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Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

(2015/01/13) Why privacy matters (NSA Spying)

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Jay Tomlinson

Politics, News Commentary, News

4.53.4K Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2015

⏱️ 68 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Edition #890
Today we take a look at how over-policing and the threat of constant surveillance chips away at freedom in direct and indirect ways and why you should be concerned (if it weren’t already obvious)
Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991

Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: How Did The NSA Become Big Brother? - @TestTube - Air Date: 6-16-14

Ch. 3: Song 1: The Safety Dance (Video Version) - Rhythm of Youth


Ch. 4: Act 2: NSA releasing documents about broken laws on Christmas Eve - Le Show (@theharryshearer) - Air Date: 12-28-14

Ch. 5: Song 2: Abuse of Power - As the Stars Fall


Ch. 6: Act 3: @CatherineNCrump: The small and surprisingly dangerous detail the police track about you - @TEDTalks - Air Date: 12-11-14

Ch. 7: Song 3: Don’t Worry, We'll Be Watching You - Making Mirrors


Ch. 8: Act 4: FBI, CIA Terrified They Won't Be Able to Spy on Your New Phone - @RedactedTonight - Air Date: 11-13-14

Ch. 9: Song 4: Let My Love Open the Door - Hit & Run (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)


Ch. 10: Act 5: The NSA Has an Advice Columnist - @onthemedia - Air Date: 9-26-14

Ch. 11: Song 5: Hate Me - Foiled


Ch. 12: Act 6: @ggreenwald: Why privacy matters - @TEDTalks - Air Date: 10-10-14

Ch. 13: Song 6: Burn It Down - Dancing In The Streets


Ch. 14: Act 7: If you're not worried about spying then your privilege is showing - @Radio_Dispatch - Air Date: 10-15-14

Ch. 15: Song 7: Rockin' the Suburbs - Rockin' the Suburbs


Ch. 16: Act 8: Prohibit Mass Surveillance via @EFF - Best of the Left Activism

Ch. 17: Song 8: "This fickle world" - Theo Bard


Ch. 18: Act 9: From Drones to Chokeholds, We're Over-Policed! - @GRITlaura Flanders of @grittv - Air Date: 12-15-14


Voicemails

Ch. 20: Watch what the local police are saying - Chrisanne from New Jersey

Ch. 21: There should be a movement to divest from the prison industrial complex - Ian from Chattanooga, TN

Ch. 22: Capitalism and people of color - Vloral from Atlanta, GA

Ch. 23: Thoughts on aparthied America - Fisher from Buffalo, NY

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics


Ch. 24: Final comments on the Surveillance Self-Defence info pack from the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone


Bonus Episode I mentioned: (2013/11/18) Another terrible pipeline (School-to-prison)


Activism: Prohibit Mass Surveillance via @EFF

Take Action:

SIGN the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) petition: "Tell Obama: Stop Mass Surveillance Under Executive Order 12333”

Additional Activism/Resources:

Leave a comment for the Federal Elections Commission via EFF: "No New Regulation for Online Political Speech”

SIGN the ACLU pledge: "Invasion of the Data Snatchers”

Sources/further reading:

"PEN America: "'The Harm Caused by Surveillance...is Unmistakable’” via EFF

"Global Chilling: The Impact of Mass Surveillance on International Writers” from PEN American Center

"The Fight in Congress to End the NSA’s Mass Spying: 2014 in Review” at EFF

"ACLU accuses NSA of using holiday lull to ‘minimise impact’ of documents” by Nicky Woolf at The Guardian

"US tries to strike deal with EU for immunity over online security breaches” by Phillip Inman at The Guardian

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich


Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

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Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that makes it

0:05.1

fast and easy to create your own professional website or online portfolio.

0:09.0

For a free trial and 10% off, go to squarespace.com and use the offer code left.

0:13.9

Now welcome to the award-winning Best of the Left Podcasts with clips today from TestTube,

0:18.1

Lesho, Ted Talks, Redacted Tonight on the Media, Radio Dispatch, Activism from the Electronic

0:23.8

Frontier Foundation and Laura Flonders from Great TV.

0:30.0

If the reports about the NSA's programs aren't being exaggerated, then our national security

0:34.4

agency is the closest thing to Big Brother the world has ever seen.

0:38.5

Even if the reports are being overstated by just half, the NSA's surveillance measures

0:42.6

are still well beyond what we thought possible even 15 years ago.

0:46.8

So what happened?

0:47.8

How did the NSA get so powerful?

0:49.8

Well, the NSA stems from agencies that we created in order to collect information about

0:54.4

foreign nations during World War I and World War II.

0:58.1

They collected communications intelligence, initially radio signals and then as technology

1:02.6

advanced, electronic intelligence.

1:05.0

Then, in the Cold War, those two types of intelligence were combined into one new term,

1:09.9

Sigeant or Signal Intelligence.

1:12.5

That is what the NSA works on collecting today, Sigeant, and it's an extremely broad

1:17.0

term.

1:18.0

It basically covers any form of communication collected in any way.

1:21.4

If you sent it out and they can get it, it's considered Sigeant.

...

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