President Obama responds to PRISM concerns, clarifies scope of snooping

President Obama responds to PRISM concerns, clarifies scope of snooping data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20603722' !== '') ? 'bsd:20603722' : ''; var postID = '20603722'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"internet",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"tim-stevens", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-14d",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});President Obama responds to PRISM concerns, clarifies scope of snoopingByTim StevenspostedJun 7th, 2013 at 12:49 PM 0

If you've missed the news on PRISM and the hugely disconcerting allegations that the NSA is basically tracking everything you do on the internet and every call you make on your cellphone, we're guessing that's because you're stuck in a cave that has access to neither technology. The allegations are incredibly troubling to say the least, and President Obama this afternoon took the time to address them -- albeit briefly. For one thing, he clarified that "nobody is listening to your phone calls," indicating that people are looking at metadata about those calls (destinations, length, etc.) rather than the calls themselves. Additionally, he clarified the internet side of the program thusly: "Internet monitoring is only for those outside United States; we have to balance keeping America safe with privacy concerns." That's great for Americans, but perhaps a bit troubling for everyone else.

This more or less echoes the statements made yesterday by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence. President Obama also reminded that this program predates his taking office, and that he himself was skeptical but has come around to the program, stating that this is something "Americans should feel comfortable about." Well, then, how comfortable do you feel? Let us know in comments.

Update: The Wall Street Journal has a full transcript of President Obama's comments.

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Source: The Washington Post, CNBC (Twitter)

Tags: nsa, obama, potus, presidentobama, prism, security

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Stephen Colbert Responds to 'Accidental Racist' With 'Oopsie-Daisy Homophobe'

Neha Prakash2013-04-18 19:54:21 UTC

Brad Paisley and LL Cool J made news recently for the release of a poorly-received new single entitled "Accidental Racist." In the song, Paisley suggests that people from the South are caught between "pride and blame," and that he is just trying to show his support for Lynyrd Skynyrd with his confederate flag t-shirts.

The song received a good deal of backlash for being insensitive and inappropriate.

And, of course, where there's opportunity for satire, there's Stephen Colbert. On Wednesday night's The Colbert Report, the comedian parodied the tune, and put his own spin on it. Instead of tackling racism, his song focused on homosexuality in a song entitled "Oopsie-Daisy Homophobe."

Alan Cumming guest stars in the song as the LL Cool J to Colbert's Paisley, and the duo will surely inspire just as much laughter as the original song raised eyebrows.

Image by Theo Wargo/Getty Images

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