The NSA is Orwellian

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The NSA is Orwellian af Mind Map: The NSA is Orwellian

1. The NSA acts like a giant telescreen because it constantly watches American citizens and also like the thoughpolice because it attacks those who speak out against it.

2. Objections/Conessions

2.1. Some will argue that the NSA's extreme surveillance of American citizens is necessary to prevent terrorist attacks.

2.2. I will concede that changes to security need to be made to ensure that events such as 9/11 do not reoccur.

2.3. I still maintain that the NSA's ability to freely spy on everyday American citizens not only violates our basic constitutional rights, but is also an ineffective method of preventing terrorism as the NSA has not caught a single terrorist.

3. Conclusion

3.1. Restate your thesis The NSA is Orwellian because it is able to freely function as a giant telescreen by constantly spying on American citizens.

3.2. Predict the future If the NSA is allowed to continue carrying out its unconstitutional practices without any consequences, it will begin to further abuse its power by more heavily monitoring the lives of American citizens until every move we make will be watched by the NSA. Though this scenario may seem plausible only through the pages of a book, the accelerating rate of technological development is providing the NSA with new and more efficient tools for surveiling us. For example, video and sound recorders have become so small that they can be easily planted on drones the size of flies. Who knows what methods the NSA will use to conceal their spying in the future?

3.3. Call upon your reader/important group to act So how can we prevent this imminent apocalypse? The answer is simple-we must act now. The NSA has been around for roughly 64 years, and it has already gained enough power to spy on members of Congress. We, the American people who have to suffer the NSA's unconstitutional abuse, must come together as one and demand that the NSA must follow the rules or face the punishment. Because the NSA is gradually getting more power and control, we must act immediately before we lose our right to speak freely in addition to our right for privacy. The NSA has become a corrupt branch of the government because of all its power. As George Orwell said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

4. Body

4.1. The NSA crushes and silences those who oppose it.

4.1.1. Edward Snowden released documents pertaining to the NSA's unconstitutional practices of spying on American citizens.

4.1.1.1. Snowden is later forced to seek asylum in Russia.

4.1.1.2. Snowden did NOT sell the information he had to a foreign intelligence service for vast sums of money, or covertly pass it to one of America's enemies, or work at the direction of a foreign government. None of his actions constitute as espionage.

4.1.2. The Espionage Act is a tool used by the NSA to "legally" get rid of people who speak out against it.

4.1.2.1. Punishes free speech by silencing people and used to "lock up" journalists when they attempt to reveal the truth.

4.1.2.2. Act was passed in 1917 to punish people for aiding the enemy or refusing military duty during World War I. Act is so broad that the government tries to refrain from using it regularly.

4.1.2.3. Including Snowden, the Obama administration has used the Espionage Act more than any other President (7 times currently).

4.1.3. The NSA used information on Brandon Raub to have him arrested.

4.1.3.1. Raub wrote a Facebook post with controversial song lyrics and political views critical of the government.

4.1.3.2. Later he was interrogated by government agents about his views on government corruption, arrested with no warning, labeled mentally ill for subscribing to so-called “conspiratorial” views about the government, detained against his will in a psych ward for standing by his views, and isolated from his family, friends and attorneys

4.2. The NSA unconstitutionally intrudes and spies on ordinary citizens. [They play a similar role to that of the thought police in 1984.]

4.2.1. The NSA creates partnerships with leading internet and phone providers, being offered a vast range of private information.

4.2.1.1. Data collection has ranged from many companies including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Skype, AOL, Sprint, AT&T, Apple, Microsoft and/or PalTalk.

4.2.1.2. It has created a long lasting partner ship with some companies. AT&T stand above the rest as leaked documents have shown that the giant telecom company was "highly collaborative"

4.2.1.3. “This is a partnership, not a contractual relationship.” The NSA keeps its contact close. They have successfully installed more than 17 internet hubs on American soil.

4.2.2. The NSA imitates popular social media sites to obtain private information

4.2.2.1. QUANTUMHAND is a program in which a fake Facebook servers are installed randomly to extract sensitive material.

4.2.2.2. "when a target attempts to log in to the social media site, the NSA transmits malicious data packets that trick the target’s computer into thinking they are being sent from the real Facebook. By concealing its malware within what looks like an ordinary Facebook page, the NSA is able to hack into the targeted computer and covertly siphon out data from its hard drive." says NSA agents Greenwald and Gallagher.

4.2.3. The NSA knows no boundaries to its spying spree and American Allies have been monitored intensively over the past few years

4.2.3.1. Israel's drones have been hacked for over 18 years

4.2.3.1.1. Project was code named "Anarchist" which was founded in 1998. it allowed NSA employees to take a "tour" inside militant areas of Israeli borders without permission. It was literally "virtual seat in the cockpit"

4.2.3.2. NSA spied on strong political influences in Germany that were close to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

4.2.3.2.1. A list of 56 numbers were leaked of which they were constantly monitored and tapped.

4.3. The NSA takes measures to ensure that it can continue its unconstitutional practices without punishment.

4.3.1. Released 12-years of internal oversight reports documenting the NSA's abuse of private information on Christmas eve.

4.3.1.1. In report, one NSA employee “searched her spouse’s personal telephone directory without his knowledge to obtain names and telephone numbers for targeting”

4.3.1.2. Releasing important documents before a major holiday draws less press and public attention to it.

4.3.2. Report about repeated engagement in unauthorized surveillance of American citizens was given to the President's Intelligence Oversight Board, but no action was taken after. [delete later]

4.3.3. The NSA relies on the Foreign Intelligence security Act (FISA) and the FISA Court to operate outside the system of checks and balances.

4.3.3.1. Was formed as a result of "Project MINARET," which allowed the NSA to spy on civil rights leaders and opponents of the Vietnam War.

4.3.3.2. The NSA needs approval from get clearance from the FISA Court before it can being surveillance on American citizens.

4.3.3.3. At the present day, the FISA Court has become and enabler for the NSA by blindly approving almost every warrant placed before it. The FISA Court does not actually stop the NSA from spying; it's just there to try and give the NSA a sense of legitimacy.

4.3.4. The NSA makes agreements with other companies for information in order to draw attention away from itself.

4.3.4.1. NSA spokes woman said that the "NSA works with a broad range of commercial partners and research associates to ensure the availability of secure tailored solutions for Department of Defense and national security systems customers"

4.3.4.2. The U.S. Justice Department charged him with theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information," and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person”

4.3.4.3. After having its database breached by hackers in China, Google made an agreement with the NSA in which it agreed to provide information about traffic on its networks in exchange for intelligence from the NSA about what it knew of foreign hackers.

5. Intro

5.1. The NSA had innocent beginnings with the goal of peace and the well being of general population. Created in the early 20th century, its goals were to use cryptology to decipher the codes of foreign countries and monitor potential threats. As multiple reports of success began pouring in, its directive began to expanding allowing the mass spying of American citizens. Since spying on domestic grounds was a new concept, the government put a leash around the NSA's neck requiring a warrant before any searches were to be conducted. Despite the plethora of new resources given to the NSA its power hungry appetite would not stop there. All constitutional rights to privacy would be lost after 9/11 where President Bush gave the NSA full power to freely access the information of millions.

5.2. They say Many governmental officials stand strong, firmly advocating for the continuation of the NSA. They believe that the NSA is a vital and irreplaceable division that protects this country's people by rooting out terrorist threats no matter the means.

5.3. The NSA is an essential part of government however has the amount of power they have collected over the years crossed the line?

5.4. I say that despite their best intentions, the invasion of privacy American citizens is unacceptable and will only lead to greater offenses against the constitutional rights that we all hold so dearly.

5.5. Reasons The NSA crushes and silences those who oppose it. The NSA unconstitutionally intrudes and spies on ordinary citizens. [They play a similar role to that of the thought police in 1984.] The NSA takes measures to ensure that it can continue its unconstitutional practices without punishment.

6. Aaron Thomsen Jerry (Ting-Chieh) Lu Period 6