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Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

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21–30 of 191 posts

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#21
post #10

As a European, this is something that could very well make my government resign because it would be illegal. Like, crazy illegal. Is this legal in the US or is the current US administration in hot water?

Did the Snowden revelations end up weakening any government despite the violations against citizens? Or fast and furious? Iran-Contra? Don’t kid yourself.

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#22
post #8

Not only tracking them, but putting flags on their passports and interrogating them at the border: “They asked about the new caravan and if word had gotten out about how difficult it is to seek asylum in the U.S.,” Drehsler said. “Then before I left, the female agent asked if I rented or owned my home.” This sounds much more like a political intimidation operation than serving a national security purpose.

this is normal. journalists are hot targets to either spoof or buy to snoop around as they often have more access than regular civilians to high profile targets.... counter-intelligence and counter-espionage. people should realise that forgein powers demotivate them against their own government, and now these demotivated people are the ones complaining about this kind of shit, preventing their own government from fun…

There's a lot of implicit trust in this view, it's the same type of trust people around the world have for their governments, that doesn't mean they are incorruptible or well-meaning. This entirely is for allowing the government to control information, and thus control people.

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#23
post #8

Not only tracking them, but putting flags on their passports and interrogating them at the border: “They asked about the new caravan and if word had gotten out about how difficult it is to seek asylum in the U.S.,” Drehsler said. “Then before I left, the female agent asked if I rented or owned my home.” This sounds much more like a political intimidation operation than serving a national security purpose.

this is normal. journalists are hot targets to either spoof or buy to snoop around as they often have more access than regular civilians to high profile targets.... counter-intelligence and counter-espionage. people should realise that forgein powers demotivate them against their own government, and now these demotivated people are the ones complaining about this kind of shit, preventing their own government from fun…

This is the standard wartime playbook for restricting freedom. It's completely incompatible with functioning democracy.

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#24
post #10

As a European, this is something that could very well make my government resign because it would be illegal. Like, crazy illegal. Is this legal in the US or is the current US administration in hot water?

This is probably only true in Germany.

> Is this legal in the US or is the current US administration in hot water?

Keeping immigrants in indefinite detention probably isn't legal in the US, doesn't mean it's not going to continue.

> current US administration in hot water?

The FBI is working their way through jailing senior members of the Trump campaign.

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#25
post #8

Not only tracking them, but putting flags on their passports and interrogating them at the border: “They asked about the new caravan and if word had gotten out about how difficult it is to seek asylum in the U.S.,” Drehsler said. “Then before I left, the female agent asked if I rented or owned my home.” This sounds much more like a political intimidation operation than serving a national security purpose.

this is normal. journalists are hot targets to either spoof or buy to snoop around as they often have more access than regular civilians to high profile targets.... counter-intelligence and counter-espionage. people should realise that forgein powers demotivate them against their own government, and now these demotivated people are the ones complaining about this kind of shit, preventing their own government from fun…

Im sure once an opposing government takes power and starts interrogating people who make comments like yours, you’ll be as accommodating.

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is normal. journalists are hot targets to either spoof or buy to snoop around as they often have more access than regular civilians to high profile targets.... counter-intelligence and counter-espionage. people should realise that forgein powers demotivate them against their own government, and now these demotivated people are the ones complaining about this kind of shit, preventing their own government from fun…

> so yes. keep complaining about your governments hard work to keep you safe, i'm sure the opposing forces will thank you later. Are you suggesting blind fealty? If so, relevant.mp4: https://youtu.be/2HYIJahQKaI?t=189

I don't think he's suggesting blind fealty so much as avoidance of the opposite - blind opposition.

Good individuals (or governments) can do very bad things. And bad individuals (or governments) can do very good things. When one immediately jumps to one conclusion or another, it leaves one open to being trivially manipulated. In political jargon - being made into a useful idiot [1].

In this case it was particularly bad since it wasn't "one" but rather entire groups of people either blindly supporting or blindly opposing the caravan based on political ideology. Comments running contrary to the groupthink tended to be simply attacked instead of considered.

Are there reasons to support the investigation into the caravan? Absolutely. Are there reasons to oppose it? Absolutely. But people are increasingly becoming simple minded on political issues and will simply go full-on one way or the other. This (to borrow from a peer comment) is what is "completely incompatible with functioning democracy."

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#27
post #8

Not only tracking them, but putting flags on their passports and interrogating them at the border: “They asked about the new caravan and if word had gotten out about how difficult it is to seek asylum in the U.S.,” Drehsler said. “Then before I left, the female agent asked if I rented or owned my home.” This sounds much more like a political intimidation operation than serving a national security purpose.

this is normal. journalists are hot targets to either spoof or buy to snoop around as they often have more access than regular civilians to high profile targets.... counter-intelligence and counter-espionage. people should realise that forgein powers demotivate them against their own government, and now these demotivated people are the ones complaining about this kind of shit, preventing their own government from fun…

You do realize this is the exact same reasoning places like China & Russia use and indeed why we always hear they're 'non-free' as a result.

If you simply think that the same actions when done by a Western government are somehow more justifiable/right then you simply fell for some form of exceptionalism propaganda.

The very reason why we're supposed to be more free is because we're not supposed to do these things on principle, even if it makes the work of security officials more convenient to do them.

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#28
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> so yes. keep complaining about your governments hard work to keep you safe, i'm sure the opposing forces will thank you later. Are you suggesting blind fealty? If so, relevant.mp4: https://youtu.be/2HYIJahQKaI?t=189

I don't think he's suggesting blind fealty so much as avoidance of the opposite - blind opposition. Good individuals (or governments) can do very bad things. And bad individuals (or governments) can do very good things. When one immediately jumps to one conclusion or another, it leaves one open to being trivially manipulated. In political jargon - being made into a useful idiot [1]. In this case it was particularly b…

>I don't think he's suggesting blind fealty so much as avoidance of the opposite - blind opposition.

The OC's statement came across as, "The government is doing this for you, so don't question it." To me, it didn't come across as including the facet of being pro/against the caravan in question, whatsoever, but - to the OC's credit - maybe it was there and I just missed it...

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#29
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is normal. journalists are hot targets to either spoof or buy to snoop around as they often have more access than regular civilians to high profile targets.... counter-intelligence and counter-espionage. people should realise that forgein powers demotivate them against their own government, and now these demotivated people are the ones complaining about this kind of shit, preventing their own government from fun…

This is the standard wartime playbook for restricting freedom. It's completely incompatible with functioning democracy.

The United States in still engaged in 2 declared wars. One of which has it's theater defined as "wherever al-qeada and it's associates are" (paraphrase).

So what's wrong with the wartime playbook? We're at war.

Re: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Tracking Journalists Through a Secret Database

#30
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> so yes. keep complaining about your governments hard work to keep you safe, i'm sure the opposing forces will thank you later. Are you suggesting blind fealty? If so, relevant.mp4: https://youtu.be/2HYIJahQKaI?t=189

I don't think he's suggesting blind fealty so much as avoidance of the opposite - blind opposition. Good individuals (or governments) can do very bad things. And bad individuals (or governments) can do very good things. When one immediately jumps to one conclusion or another, it leaves one open to being trivially manipulated. In political jargon - being made into a useful idiot [1]. In this case it was particularly b…

Please apply this to the case at hand. The case at hand is not about supporting or opposing the caravan, or its investigation.

It is about how journalists reporting on it are marked for special treatment at the US border. I fail to see any complex pro/con political issue there. Free press is a constitutional right for a reason.

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