dagblog - Comments for "Obama's Eyes and Ears"

Sounds like Congressional and

artappraiser — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:04:51 +0000

In reply to Well, I found some outrage

Sounds like Congressional and White House staffers still read the NYT Editorials, including Senator Feinstein. (Also in the linked piece is a response to your news post calling for Clapper to resign: In unbroadcast elements of a transcript issued by NBC, the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said he had responded in the "least untruthful manner" possible when denying that the NSA collected data on millions of Americans during congressional hearings.)

Snowden's comment below

Elusive Trope — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:07:18 +0000

In reply to Until there is actual

Snowden's comment below explains well why Manning isn't getting the sympathy:

Snowden said that he admires both Ellsberg and Manning, but argues that there is one important distinction between himself and the army private, whose trial coincidentally began the week Snowden's leaks began to make news.

"I carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest," he said. "There are all sorts of documents that would have made a big impact that I didn't turn over, because harming people isn't my goal. Transparency is."

Screw the water board; tell

Resistance — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:27:33 +0000

In reply to You know, this Ibragim

Screw the water board; tell us what you know or we'll kill you?

I don't think it's apathy.

stillidealistic — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:00:56 +0000

In reply to wow, considered a name change

I don't think it's apathy. More like there are so many things to make myself crazy over (like the repubs trying to keep people from voting, the FDAs refusal to keep our food supply safe, rich people paying so little in taxes, greedy corporations sending jobs overseas to make yet more money, the deterioration of the social safety net, gun violence, the House doing everything they can to make Obamacare fail, uninformed voters, medicare waste and fraud, wasting gazzillions of dollars on the failed war on drugs, the slow pace of legalizing marijuana, and on, and on, and on) that this one doesn't bug me so much. I'm already spilling my guts on Facebook - so I just don't care so much about this.

Top that off with I just think this screaming "they are taking away our freedom" thing is getting outta hand. We are not now, nor have we ever been COMPLETELY free. And we can't be because so many people use the guise of freedom to take advantage of others. I don't really WANT for you to have the freedom to go build a bomb and set it off wherever you please. I don't WANT you to have the freedom to have a loaded gun for a child to get ahold of and shoot my kid when they come over to play. I don't WANT you to have the freedom to conspire with others to overthrow the government. I don't want you get ahold of my personal info and steal my identity. I don't WANT you to have the freedom to blow your tobacco smoke in my face, or pollute my drinking water, or use children or unwilling women for your sexual gratification (an again, on and on and on.)

I recognize it is a slippery slope and all that, but where do you draw the line? How much of people's badness do you have to tolerate in the name of freedom? I can't say I completely trust the government (especially now that the inmates are running the asylum) but I don't trust you to look out for me, and I can't do it all by myself, so what choice do I have?

It's an interesting dilema.

And then there's the Yemeni

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:16:15 +0000

In reply to You know, this Ibragim

And then there's the Yemeni held at Gitmo, Adnan Latif, who "suffered from headaches" or something, and somehow died, and somehow they held his body until it rot so there was no way to verify the suspicious autopsy before turning it over....

They do this the stupid way because even if someone reports it, no one cares enough for it to matter. And if there's enough evidence to convict, the Feds lobby to let him off anyway.

Why exactly does government keep doing this stupid stuff? Because we've become too stupid and conditioned for them to even worry about us. Someone will find a reason why it's all okay, and the story will fall off page 1 if it even makes it that far.

It is kinda the heart of the

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:05:45 +0000

In reply to You know, this Ibragim

It is kinda the heart of the social contract.

Feudalism was a deal with lords- protect us and we work for near free.

All that kings & queens stuff was a bit the same - predicated on "we probably are too powerless to overthrow you anyway" but with marauding armies from Xerxes on, well, the risk of being overrun by Huns was a bit too much the chance.

Here in 2013, we're still playing the same "united we stand, divided we fall" game, but that never meant we have to like the other Musketeers or even trust them.

Look at the allies in WWII - Stalin? bedmate of choice?

So why after all the obvious evil in government have so many supposedly smart people gone to trusting government in the last decade? Yeah, sometimes we have to suck it up and just hope they're not more evil than Dr. Evil, but to trust them? Haven't all the best mass murderers been the best at appearing friendly & normal & trustworthy? Why should we think anything less of our most popular politicians? Just professional salesmen with a sick twist. Yet here we are, rushing to be defended against those evil Muslims. Seems no one's familiar with the car window business scam of sending a 15-year-old around on a bike with a pail of rocks. The scams get bigger, but the basic art's the same.

You know, this Ibragim

A Guy Called LULU — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 15:19:46 +0000

In reply to BTW, Boston big breakthrough

You know, this Ibragim Todashev story is fucking crazy, and it's amazing that more people aren't pointing out that it's fucking crazy.

This won't endear me to some of my progressive friends. I've just personally never seen any contradiction in believing that government is necessary, that it can do positive good if we force it to, and that it is absolutely never to be trusted. I find those, in fact, naturally corollaries of each other.

http://lhote.blogspot.com/2013/05/it-would-be-easier-to-rebut-stupid.html

BTW, Boston big breakthrough

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 15:03:15 +0000

In reply to wow, considered a name change

BTW, Boston big breakthrough was from a guy who saw them and woke up in a hospital, wrote down key info for the FBI. Once again, the effective anti-terror value of sticking cameras up our posteriors is way way way overrated. And note that this was to catch them after - didn't stop the bombing (except a highly theoretical followup bomb spree on the run) - in fact we didn't even work out details from info the Russians were giving us, though it seems the Russians were being jackasses & giving snippets of halfway useful info. Of course the FBI did manage to kill their friend after a 5 hour interrogation when he supposedly attacked the one agent (left alone with him) with a mop handle. Feel the excellence.

Meanwhile, the FBI in New York has gone to great lengths to spy on a hair salon where Muslims get their hair products. It's so comforting to know how technologically advanced our anti-terror insight is. It's a shame it hasn't helped us stop any terror attacks (except for young idiots the FBI convinces to try doing something technically stupid & illegal but with no chance of real success) - maybe one day we'll have a real example of an anti-terror success from our $70 billion a year we spend to be safe.

The reason for being upset

rmrd0000 — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 14:50:55 +0000

In reply to wow, considered a name change

The reason for being upset about corporation data mining is because. the government can simply download the data that the corporations are collecting. Even if you try to disconnect from Facebook, they continue to track your purchases, what you are reading, your politics, etc. Why does Facebook need all of this data? Facebook is just the tip of the iceberg when we consider how many people sitting at a corporate keyboard have access to massive data on all of us. The corporate data mining makes it easy for the government to obtain data.

The reason for being upset

rmrd0000 — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 14:50:22 +0000

In reply to wow, considered a name change