31–40 of 68 posts
Twelve years later, the country that was so proud to be "leader of the free world" is now affected by a cancer named secrecy and defiance ; defiance from government toward people and defiance from people toward government (well, that last part is not new, but it's not baseless anymore, which make a huge difference).
US should definitely work on trust, especially because their main strength is business and that can't exist without trust.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm probably missing something obvious, but what evidence is there to suggest that there's an ace that trumps the government's terrorism card? I want to be optimistic, but I'm not really sold on the idea that we have the information, and that it's just a matter of time until it's released to the public.
Good! A year ago nobody imagined that all of this Snowden stuff would come out, did they? Yet he was clearly working on something that may or may not have worked. The mass surveillance works two ways: to learn/steal the secrets of the citizenry is one way, the other way is to hide secrets from the citizenry. Some people in government are more concerned with people talking about their secrets, their 'noble lies'. This…
“Disclosure of this still-classified information regarding the scope and operational details of N.S.A. intelligence activities implicated by plaintiffs’ allegations could be expected to cause extremely grave damage to the national security of the United States,” wrote the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr. I am really getting sick and tired of listening to this dirtbag scum motherfucker. He lied…
Keep in mind he's not being promoted, he's the fall guy if things go south. Basically he's being setup to be the lightning rod if things go bad. Note the new talk about possible pardons. My take on the tea leaves is that they now realize that Snowden has been saving the best for last (or later). And that he's only revealing whats needed to effect change. If they don't start damage control the right way Clapper is goi…
My take on the tea leaves is that they now realize that Snowden has been saving the best for last (or later).Terrorism has won. Twelve years later, the country that was so proud to be "leader of the free world" is now affected by a cancer named secrecy and defiance ; defiance from government toward people and defiance from people toward government (well, that last part is not new, but it's not baseless anymore, which make a huge difference). US should definitely work on trust, especially because their main strength is busin…
Terrorism has won. Twelve years later, the country that was so proud to be "leader of the free world" is now affected by a cancer named secrecy and defiance ; defiance from government toward people and defiance from people toward government (well, that last part is not new, but it's not baseless anymore, which make a huge difference). US should definitely work on trust, especially because their main strength is busin…
I'm afraid this all dates back further than 12 years (eg: see Binning at hope 9). There's little evidence the true motivation was to defeat terrorism (if for no other reason than domestic terrorism falls under the fbi, not nsa -- and is and has been arguably the bigger threat).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxnp2Sz59p8
all talks:
This is great - they are making it worse for themselves! Before the Snowden revelations came along nobody took you seriously if you thought we lived in a world of mass surveillance. Now we all know all too well that we do. As the scandal unravels the government are clinging to the 'terrorism' fig leaf. They haven't got anything else, no other plausible excuse for what they have been up to. Nobody has completely seen…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see this a lot in NSA topics about how some new legal challenge might reverse NSA activities... Why does anyone think this will work? The NSA is accountable to the executive. The executive is responsible for enforcing laws but can selectively enforce... Why would it limit it's own power?
Checks and balances. The NSA is funded by Congress. Congress needs the courts in order for their legislation to have any effect.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm probably missing something obvious, but what evidence is there to suggest that there's an ace that trumps the government's terrorism card? I want to be optimistic, but I'm not really sold on the idea that we have the information, and that it's just a matter of time until it's released to the public.
Good! A year ago nobody imagined that all of this Snowden stuff would come out, did they? Yet he was clearly working on something that may or may not have worked. The mass surveillance works two ways: to learn/steal the secrets of the citizenry is one way, the other way is to hide secrets from the citizenry. Some people in government are more concerned with people talking about their secrets, their 'noble lies'. This…
Otherwise, all I'm seeing is childish usenet style attention seeking.
Terrorism has won. Twelve years later, the country that was so proud to be "leader of the free world" is now affected by a cancer named secrecy and defiance ; defiance from government toward people and defiance from people toward government (well, that last part is not new, but it's not baseless anymore, which make a huge difference). US should definitely work on trust, especially because their main strength is busin…
The war on drugs is a big part of that. But other things are too, things that people still have a hard time grappling with intellectually. Labor laws and the welfare state, for example, tend not to actually benefit those at the bottom, they tend to benefit those at the top, no matter the intentions. But in the meantime, a lot more of our money is taken under government control, and a lot more of our daily activities as well. Our country may one day rediscover the value of liberty, but for now it's still a huge messy muddle.
As President he's "supposed" to fight for this, even if it's crap. That's how our "adversarial" government works. That's why it's CHECKS... As in gloves off, missing teeth, hockey checks. It's up to the other TWO BRANCHES to get off their lazy asses and knock the Executive branch down a peg or two. They liked blaming the President but they gotta do the WORK to take things back. Shut up and FIGHT!
Checks and balances prevent abuses by other branches, but it's not like a courtroom, it's still possible for everyone to get along and be nice and open with each other. Indeed, that's expected to be the typical behavior except in unusual circumstances.