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Edward Snowden stole very sensitive classified information from the National Security Agency [NSA] while working for contractor Booz Allen Hamilton in Hawaii. He fled the country and divulged national security secrets. Here is why it did not have to happen.

There are specific actions which Booz Allen Hamilton and NSA could have taken to intercept Edward Snowden before he boarded an international flight at Honolulu International Airport. We are not going to look at why Snowden did what he did. Much has already been written about that. Rather we are going to consider what could have been done to prevent the Illegal disclosure.

In 2013, Edward Snowden and his thumb drive full of classified NSA documents boarded a plane and changed the world forever.

I first learned of this matter from an article published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on June 9, 2013 entitled, Hawaii man was source of National Security Agency leaks. He had left the country nearly three weeks earlier.

On June 24, 2013, South China Morning Post [SCMP] published an article entitled, Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance.

The following are excerpts from that SCMP article based on Snowdens admissions while he was in Hong Kong:

Fugitive whistle-blower reveals for first time he took job at US government contractor with the sole aim of collecting proof of spying activities

My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked, he told the Post on June 12. That is why I accepted that position about three months ago.

During a live global online chat last week, Snowden also stated he took pay cuts in the course of pursuing specific work. He said: Booz was not the most Ive been paid.

He spent the time collecting a cache of classified documents as a computer systems administrator at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Asked if he specifically went to Booz Allen Hamilton to gather evidence of surveillance, he replied: Correct on Booz.

The documents he divulged to the Post were obtained at Booz Allen Hamilton in April, he said.

Two days after Snowden broke cover in Hong Kong as the source of the NSA leaks, Booz Allen Hamilton sacked him.

An email request was sent three times over a five-day period to Booz Allen Hamilton Media Relations at their head office in McLean, Virginia. Voice mails were also left for two persons there. A third person was reached on his cellphone but said that he was on medical leave and could not assist.

Here is a copy of the request and the questions which were posed in a conscientious effort to allow the company to give their side of the issue:

Booz Allen Hamilton

Media Inquiries

My name is David Ware. I am a journalist with an online publication called NOQ Report.

https://noqreport.com/author/david-ware

I am researching an article about why Edward Snowden was not intercepted before he could leave the United States with classified information while he was employed by Booz Allen Hamilton in Hawaii. I want to give you the opportunity to respond to the following questions before publication.

1 Do you confirm that Edward Snowden was employed by Booz Allen Hamilton in May-June 2013?

2 If so, at which NSA facility was he assigned and what was his official capacity there?

3 Did Snowden take leave in May 2013 and, if so, what was his stated purpose and destination?

4 What were the dates of his leave and on what date did you become concerned as to his whereabouts?

5 What were your actions and the dates to try to locate him?

6 What and when were your communications and coordination with NSA about Snowdens absence?

7 Did you learn that classified information was compromised and that Snowden could potentially have it in his possession, and if so, when and how did you become aware of that?

8 Did you know the nature of the medium on which that classified information was taken out of the NSA facility, and, if so, what medium was it?

9 Specifically, were there reasons to suspect that Snowden might have the classified information on a thumb drive in his possession?

10 Were any actions taken by Booz Allen Hamilton to intercept Edward Snowden and prevent him from divulging the classified information, and, if so, what and when were those actions?

11 If you are aware of NSA actions to intercept Snowden and the classified information, could you please describe those actions and their dates?

12 Did Booz Allen Hamilton or NSA have reason to believe that Edward Snowden may have committed a crime, and, if so, on what date did you become aware of that and what were your relevant actions and dates?

13 If you are unaware of NSA actions or are unable to discuss what you do know, could you please provide a name and contact at NSA who can do so?

14 Are there any other comments that you wish to provide about the issue of Edward Snowden?

This article will consider whether specific timely action could potentially have stopped Edward Snowden from boarding a flight at Honolulu International Airport with classified information in his possession. Your responses to these questions and additional comments will be included verbatim and in their entirety without being edited.

This story will be published on or after 11/23/2019 unless you request more time to supply the answers.

Mahalo,

David Ware

No response from Booz Allen Hamilton whatsoever was received.

Per Wikipedia:

On March 15, 2013 three days after what he later called his breaking point of seeing the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress Snowden quit his job at Dell.

At the time of his departure from the U.S. in May 2013, he had been employed for 15 months inside the NSAs Hawaii regional operations center, which focuses on the electronic monitoring of China and North Korea, the last three of which were with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

That being the case, it is absolutely incomprehensible that Booz Allen Hamilton hired him immediately and he began working for them at NSA. There could not have been an independent background security investigation conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton under those circumstances. As Snowden himself has admitted, he took the position specifically to obtain and divulge sensitive classified NSA data.

So, our first concern is that Booz Allen Hamilton did not apparently vet Snowden as to why he left Dell. NSA allowed him to change contractors and continue working at their super-secret facility in Kunia, Hawaii.

Snowden had been employed for no more than 6 weeks by this company, so he would not have had a significant amount of sick leave or annual leave accrued by May 1st. Yet he was absent until he departed the country on May 20th. He and his girlfriend moved out of their rented house in nearby Kunia at that time. It would be important to know how much leave he was authorized and whether any actions were taken by Booz Allen Hamilton or by NSA to locate him.

Did NSA realize that classified information had been compromised before Snowden divulged it publicly from outside the United States? If not, why not? If so, what actions were taken to intercept him and to recover / secure the data?

If the breach was known, did Booz Allen Hamilton or NSA suspect that Snowden might have it in his possession on a thumb drive?

Most importantly, was there reason to believe that Snowden may have committed a crime? If so, what action was taken to apprehend him?

The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is a computerized index of missing persons and criminal information and is designed for the rapid exchange of information between criminal justice agencies. Users access the NCIC computer located at FBI headquarters through regional or State computer systems or with direct tie-ins to the NCIC computer. The data is stored in 12 files: article, boat, Canadian warrant, gun, interstate identification index, license plate, missing person, securities, U.S. Secret Service Protective, unidentified person, vehicle, and wanted person.

If a federal arrest warrant had been issued on Edward Snowden and entered into NCIC, he would have been identified and apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the boarding gate of any international flight from Honolulu or other city. A warrantless outbound border search could have been conducted and the stolen data would have been recovered and prevented from leaving the United States in his possession. A thumb drive or other electronic media could have been detained. CBP would have turned him over to the agency holding the warrant.

But, even if there was not enough for NSA to obtain an arrest warrant, NCIC is not the only way CBP could have been alerted. If CBP had known before Snowden left the USA, a nationwide alert could have been entered and he would still have been identified prior to boarding an international flight. He would have been questioned at the gate and a warrantless border search would still have found any stolen classified information in his possession.

So, there you have it. The problem is that CBP was not alerted about Snowden before he left the country.

If Booz Allen Hamilton and/or NSA did not suspect Edward Snowden of stealing sensitive classified information before he divulged it from Hong Kong, then there are serious deficiencies in the security posture of both.

If they did know and suspected Snowden, they did not take appropriate timely action to notify CBP before he could get out of the country.

Frankly, it is hard to believe that an agency as reputable as NSA and a contractor with such a long positive track record as Booz Allen Hamilton did not have reason to believe that Snowden was the culprit sooner rather than later.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that they failed to coordinate with CBP to stop him from taking the compromised classified information abroad and divulging it there.

This did not have to become the notorious international incident that it is today. Snowden could have had his day in court and faced justice here in the United States instead of lurking in Moscow.

The author of this article is a retired United States government employee with 42 years combined active duty military and civilian service who was the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Representative at the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area [HIDTA] and collocated Hawaii State Fusion Center at the time of the Snowden incident.

I became aware of this matter strictly through open sources after Snowden had already flown from Honolulu to Hong Kong. We cannot redo the past. Whats done is done and cannot be undone.

For the record, I have worked with Booz Allen Hamilton over the years and still have a very positive impression of the overall contribution they make to our national security as a contractor with various government agencies. I also respect the publicly misunderstood role of NSA. I was aware of their existence long before the Snowden affair.

For six and a half years now, I have wished that Booz Allen Hamilton or NSA would have made a timely notification to CBP about Snowden. But, they didnt. Life goes on.

The merger of Customs inspections with Immigration inspections into DHS/CBP on March 1, 2003 was a game-changer that merits a thorough analysis in an article all its own.

The relevance in this context is that the mission of the late, great U.S. Customs Service [USCS] was preempted and usurped by the focus on non-U.S. citizens. Customs, which was established in 1789, the same year the U.S. Constitution was ratified, was a Treasury Department agency tasked with protecting and collecting the revenue along with preventing the smuggling of contraband across our borders whether by U.S. citizens or otherwise.

I hope this assessment of what went wrong in the Snowden affair will:

In fairness, despite the passing of the deadline without response, if Booz Allen Hamilton wishes to provide answers to the questions which were posed to them, they will be duly considered and we will do a follow-up article. NSA is also welcome and invited to tell us your side of the story.

As for Edward Snowden, just hold that thought and tell it to the judge and jury. Besides, we dont speak Russian.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

View post:
Conspiracy Theory1 day ago Why the Snowden incident didn't have to happen - NOQ Report

NCIS agent Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) went through a tough time after her marriage to Jake Malloy (Jamie Bamber) disintegrated (he cheated on her). However, one silver lining is that Bishop can now date and explore new relationships. Heres why the producers decided to end Bishops relationship.

In an interview with CBS, PauleyPerrette said relationships tend to fall apart on NCIS. Perrette saidDiNozzos relationships were a disaster, Abby was all over the place, and Gibbshas failed at every relationship hes ever been in. She says Vance had thebest relationship, but that all ended when the writers decided to kill hiswife. The show finally had a stable couple, Jake Malloy and Ellie Bishop, butthat ended in divorce.

Late NCIS executive producer Gary Glassberg told CBS hehad been toying with the idea of splitting up Bishop and her husband for awhile. Glassberg said it can be hard for agents to maintain a healthyrelationship in this line of work, so he wanted to demonstrate this reality inthe show:

In the real world of federal agents, divorce happens all the time. Its a very stressful situation, careers go in different directions. We were intrigued by the idea when we originally introduced her that when youre with an agency like the NSA, unless youre married to another NSA agent, you cant talk about what you did at work. If you put her as an NCIS agent and he remains at the NSA, if their careers are all they have in common, then its going to start to deteriorate. And thats something we talked about going all the way back to the creation of this character. [We thought] wouldnt it be interesting to split them apart and see what happens?

NCIS producer Frank Cardea agrees that the writers andproducers try their best to keep the show as real as possible. I think we tryto mirror real life. These things happen. While theyre out getting the bad guys,they have lives to deal with, Cardea told CBS.

Wickersham said she liked Bishops storyline because it gaveher something fun to work with. She also said it was fun to act out therelationship and to work with co-star Jamie Bamber. When I first came in andstarted with Bishop, we saw a lot of her working, and we saw one side. But Ithink, especially [in season 13], we had a chance to see a more vulnerable sideof Bishop and kind of dive into her personal life, and her relationships fallingapart, Wickersham told CBS.

Bishopand Torres have been flirting for what seems like forever. However, therehasnt been any movement toward a romantic relationship. At this point, itsanyones guess where their relationship is headed. It seems like the writersand producers are also figuring out Bishop and Torres status as they go along.NCIS producer Steven D. Binder said if they decide to have the characterscouple up, itsgoing to be horrible.

Read more: NCIS:The Mistake Michael Weatherly Made on Screen That Still Has Him Laughing

Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet onFacebook!

See the article here:
'NCIS': Why the Producers Ended Bishop's Marriage - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

NEW DELHI: India is all set to have a chief of defence staff by January as a high-level committee headed by NSA Ajit Doval is wrapping up the ground work to appoint the single-point military adviser to the government as suggested by the Kargil Review Committee in 1999.

Official sources said the Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force have already recommended to the defence ministry names of their senior-most commanders for the top position which is being created to enhance synergy among the three services in dealing with security challenges facing India.

In a landmark military reform, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 announced that India will have the CDS as head of the tri-services.

Days after the prime minister's announcement, an Implementation Committee headed by National Security Adviser Doval was appointed to finalise an enabling framework and determine the exact responsibilities for the CDS.

The committee has completed the ground work and would come out with the final framework in three weeks, the sources said.

Though the three services have recommended names of their senior-most commanders for the new position, government sources said Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat remains a front-runner for the post.

Gen. Rawat is due for retirement on December 31 and top government sources said, if everything goes according to plan, then the government would name him as the country's first CDS before he hangs up his boot.

The sources said the CDS will be a four-star general and will be the first among equals among the service chiefs. However, in the list of protocol, the CDS will be higher up than the service chiefs.

The main task of the CDS will be to ensure jointmanship among the three services which will include powers to work on setting up of few theatre commands as well as to allocate military assets among the services to synergise their operations.

The three services have already put across their views before the Doval-led panel on ways to synergise military operations and their expectations as well as recommendations on what should be the broad contours of the CDS.

"Military reforms is a continuous process and requisite steps are taken by the government from time to time, as deemed necessary," the government told the Parliament on Monday on the issue of CDS.

At present, the three services coordinate their work under the framework of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS). However, after appointment of the CDS, the IDS would be subsumed into the new structure.

The CDS will also act as a single-point military adviser to the prime minister and defence minister on key defence and strategic issues.

A high-level committee set up to examine the gaps in the country's security system in the wake of the Kargil war in 1999 had called for appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff as a single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister.

A group of ministers analysing required reforms in the national security system had also favoured appointing a Chief of Defence Staff.

In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Task force had recommended creating the post of a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Original post:
India all set to have first CDS by January; NSA-led committee completes ground work - Economic Times

Las Vegas Philharmonic (LVP) and Nevada School of the Arts (NSA) announce the launch of an exciting collaboration that provides NSA's Chamber Orchestra students with intensive mentoring from LVP musicians in conjunction with NSA educators through a series of professional coaching and side-by-side performances. The initiative is the first program to debut under the Philharmonic's newly created Music SPARK program, which encompasses all of the organization's education and community engagement efforts under one umbrella; underscoring a bold commitment to building community through music, enriching lives through culture and igniting passion through education. The orchestra has a demonstrated and long history of providing access to music and education and Music SPARK further illustrates LVP's belief in their role in the Las Vegas community: Supporting Young Musicians, Providing Access & Resources, Kindling Passion.

Drawing upon the LVP and NSA's rich history of collaboration, the series is designed to deepen the impact to students by extending the mentoring and coaching and providing invaluable performance experience as they develop their craft. This inaugural series of formalized coaching serves as an incubation model for future programs and will consist of three sessions running in Fall and Spring of 2019-20. In the program, students will benefit from high level coaching, yielding opportunities to learn from and perform alongside esteemed professional musicians to broaden their technical abilities and repertoire. Students will refine skills, conquer new musical challenges and gain valuable insights through the mentoring program. Each session will culminate in a joint performance where students put the guidance they receive into practice by performing side-by-side with professional musicians from the LVP and NSA. The concerts will be open to the public and admission is free.

The first session of the series launched November 4 with students and professionals coming together for two hours of individual instruction and coaching in preparation for a performance that will take place on Sunday, December 8 at 5:00 p.m. in NSA's auditorium. The performance will showcase students and LVP musicians playing side by side in a robust program featuring first movements of popular works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, titled Symphonic Developments.

Full schedule for the side-by-side concerts are as follows:

Sunday, December 8, 2019 at Nevada School of the Arts Auditorium at 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 1, 2020 at Green Valley Presbyterian Church at 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 3 at Nevada School of the Arts Auditorium at 3:00 p.m.

"The Las Vegas Philharmonic is deeply committed to young musicians in Las Vegas, and is thrilled to be partnering with NSA to launch a new program bringing the talent of LVP musicians into the education system more directly," shares LVP Executive Director, Lacey Huszcza. "Not only does coaching and mentoring provide young musicians with a deeper knowledge of music and performance practice, side-by-side concerts are a great way for students to experience playing at a higher level and get that thrill of live performance. The amazing thing is that even the mentors and coaches tend to learn something and take new ideas and emotions into their other performances. It is truly win-win."

"Performing side-by-side with professional musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic is a powerful and valuable learning experience for students," adds Shakeh Ghoukasian, principal 2nd violin of LVP and artistic director of NSA. "Even today, I remember the joy and pride I felt as a student sitting on the same stage with experienced musicians and performing great works of literature so I am thrilled to be part of offering this special experience to our students."

Patrick Duffy, president & CEO of NSA comments, "Collaboration in the Las Vegas valley as related to Art in all disciplines is essential to fortifying students with the very best practices as they embark on life. Nevada School of the Arts is honored to partner with the venerable Las Vegas Philharmonic in spearheading this enrichment program to unite young and tenured musicians in the creation of music, which ignites limitless passion."

View original post here:
Las Vegas Philharmonic Champions Education Through Partnership With Nevada School Of The Arts - Broadway World

Organisers of the most prestigious and longest running sports award-The Nigerian Sports Award has announced an unprecedented entry of over 35 million votes from the general public for all the sports categories in this years edition which ceremony comes up Friday 29th November 2019 at Eko Hotel Victoria Island Lagos.

A statement from the organisers of the award noted that this was the highest vote ever recorded by the Panel in the 8-year history of the award with votes coming from a total of 50, 470 respondents.

According to the Chairman of award Panel, Dr. Kweku Tandoh, votes for this years edition was relatively high in all the shortlisted categories when compared with votes recorded for last years edition.

Tandoh noted that this record entry clearly confirms that Nigerians appreciate the contribution and exploits of its sporting heroes and heroines on account of the votes cast for the sport men/women of their choice via the platforms provided by the Sports Award.

At the end of the panel session held to review the entries, 16 award categories were evaluated and these include: Footballer of the Year, Team Sports Person of the Year, Individual Sports Person of the Year, Basketball Player of The Year, Coach of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Sports Administrator of the Year.

Other award categories include Racket Sports Person of the Year, Para Sports Person of the Year, Team of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Athletic Star of the Year, SportsMan of the Year Sportswoman of the Year

The Nigerian Sports Award is the only Nigerian awards dedicated to recognizing the achievements of our sports men and women, both present and past that have shone brilliantly in the sporting world and will be broadcast live on Supersports, terrestrial TV and online streaming from 6.00pm.

The rest is here:
2019 NSA Award Records over 35m Votes - Latest Sports and Football News in Nigeria - Sports247