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Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

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Re: Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Europe's a big place. My corner of it had a secret CIA prison. Also there's a Vietnamese restaurant here called "Hong Kong Lounge". The crimes don't end at the US border.

Poland? Wasn't there political fallout from that?

About as much as in the US.

Re: Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it very hard to believe any government agency could take Marissa Mayer or anyone on the board off to jail with no reason and not cause a huge stir...

I find it very easy to believe that the NSA could find a crime which Marissa Mayer (or anyone else) is guilty of and carries jail time as a punishment.

If you want to break out the black helicopters, note that it would have to be the FBI that did this.

Re: Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

#96

This is like being shaken down by the Mafia. You are not gonna do what we like? It's gonna cost ya. Next we are gonna break Marissa's legs.

That's how courts enforce court orders. You can get philosophical and say that the state is just like the mafia, man, except legal. But surely you understand the need for some mechanism to force compliance from people who just say "I don't want to do that" to a court ruling.

Re: Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

#97
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but what would that look like? Would the FISA court jail a citizen without a trial, and can you imagine a FISA judge wanting to make that call, knowing that their decision will soon become public? Because once someone is prosecuted the U.S. govt would really have difficulty enforcing silence. It's one thing to force a company to be silent about surveillance, it's quite another to force individuals to be silent…

It's called 'disappeared' and we're close.

Watch what you say. Final warning.

Re: Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

#98

This is like being shaken down by the Mafia. You are not gonna do what we like? It's gonna cost ya. Next we are gonna break Marissa's legs.

That's how courts enforce court orders. You can get philosophical and say that the state is just like the mafia, man, except legal. But surely you understand the need for some mechanism to force compliance from people who just say "I don't want to do that" to a court ruling.

Yeah, but this is a secret court. Now way for the public to review it's decisions. No public accountability. That's IMHO what makes it Mafia like.

Re: Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

#99

Weren't these requests, which Yahoo objected to, intended to stay secret, by the wishes of the government? Consider if Yahoo refused to honor the requests, and began accruing the fines. Presumably, if they didn't pay the huge bill for their fines, what would happen? Surely, $250k/day would rack up fast... As I see it, eventually Yahoo would rack up such a bill that they couldn't afford it, and any collection of the f…

Over the course of a year, that's equivalent to employing 300 engineers. For a company the size of Yahoo, that would be pretty easy to hide.

That's an interesting comparison, but it's still a pretty big hit. Profits (net income) over the past four quarters were $311 million, the fines would have eaten nearly a third of that, $91.25 million.

For 2008 the percentage may well have been higher.

Re: Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying with NSA's PRISM

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the u.s. Has been at war for all but 21 years of its existence. I could be wrong - it was a stat from a website with an agenda.

That's nonsense. The US was not involved in armed conflict from 1920 (end of involvement in the Russian Civil War) to 1941 (start of WWII). That's 21 years right there. Maybe they're saying that 21 years was the longest period between military conflicts.

> The US was not involved in armed conflict from 1920 (end of involvement in the Russian Civil War) to 1941

Except (among others):

1) The US intervention in the insurgency in Cuba (the "Sugar Intervention") which ran from 1917-1922.

2) The US intervention in China from about 1922-1927.

3) The use of the US military to clear the protesting "Bonus Army" of US veterans in Washington D.C. in 1932.

There may be 21 years without armed conflict by the US in its history, but they aren't 21 years in a row.

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