getting nervous on Cyprus, the government there,
if it actually makes decisions for the base, has
said it will not participate in any way, as a host
to attacking armies. -Zerohedge (4 below)
UPDATE2: Turns out Cyprus is spy central, AND the
staging ground for an attack on Syria. Snowden moves to
page 4. This from Twitter:
@RickAaron
I've been watching the news all day. Apparently some
woman named Miley has taken over Cyprus. Or Montana.
I'm not sure.
--
UPDATE: the Independent newspaper was duped by gov
spies into thinking they were getting Snowden info. It
seems the gov is trying to build "a case" against Snowden
that he's divulging national security issues, and thus a
terrorist. [see guardian story - 3]
--
As if it's not dangerous enough in the middle east, we've
got the UK spying in there. I wonder where such a spy
hive could be located.
I'm scanning all the British colonies and satellite
governments, with the puppet in charge.
I just can't think of where it could be.
Of course Edward Snowden knows because of what
he got from the leaks he saved. The Independent did
tell us what Snow-man knows, but would not reveal
the location because it's of "national security".
I call bullshit.
It's being hidden because the less knowledge there is
of official and unofficial British colonies there is, the
better the British argument in favour of Gibraltar seems.
So, the Independent is either under pressure to keep it
quiet, or the Independent is cooperating with the UK
authorities.
the plot thickens
Checkit:
1
Independent
Exclusive: UK’s secret Mid-East internet surveillance base is revealed in Edward Snowden leaks
Data-gathering operation is part of a £1bn web project still being assembled by GCHQ
Duncan Campbell , Oliver Wright , James Cusick , Kim Sengupta
Friday 23 August 2013
Britain runs a secret internet-monitoring station in the Middle East to intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and web traffic on behalf of Western intelligence agencies, The Independent has learnt.
The station is able to tap into and extract data from the underwater fibre-optic cables passing through the region.
The information is then processed for intelligence and passed to GCHQ in Cheltenham and shared with the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States. The Government claims the station is a key element in the West’s “war on terror” and provides a vital “early warning” system for potential attacks around the world.
The Independent is not revealing the precise location of the station but information on its activities was contained in the leaked documents obtained from the NSA by Edward Snowden. The Guardian newspaper’s reporting on these documents in recent months has sparked a dispute with the Government, with GCHQ security experts overseeing the destruction of hard drives containing the data.....
2 Press TV
Letter
A. Freeman
Aug 25, 2013 9:43 AM
I think the base they are mentioning is on the Trodos mountain range in Cyprus. It has an appropriate altitude for electronic signal surveillance. They have massive white geodesic domes up there which can be seen from really far away, they look like golf balls. It would make sense as well, seeing as they have two other "sovereign" bases on the islands coast, Dekelia and Akrotiri, overlooking the Middle East. When Lebanon was being bombarded there was huge movement in the area, with all sorts of advanced military equipment and vehicles being brought in.
3 theguardian.com,
Snowden: UK government now leaking documents about itself
The NSA whistleblower says: 'I have never spoken with, worked with, or provided any journalistic materials to the Independent'
Glenn Greenwald
Friday 23 August 2013 12.42 BST
Jump to comments (1998)
(Updated below)
The Independent this morning published an article - which it repeatedly claims comes from "documents obtained from the NSA by Edward Snowden" - disclosing that "Britain runs a secret internet-monitoring station in the Middle East to intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and web traffic on behalf of Western intelligence agencies." This is the first time the Independent has published any revelations purportedly from the NSA documents, and it's the type of disclosure which journalists working directly with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden have thus far avoided.
That leads to the obvious question: who is the source for this disclosure? Snowden this morning said he wants it to be clear that he was not the source for the Independent, stating:
I have never spoken with, worked with, or provided any journalistic materials to the Independent. The journalists I have worked with have, at my request, been judicious and careful in ensuring that the only things disclosed are what the public should know but that does not place any person in danger. People at all levels of society up to and including the President of the United States have recognized the contribution of these careful disclosures to a necessary public debate, and we are proud of this record.
"It appears that the UK government is now seeking to create an appearance that the Guardian and Washington Post's disclosures are harmful, and they are doing so by intentionally leaking harmful information to The Independent and attributing it to others. The UK government should explain the reasoning behind this decision to disclose information that, were it released by a private citizen, they would argue is a criminal act."
In other words: right as there is a major scandal over the UK's abusive and lawless exploitation of its Terrorism Act - with public opinion against the use of the Terrorism law to detain David Miranda - and right as the UK government is trying to tell a court that there are serious dangers to the public safety from these documents, there suddenly appears exactly the type of disclosure the UK government wants but that has never happened before. That is why Snowden is making clear: despite the Independent's attempt to make it appears that it is so, he is not their source for that disclosure. Who, then, is?
The US government itself has constantly used this tactic: aggressively targeting those who disclose embarrassing or incriminating information about the government in the name of protecting the sanctity of classified information, while simultaneously leaking classified information prolifically when doing so advances their political interests.
One other matter about the Independent article: it strongly suggests that there is some agreement in place to restrict the Guardian's ongoing reporting about the NSA documents. Speaking for myself, let me make one thing clear: I'm not aware of, nor subject to, any agreement that imposes any limitations of any kind on the reporting that I am doing on these documents. I would never agree to any such limitations. As I've made repeatedly clear, bullying tactics of the kind we saw this week will not deter my reporting or the reporting of those I'm working with in any way. I'm working hard on numerous new and significant NSA stories and intend to publish them the moment they are ready.
4
Russia Restructures Cyprus Debt; Cyprus Prohibits US Strikes On Syria
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/31/2013 15:00 -0400
...
Cyprus UK Bases (via Bloomberg)
The U.K. has 2 sovereign bases on Cyprus; and despite its vote against a strike, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said today 6 RAF Typhoon interceptor fast jets deploying to British base at Akrotiri in Cyprus as precautionary measure "to protect British bases on island"
Cyprus Refugee Camp (via Bloomberg)
Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides says his country is prepared for any influx of foreign nationals in the event of military action against Syria, in comments to reporters in Nicosia today. Cyprus can accept up to 10,000 people daily on basis they remain for 48 hours before repatriation (Cyprus received more than 40,000 evacuees from Lebanon after 2 weeks fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in 2006).
Cyprus Refuses To Allow Strikes From Its Territory against Syria (via Bloomberg)
Cyprus assured its territory won’t be used to launch military strikes against Syria, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said, according to a transcript of his comments posted on govt’s press-office website
Kasoulides commented that "Cyprus wants to live up to its responsibility as a shelter if needed for nationals of friendly countries who evacuate from Middle East"
