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Confirmed: The NSA is Spying on Millions of Americans

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

#461

Post by stonemetal »

trin_ wrote: post #453
walshemj wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What alas struck me as odd in Germany that after ww2 and the Stazi in east germany you still have manditory ID cards + registration when you move with the police! and you get upset about street view?

you dont have to tell the police when you move. only the local goverment (Einwohnermeldeamt)

In this context it sounds a little scary either way(don't the local police have access to local government records so same difference.) It could be quite innocuous, like being registered to vote, and needing to know in which local elections you can participate.

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

#462

Post by tripzilch »

digitalengineer wrote: post #372
tripzilch wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also Dutch. Didn't know about the drones, got a link for that? I believe you (esp. given all the other crap they pull), I'm curious how and where they use the drones.

There have been 81 official drone flights the last 5 months using the 'Raven' drone. Police are now learning to control the 'Scaneagle'. Amsterdam cops have already broken 2 of their drones... See: http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/05/09/bevestiging-na-kamervrag...

Thanks for that link!

btw did you ever notice that the NRC always uses the diminuitive ("vliegtuigjes", "little planes") when referring to drones? Of course, in this case it somewhat makes sense, because they are in fact tiny planes.

But they use the word not just for these surveillance drones, but also for referring to attack drones firing missiles and laying waste to villages in war zones. I'm not sure what to make of it, whether it's a bias, in general I consider NRC to be a quality paper. It's just such a very odd way to phrase it, and they're being very consistent about it. But imagine writing about abandoned "landmijntjes", or any other type of weapon/killing machine, in the diminuitive.

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

#463

Post by talmand »

VikingCoder wrote: post #352
jaekwon wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No reason it couldn't. It's not the size of a government that determines its efficacy, esp with the right kind of private-sector support.

Then it's a MEANINGLESS PHRASE.

Just because you don't like it or don't agree doesn't make it meaningless.

It means exactly what it says. There is nothing to show that an ultra-limited government cannot perform the needed tasks for society such as you provide. But I say there's a big difference between a government that provides what's needed for society and the monstrosity that's currently in place in Washington D.C.

When I say something along the lines of ultra-limited I mean I want most of the political decisions that affect my life to be decided on the local or state level before it becomes a federal issue. That's exactly how the US was designed, but that's not the way it is being run now. The federal government actually has a list of things it is to do, by the way Post Offices and Roads are covered so I have no problem with that, but a great deal of what it does goes way beyond that list.

My definition of a ultra-limited federal government? Simple. It's what the Constitution says it is.

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

#465

Post by Vivtek »

jlgreco wrote: post #451
Vivtek wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's the guy his constituents want. I personally think voting for sheriffs is a good idea.

He's not the guy his constituents want. He is the guy 51.5% of his constituents want. Giving the people what a majority of those people want is a very dangerous thing to do. Part of the theory being having constitutions is to limit the tyranny of the majority, though it is plain to see that in Joe Arpaio's case the limitations are not sufficient. What 51% of voters in Maricopa County apparently want is unacceptable.

Well, 51.5% is better than the small minority that would be served if he weren't an elected official - and the threat of losing his next election keeps him at least moderately accountable.

[insert Churchill quote here]

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

#466

Post by mturmon »

jckt wrote: post #436
mturmon wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American here, have only visited NL and DE for a few weeks, never lived there. It was also my perception that the Dutch had a live-and-let-live toleration, that seems like the opposite of the monitoring regime described in the comment. (I'm not really referring to marijuana, I'm speaking more generally.) To this naive outsider, who admittedly has something of a crush on Amsterdam, that level of monitoring is puzzling…

I didn't think marijuana was such a big thing there? I was under the impression that it was mostly just a tourist thing rather than a real part of the local culture

Yes, but among (some) Americans, Amsterdam == "legal pot", and I wanted to say my Amsterdam crush wasn't about that.

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

#467

Post by nkohari »

eatitraw wrote: post #182
nkohari wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Name a conservative Libertarian candidate and I'll point out the socially regressive policies that make me not vote for them.

Gary Johnson?

Huh. Actually, I like this guy a lot, but somehow wasn't aware of him during the 2012 race. He's actually a Republican that I could vote for. It's a shame he was drowned out by people like Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann.

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

#468

Post by robomartin »

wolfpackk wrote: post #441
robomartin wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are a piece of work, aren't you? Interesting that you went back and researched my comment history. So, your assumption was that I am a kid looking for a CS degree? Now, that's really funny! Thanks.

I just found it ironic that you tell someone to get educated, when you don't have a degree, which is pretty obvious given your inability to ignore rhetoric and respond to the merits of an argument. U mad

I wish HN had a way to kill-off these kinds of exchanges.

When someone opens a new comment branch with "Go fuck yourself" nothing good can follow. In retrospect I probably should have completely ignored this. I, in a very real sense, became part of the problem by providing a stage of sorts. I am sorry for that.

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

#469

Post by robomartin »

Buzaga wrote: post #187
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…

I wonder what the hell is voting for... this system is corrupted/failed already, politicians put millions and billions in marketing to get elected, sometimes with corruption money even(ruling party in Brazil admitted to it with a "everybody does it, it's normal" argument, also fucking lobbyists up there) and after they're there they don't have to answer to anyone anymore, it doesn't matter that the actions took by th…

I lived in Argentina for a while. It's probably worst there. In many strange ways I see aspects of what I saw happening in Argentina happening here in the US.

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

#470

Post by VikingCoder »

talmand wrote: post #463
VikingCoder wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it's a MEANINGLESS PHRASE.

Just because you don't like it or don't agree doesn't make it meaningless. It means exactly what it says. There is nothing to show that an ultra-limited government cannot perform the needed tasks for society such as you provide. But I say there's a big difference between a government that provides what's needed for society and the monstrosity that's currently in place in Washington D.C. When I say something along the…

> Simple. It's what the Constitution says it is.

Every single thing the government does today has been because of laws written by Congress, signed and enacted by the head of the Executive, and upheld by the Judiciary.

How can you even BEGIN to make the claim that it's unconstitutional?

That's the DEFINITION of Constitutional.

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