SPY

INSIGHT - military intervention in Syria, post withdrawal status of forces

Released on 2012-03-06 07:00 GMT

Remember when Obama said it is impossible for the NSA to spy to American citizens? Well, at least one guy didn't get the memo. As AP reports, two U.S. officials said one analyst was disciplined in years past for using NSA resources to track a former spouse. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Not that we blame him of course: if one has every capability to spy on anyone, certainly including exes, and there are absolutely no checks and balances to any violating behavior, then why not? Which of course goes to the root of the problem. And the other problem: if one guy has done it, all others have done it too. They just haven't been caught yet.

Now that the US has made up its mind once more and "knows" that Wednesday's chemical attack in Syria was conducted by the government and targeting the "rebels", even as the "developed" west calls for a UN investigation to determine just that, and as the US (including the CIA), Israel and Jordan have already sent an advance military force into Syria to conduct more false flag provocations and blame it on the regime, the only next step is to soften and prepare popular opinion for what comes next. And what comes next is on the front page of the WSJ this morning: "The U.S. began refining its military options for possible strikes in Syria, officials said... Officers at the Pentagon on Thursday were updating target lists for possible airstrikes on a range of Syrian government and military installations." Then again we have seen all this before. Surely, one of these times the administration will actually go ahead and push the button instead of just talking about it.

The warning signs were all there. Long, long ago they were all right there. Reading this article from the New York Times, published thirty years ago, brings forth emotions of frustration, disappointment and even a sense of resentment. Resentment that many of those that came before us knew about all of this and basically did nothing.

• Obamacare, tepid U.S. growth fuel part-time hiring (Reuters)
• Cameron was behind UK attempt to halt Snowden reports (Reuters), Britain defends detention of journalist's partner (Reuters)
• Goldman Options Error Shows Peril Persists One Year After Knight (BBG)
• China expresses 'shock' as Japan's nuclear crisis deepens  (Reuters)
• Inquiry into China insurance firm rattles industry (Caixin)
• Cheaper rivals eat into Apple’s China tablet share (FT)
• Exporting fast food: Subway Targets Europe With as Many as 1,000 New Outlets in 2014 (BBG)
• Reserve Bank of India boosts liquidity to ease pressure on banks (FT)
• Justice Department Plans New Crisis-Related Cases (WSJ) - Holder doing his cutest attempt to pretend the TBTProsecute aren't
• Syrian Opposition Alleges Gas Attack, Which Government Denies (WSJ)

The NSA - which possesses only limited legal authority to spy on U.S. citizens - has, according to the Wall Street Journal, built a surveillance network that covers more Americans' Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed, current and former officials say. The system has the capacity to reach roughly 75% of all U.S. Internet traffic. The NSA's filtering, carried out with telecom companies, is designed to look for communications that either originate or end abroad, or are entirely foreign but happen to be passing through the U.S. But the WSJ reports that officials say the system's broad reach makes it more likely that purely domestic communications will be incidentally intercepted and collected in the hunt for foreign ones. Details of these surveillance programs were gathered from interviews with current and former intelligence and government officials and people from companies that help build or operate the systems, or provide data. Most have direct knowledge of the work. Here is how the system operates...

New Revelations Are Breaking Every Day

Obama must be fuming like a pile of something in the pristine Oval Office today as he hears of the latest Edward-Snowden revelations.

The American narrative is quickly changing. There has long been criminality and degeneracy within our government (Democrat and Republican) and the corporate cartels surrounding it, but what we are witnessing today is the final step in the metamorphosis that is totalitarianism. The last stage accelerates when the average citizen is not just complicit in the deeds of devils, but when he becomes a devil himself. When Americans froth and stomp in excitement for the carnival of death, and treat the truth as poison, then the transformation will be complete.

Favoring “Friends” ... Harassing “Enemies” ... Propaganda ... Cyber-Warfare ... Track ‘Em and Whack ‘Em

• Solyndra Cola: California aims to 'bottle sunlight' in energy storage push (Reuters)
• Ackman may sues himself after all - Penney Board Assails Director William Ackman, Considered 'Rogue' After Releasing Deliberations (WSJ)
• CFTC subpoenas metals warehousing firm as inquiry heats up (Reuters)
• Obama Plan to Revamp NSA Faces Obstacles (WSJ)
• Japan growth slows in second quarter, adds to sales tax uncertainty (Reuters)
• China Urbanization to Hit Roadblocks Amid Local Opposition (BBG)
• Parents Losing Jobs a Hidden Cost to U.S. Head Start Budget Cuts (BBG)
• US seeks better access to Africa as part of trade pact review (FT)
• Singapore Cuts Trade Outlook as China Slowdown Caps Recovery (BBG)
• White House Sifts Fiscal Ideas With Band of Senators (WSJ)
• Spain may ask United Nations for support over Gibraltar (Reuters)
• Michigan Safety Net for Boomers Frays on Bankrupt Detroit (BBG)

The folks at Funny or Die have come up with an ingenious solution to render the NSA’s spy program useless. Operation: Everyone Talk Like a Terrorist All the Time. It makes a lot of sense, especially since the government already clearly considers everyone with the ability to think critically a potential “domestic terrorist.” Short video and really funny. Enjoy!

“Who You Are Speaks So Loudly I Can’t Hear What You’re Saying”

While we have previously exposed the less than exuberant perspective of many Egyptians towards the US, it now seems the torrent of anti-US hostility has reached such large proportions that the mainstream media is forced to admit report it. As the WSJ reports, a headline in a major Egyptian state newspaper this week referred to the proposed U.S. envoy to Egypt as the "Ambassador of Death." Posters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, a center of pro-government rallies, depict President Barack Obama with a beard and turban, exclaiming his "support for terrorism." The moves, WSJ adds, highlight the depth of public distrust of U.S. policies, and draw from a "reservoir of anti-Americanism and conspiratorial theories". Of course, after yesterday's revelation of the staged Muslim Brotherhood riots, nobody really knows just where US-Egyptian sentiment really lays but it seems fair to say that it is not improving.

Equity markets gapped up at the cash open and the S&P regained 1,700 briefly, then dumped along with JPY strength on decent volume only to be rescued almost as fast after the European close (on JPY weakness) dragging the S&P back up to test 1,700 once again. Once 1,700 was regained, volume departed and until the last few minutes, stocks did nothing (ignoring JPY post-30Y Auction) with a drop at the close in the futures (but a green close to break the worst streak of 2013) The 3rd Hindenburg Omen in 4 days shows the level of anxiety in this volumeless levitation as highs/lows/advancers/decliners signal all is not well amid the major JPY-carry-unwind. Treasuries managed small gains on the day (and week) and while credit markets rallied modestly they remain notably underperforming in this afternoon's equity spike. As JPY weakened and dragged stocks higher, VIX also collapsed but going into the close, it was clear hedgers were active. Gold, Silver, and Copper all surged on the day, WTI dropped (helped by RINs dump to only 67c).