dagblog - Comments for "I Can't Effing Take it Any Longer. Snowden is not a Hero and Nothing is Black and White (Except that)"

Michael Maiello made an

acanuck — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 19:36:58 +0000

In reply to I Can't Effing Take it Any Longer. Snowden is not a Hero and Nothing is Black and White (Except that)

Michael Maiello made an important point earlier in this thread. The NSA, and through it the U.S. government, assures the public, "We don't eavesdrop on American citizens -- just foreigners -- so don't worry." But it's been known for more than a decade that English-speaking allies (Canada, Britain, Australia) freely share their intercepts with the U.S. They issue exactly the same assurances ("We don't spy on Canadians/Brits/Aussies.") Obviously, those claims are meaningless, if everyone is sharing with everyone else. The program used to be called Echelon, and PRISM looks like an updated version. I haven't seen anything Snowden revealed that hasn't been known for years. There were NSA flaps in 2005, 2007 (if I recall correctly) -- including use of intercepts for private commercial advantage -- but the government pooh-poohed concerns, the public outrage died, and the media went back to sleep. That's probably what will happen this time. Look up NSA, look up Booz Allen, look up Verint. You won't find real budgetary info (classified, I guess) but look at the size of their operating centres -- tens of thousands of employees at multiple points across the country. Looking for "patterns." Nothing to worry about -- they're all just "keeping you safe."

Quite right. Good thing Booz

acanuck — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 18:15:29 +0000

In reply to I fear corporations. Many

Quite right. Good thing Booz Allen Hamilton isn't a for-profit corporation, majority owned by the Carlyle Group, traded on the New York exchange.

I don't make the rules and it

Peter — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:40:14 +0000

In reply to Under your rules, I choose

I don't make the rules and it is not a choice between personalities but a choice between freedom and tyranny.

I appreciate the fear and uncertainty these events are bringing out in some of the public, they challenge the notion of the Good America and the Good American. You and others are still clinging to a myth that is in tatters and no amount of empty rhetoric about using our corrupt courts will repair that myth.

Denial of the reality of our corrupt and rotten system does not alter the facts it only exposes the denier to more abuse and can even lead to the denier supporting the abuse.

Under your rules, I choose

rmrd0000 — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 00:08:17 +0000

In reply to Fear and loathing in the

Under your rules, I choose Obama or I choose Snowden. Obama's use of PRISM can be challenged in court. Snowden is nowhere to be found, I cannot protest his action. Snowden cannot be the sole decision maker. If PRISM is Unconstitutional, Snowden's actions are Unconstitutional.

Fear and loathing in the

Peter — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:50:39 +0000

In reply to According to Putin, Snowden's

Fear and loathing in the Homeland, the hysteria mounts. Do you really believe that China and Russia didn't know most everything about these programs, they have some of the best hackers in the business.

Snowden's leaks are not aimed at the governments of the world but at the citizens of those countries and ours. The governments were not ignorant of these facts but the citizens surely were especially here in the USA. This information has pissed off many governments because they view domestic spying as their sole right.

The US needs to be damaged and possibly destroyed at least our ability to rain down hellfire and mayhem on the Other must be stopped along with economic imperialism.

You seem to be grasping onto the false belief that there is something noble and good that needs protecting from these leaking traitors.

I don't know what will come from these revelations but everyone has seen the lying and hypocrisy on display from our ruling class and the minions that enable them.

How has Snowden harmed the

kyle flynn — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:48:44 +0000

In reply to According to Putin, Snowden's

How has Snowden harmed the United Stated, precisely? Serious question.

See the OpEd at Berenson,

NCD — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 21:33:02 +0000

In reply to According to Putin, Snowden's

See the OpEd at Berenson, NYT, on the Snowden odyssey.

....In reality he’s found the world’s most dangerous place to be a dissident, where power is a knife blade and a sprinkle of polonium. For now he’s safe. He’s of use to his new Russian friends. But if they change their minds ...

I would imagine he has all the secret data, which he apparently foolishly took with him, heavily encrypted, so it might take some good old fashion 'convincing' to speed up the process of decoding it.

According to Putin, Snowden's

rmrd0000 — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 21:19:00 +0000

In reply to I Can't Effing Take it Any Longer. Snowden is not a Hero and Nothing is Black and White (Except that)

According to Putin, Snowden's goal is to spread information. As Snowden sits in a Russian airport it is very likely that supplied data via a thumb drive to Chinese Land Russian intelligence. He has accomplished his goal of harming the US.

There is a section on

rmrd0000 — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 18:18:29 +0000

In reply to Yes, before Pearl Harbor

There is a section on non-interventionism prior to WWII in the link.It is discussed in many history classes.

On the thought that either

Verified Atheist — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 17:35:54 +0000

In reply to I Can't Effing Take it Any Longer. Snowden is not a Hero and Nothing is Black and White (Except that)

On the thought that either extreme is silly: