Category: Privacy,

The Internet Is a Surveillance State

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The Internet Is a Surveillance State.

A DHS employee asks, “If data about your down-to-the-minute location via metadata from your cell phone is collected by a (government?, private?, does it matter?) database, but no government official actually looks at it until the data pattern indicates you may have committed a crime — is it surveillance?”

To which my answer is, does the data-pattern stop things like the Boston Bombers? Or does it get 85 year old women strip-searched at the airport? And if the answer to the first question is no and the answer to the second question is yes, how the hell does that make anything better????

Daily Kos: NSA surveillance can do anything … even rewrite history

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Daily Kos: NSA surveillance can do anything … even rewrite history.

Mueller is liar. He and the Intelligence Chief have now both lied to the American people.

Where the hell are the consequences for abusing the trust of the American people?

Oh, that’s right, there are none and as long as this douchebag in the WH can’t find his fucking spine or his moral compass there will be none.

Motherfucking Assholes.

FBI director says U.S. will hold Snowden responsible on NSA leak | Reuters

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FBI director says U.S. will hold Snowden responsible on NSA leak | Reuters

So in other words, you and your law enforcement cronies are going to be acting like underworld gangsters covering up the deeds of the US government and making sure that it is not held accountable to the people of the United States?

Why don’t you and Eric Holder go do some scuba diving without tanks?

Earlier Denials Put Intelligence Chief in Awkward Position – NYTimes.com

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For years, intelligence officials have tried to debunk what they called a popular myth about the National Security Agency: that its electronic net routinely sweeps up information about millions of Americans. In speeches and Congressional testimony, they have suggested that the agency’s immense power is focused exclusively on terrorists and other foreign targets, and that it does not invade Americans’ privacy.

But since the disclosures last week showing that the agency does indeed routinely collect data on the phone calls of millions of Americans, Obama administration officials have struggled to explain what now appear to have been misleading past statements.

Earlier Denials Put Intelligence Chief in Awkward Position – NYTimes.com

Mmmmmhmmmmm

Good News! You’re Not Paranoid – The Daily Show (with John Oliver)

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“I bet the Amish are feeling pretty fucking smug right now.” – John Oliver

Good News! You’re Not Paranoid – The Daily Show (with John Oliver) – 06/10/13 – Video Clip | Comedy Central.

Good News! You’re Not Paranoid – NSA Oversight – The Daily Show (with John Oliver) – 06/10/13 – Video Clip | Comedy Central

To quote John Oliver, “I think you are misunderstanding the perceived problem here, Mr. President. No one is saying that you broke any laws; we’re just saying it’s a little bit weird that you didn’t have to.”

————

Good News! You’re Not Paranoid – The Republican Response – The Daily Show (with John Oliver)- 06/11/13 – Video Clip | Comedy Central

Good News! You’re Not Paranoid – Taking Sides – The Daily Show (with John Oliver) – 06/11/13 – Video Clip | Comedy Central

“The standard for what constitutes the best decisions can not be, ‘what decision would we make on our most vulnerable and panicked day?’ What would I have for dinner on September the 12th? You know what? I’d probably just skip it and vomit out of fear instead, so let’s do that forever.” – John Oliver

Amen, John. Thank you.

Loved the Lindsey Graham bit, “I’m a southern, white, Christian gentleman. No one has ever suspected me of terrorism, and I think my privileged circumstances accurately speak for all y’all. Now, can I fix you some sweet tea? It’s my favorite drink so I presume it’s yours.”

Moment of Zen – Shia LaBeouf’s Warning – The Daily Show – 06/11/13 – Video Clip | Comedy Central

Orwell Would Be Proud

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A recent post on cbs.com entitled “Justice Dept. Asked For News Site’s Visitor Lists” by Declan McCullagh caught my eye today.

The main gist:

the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader visits on a certain day.

The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site “not to disclose the existence of this request” unless authorized by the Justice Department… (and) “include IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information,” including e-mail addresses, physical addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers’ Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on.

Um, Yikes!

They were demanding this information on everyone who reads the site and they have yet to indicate what kind of wrong-doing they were investigating.

Anyone else picturing grainy footage of McCarthyism?

Apparently the Justice Department decided it was pretty scary to. They dropped issue but only after Indymedia retained a lawyer. Makes me wonder if this is the first time they have tried this or simply the first time they got caught.

RIP Free Press.