Obama’s crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.

one must ask, why does the US have enemies?

More over, why so many perceived enemies who are US citizens? Why is the US government treating its own citizens as enemies of the state?

As a non American, I take a perverse sort of comfort from that idea that it looks like the US government is as scared of its own people as it is foreigners. At least we foreigners and American citizens are in it together.

Truth is, we are enemies of US government behavior, not the United States of America or its fine people. We critical non Americans are actually arguing for America to be better, not worse. We want it stronger through fairness, justice and, well, just plain decent behavior. Not through cowardice, fear, and the bullying fist. Just imagine how powerful the US could be if the rest of the world actually liked and respected it, rather than feared it. People who fear you are not friends, they are people who will bite back the second they can.

However, what I'm not sure of is whether or not the US government is actually as the majority of Americans want it. It is a democracy after all. I realize that democracy is distorted by money and vested interests, but TBH, given what we know today about all that, surely the American voter cant use that as an excuse any more. All those nasty lying attack ad campaigns, the distortion of facts, etc.... we all know how that works. So, surely Americans cant be swayed by that sort of thing? Would it not be a bit daft to know you are being manipulated, but still go along with such manipulations? So, cant people vote smart?

I dunno.... Its all a bit of a mess.

Oh...... why so many enemies? Fear.

It's rare because police can handle it now. If you let head to toe kevlar robbers get away all the time, well, you'll have a lot of those types of attacks.

This is Bill Clinton speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative - whose spouse, from all accounts, will most likely be running for the office of President in 2016 - on NSA Security Leaks and Snowden.

  "They (NSA) have prevented a very large number of harmful actions"

  "I don't see any alternative to trying to track all these groups 
  around the world who are trying to wreck the ordinary operations
  of life in America and probably kill a lot of people. I am not 
  persuaded that they (NSA) have done more harm than good"

In an increasingly uncertain world, the opinion among most American leaders and figureheads, on either side of the aisle, about the need for increased domestic and international surveillance, has already calcified.

For better or worse, they are overwhelmingly in favor of it. The debate being precipitated here and in mainstream media is largely symbolic.

It is time for privacy advocates to leave their dens and organize formally ( as in politically ) to advance their agendas. Washington only understands political clout whether it is a PAC or a lobby group.

Grassroots organizations will always go the way of Occupy Wall Street without formal leadership and a political consensus - lots of Zuccotti drama and nothing to show for it except for your obligatory iconic pepper spray photo.

You can mobilize politically in formal ways or bask in the warm glow of all the emotional outrage being voiced now and get your iconic photo spread.

Guess what?

The riots in Brazil have one too:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/a3b0bc19184f467fb7a70a2df6ee81a5/...

and nothing will come off those riots either. Wanna wager a candy bar?

Let's check back 3 months from now and I bet things will have gone back to where they were without any concrete action taken and the crowds going back to their usual quotidian lives.

Source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-JdjIxjeUs

The numbers that were given were contracts that allowed them to purchase up to that amount of ammunition at a given price over 5 years. The actual quantity purchased last year was more than an order of magnitude less than reported.[1]

[1]http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&...