Questioning Spying and Keeping Secrets?
When I reflect on spying empathy comes to mind. How would I feel if I was spied on without my permission. It would feel like I am not trusted or being judged. What if there was a complete paradigm shift which works along the lines that through the law of attraction you attract what you focus on. If you want peace and security you focus on trust with neighbours and that is what you attract. What does distrust create?
When I travelled the World alone I chose to see the world as my family, I chose to see it as a safe place. For me, that is what I experienced. I walk at night and if I see a man I assume like me he is getting fresh air and exercise. We walked past each other and enjoyed the wonderful stars. Such an amazing reality. I now realise we all create our reality given the thoughts we choose to believe. If you want to see change, simply change your thoughts. It truly is that simple.
Anyway to the drama of spy agencies not trusting others, of course that is their role. What will that create? Will they question their core beliefs. I recommend they go to the work of Byron Katie and deeply question what is true? www.thework.com
I wold love to see a new era of cooperation where our neighbours are truly our friends and if they do the wrong thing, let’s be good neighbours and help them. Or do we see them as potential enemies – do we apply labels to demonise them? Do we see the world as a map to divide and conquer? or a living organism that is unexplainable and out of that incredible mystery our lives unfold in interesting ways? We we finally come into the understanding we are all One and that what we do not another we do to ourselves, then wisdom is sitting at the table without the need for electronic surveillance. As we will understand our thoughts are really the place to find true answers.
The consciousness of Oneness will be fostered by the environmental collapse as we start to see that nature is in all our interests and if business-as-usual is distorting that truth and continuing to extract from the planet without responsibility then we will need as One world society to question what works and what does not? We have the power to change and with true intelligence start working on global problems together rather than spending so much money on fear and in a way that can never be controlled. I am trained in peace education and I often wonder what would happen if my work and others like me, had their work funded, imagine the outcome? Learning REAL HOPES – Responsibility, Empathy, Awareness, Love, Honesty, Oneness, Peace, Enjoyment and Service. Imagine if every child learned this across the planet. Do you think we would work together intelligently with a clear focus on global harmony? Imagine if we sought to be happy not right? I see a new earth rise.
Let’s take a look at the drama. The funny aspect is they are all doing it.
http://www.afr.com/p/national/spy_agencies_in_damage_control_over_p1i6fWcnh3EKnJczc2SZ5H
Spy agencies in damage control over leaks
PUBLISHED: 04 Nov 2013 00:07:11 | UPDATED: 04 Nov 2013 06:03:41
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Anifah Aman has handed a protest letter to the heads of Australian and United States missions in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Bloomberg
Geoff Kitney
Australia’s key intelligence and security agencies are desperately trying to limit the damage from the disclosure of Australian foreign spying operations through leaks from the United States National Security Agency which have triggered angry responses from across the region.
Formal diplomatic protests over the claims of Australia’s electronic snooping have been lodged by the Indonesian and Malaysian governments, and a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has called for urgent clarification of the reports. The disclosures are part of the security breaches involving former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Despite public silence from the federal government and the intelligence agencies which have adopted the normal protocol of refusing to confirm or deny claims relating to intelligence matters, intelligence sources have confirmed they are taking the issue extremely seriously and struggling to manage the fallout.
Intelligence sources have indicated to The Australian Financial Review that there is deep concern in official circles about how highly classified information about top secret intelligence gathering capabilities – and specific operations – was allowed by the NSA to get into unauthorised hands.
In particular, there is deep concern that a low-level, outside contractor to the NSA could have obtained the information, just as there was similar dismay about the access levels that Wikileaks’ source Private Bradley Manning was able to gain.
The claims that Australia’s top-secret Defence Signals Directorate targeted the internal communications systems of key regional powers are part of the damaging disclosures of US spying operations which snooped on the private phone conversations of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other US allies.
A US report over the weekend disclosed the details of a joint Australian DSD and NSA operation which used the cover of then-prime minister Kevin Rudd’s visit to Bali for a climate change conference in 2007 to target the mobile phones of key Indonesian figures.
Serious questions
One of Australia’s leading defence analysts, Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University, Hugh White, told the Financial Review there were serious issues relevant to Australia’s national security interests that needed to be asked about the internal operations of the NSA.
“Without reflecting on the specific allegations, I make the point that our intelligence co-operation with the United States depends on the capacity of both sides to keep each other’s secrets,” Professor White said.
“The less confidence we have in the capacity of the US agencies to maintain that secrecy the harder it will be to sustain the co-operation.”
Australian diplomats in the region are responding to the protests by angry governments by refusing to confirm or deny the leaked details of electronic intelligence operations.
Instead, they are attempting to reassure regional powers that Australia is committed to strengthening regional security and building better relationships with regional governments.
But diplomatic sources concede that the issue will damage trust between Australia and its regional partners in the short term and require ongoing, behind-the-scenes efforts to repair the damage.
They say it is impossible to calculate what the cost of this might in terms of the co-operation between Australia and its regional partners.
The backlash from regional countries came after the publication in Fairfax Media of a top-secret map leaked by Edward Snowden that showed 90 US surveillance facilities at diplomatic missions worldwide, some of them joint operations with Australia’s Defence Signals Directorate.
The diplomatic scramble now going on in the region to try to limit the fallout of the disclosures is a major headache for the Abbott government and its inexperienced national security team.
Hugely embarrassing
While intelligence community insiders say that Australia’s Asian neighbours have long been aware that Australia conducts electronic intelligence gathering operations in conjunction with the US agencies, they say the disclosure of the details of specific operations is hugely embarrassing and potentially damaging to Australia’s relations with those countries.
Following last week’s formal protest by Indonesia, the Malaysian government over the weekend summoned the heads of the US and Australian missions in Kuala Lumpur to protest over the spying allegations.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said his officials summoned the mission heads to “hand over a protest note in response to the alleged spying activities carried out by the two embassies in Kuala Lumpur”.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Anifah said that such activities were not done among friends because it could be severely damaging to existing relations.
Responding to the alleged spying activities, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said they were “just not cricket” .
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said China was “extremely concerned” about the reported US-led electronic spying and Australia’s connection with it.
This came as China was already unhappy about the Abbott government’s decision to ban Chinese telco Huawei from participating in providing equipment for the national broadband network over security concerns.