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Government

New Details About NSA's Exhaustive Search of Edward Snowden's Emails 200

An anonymous reader points out this Vice story with new information about the NSA's search of Edward Snowden's emails. Last year, the National Security Agency (NSA) reviewed all of Edward Snowden's available emails in addition to interviewing NSA employees and contractors in order to determine if he had ever raised concerns internally about the agency's vast surveillance programs. According to court documents the government filed in federal court September 12, NSA officials were unable to find any evidence Snowden ever had.

In a sworn declaration, David Sherman, the NSA's associate director for policy and records, said the agency launched a "comprehensive" investigation after journalists began to write about top-secret NSA spy programs upon obtaining documents Snowden leaked to them. The investigation included searches of any records where emails Snowden sent raising concerns about NSA programs "would be expected to be found within the agency." Sherman, who has worked for the NSA since 1985, is a "original classification authority," which means he can classify documents as "top-secret" and process, review, and redact records the agency releases in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

In his declaration, Sherman detailed steps he said agency officials took to track down any emails Snowden wrote that contained evidence he'd raised concerns inside the agency. Sherman said the NSA searched sent, received, deleted emails from Snowden's account and emails "obtained by restoring back-up tapes." He noted that NSA officials reviewed written reports and notes from interviews with "NSA affiliates" with whom the agency spoke during its investigation.

Comment Re:why are you volunteering information? (Score 1) 499

If you make a sexist joke (or repost one) and then investigate anyone for sexual harassment then your impartiality will be questioned.

Tautologies aside, any comments, made in jest or otherwise, which might suggest a specific and relevant prejudice are sufficient grounds on which to question someone's impartiality.

Sorry for all the italics, but the specifics are pretty important here.

Comment Re:why are you volunteering information? (Score 2, Insightful) 499

She didn't volunteer any information. The agent leading the investigation found out about her past activism and then trumped up a reason to get rid of a lesbian with liberal political leanings, something he apparently found distasteful. He even has a blog in which he reposts comics advocating violence against atheists.

Comment Re: What the heck? (Score 1) 354

Because there is nothing in the GPL that forbids you from linking with propietary code like the Minecraft Server

True, but the GPL certainly does prohibit you from distributing the combination. That is why the Linux kernel uses GPL shims for binary driver blobs which are themselves distributed separately.

Comment Re: What the heck? (Score 1) 354

It's right, but not quite complete. Mojang is now the developer of CraftBukkit and Bukkit. So one of the previous Bukkit developers is asserting their copyright to try and prevent Mojang (or anyone) from distributing the infringing CraftBukkit mod.

Again, the parent is also missing the important point that any individual person is still perfectly within their rights if they personally compile and use CraftBukkit. Only distribution of the GPL/incompatible combo code/binaries is prohibited.

Comment Re: What the heck? (Score 1) 354

Mojang could have shut down CraftBukkit any time they wanted to. But so can any of the Bukkit developers, because it's not in compliance with the GPL either.

I guess you missed that Mojang is now the owner/distributor of both Bukkit and CraftBukkit? Of course they don't hold copyright for all of the various previous commits to Bukkit. So, indeed as you say, one of the Bukkit developers is asserting copyright to prevent Mojang from using Bukkit in CraftBukkit while the "Craft" part of that is incompatibly licensed.

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