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NSA Deletes 'Honesty' and 'Openness' From Core Values (theintercept.com)
An anonymous shares a report: The National Security Agency maintains a page on its website that outlines its mission statement. But earlier this month, the agency made a discreet change: It removed "honesty" as its top priority. Since at least May 2016, the surveillance agency had featured honesty as the first of four "core values" listed on NSA.gov, alongside "respect for the law," "integrity," and "transparency." The agency vowed on the site to "be truthful with each other." On January 12, however, the NSA removed the mission statement page -- which can still be viewed through the Internet Archive -- and replaced it with a new version. Now, the parts about honesty and the pledge to be truthful have been deleted. The agency's new top value is "commitment to service," which it says means "excellence in the pursuit of our critical mission." Those are not the only striking alterations. In its old core values, the NSA explained that it would strive to be deserving of the "great trust" placed in it by national leaders and American citizens. It said that it would "honor the public's need for openness." But those phrases are now gone; all references to "trust," "honor," and "openness" have disappeared.
They never cared about any of that shit before...they're just now being open about the fact the only thing they care about is fucking the american public and violating our foruth admendment rights.
this government is invalid.
There's nothing "open" about a spying agency, and to be effective spies they need to be dishonest (at least in the field).
I just hope "respect for (US) law" is really still a thing over there. Things don't look so good over at other agencies...
So, now their mission as a surreptitious spy agency dealing with lots of information they can't talk about is no longer being lied about on a PR page. Good. That earlier silliness is especially ironic, given its presence during the previous administration, which appears to have been using that agency's tools against domestic political rivals. Yeah, that was all warm-and-fuzzy "being honest with one another" and "completely transparent" behavior. Unless the agency's executive branch bosses didn't like you, in which case it was the exact opposite. Not that that's the NSA's fault, as an agency - that's entirely on their then-management in the White House, and those in the White House granted the power to troll through signal intelligence and the ability to unmask citizens from their collected communications. Here's looking at you, Susan Rice.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Please tell me how an agency which violates the constitution and spies on Americans can be allowed to exist? They're worse then the sexual assaults the TSA illegal does daily.
Maybe these things should simply be assumed and don't need to appear in every mission statement know to man?
I know folks will make this into "See They don't CARE about being honest! They took it out of their mission statement!" but I think that's a bit of overreach. Maybe they just assume that honest and ethical activity is always required and they want to highlight what the organization actually does in its mission statement, not how they do it.
And if you think about their activity... Openness and transparency might not be a good thing to put in a mission statement where it could be misconstrued by individuals in the organization dedicated to the clandestine collection of information.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Since at least May 2016 (whoa... that long!), the surveillance agency had featured honesty as the first of four "core values" listed on NSA.gov. They're being more honest now by not attempting to deceive people into believing that they'll open about their work above other values, such as "commitment to service." Just because they removed the feel-good language doesn't mean they'll not continue to be working in the nation's best interests and within the law. But, publications need page views, and this is certainly click-bait worthy.
It's much more dishonest to speak about honesty and transparency when they aren't actually embraced to achieve your mission.
By removing honesty and truthfulness from their mission statement, they are being honest and truthful - perhaps more so that ever!
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
It's not a change in protocol, it's just admitting what has been reality for a long time.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
... of what we all knew long ago.
You can tell that NSA is inhabited by a lot of super-nerds. It's actually a quiet little in-joke. They are virtue signalling by honestly admitting that, not only are they not honest, it isn't even on their "to-do" list.
I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
The ENTIRE department of Justice and PLENTY of intelligence agencies run without any oversight from ELECTED officials.
Chuck Schumer himself mentioned the week Trump was elected the intelligence community has six ways past sunday to fight anyone they don't like.
That includes voters.
That includes the American people.
The president will get held accountable based on what he can pull off, but he has NO control over these organizations that are supposed to operate in his branch of government.
The DoJ and the intel orgs see it as their job to attack anyone in the party they don't like. This is why there are all these removed text messages among the high ranks of the FBI. They are trying to cover up the Russia style corruption going on.
That means these are POLITICAL offices now and need to be scrapped with every change in office.
Trump should be able to do with all these guys what Clinton did with the US attorneys when he took office: fire them all!
If there is any conflict between what the FBI wants and what the voters want, the FBI MUST LOSE. Voters know better!
Technically, by removing those items, maybe the are in fact being more 'honest' in the sense that they are letting everyone know they are not or can not be.
The NSA had to remove it because they were threatened to be sued for False Advertising.
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Back in the day, it was joked that "NSA" stood for "No Such Agency," because even the name of the agency was secret. It's silly for an agency whose entire mission is secret to put in their purported mission statement that "honesty", "openness", and "transparency" are their objectives; that would be a contradiction, and the only thing it would do would be to make the people who work for the agency understand that they are required to ignore the mission statement to do their jobs.
So, I applaud their honesty and openness in removing honesty and openness from their mission statement. This is, in fact, not their mission statement.
Ad hominem attacks are not valid logic...
You may think they make you look good, but in reality they just expose your lack of thought on the subject in question. Maybe you just don't have a valid argument? Maybe you just want to throw mud? I don't know. But it's apparent you have nothing substantive to add...
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
A series of middle eastern wars since the Balfour Decrlation created a "jewish homeland", proves that Jews are preety much like everyone else when it comes to pacifism and warmongering. The trick is to find away out of the cycle of violence and put such animosity and hostility behind us, so that we can focus on bigger problems, like keeping planet Earth habitable in the latter half of the 21st century and the 22nd century. Unless this is done, humanity is very unlikely to experience a 23rd century.