On first hearing about the Guardian’s and the Washington Post’s investigation into something called Prism, I tried to ignore it. If it was real, it was too scary. Just ignore it and hopefully it will go away. Then when it was still being mentioned 24 hours later I thought I had better find out about it. Not that, if this stuff is real, it will do any good to know the shape and size and origin of the hurricane that has you in its sights.
The New Yorker: What’s the matter with Metadata? Enlightening and disturbing article from Jane Mayer explaining why we should be worried when officials tell us Prism is “only” collecting the metadata not the content of phone calls.
The New Yorker: From 9/11 to Prism, a nation gone dotty John Cassidy writes that the 2008 US election could have been skipped altogether because we are not in the Obama era but a Bush-Obama era, a period that “will be remembered for an unprecedented erosion of civil liberties and a disregard for transparency”. He also touches on Prism’s freaky logo.
A bit of light relief (you’ll need it) from The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz
More on the freaky logo from the Guardian UK
The New Yorker. America through the NSA’s prism by Amy Davidson. But it’s Australia too, and New Zealand, and every other country because, as US officials have told the media, Prism collected the metadata of non-US citizens and only incidently swept up data pertaining to Americans. Um, well that’s okay then(!)
Guardian Australia’s Lenore Taylor talked to Malcolm Turnbull today about developments.
More from The New Yorker. The NSA Verizon scandal
Welcome your comments on any of this.
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