memeorandum: NSA paying U.S. companies for access to communications networks (Washington Post)

12:40 PM ET, August 30, 2013

Top Items:

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Obama Set for Limited Strike on Syria as British Vote No — WASHINGTON — President Obama is prepared to move ahead with a limited military strike on Syria, administration officials said Thursday, despite a stinging rejection of such action on Thursday by America's stalwart ally Britain and mounting questions from Congress.

Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:

U.S. military officers have deep doubts about impact, wisdom of a U.S. strike on Syria — The Obama administration's plan to launch a military strike against Syria is being received with serious reservations by many in the U.S. military, which is coping with the scars of two lengthy wars …

Discussion: Post Politics, The PJ Tatler, Sense of Events, Weasel Zippers and Israel Matzav

Politico:

Nancy Pelosi the hawk tells Barack Obama to act on Syria — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pressed top administration officials Thursday night to take military action to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad in response to reports that he used chemical weapons in his nation's ongoing civil war.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Guardian, The PJ Tatler, Hullabaloo, Weasel Zippers, Goppers and Reuters

Mark Murray / First Read:

NBC poll: Americans skeptical of U.S. intervention in Syria — Fifty percent of Americans say they oppose the United States taking military action against Syrian President Bashar Assad, and nearly eight-in-10 believe President Barack Obama should receive congressional approval before using any force, according to a new NBC News poll.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Politico, The BRAD BLOG, CNN, Hot Air and New York Times

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

Unclassified Syria briefing exposes rifts among key lawmakers — Thursday night's briefing by top Obama administration officials exposed divisions among key lawmakers on what to do in Syria. — Lawmakers on the unclassified conference call said the officials made it clear that President Obama …

Discussion: Politico

Mark Murray / NBCNews:

NBC poll: Nearly 80 percent want congressional approval on Syria — Nearly 80 percent of Americans believe President Barack Obama should receive congressional approval before using force in Syria, but the nation is divided over the scope of any potential strike, a new NBC News poll shows.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, New York Times, NewsMax.com, AL.com, FITSNews, Scared Monkeys, msnbc.com, National Review, Lawfare and Weekly Standard

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Prepares for Solo Strike On Syria After Britain Balks — WASHINGTON—The Obama administration laid the groundwork for unilateral military action in Syria, a shift officials said reflected the U.K.'s abrupt decision not to participate and concerns that President Bashar al-Assad was using …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Business Insider, Hot Air, AEIdeas and The Volokh Conspiracy

The White House:
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, BizPac Review, The Hinterland Gazette, The Daily Caller, AL.com, PoliticusUSA, The Week, NPR and BuzzFeed

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
As Obama considers Syria strikes, Bush and Carter weigh in

Discussion: Politico, Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Aim of U.S. Attack: Restore a ‘Red Line’ That Became Blurred

Discussion: The Daily Caller and emptywheel

Politico:
The lonely president — President Barack Obama had hoped for a quick …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The New Republic and Reuters

Liam Stack / The Lede:
Facebook Post Said to Be by Assad's Son Dares Americans to Attack

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Gawker, AL.com and FP Passport

CNN:
Sources: U.S. may go it alone on Syria

Discussion: Business Insider and KDVR.com

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
British parliament rejects military strike against Syria

Discussion: Wonkblog, Guardian, Reuters, Post Politics, The Fix, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway and Lawfare

Devin Dwyer / ABC News:
Obama's Off-the-Cuff ‘Red Line’ Creates Syria Dilemma

Discussion: Hot Air, NetRight Daily and Associated Press

Emily Swanson / The Huffington Post:
Syria Poll Finds Little American Support For Air Strikes

Discussion: americanthinker.com and Outside the Beltway

BBC:
MPs' vote halts UK action over Syria

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Samizdata, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, The Volokh Conspiracy, Guardian and Daily Kos

Dylan Byers / Politico:
After Iraq, media skepticism on Syria

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Reuters and Guardian

CNN:
British leader loses vote on Syria response

Discussion: Associated Press, The Economic Collapse, CBS News, AL.com, KDVR.com, Scared Monkeys, NPR, Here & Now and Balloon Juice

IC ON THE RECORD:

DNI Clapper Directs Annual Release of Information Related to Orders Issued to Telecom Providers Under National Security Authorities — August 29, 2013 — In June, President Obama directed the Intelligence Community (IC) to declassify and make public as much information as possible …

Discussion: Hillicon Valley, GigaOM, AL.com, The Switch, The Verge, emptywheel, epic.org and Techdirt

Washington Post:

NSA paying U.S. companies for access to communications networks — The National Security Agency is paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year to U.S. companies for clandestine access to their communications networks, filtering vast traffic flows for foreign targets in a process that also sweeps …

Discussion: Secrecy News, Prairie Weather, The Switch, emptywheel and TechCrunch

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Federal Judge Strikes Down Law Barring Same-Sex Couples From Receiving Veterans' Benefits — “Title 38 is unconstitutional under rational basis scrutiny.” — Tracey and Maggie Cooper-Harris. — Courtesy Kathleen Perrin — WASHINGTON — A federal judge in California on Thursday found that …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Blade and U.S. Department …

M. Alex Johnson / NBCNews:
Federal judge orders VA to obey Supreme Court on same-sex benefits

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, BuzzFeed, Hot Air and SCOTUSblog

Bryce Covert / ThinkProgress:

Poverty Has Same Effect On The Brain As Constantly Pulling All Nighters — The mental strain of living in poverty and thinking constantly about tight finances can drop a person's IQ by as much as 13 percent, or about the equivalent of losing a night of sleep, according to a new study.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

sciencemag.org:
Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function

Discussion: Washington Post, NPR and Gawker

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

Leaked documents reveal US sees Israel as a spying threat (Video) — The Obama administration views Israel as one of the top spying threats facing its intelligence services, leaked documents reveal. — A secret budget request obtained by The Washington Post from former NSA contractor …

Discussion: Israel Matzav, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, WJLA-TV and Gawker

Washington Post:
Inside the 2013 U.S. intelligence ‘black budget’

Discussion: FP Passport, Business Insider, Wonkblog and The Moderate Voice

Stephen Lurie / The Atlantic Online:

How the Senate Exploits Unpaid Interns — Barely a third of U.S. senators pay their interns — and embarrassingly for Democrats, a party focused on workplace welfare, most of them are Republicans. — If you walk into any of the 100 Senate offices spread across Capitol Hill, there is one consistent element.

Discussion: Althouse

David Barrett / Telegraph:

David Miranda was carrying password for secret files on piece of paper — A journalist's partner who was detained carrying thousands of British intelligence documents through Heathrow airport was also holding the password to an encrypted file written on a piece of paper, the government has disclosed.

Discussion: Politico, BuzzFeed, Business Insider, Joe. My. God. and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »

Facebook:

Proposed Updates to our Governing Documents — We are proposing updates to two important legal documents - our Data Use Policy and our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. These two documents tell you about how we collect and use data, and the rules that apply when you choose to use Facebook.

Discussion: AllThingsD, Digits, The Verge, Hillicon Valley, GigaOM and NYT Bits

Washington Post:

What ‘The Butler’ gets wrong about Ronald Reagan and race — Steven F. Hayward, Paul Kengor, Craig Shirley and Kiron K. Skinner are Ronald Reagan historians. — One cold evening in Dixon, Ill., in the early 1930s, a young man known as Dutch Reagan brought home two African American teammates from his Eureka College football team.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Power Line and Ed Driscoll

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Conservatives ready another try to unseat Lindsey Graham — SOUTH CAROLINA 2014 ELECTIONS LINDSEY GRAHAM — ANDERSON, S.C. — On a Monday night in late August, Sen. Lindsey Graham was traveling with a congressional delegation in Africa when the three Republicans who are challenging …

The New / New York Times:

Seamus Heaney, Irish Poet of Soil and Strife, Dies — Seamus Heaney, a widely celebrated Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, died at a hospital in Dublin on Friday after a short illness, according to a statement issued on behalf of his family. He was 74.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

New York Times:

Leading Democrats, de Blasio Has Broad Support as Primary Nears — Frustration with New York City's unaffordability and its aggressive police tactics is elevating Bill de Blasio, once dismissed as a left-leaning long shot, into the lead of the Democratic mayoral primary field …

Discussion: Politico, Newsday, Taegan Goddard's … and Capital New York