Re: Max Blumenthal on Security Forum (Eugen Leitl)
First, glad to be here. Missed the cypherpunks the first time around. I'm going to want to get to know you folks for my ongoing coverage of -- and book project on -- Snowden, NSA and the surveillance-industrial revolution. Second, while it's nice (and rather unexpected) to get a shout-out from Alternet, I wouldn't agree that every other journalist at Aspen was an acolyte. Michael Isikoff did a good job of pushing his panel, especially U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride, who is Snowden's designated prosecutor (and is trying to jail James Risen to force testimony in the Sterling leak case). Pete Williams is also a terrific reporter. He met charm with charm but gently walked Keith Alexander into a corner, eliciting unambiguous statements that the NSA will have to defend as time goes on. Plus, he called on people he knew would ask tough questions. Oh, and yes, Aspen covered my travel costs. I assume it did the same for others. No speaker fee was offered or requested. On 7/30/13 12:00 PM, Eugen Leitl <eugen@leitl.org> wrote: Subject: Max Blumenthal on Security Forum (it's Alternet, so caveat lector) http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/shocking-extermination-fantasies... [...] With perhaps one notable exception, none of the high-flying reporters junketed to Aspen to act as interlocutors seemed terribly interested in interrogating the logic of the war on terror. The spectacle was a perfect window into the world of access journalism, with media professionals brown-nosing national security elites committed to secrecy and surveillance, avoiding overly adversarial questions but making sure to ask the requisite question about how much Snowden has caused terrorists to change their behavior. Jeff Harris, the communications director for the Aspen Institute, did not respond to questions I submitted about whether the journalists who participated in the Security Forum accepted fees. (It is likely that all relied on Aspen to at least cover lodging and travel costs). [...] "You have to do [domestic surveillance] within a closed bubble in order to do it effectively," Dennis Blair, the director of National Intelligence conceded under sustained grilling from the Washington Post's Barton Gellman, one of the reporters who broke Snowden's leaks and perhaps the only journalist at the Security Forum who subjected participants to tough scrutiny. When Gellman reminded Alexander that none of the oversight mechanisms currently in place could determine if the NSA had improperly targeted American citizens with no involvement in terror-related activity, the general declared, "we self-report those mistakes."
Not to pry, much, into your book, do you have more of Snowden's documents than released? If so, is more release in the offing? Presumbably you are being tapped and metadataed up the kazoo, except on uber-secure cpunks, these questions in guise of statements from an appreciative audience: Docs released by the administration yesterday was goosed by your and others, the latter identities clearly spoofed, challenging releases and threats of more to come. Good outcome, that. Following the precedential 1970s, with the gradually increasing journalists probes and manifold late-coming Congressional committees following the coffee smell, dueling with one another to grab mics and cameras. Goosedness abounds, hurray! Finally, hardly, tell me to jump in a lake, are you in touch with Snowden? How about Glenn, Laura, Jake, Julian, Sarah? Using OTR/PGP between US, UK, DE, BR? Cpunks need this to climb out of the too-soon grave from breeding the likes of today's leaking heroes.. Really, finally, and nobody here will tell, have you been subpoenaed vis a vis Snowden? For Julian, Glenn, Laura, Jake, Sarah, Ellsberg, Hersh, for The President's Men? At 03:24 PM 7/31/2013, you wrote:
First, glad to be here. Missed the cypherpunks the first time around. I'm going to want to get to know you folks for my ongoing coverage of -- and book project on -- Snowden, NSA and the surveillance-industrial revolution.
Second, while it's nice (and rather unexpected) to get a shout-out from Alternet, I wouldn't agree that every other journalist at Aspen was an acolyte. Michael Isikoff did a good job of pushing his panel, especially U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride, who is Snowden's designated prosecutor (and is trying to jail James Risen to force testimony in the Sterling leak case). Pete Williams is also a terrific reporter. He met charm with charm but gently walked Keith Alexander into a corner, eliciting unambiguous statements that the NSA will have to defend as time goes on. Plus, he called on people he knew would ask tough questions.
Oh, and yes, Aspen covered my travel costs. I assume it did the same for others. No speaker fee was offered or requested.
On 7/30/13 12:00 PM, Eugen Leitl <eugen@leitl.org> wrote:
Subject: Max Blumenthal on Security Forum
(it's Alternet, so caveat lector)
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/shocking-extermination-fantasies...
[...]
With perhaps one notable exception, none of the high-flying reporters junketed to Aspen to act as interlocutors seemed terribly interested in interrogating the logic of the war on terror. The spectacle was a perfect window into the world of access journalism, with media professionals brown-nosing national security elites committed to secrecy and surveillance, avoiding overly adversarial questions but making sure to ask the requisite question about how much Snowden has caused terrorists to change their behavior.
Jeff Harris, the communications director for the Aspen Institute, did not respond to questions I submitted about whether the journalists who participated in the Security Forum accepted fees. (It is likely that all relied on Aspen to at least cover lodging and travel costs).
[...]
"You have to do [domestic surveillance] within a closed bubble in order to do it effectively," Dennis Blair, the director of National Intelligence conceded under sustained grilling from the Washington Post's Barton Gellman, one of the reporters who broke Snowden's leaks and perhaps the only journalist at the Security Forum who subjected participants to tough scrutiny.
When Gellman reminded Alexander that none of the oversight mechanisms currently in place could determine if the NSA had improperly targeted American citizens with no involvement in terror-related activity, the general declared, "we self-report those mistakes."
John, et. al., I realize my email settings obscured my name in the previous post. Didn't mean to be mysterious. As usual, your questions are perceptive, provocative and mischievous. I respectfully beg off. You know, opsec. I haven't said what materials I have, and I've said all I want about when and how I talked to Snowden here: http://wapo.st/11pOHyd. Unless someone puts a hood on me, you'll know if a subpoena comes my way. Also, Hersh and Ellsberg don't need subpoenas. They have super powers. Cheers, Bart bartongellman.com @bartongellman On 8/1/13 10:40 AM, John Young wrote:
Not to pry, much, into your book, do you have more of Snowden's documents than released? If so, is more release in the offing? [...] Finally, hardly, tell me to jump in a lake, are you in touch with Snowden? How about Glenn, Laura, Jake, Julian, Sarah? Using OTR/PGP between US, UK, DE, BR? [...] Really, finally, and nobody here will tell, have you been subpoenaed vis a vis Snowden? For Julian, Glenn, Laura, Jake, Sarah, Ellsberg, Hersh, for The President's Men?
At 03:24 PM 7/31/2013, you wrote:
... while it's nice (and rather unexpected) to get a shout-out from Alternet, I wouldn't agree that every other journalist at Aspen was an acolyte. ...
participants (3)
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Barton Gellman -
John Young -
OTR