Talk:Stellar Wind

Untitled
This is clearly the same as the NSA call database. The Newsweek article is writing that NSA vacuums up about "the records of calls and e-mails of tens of millions of average Americans between September 2001 and March 2004."

I do not think NSA uses the name "NSA call database", Stellar Wind is their own code namne. I am going to add this information to the Swedish article on the NSA call database.
 * I agree, the article should be merged with NSA call database. I quickly cleaned it up until such time as I can make sure all this info gets into the other article, then I'll redirect.Matttoothman (talk) 02:02, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I disagree. The article is fine as is. We have had too much merging of articles like this one. Typically they are buried and vanish after a while. Magnum Serpentine (talk) 23:38, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Clarity
I can't tell what this non-sentence is trying to say: "Naming the official William Binney a former NSA code breaker." Can someone fix it? Kendall-K1 (talk) 19:05, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

New leak 27 Jun - OIG Draft report - Stellar wind
"NSA inspector general report on email and internet data collection under Stellar Wind – full document"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/jun/27/nsa-inspector-general-report-document-data-collection

51 pages, Dated 24 Mar 2009.

The Washington Post's version is 57 pages

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/world/national-security-agency-inspector-general-draft-report/277/

There are trivial differences between the versions in wording and formatting. --71.20.55.6 (talk) 18:49, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

Another article.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/07/what-the-ashcroft-hospital-showdown-on-nsa-spying-was-all-about/

--71.20.55.6 (talk) 02:45, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

Merge with President's Surveillance Program
I think this article should be merged with the article President's Surveillance Program, as from the NSA Inspector General report from 2009 (see above) it becomes clear that STELLARWIND is the cover name for information gathered under the President's Surveillance Program. P2Peter (talk) 19:57, 16 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I think "Stellar Wind" is a flashier name so the other article could merge here, or not. IMO, Charles Edwin Shipp (talk) 20:13, 16 July 2013 (UTC)
 * These types of surveillance programs (and world news stories) are so big and potentially expanding, why merge now? Charles Edwin Shipp (talk) 20:15, 16 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Well, why not? I think it would clarify things, as now it seems that both things are different programs, which isn't the case. The President's Surveillance Program is the main thing, STELLARWIND is just the codeword for info gathered under that program. But I will take a look, and see how to add this info in both articles first, then a merger can happen when one think it's appropriate. P2Peter (talk) 02:11, 18 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Stellar Wind is merely one piece of software. The President's Surveillance Program was broader. --71.20.55.6 (talk) 02:43, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

Correction re: SARS
The following is incorrect:


 * '''"One of the known uses of these data were the creation of suspicious activity reports, or "SARS", about people suspected of terrorist activities."

SARs are reports submitted by financial institutions to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Treasury, under anti-money laundering statutes. For example, if I walked into a bank with a suitcase full of $10,000 or more in cash, or made a series of large cash deposits, a SAR would be filed with FinCEN. The point is that for the first time, NSA was able to access this data.

While it was a SAR that alerted authorities to Elliot Spitzer, that is irrelevant to this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wilson945 (talk • contribs) 15:12, 6 December 2013 (UTC)

Move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Move. The consensus is that the different capitalization is sufficient to distinguish the article. Cúchullain t/ c 17:04, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

Stellar Wind (code name) → Stellar Wind – Not really ambiguous when capitalized and the only other potential meaning can be clarified with a hatnote pointing to the common noun phrase stellar wind. Someone not using his real name (talk) 03:22, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Support, seems reasonable. Thargor Orlando (talk) 04:17, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Well, if you want to change the name of this article, please write it as STELLARWIND, as that's the official way it's written by NSA. P2Peter (talk) 07:00, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Oppose – we don't normally disambiguate by a case change alone, in spite of rare exceptions like Red Meat. Dicklyon (talk) 02:08, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Support - See WP:DIFFCAPS to refute the above comment. Only two topics, so just hatnotes are required here. Woodshed (talk) 02:40, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
 * It says they "may", not that it's a good idea. Dicklyon (talk) 05:34, 27 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Support the proposed move, capitalization is enough here, and the hat should point only to the lowercase. A disambiguation page is not even needed.   - WPGA2345 -     ☛   22:10, 29 January 2014 (UTC)
 * The disambiguation page can be merged to solar wind (disambiguation) (and redirect there) in the see also section for this codename. -- 70.50.148.122 (talk) 06:06, 30 January 2014 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Justice Department in 2004 according to Comey
In the section "2004 conflict", this article states that Jack Goldsmith of the Office of Legal Counsel authorized the legality of Stellar Wind in May 2004. At the end of the paragraph, it's mentioned that Acting AG James Comey refused to authorize it.

This timeline is confusing on the face (May 2004 followed by March 2004?), but also it appears to contradict the narrative Comey puts forth in his memoir A Higher Loyalty (ch. 6, "On the Tracks"). One problem is that Comey adds the key detail that when he refused to sign off in March, the program was changed to bring it in line with the law according to Justice's opinion. The new version would be what Goldsmith signed off on in May.

If there are no objections, I plan to change this section to address these issues within the next few days, time permitting.

Ginkgo100talk 18:20, 14 May 2018 (UTC) Ginkgo100talk 18:20, 14 May 2018 (UTC)

Regarding future moving and merging this article
Edward Snowden on the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) discuss his well-known disclosures and keeps mentioning Stellar Wind by name as a pivotal program that "really changed me"; was the impetus behind his leaks to the press (he's also summarizing the content of [his book] that came out several weeks ago). Snowden mentions a Washington Post article (which is also cited in this WP article) as being important for revealing this program. IMO this JRE interview with Snowden dated October 23 2019 is the latest weight in favor of keeping Stellar Wind as an independent page not merged with other articles. Joeparsec (talk) 18:59, 11 November 2019 (UTC)