Firstfruits Journalist Surveillance System

[mmonk]

-snip-

According to National Security Agency/Central Security Service Policy 1-27, dated March 20, 2006, and signed by NSA Chief of Staff Deborah Bonanni, the investigation of the public disclosure of the unconstitutional and illegal FIRSTFRUITS surveillance system is being coordinated by the NSA, Department of Defense, Director of National Intelligence, and the Department of Justice.

-snip-

The following are excerpts from the editor’s article that triggered the national security criminal investigation: “NSA maintains a database that tracks unofficial and negative articles written about the agency. Code named ‘FIRSTFRUITS,’ the database is operated by the Denial and Deception (D&D) unit within SID . High priority is given to articles written as a result of possible leaks from cleared personnel.

-snip-

In order that the database did not violate United States Signals Intelligence Directive (USSID) 18, which specifies that the names of ‘U.S. persons’ are to be deleted through a process known as minimization, the names of subject journalists were blanked out. However, in a violation of USSID 18, certain high level users could unlock the database field through a super-user status and view the ‘phantom names’ of the journalists in question. Some of the ‘source’ information in FIRSTFRUITS was classified -- an indication that some of the articles in the database were not obtained through open source means. In fact, NSA insiders report that the communications monitoring tasking system known as ECHELON is being used more frequently for purely political eavesdropping having nothing to do with national security or counter terrorism.

-snip-

In addition, outside agencies and a ‘second party,’ Great Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), are permitted to access the journalist database. FIRSTFRUITS was originally developed by the CIA but given to NSA to operate with CIA funding. The database soon grew to capacity, was converted from a Lotus Notes to an Oracle system, and NSA took over complete ownership of the system from the CIA.

(Wayne Madsen-take it for what it's worth)

[peacetalksforall]

1. I guess some people are afraid to comment. Do we, through our representatives, have no right

to oversight on Echleon and the other programs? Or are our representatives just approving everything and questioning nothing.

Whose idea is Echelon? Canda, UK, US, Australis, NZ? - Anglo countries who do each other's dirty work of spying so that they can circumvent their own laws?

Did all the non-Echelon invasive spying come from the Patriot Act?

It's obvious that they noted Hitlers attempt to 'database' Jews and Gypsies and decided to soar past him? This is what databases were designed for?

Where is our government going to set up their Siberia and prisons? All separated for distribution of guard employment? Since gathering means using, the end result is prison or suicide? If prison - it helps the economy - more taxes to use for more prisons.

THEY LOVE US FOR OUR FREEDOM.

And those of you in the Echelon countries, don't believe that you are watching the U.S. become the greatest example of a fascist reign. You're leaders and our leaders involved you and us. They did it for us. Sarcasm.

Someone decided that they were going to take the best parts of terrorist governments and meld it into one.

Is our country a joke on us?

[peacetalksforall]

2. How arrogant to use First Fruits for a label.

[Supersedeas]

3. arrogance at the NSA -- no way.

[mmonk]

4. Link

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3642.shtml