought.

We hear something on the news, and we take it as absolute fact. Never questioning what they have told us. Never checking their facts to see if they hold-up. Never wondering if they might have reason to be biased. And not believing anything we hear until our favorite news network confirms it for us.

We are told what to eat, what to wear, what to think, what we should feel, and this doesn't bother you.
Try this, next time you see a label with words you don't recognize, look them up. See what they are, where they come from, and what effect it has on your body. Next time you go to the grocery store and see bottled water with added fluoride don't assume it's good, find out if it is. When your watching the news, check their sources, check their facts, and find out who's investing money into their business. The main issue is that people forget that the news networks are businesses, and a business's main goal is to stay open and make money. People forget that politicians only have a job if they get reelected, and they care more about reelection and a pay check then the important issues they talk about. Politicians are in business for themselves, not for you.

When you take it upon yourself to find out the truth of these matters, you will find things that don't please you. See if you don't feel betrayed, and distrusting. See if you aren't quick to doubt. See if you don't lean toward skepticism when you hear corporations, Governments, and media sources tell you they know what's good for you. Don't assume the world is out for your best interests.


Do you want to know what kind of citizens every Government in this world wants?

They want citizens who:

• Never question what they eat.
• Never question what they drink.
• Never question what they hear.
• Never question what they see.
• Never question what they do.
• Never question what they tell you.
• Never question the status quo.

Think of that next time someone calls you a model citizen.

Water Collection Illegal In Many States: Our Power Hungry Government

It is now illegal to collect water for personal use in many states, here in our happily Government dependent Country. How long will it take for you to open your eyes, America? When will you realize that you are quickly becoming the most helpless, defenseless, gullible and naive nation in this wide-world. We wake-up each morning in a happy haze of stupidity, and bumble through our artificial life of careless consumption, unaffected, and showing a simplicity of mind, once only observed in the brains of certain apes.

Our Government gives us a healthy daily dose of propaganda, and we all too willingly swallow it, day after happy day. Ask yourself this, America. Why is our Government continually taking steps to increase our dependency on them. They make themselves seem indispensable to us, so we will except every drastic move they make, and hand over all power to them. Realize this, our Government is not a divine entity, who's primary goal is to make our lives easy, painless, and safe. They are a group of men. And you should know already that the hearts of men are easily corrupted. We should not think of them as being above other men in their deeds and actions.

What harm is there in collecting rain water? The only negative that they could see in this is that we will not depend on them for an important commodity, without which life is not possible. With Obama care they are making us dependent on them for healthcare, making the price for other healthcare providers shoot up, and putting many of those service providers out of business, while fining those who do not want to be covered by Obama-care, punishing them for not being a burden on tax payers. With gun control they are attempting to hinder our ability to defend ourselves, and maintain our freedom and rights, making us less of a threat to our Government.

They are making it impossible to not need them, and you accept this because it is easier then trying to make it on your own. Better to work in the blistering heat of the day, sweating like slaves in fields WE have planted, drawing from a well on OUR land to quench the thirst of ourselves and our animals, and spend hours canning, baking, and building for ourselves, and know that we are not dependent on men that take our freedom to "protect" us and control us to make sure we don't hurt ourselves.

How ironic that we call ourselves the "land of the free", when we relentlessly enslave ourselves with our luxurious American lifestyle, and tremble at the thought of life without our precious, and caring Government. Don't be deceived. They call themselves public servants, but they consider themselves rulers. And if they claim the title of ruler, then their is only one part for you to play, and that is the part of the ruled, the subjects, the servants, the commoners.

If you don't find it disgusting that you must ask for permission from your Government before you use "their" rainwater, then you have effectively been brainwashed. With water collection now illegal in many states the Government must issue you a water right before you can collect the natural resource, even though you are not harming the environment or any person by doing so. It is up to the Government to decide whether or not they want to issue you that right. They claim to care about the environment and your rights, and then they turn around and hinder your ability to protect both.

Prior to the passage of these laws that bar the free use of rainwater, Douglas County, Colorado did a study to determine what kind of effect rain water collection had on the environment and groundwater supplies. The study revealed that allowing people to collect water had a very positive effect on the environment, conserved water resources, and reduced demand from water facilities. What reason is there to ban free use of rain water, then? One would have to assume that these were not the results they wanted.

How can they claim the right to rain water, which falls from the sky, onto your land? If rain belongs to them, then can you charge them for any damage done by it? If your neighborhood floods, then can you charge the Government the cost of repairs? No, they only mean to take power over it, and not responsibility for it. If a storm blows through, and your basement floods, Standard homeowner's insurance won't cover the damage. Why? Because rain and the flooding that occasionally comes of it is considered an act of God. How can they claim control over an act of God?  This is just another way to keep us from attaining self-sufficiency. They might as well claim the air we breathe and the beating in our hearts, as they have no more right to one than the other.

 What can i do about this, you might wonder. Well, you can stop your blind consumerism. You can stop excepting everything you are told by your Government as fact. You can stop swallowing that propaganda pill. You can hold your Government officials accountable for their actions, as they hold you accountable for yours. You can stand up for your rights, and demand your freedom. Or you can tear that star spangled banner from your flag pole, burn your constitution, and call this the land of the enslaved.