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Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

theguardian.com

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Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#31

Post by tptacek »

streetnigga wrote: post #29
tzs wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any comments submitted here may be stored in for-profit corporate databases ran by the likes of Booz Allen Hamilton ... > These comments may be used against you by any nation-state that pays, or entity that leaks information from the database Uhm...HN comments are by design available to anyone in the world who wants to read them. What is the point of leaking something that is freely available from the original sour…

Same reason many corporations make a pretty penny off easily accessible public data? Slick presentation, rich tools to use the data with, and integration into existing work-flow? The comment was more a gesture at how all this public/semi-public/private/extremely private data can end up being used. Or indeed how it has been used or pitched to be used. When you have NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms…

"NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms like Hunton & Williams [teaming up to attack] anyone who opposes the persons who make up the facade that is US Chamber of Commerce" is brilliant. You're hitting some Robert Anton Wilson notes here. 23 Skidoo!

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#32

Post by notdonspaulding »

ScottWhigham wrote: post #12
forgotAgain wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who voted for Obama twice (once for change and once against Romney) I will be voting from now on for anyone and everyone who would be new to DC. At this point that's the best hope for change that I can see.

But Obama was "new to DC" - I don't get your logic here.

Obama came from Chicago politics. He was "new to DC" like John Carmack is "new to Occulus Rift". He might be working with a different crew now, but he's bringing a lot of "experience" to bear.

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#33

Post by jjoonathan »

spikels wrote: post #19
jjoonathan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean they passed a law specifically blocking the actions the President took : he gave the executive order to close Guantanamo 2 days after the inauguration. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ClosureOfGuantana... Sure, he could find a way to push it through, but given the Republicans' historical success at demanding the world from a Democrat with a mandate (e.g. cutting capital gains tax by a third in exc…

C'mon it is not the Republicans. At the time that executive order was issued Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. There is no bad team and good team (i.e. your team) but a rotten sport. Your thinking has fallen victim to their divide and conquer strategy.

My point was not that Dems as a party were blameless, only that Obama could plausibly lie anywhere on the fault spectrum for this issue. You're correct to observe that the real fault lies with the political system that encourages the use of bargaining chips, but the people blaming Obama were the only ones saying otherwise.

I used CHIP as an example of congress opposing a mandate in order to win concessions. The CHIP issue almost certainly had roughly similar party lines, but given a few hours I'm sure I could dig up 10 examples of party X opposing party Y's mandate to extract concessions regardless of whether X==Y or X!=Y, if that would make you happy.

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#34

Post by tzs »

tptacek wrote: post #31
streetnigga wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same reason many corporations make a pretty penny off easily accessible public data? Slick presentation, rich tools to use the data with, and integration into existing work-flow? The comment was more a gesture at how all this public/semi-public/private/extremely private data can end up being used. Or indeed how it has been used or pitched to be used. When you have NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms…

"NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms like Hunton & Williams [teaming up to attack] anyone who opposes the persons who make up the facade that is US Chamber of Commerce" is brilliant. You're hitting some Robert Anton Wilson notes here. 23 Skidoo!

Tha NSA is quickly becoming the 21st century's flying saucers.

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#35

Post by streetnigga »

tptacek wrote: post #31
streetnigga wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same reason many corporations make a pretty penny off easily accessible public data? Slick presentation, rich tools to use the data with, and integration into existing work-flow? The comment was more a gesture at how all this public/semi-public/private/extremely private data can end up being used. Or indeed how it has been used or pitched to be used. When you have NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms…

"NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms like Hunton & Williams [teaming up to attack] anyone who opposes the persons who make up the facade that is US Chamber of Commerce" is brilliant. You're hitting some Robert Anton Wilson notes here. 23 Skidoo!

That's OK, I sometimes like to respond to people's comments without reading the articles linked as well.

Palantir, known to be funded by the CIA[1] was indeed mucking around with US Chamber of Commerce via Hunton & Williams. The work being solicited was indeed offensive in nature, not just collecting information on activists.

I am not sure what your problem is but you can not respond further if you wish to engage me like this.

[1] http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cia-backed-palantir-technologi...

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#36

Post by streetnigga »

tzs wrote: post #34
tptacek wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms like Hunton & Williams [teaming up to attack] anyone who opposes the persons who make up the facade that is US Chamber of Commerce" is brilliant. You're hitting some Robert Anton Wilson notes here. 23 Skidoo!

Tha NSA is quickly becoming the 21st century's flying saucers.

Inane response to well cited content.

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#37

Post by tptacek »

streetnigga wrote: post #35
tptacek wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"NSA affiliates like Palantir mucking about with firms like Hunton & Williams [teaming up to attack] anyone who opposes the persons who make up the facade that is US Chamber of Commerce" is brilliant. You're hitting some Robert Anton Wilson notes here. 23 Skidoo!

That's OK, I sometimes like to respond to people's comments without reading the articles linked as well. Palantir, known to be funded by the CIA[1] was indeed mucking around with US Chamber of Commerce via Hunton & Williams. The work being solicited was indeed offensive in nature, not just collecting information on activists. I am not sure what your problem is but you can not respond further if you wish to engage me…

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this narrative about the US Chamber of Commerce being the secret controllers of the levers of power. Keep going with this! It's gold.

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#38

Post by streetnigga »

tptacek wrote: post #37
streetnigga wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's OK, I sometimes like to respond to people's comments without reading the articles linked as well. Palantir, known to be funded by the CIA[1] was indeed mucking around with US Chamber of Commerce via Hunton & Williams. The work being solicited was indeed offensive in nature, not just collecting information on activists. I am not sure what your problem is but you can not respond further if you wish to engage me…

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this narrative about the US Chamber of Commerce being the secret controllers of the levers of power. Keep going with this! It's gold.

US Chamber of Commerce is indeed a facade for it's individual components, the businesses within. Nothing secret about it. No levers of power, just persons driving involvement and direction of the lobby group. It is rather nasty seeing their solicitation of work with companies having national security clearance, CIA/military ties, aimed at journalists/activists like Glenn Greenwald or bank protestors. I'm sorry if you see colorful language used to describe the fuckwad of conflict of interests as conspiratorial ramblings, but I actually don't think you do. I think you are bored.

This method of belittling peoples out the side of your digital mouth is detrimental most of the time. Rah rah tptacek you are the master of this here at HN, have fun with that.

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#39

Post by tptacek »

streetnigga wrote: post #38
tptacek wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this narrative about the US Chamber of Commerce being the secret controllers of the levers of power. Keep going with this! It's gold.

US Chamber of Commerce is indeed a facade for it's individual components, the businesses within. Nothing secret about it. No levers of power, just persons driving involvement and direction of the lobby group. It is rather nasty seeing their solicitation of work with companies having national security clearance, CIA/military ties, aimed at journalists/activists like Glenn Greenwald or bank protestors. I'm sorry if you…

Can you find a way to work Monsanto and Nickelback into this story?

Re: Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public

#40

Post by r0s »

smoyer wrote: post #18
r0s wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I vote for those trying to change the system to give third parties access to it.

Yeah ... we're up to about 8% or so right?

Hopefully enough to get more access and funding, but the real goal is more public visibility.
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