R.I.P. Amerika the Beautiful

[wardmundy]

Sad day for all of us...

NSA taps in to user data of Facebook, Apple, Google and others...

From the Washington Post:

 

[matt91]

Good thing I only tweet my confidential information.

 

[wardmundy]

Gives new meaning to...

 

[wardmundy]

There were still a few of us that thought the U.S. Constitution was worth the paper it was written on. But the paper was getting a bit long in the tooth. Remember the uproar about China wanting access to Skype? Turns out we just didn't want them to have it. Funny stuff.

 

[Bob Helbush]

Remember the uproar about China wanting access to Skype? Turns out we just didn't want them to have it. Funny stuff.

Would have been too much data to sort through. ;-)

 

[Brian Simmons]

Damn this is bad...... Everyone's worst fears regarding the government collecting information on innocent citizens is apparently been true for quite a while. Access to email contents, cell phone records, social media interactions, VOIP conversations, search histories, live chats, Skype conversations, soon to be Drop box contents, etc, etc, etc.

 

[kenn10]

Oh what the heck. Why don't be put the IRS in charge of monitoring our conversations as well? They're from the Government and here to help you.

 

[reconwireless]

A carrier giving call details is one thing... putting fiber optic splitters (it's called "Prism" for a reason) on fiber backbones and setting the record all setting on the NSA DVR is something totally different. The ironic thing is the NSA probably has too much data now, which would make filtering and and actually finding relevant information for an investigation more troublesome than actually focusing your surveillance on specific targets.

 

[Dave Gray]

Actually, having a massive bank of recordings like that, makes a lot of sense out of hoovering up all the carrier metadata.

I am personally unconvinced that the state of the art in voice recognition is good enough to be effective trolling through
a mass collection of voice calls. But, if you have all that lovely metadata to tell you who was calling who, you'd pretty much
know which conversations are worth listening to.

 

[darmock]

gee wonder how long before the govt tries to ban zfone and force us to use an official encryption standard that has a key escrow.... Wait didn't they try that one already.... clipper chip... right history repeats itself...


Tom

 

[atsak]

I think you should all revolt or something. I'll get some popcorn.

 

[leemason]

And the great thing is that our GCHQ here in the UK was in on it as well. Where are the "if you've done nothing wrong you've got nothing to fear" gang now?

 

[wardmundy]

I think you should all revolt or something. I'll get some popcorn.

Here you go...

 

[briankelly63]

The Executive Branch is now massive which unbalances the delicate balance between the branches that our founders designed. It is fundamentally unmanageable.
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-ove...s-publications/sizinguptheexecutivebranch.pdf
http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-over...cutive-branch-civilian-employment-since-1940/

Secret FISA courts are unacceptable in our system and lead to all sorts of check and balance issues.

The committee and seniority system in Congress has lead to a situation where some members know things and others are purposely kept in the dark. We can't insure the proper operation of our government if elected members aren't informed or are sworn to secrecy. I voted for them and need to know if they are accurately representing my interests and conducting themselves in a manner that deserves reelection.

Based on its actions the government deserves the same amount of trust you'd give a teenager. In order to do that we need full visibility of its actions while they are occurring.

Our lawmakers, for the most part, seem to have gotten comfortable with a high level of control and intrusion into every aspect of our lives. As soon as the government started implementing social programs back in the 1930's we have been shifting from a standard of personal accountability to that of a nanny state.

 

[leemason]

Eisenthower warned against the rise of the military industrial complex:

And Benjamin Franklin said "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Wise men both!

 

[Brian Simmons]

Now it's confirmed by our government. http://www.theweek.co.uk/us/53475/white-house-admits-it-has-access-facebook-google

Oh but of course we'll be safe because.....

"Although US authorities have confirmed the existence of PRISM, they insist agents only have the right to access material posted by foreigners."

“It [PRISM] cannot be used to intentionally target any US citizen, any other US person, or anyone located within the United States,” said James Clapper, the director of national intelligence. “Information collected under this program is among the most important and valuable intelligence information we collect, and is used to protect our nation from a wide variety of threats."

RIGHT, just like the IRS won't target conservative groups based on the name found on applications, or that Benghazi was a simply a demonstration about a movie that turned violent, or that freedom of the press is alive and well today......

 

[wardmundy]

Special Sunday Edition of Nerd Vittles:
Amerika the Beautiful: An Insider’s View of What Went Wrong and How To Fix It

 

[TheMole]

What we really need is a new Constitution

what we really need is to just enforce the one that we have. the founders never intended for a large, central government - they wanted the power to rest with the States.

 

[mbellot]

what we really need is to just enforce the one that we have. the founders never intended for a large, central government - they wanted the power to rest with the States.

Actually, they wanted power to rest with the citizens. Government was a necessary evil, to be limited at all costs.

Even the military was to be viewed with suspicion, which is why we all (in theory) have the right to bear arms. Should the government get to big for it's britches it would fall upon the citizens to correct the situation.

 

[leemason]

Should we really be that surprised when large corporations boast about "Big Data" and the amount that they collect and use about everyone who uses their services in any way? If they can do it for purely commercial reasons imagine how much more the people can do who's job it is to collect and analyse data for all sorts of other reasons.

I don't know about the USA but here in the UK we are constantly told that all sorts of surveillance are for our own good. Anything from CCTV in all major shopping areas, CCTV on buses, CCTV even in Taxis now. And if that's not enough we have devices that sit in your car and watch were you drive, how much you drive, how well you drive, and whether you've been near a pub in the last six months! And these devices we are encouraged to install ourselves in order to reduce out insurance premiums...