Project Bullrun

Based on recently released documents courtesy Edward Snowden, it's evident the NSA either knows all or can get access to anything it wants by cracking all the normally used encryption technologies used on the Net as seen by the joint post  from the NY Times and The Guardian.

The National Security Agency is winning its long-running secret war on encryption, using supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools protecting the privacy of everyday communications in the Internet age, according to newly disclosed documents.

The agency has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption, or digital scrambling, that guards global commerce and banking systems, protects sensitive data like trade secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of Americans and others around the world, the documents show.

Seen below is a screen grab of the various types of private communications the NSA can crack. Click the image to learn about the different kinds of encryption we rubes use to "protect" our privacy.

Here is a blurb about Bullrun, the code word used for the top secret NSA decryption program.

A classification guide for NSA employees and contractors on Bullrun outlines in broad terms its goals.

"Project Bullrun deals with NSA's abilities to defeat the encryption used in specific network communication technologies. Bullrun involves multiple sources, all of which are extremely sensitive." The document reveals that the agency has capabilities against widely used online protocols, such as HTTPS, voice-over-IP and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), used to protect online shopping and banking.

I feel better already.

Why We Need Referendums

When looking at this Huffington Post image delineating the public's opposition to, IMHO, a disasterous military operation to be made against Syria, it shows, in spades, why referendums, as per Sweden's model, matter because if we had one today, this fubar would not happen but because we don't, our so called leaders continue to rush to war based on incomplete intel and a false sense of morality, something we lost a long time ago beginning with the removal of Iran's democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 courtesy the CIA. To add fuel to the fire, here is a quote from David Stockman, a person yours truly finds both insightful and entertaining at the same time regarding his take on important issue like finance and, in this case, war. Needless to say, his commentary on this totally unnecessary act of folly is most interesting to say the least.

Next week Congress can do far more than stop a feckless Tomahawk barrage on a small country which is already a graveyard of civil war and sectarian slaughter. By voting “no” it can trigger the end of the American Imperium—-five decades of incessant meddling, bullying and subversion around the globe which has added precious little to national security, but left America fiscally exhausted and morally diminished.

Indeed, the tragedy of this vast string of misbegotten interventions—from the 1953 coup against Mossedegh in Iran through the recent bombing campaign in Libya —-is that virtually none of them involved defending the homeland or any tangible, steely-eyed linkages to national security. They were all rooted in ideology—that is, anti-communism, anti-terrorism, humanitarianism, R2Pism, nation-building, American exceptionalism. These were the historic building blocks of a failed Pax Americana. Now the White House wants authorization for the last straw: Namely, to deliver from the firing tubes of U.S. naval destroyers a dose of righteous “punishment” that has no plausible military or strategic purpose. By the President’s own statements the proposed attack is merely designed to censure the Syrian regime for allegedly visiting one particularly horrific form of violence on its own citizens.

Well, really? After having rained napalm, white phosphorous, bunker-busters, drone missiles and the most violent machinery of conventional warfare ever assembled upon millions of innocent Vietnamese, Cambodians, Serbs, Somalis, Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, Yemeni, Libyans and countless more, Washington now presupposes to be in the moral sanctions business?  That’s downright farcical.  Nevertheless, by declaring himself the world’s spanker-in-chief, President Obama has unwittingly precipitated the mother of all clarifying moments.

Pat Buchanan's analysis is also apt. 

Not since the War of Jenkins’ Ear has there been a dumber cause for a great country to go to war. Is there no way out?

There is, and it’s right in front of us.

The House, Senate or both can vote no on the war resolution and Obama can then say, as did David Cameron, that, while he disagrees, he respects the decision of a Congress in which the Constitution placed sole authority to authorize America’s going to war.

Are Brits now crying “catastrophe!”? Do the Spanish no longer think the Brits will defend Gibraltar? Is Britain now wholly non-credible to the world?

For Obama, and for us, it is the other options that invite catastrophe.

Click on the graphic to get information about the War of Jenkins' Ear, another totally needless military action lasting 9 years from 1739 - 1748 between Great Britain & Spain to encourage the Spanish not to renege on the lucrative asiento contract (permission to sell slaves in Spanish America).

Birds of Paradise

Evolution writ large. Enjoy

A Guilty Pleasure

TimeScapes 4K from Tom Lowe on Vimeo.

Another guilty pleasure of yours truly is video that amazes like this one from Timescapes.

Zombieland

Zombieland anyone?... and yes, yours truly has one as well. :)

Syria - Be Very Afraid

BRT doesn't discuss politics to any great extent but when it comes to Syria and the potential for catastrophic disaster by committing unilateral military action against a country who poses no threat to the US requires that something must be said and Putin does this in very direct fashion by demanding absolute proof as to who actually gassed the Syrian civilians on August 21, 2013. Additionally, Putin's response is also a wake up call to Obama as this unnecessary and very dangerous gamesmanship he is playing regarding Russia, who's vital national interest is irrevocably connected to Syria, is not Libya, Iraq or Afghanistan by any stretch of the imagination. 

MOSCOW - Russia will be sending an anti-submarine ship and a missile cruiser to the Mediterranean "over the next few days" as the West prepares for possible strikes against Syria, the Interfax news agency says.

To get a perspective of why Syria is a tar baby from hell, click here.
Click here to see how the Great Game is being played in Syria.
Click here to see how Syrian intel is being messaged.
Last but not least, click here for a point by point rebuttal to the government's push for war.

Addendum: Impeachment: Congress Fires Opening Shot Across Obama’s Bow.

Text from letter of Rep. Scott Regall (R, VA) to Pres. Obama
Signed by 116 Reps, including 18 Democrats

“We strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Your responsibility to do so is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

“While the Founders wisely gave the Office of the President the authority to act in emergencies, they foresaw the need to ensure public debate – and the active engagement of Congress – prior to committing U.S. military assets. Engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution.”

Samsara - A Film for the Ages

Two years ago, BRT showed the preview of Samsara, an absolutely astounding film 

depicting the state of humanity circa 2011. Here is another.

52.6

$52.6 billion = the amount of money spent by our government to spy on us. 

Not bad for a years's worth of work (2013) if you ask me. 

Snowden strikes again.

Chanticleer

What is quality? Can it be quantified, can it be defined or is it a notion requiring one to have the prerequisite intelligence, education and empathy to truly understand this most elusive concept known as quality. To this end, Chanticleer represents quality, quality in terms of how gardens should connect with nature, something organic, beautiful and inviting to experience, something this video hopefully captured during a walk through this truly enchanted place. Enjoy.

To learn more about quality, Robert Pirsig's Lila is a good place to start.

Quantum Computers Explained

Quantum computers, the tech that not only presages hardware faster then one can possibly imagine is also a tech able to mirror reality itself. Check out PHD's terrific piece showing how these insane systems work. You will be amazed.