Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

eff.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 479 posts

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#141

Post by alan_cx »

As a Brit, can I ask:

Why don't I see Fox "News" presenters, and the like, crying daily on screen about the death of the USA over things like this? Unlike the birth certificate of Obama or attempts to being free health care to people, this really is destroying US citizen's basic rights. But no Fox tears and hysterics.

Why is that? I mean, surely this is a fantastic way to attack the "hated" Obama, surely. Aren't they all about "freedom"? Isn't this a huge open goal for the right?

From where I sit it looks like a very weird contradiction. Surely this is more of a threat than say gun controls? Clearly I'm missing something, but what?

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#142

Post by stplsd »

coenhyde wrote: post #61
adventured wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The absolute easiest thing? Outrage + phone calls / letters. It would take a mere 1% of the US population to give a shit, and it would light D.C. up like a Christmas tree. Bury their phones and inboxes in just a few hundred thousand calls and emails per day and every member of Congress would instantly stand to attention and respond positive. It's such a trivial % of the overall population as to be disgusting that it…

Indeed. Nothing is going to change until there is a collapse. Even then I fear what fills the power void will be worse than what you have now. The reason no one cares is because most Americans are in a comatose state. I've traveled to most US cities and some places in between and it continues to shock me just how stupid the average american is. They're drugged out on corn syrup, anti-depressants, street drugs and see…

The Game Is Rigged

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIFGGcX1a5I

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#143

Post by digitalengineer »

jacalata wrote: post #140
digitalengineer wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Imagine voting for you own major, sheriff, congressman and president! (This is no joke people, we can't. They're appointed from within their own ranks. We can vote for a specific party-leader and hope they win. But the always end up creating a coalition with 2 or 33 other party's and needing to compromise).

I don't actually think voting for judges and sheriffs is a good idea at all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio

Oh, that guy. He's even know over here. (Journalists like to pick out the most 'interesting' persons). That guy scares me. You also vote for judges? Would it help if there was a maximum someone could get voted for? Like with your president?

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#144

Post by yread »

digitalengineer wrote: post #82

Dutch person here with a little insight what's to come for you guys. Some information about our tiny little country (in Wester Europe, very pro-US) with just 17 million people. Our government listens in on more calls every year than in the whole of the US combined. All our telecommunications providers are forced to have the capability to intercept all traffic (phone and internet). Encrypted data must be stored for an…

Well at least it's still possible to buy a prepaid SIM card with cash which includes data for ridiculously cheap. And travel in towns on bikes with huge sunglasses and a hat. And buy tickets for traveling between cities with cash.

I don't really care that they gather the OVkaart data (they can see that I go to work and back when the weather sucks, so what). What makes me steaming with anger is that they don't seem to be using it to IMPROVE the network. People are actually getting off the metro to get on a bus. Have the bus wait for those people, dammit! What's the use of data collection if it's not used?

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#145

Post by ojii »

baddox wrote: post #101
austenallred wrote: post #55

A lot of comments in this thread area calling for the head of Verizon and recommending boycotts, but for how much of this is Verizon really at fault? If the NSA comes knocking and tells you to turn over X, you can't exactly say "no", can you? More to the point, it's highly unlikely that this is an issue unique to Verizon; it's just the only one we've heard about so far.

So let us boycott the government! Oh wait, unlike Verizon, the government will lock you up for doing that.

You can easily boycott the government without getting locked up: move to another country!

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#146

Post by vidarh »

adventured wrote: post #40
waterlesscloud wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Develop new technologies that make this kind of thing impossible.

If they can't control said technologies, and put backdoors in them, then they'll make them illegal. That's a non-starter. A solution can only ultimately occur in D.C.

Then you make new versions of said technologies that are harder to track/identify.

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#147

Post by killerpopiller »

dirktheman wrote: post #90
digitalengineer wrote: post #82

Dutch person here with a little insight what's to come for you guys. Some information about our tiny little country (in Wester Europe, very pro-US) with just 17 million people. Our government listens in on more calls every year than in the whole of the US combined. All our telecommunications providers are forced to have the capability to intercept all traffic (phone and internet). Encrypted data must be stored for an…

Fellow Dutchman here, and I couldn't agree more. I actually helped building the electronic patient file in two major hospitals, and I can't tell you enough about the massive clusterfuck that is. The government requires you to finish it before a certain date, only they provide you with the exact requirements after that date. Basic security measures like encrypting data? No way! To me, America is still the land of the…

no, it is, fanfare.., Germany.

I read this above report and can't believe it. When that this happen?

Our data privacy laws are thorough and sometimes an obstacle, but many projects got stopped because of privacy issues:

e.g. the digital stored medical records on ones health insurance card

The stop of the data retention directive by our beloved Bundesverfassungsgericht (they are awesome) is another milestone.

Core of our privacy law is that every person is entitled to reign over it's own data as the person pleases, thus every personal data processing is forbidden as long as there isn't a law allowing it.

But fear not my fellow neighbors, the EU comission (not so beloved) might overhaul the data privacy laws and you might gain citizen rights back: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/data-protection/news/12...

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#148

Post by _k »

Ihmahr wrote: post #67
silvestrov wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cryptography doesn't help at all when your government will require you by law to provide them with a decrypted dump. That's what they did with Verizon. Verizon could not provide you with privacy no matter how much they wanted.

That is why you should put your servers in iceland or similar places. With asymetric encription there is no need; Only the user knows and not the service provider.

Why in Iceland ?

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#149

Post by rhizome »

robomartin wrote: post #72

I hate to use this tone but, so be it. Maybe now you morons who continue to vote in the pieces of shit into our government who are bent on taking more and more power for themselves will wake up and figure it out? How much more proof do you need? Does this make you angry yet or is Obama still your diety? Oh, and Republicans don't get a pass either. The point is that all of you morons voting like robots along party lin…

You could have deleted everything but the last line.

Re: Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

#150

Post by dirktheman »

yread wrote: post #144
digitalengineer wrote: post #82

Dutch person here with a little insight what's to come for you guys. Some information about our tiny little country (in Wester Europe, very pro-US) with just 17 million people. Our government listens in on more calls every year than in the whole of the US combined. All our telecommunications providers are forced to have the capability to intercept all traffic (phone and internet). Encrypted data must be stored for an…

Well at least it's still possible to buy a prepaid SIM card with cash which includes data for ridiculously cheap. And travel in towns on bikes with huge sunglasses and a hat. And buy tickets for traveling between cities with cash. I don't really care that they gather the OVkaart data (they can see that I go to work and back when the weather sucks, so what). What makes me steaming with anger is that they don't seem to…

My gripe too. When I forget to 'check out' in Amsterdam when transferring from metro to train I get fined, even though I did in fact 'check in' for the train. It's so mindnumbingly stupid to have the two check-in/out poles standing next to each other.
Post reply on HN