NSA can read your emails as you type them (not kidding)

[careful]

Actually this isn't really a surprise. It slipped during a CNN interview, and I don't think very many people caught this:
.
Notice at 1:05 what is said by Ambinder

If you're a terrorist and you're composing an email, what this system allows the NSA to do is watch you compose the email in real time and figure out, as you're composing the email, where you are.

If you assume that the NSA has open access to Google servers, which is what the leaked PowerPoint slides imply, then it follows that the above statement from Ambinder is true. To see why, if you have gmail go into it and start composing your email. Type something and look at the bottom of the window:

What's that there at the bottom you ask? Well if you look at the Google help page [https://support.google.com/mail/answer/2645922?hl=en&ref_topic=1669035]:

Saving: Gmail automatically saves your drafts while you're writing, so we've removed the "Save now" button (but you can verify that it's saved if you see the word, "Saved" next to the Discard button). Your draft will also be automatically saved when you close the compose window.

Google saves your emails to their servers as you compose them and the NSA has continuous access to Google's servers. Simple as that. Although it's so incredibly unlikely that there's actually some dude sitting reading emails as people type them lolz, but the technology and infrastructure is in place for that to be done.

I suspect the US intelligence agencies can also retrieve your geospatial coordinates from your IP address. Just about every smartphone has GPS, but for your home addres when you're on your home computer, I suspect the NSA has already purchased that technology. This type of technology is already a commercial product used by advertising companies. One such company that sells this product is MindMax [http://www.maxmind.com/en/geolocation_landing] where

MaxMind's GeoIP products enable you to identify the location, organization, connection speed, and user type of your Internet visitors. The GeoIP databases are among the most popular and accurate IP geolocation databases available.

Here's an "accuracy chart" of their goelocation ability http://www.maxmind.com/en/geolite_city_accuracy

Anyways, we should do something to support the NSA whistleblower who released the documents:

The Washington Post [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden], has left his Hong Kong hotel and is now undoubtedly on the run from US authorities. Presumably, he's planing to seek asylum somewhere. If you want to publicly support him, incentivize potential whistleblowers and establish a precedent of public support, then you can do the following:

• 
  Sign a thank you letter for Snowden on RootsAction.org
  http://supportedwardsnowden.org/
  Sign A petition on whitehouse.gove to pardon Snowden
  https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-edward-snowden/Dp03vGYD
  Donate to a CrowdTitle fundraiser managed by Dwight Crow
  https://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/reward-edward-snowden-for-courageously-leaking-nsa-docs/description (more information here http://www.crowdsourcing.org/editorial/crowd-powered-campaigns-spring-up-for-nsa-leaker-edward-snowden/26485)
  Sign a petition from the American Civil Liberties Union demanding the surveillance to stop
  https://www.aclu.org/secure/stop-massive-spying-program
  Sign a petition from the Electronic Frontier Foundation demanding Congress to take action
  https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9260
  Sign another petition from the Electronic Frontier Foundation calling for CEO's of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Skype, Yahoo, AOL, Apple to demand a congressional investigation
  https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9297

As far as I know so far there is a case in front of the Supreme Court right now, Jewel vs NSA [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewel_v._NSA], pertaining to indiscriminant NSA surveillance. Go over to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and and read about (https://www.eff.org/cases/jewel). This court case deserves attention in the media.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I suppose I'll start all of my emails with "fuck you NSA" then.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Well, that's scary. The good news is they'd need more than an IP address to get a good location lock if the kind of websites I've seen that try to figure out where you are based on your IP address are anything to go by. I'm constantly being ID'd as being in another town (and not always the same one) several miles away from where I actually am. Granted, even "he's at a house somewhere in this radius of several miles" is a creepy amount of information to get from something like this.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Honestly I'm not mad at what Snowden did, I'm mad he ran from the country like a coward. If he truly believed he was doing it for the good of our country like he claims he shouldn't have ran to China. I honestly can't respect a guy who sits there acting like he is trying to be a hero yet runs like a coward, if your going to stand up for what you feel is right you gotta face any bad thing that comes your way.

 

[Devil's Due]

Honestly I'm not mad at what Snowden did, I'm mad he ran from the country like a coward. If he truly believed he was doing it for the good of our country like he claims he shouldn't have ran to China. I honestly can't respect a guy who sits there acting like he is trying to be a hero yet runs like a coward, if your going to stand up for what you feel is right you gotta face any bad thing that comes your way.

If you knew anything about the legal powers of the United States, you'd run too. They just have to claim you're a terrorist and you can be indefinitely locked up in Gitmo bay for the rest of your life with no trial or anything. If he hadn't run, they would have made him disappear so fast the news agencies would have never known who did the leak. By running, he puts international pressure on the US so if they try and force him to be returned to the US they have to internationally announce they're going to put him on trial and that it's worth all the effort, which then brings up the whole story again of why they want him so badly.

Basically, if he stayed, nothing would have accomplished. I'm sorry your ideal world is so perfect, but things just don't work that way. He left to gain asylum because of his "crimes," even though they're moral and legal, would have made him disappear.

Hell, I love the US and I wanted to serve in the USAF still after doing their ROTC programs to become an officer in the Air Force, but we have to know that it's not perfect. Gitmo is a stain on our record and so is the Patriot Act and now the NSA. This is one of the main reasons I left the military. The more drama Snowden can create the bigger the attention the world will give. Because right now everyone is forgetting about the incident in less than a week and things are going back to normal. What kind of fucked up world is this? People are accepting what happened now. Snowden is making sure there is still news about the story and ensures that there is hope.

 

[afroebob]

Can we please start the impeachment process now? I'm not one of those people who where up in arms about impeaching Obama the first fucking day of office, but after allowing the killing of US citizens (so long as their not in a foreign country!), targeting conservative groups with the IRS (I'm not a conservative FYI, I'm libratarian so I'm pretty much the most unbiased party for this kind of thing) and now this fucking bullshit, it is time. Not to say Biden is better but maybe we can just start impeaching people more and more and eventually get someone who will follow the fucking laws.

 

[Souplex]

I don't get why everyone wants to hide what they're doing.
if you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Honestly I'm not mad at what Snowden did, I'm mad he ran from the country like a coward. If he truly believed he was doing it for the good of our country like he claims he shouldn't have ran to China. I honestly can't respect a guy who sits there acting like he is trying to be a hero yet runs like a coward, if your going to stand up for what you feel is right you gotta face any bad thing that comes your way.

If you knew anything about the legal powers of the United States, you'd run too. They just have to claim you're a terrorist and you can be indefinitely locked up in Gitmo bay for the rest of your life with no trial or anything. If he hadn't run, they would have made him disappear so fast the news agencies would have never known who did the leak. By running, he puts international pressure on the US so if they try and force him to be returned to the US they have to internationally announce they're going to put him on trial and that it's worth all the effort, which then brings up the whole story again of why they want him so badly.

Basically, if he stayed, nothing would have accomplished. I'm sorry your ideal world is so perfect, but things just don't work that way. He left to gain asylum because of his crimes, even though they're moral and legal, would have made him disappear.

Hell, I love the US and I want to serve in the USAF still after doing their ROTC programs to become an officer in the Air Force, but we have to know that it's not perfect. Gitmo is a stain on our record and so is the Patriot Act and now the NSA. The more drama Snowden can create the bigger the attention the world will give. Because right now everyone is forgetting about the incident in less than a week and things are going back to normal. What kind of fucked up world is this? People are accepting what happened now. Snowden is making sure there is still news about the story and ensures that there is hope.

Hey and those prisoners in Gitmo were making splashes in the news when they went on a hunger strike didn't they? The guy who leaked those documents is in the news for his trail. The more people say this man is a terrorist and know why he was in jail he wouldn't be forgotten. And so fast no one would know who did the leaks, guess the Washington Post and Guardian wouldn't continue this all important story they knew who leaked it. He could have filmed the whole thing and leaked it all over the web so it will always be floating around. No one is going to forget this. No sir I don't think he should have ran, to me he is a coward he leaked important information, I am not here to fight about this with you. I made my peace on it, I will admit he did good but he is not brave. If he truly have honor in what he did, he would've stand your ground.

 

[Devil's Due]

I don't get why everyone wants to hide what they're doing.
if you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

Hey, if you truly believe that, make your home out of glass. It'll still keep you warm during the cold and protect you from the weather, but I want to see what you're doing in bed, in the bathroom and in the kitchen 24/7. I want to see EVERYTHING.

You have nothing to hide, so you have nothing to fear.

 

[tardcore]

Wow. Well congratulations my American friends. You've managed to resurrect J. Edgar Hoover. How long before we see the zombie of Joseph McCarthy claw its way back into daylight?

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Wow. Well congratulations my American friends. You've managed to resurrect J. Edgar Hoover. How long before we see the zombie of Joseph McCarthy claw its way back into daylight?

Oh god that reminds me of a Deadpool comic were that was a premise...I need to finish that

 

[Lever]

I don't get why everyone wants to hide what they're doing.
if you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

The word you need to add here is "yet" "I haven't got anything to hide, yet."
It's quite simple, this system is in place currently and you don't have anything to hide, but when the laws change this will be another matter entirely.
never mind that this is an invasion of privacy, and it could be argued that this is basically search and seizure, without a warrant.
Welcome to the US, your rights as a citizen are on indefinite hold.

 

[Souplex]

I don't get why everyone wants to hide what they're doing.
if you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

Hey, if you truly believe that, make your home out of glass. It'll still keep you warm during the cold and protect you from the weather, but I want to see what you're doing in bed, in the bathroom and in the kitchen 24/7. I want to see EVERYTHING.

You have nothing to hide, so you have nothing to fear.

I have nothing to hide from the government. The government has no personal agenda relating to me.
My friends and neighbors on the other hand are not to be trusted.

 

[Souplex]

I don't get why everyone wants to hide what they're doing.
if you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

The word you need to add here is "yet" "I haven't got anything to hide, yet."
It's quite simple, this system is in place currently and you don't have anything to hide, but when the laws change this will be another matter entirely.
never mind that this is an invasion of privacy, and it could be argued that this is basically search and seizure, without a warrant.
Welcome to the US, your rights as a citizen are on indefinite hold.

To be fair, some rights are stupid.
The right to privacy, the right to bear arms, the right to murder other people. All of those are dumb ideas to different extents.

 

[chadachada123]

This is what you get for voting between two fascists and ignoring the numerous other candidates that all agreed that the federal government needs LESS power over their citizens, as opposed to more.

You reap what you sow, anyone that voted for Romney or Obama. Or McCain. Or Bush Jr. (the second time).

 

[GnomeChompsky]

I don't get why everyone wants to hide what they're doing.
if you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

I have plenty to hide because I do plenty that's "wrong".

The issue is with who's defining the word "wrong". Are you? I'm not. I don't much agree with those who are, either.

They set the stage now to be able do do whatever they want, and you say it's fine because you're not doing anything wrong. Then, once the system's in place, they begin moving the bar higher and higher. Soon enough, it becomes nearly impossible to not be doing something wrong.

When they can't find enough criminals to justify their own unlawful actions, they have to start manufacturing them.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Personally I find it hilarious that the government is calling for Snowdon to be put on trial for treason for damaging national security. If the government is doing something illegal, without permission from the public, it's still illegal to call them out on it. What was the quote? "The law is for those who observe it"?

It's not even like Wikileaks, where they were doing really dubious and horrific things, but as far as I know not something that compromised basic rights in their own country.

Although I doubt the pervasive draft-saving is co-operation between Google and the NSA, and is actually a feature designed for convenience, at the end of the day the US government shouldn't be spying on its citizens in such a ridiculously broad way, and furthermore, other countries' citizens.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I don't get why everyone wants to hide what they're doing.
if you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

It's not about right and wrong, it's about heels and toes, and who steps on who.