I did grow up in West Germany during the 80ies, and at that time I was told that we were on the right side of the wall, because our government does not kill people, does not torture people and does not spy on its own population. Sometimes I wonder who won the cold war.
President Obama’s Dragnet
101–110 of 141 posts
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#102From the article: "The defense of this practice offered by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is supposed to be preventing this sort of overreaching, was absurd. She said today that the authorities need this information in case someone might become a terrorist in the future." That second sentence is the one that really caught my eye: She said today that the au…
A little generalisation of her reasoning may lead to a conclusion that we should collect data on everyone since birth in case he becomes a criminal. It's scary.
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
I enjoy these type of comments. They mostly come from Americans who have never looked into the requirements to "leave" legally. It turns out the rest of the world has immigration laws that are just as strict or more strict than America's so unless you're young and you're filthy rich, in a very specialized field that country needs, or ridiculously good looking you're probably not welcome in country X.
I emigrated five years ago. It's tough, no fuckin' foolin'. The alternative is to go to bed every night knowing that a double-digit percentage of your value and productivity that day went to fund building bombs and buying and installing fiber splitters. I just couldn't do it any longer. FWIW, I have none of those circumstances you describe, and it was relatively easy, practically speaking— and I moved to Germany, one…
I assume you got your national ID card and register at the police station every time you move.
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#104Aren't you suddenly getting terrified about what the dossier created by data mining every phone call, every email, every article on every website you read, every comment you've ever left, every book you ever bought, every library book that you ever took out, the magazines that you subscribe to, every cent you've ever spent by card and where it was spent, every place you've ever lived, every place where you worked, ev…
But remember, we have to disarm, because guns are evil you see. And because we can trust big brother, you see. The government knows what's best for us--after all, it knows everything about us. This is the sort of reason the wingnuts cry about guns and gubberment, and unfortunately, they're looking a bit less alarmist with each passing day.
Give me a break. Citizen gun ownership is not a deterrent to spying nor incarceration if the gov't chooses to act on its covertly gathered info.
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
But remember, we have to disarm, because guns are evil you see. And because we can trust big brother, you see. The government knows what's best for us--after all, it knows everything about us. This is the sort of reason the wingnuts cry about guns and gubberment, and unfortunately, they're looking a bit less alarmist with each passing day.
Be realistic, neither the political right or the NRA exhibited the least bit of opposition to the Patriot Act at the time of its adoption; 2nd amendment types were too busy printing and buying bumper stickers such as the one below for their cars. http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/heyman1104/My%20Rivie...
They did oppose it the first time around when a Democrat (Joe Biden) introduced it. Yay for partisan politics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibus_Counterterrorism_Act_o...
(According to Biden, the Patriot Act was basically the same thing as his Omnibus Counterterrorism Act.)
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#106Aren't you suddenly getting terrified about what the dossier created by data mining every phone call, every email, every article on every website you read, every comment you've ever left, every book you ever bought, every library book that you ever took out, the magazines that you subscribe to, every cent you've ever spent by card and where it was spent, every place you've ever lived, every place where you worked, ev…
Nope. It was obvious from the get-go that the purpose of the Patriot Act was to normalize what had previously been the domain of covert investigations of individuals. I don't personally feel terrified about it because I am too boring to become a likely object of suspicion; realistically, the chance of my being swept up in a government intelligence operation is about as likely as my being blown up by terrorists. And f…
Obama switched his stance to be in support of the Patriot Act/FISA extension _right in the middle of the 2008 primaries_! Chris Dodd, who was also running, led a huge filibuster effort AGAINST it. He ultimately failed and was one of the first to drop out. Moreover, for the record, Joe Biden is largely considered one of the architects of what became the Patriot Act, from his 1995 Omnibus Terrorism Bill (after the Oklahoma City bombings.) It's like a source document for the current legislation.
So, yes, Congress passes these laws, but yes, Obama, Biden, and the majority of Democrats also do bear responsibility. Obama is the President. He signs off on, and executes this and is in favor of it and it was known before he was elected.
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#107Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#108Aren't you suddenly getting terrified about what the dossier created by data mining every phone call, every email, every article on every website you read, every comment you've ever left, every book you ever bought, every library book that you ever took out, the magazines that you subscribe to, every cent you've ever spent by card and where it was spent, every place you've ever lived, every place where you worked, ev…
Nope. It was obvious from the get-go that the purpose of the Patriot Act was to normalize what had previously been the domain of covert investigations of individuals. I don't personally feel terrified about it because I am too boring to become a likely object of suspicion; realistically, the chance of my being swept up in a government intelligence operation is about as likely as my being blown up by terrorists. And f…
I'm not confident that opinions that I've expressed or activities that I've engaged in will not be targeted by future administrations. For example, I'm an atheist, and have associated with atheists. Who's to say that won't get me rounded up in 30 years?
When I was younger (I'm nearly 40 now) there were very few records of anything that I did, and to have a government file was unusual, not a few keystrokes away for LE to generate a file on anyone. We're all guilty of crimes, questionable opinions, and questionable associations that leave digital remnants. I'm starting to think that I don't need a cellphone anymore.
>I'm quite depressed that it's taken people so long to put it together that they're willing to buy into the idea that Obama a) invented it or b) had the freedom to single-handed dismantle it.
This is what depresses you? I don't give a shit who the general population blames, and the idea that Obama had no ability to dismantle it would be a controversial statement anywhere. We've had presidents who've carried on entire wars without Congressional approval.
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#109Said Jim Sensenbrenner, who introduced the Patriot Act : “As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the F.B.I.’s interpretation of this legislation,” he said in a statement. “While I believe the Patriot Act appropriately balanced national security concerns and civil rights, I have always worried about potential abuses.” He added: “Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive an…
As much as I am glad that the guy is at least admitting that the phone record seizure is troubling, I can't help but be PISSED that many of us knew this was the inevitable result of the Patriot Act and this trend to let Government take care of us and protect us at the expense of our Liberties.
If only democracies or republics had a more immediately exercisable "I told you so" button.
Re: President Obama’s Dragnet
#110Said Jim Sensenbrenner, who introduced the Patriot Act : “As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the F.B.I.’s interpretation of this legislation,” he said in a statement. “While I believe the Patriot Act appropriately balanced national security concerns and civil rights, I have always worried about potential abuses.” He added: “Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive an…
When the fellow who introduced the Patriot act goes against something in the name of American privacy you know you've crossed the line that is political suicide. And they don't have a 9/11 as an excuse this time.
Political suicide? Maybe in the past.