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On September 06 2013 06:24 quebecman77 wrote:Show nested quote +On September 01 2013 01:00 LegalLord wrote:On September 01 2013 00:51 quebecman77 wrote: Poor guy exposed something really illegal , other that make the USA government look pathetic et released no data who would hurts the usa , other that make the government of us look really damn pathetic and illegal .
Running away from a fair and reasonable justice system for no reason other than to avoid punishment is not the mark of an innocent man. And also, it's utter BS that releasing the inner workings of the NSA would not harm the country. That's pretty important as far as security goes. Exposing specific overreaches would be whistleblowing, but that's not what Snowden did. And FWIW the NSA was and still is being investigated for overreach for programs including PRISM. If you think your country doesn't have a spy program that does the exact same thing as the NSA, then you are naive. Every country that can gather data will do it. the usa justice system far far far from reasonable and fair , if you ask , that a damn joke , the guy with the most money never end up in jail , that broken , if he would have stay he would be in your ''private'' prison . but hey , some country are worst , but not many  unless they are third rate
The US justice system is philosophically sound, but sadly, since it hinges on representation and precedence, some lawyers end up being much better at digging up old cases/finding mistakes than others.
That's when money comes in. The better lawyers win more and hence cost more.
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On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service.
If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach.
Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information.
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On September 06 2013 06:43 Thieving Magpie wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service. If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach. Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information.
More like he would be kidnapped and detained while it gets swept under the rug
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On September 06 2013 06:43 Thieving Magpie wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service. If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach. Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information. ...what would Snowden's lawsuit be about? You realize you have to some kind of claim and ability to show some kind of damages...you dont just show up to court and say 'I feel this sucks and therefore I demand to sue!'
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On September 06 2013 06:40 Thieving Magpie wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:24 quebecman77 wrote:On September 01 2013 01:00 LegalLord wrote:On September 01 2013 00:51 quebecman77 wrote: Poor guy exposed something really illegal , other that make the USA government look pathetic et released no data who would hurts the usa , other that make the government of us look really damn pathetic and illegal .
Running away from a fair and reasonable justice system for no reason other than to avoid punishment is not the mark of an innocent man. And also, it's utter BS that releasing the inner workings of the NSA would not harm the country. That's pretty important as far as security goes. Exposing specific overreaches would be whistleblowing, but that's not what Snowden did. And FWIW the NSA was and still is being investigated for overreach for programs including PRISM. If you think your country doesn't have a spy program that does the exact same thing as the NSA, then you are naive. Every country that can gather data will do it. the usa justice system far far far from reasonable and fair , if you ask , that a damn joke , the guy with the most money never end up in jail , that broken , if he would have stay he would be in your ''private'' prison . but hey , some country are worst , but not many  unless they are third rate The US justice system is philosophically sound, but sadly, since it hinges on representation and precedence, some lawyers end up being much better at digging up old cases/finding mistakes than others. That's when money comes in. The better lawyers win more and hence cost more. there is no case in the history of America that hinged on someone finding a better precedent case than someone else.
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United Kingdom13775 Posts
On September 06 2013 06:24 quebecman77 wrote:Show nested quote +On September 01 2013 01:00 LegalLord wrote:On September 01 2013 00:51 quebecman77 wrote: Poor guy exposed something really illegal , other that make the USA government look pathetic et released no data who would hurts the usa , other that make the government of us look really damn pathetic and illegal .
Running away from a fair and reasonable justice system for no reason other than to avoid punishment is not the mark of an innocent man. And also, it's utter BS that releasing the inner workings of the NSA would not harm the country. That's pretty important as far as security goes. Exposing specific overreaches would be whistleblowing, but that's not what Snowden did. And FWIW the NSA was and still is being investigated for overreach for programs including PRISM. If you think your country doesn't have a spy program that does the exact same thing as the NSA, then you are naive. Every country that can gather data will do it. the usa justice system far far far from reasonable and fair , if you ask , that a damn joke , the guy with the most money never end up in jail , that broken , if he would have stay he would be in your ''private'' prison . but hey , some country are worst , but not many  unless they are third rate Do you have any actual experience with the US justice system? This feels like unsubstantiated conjecture to me.
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On September 06 2013 06:49 Sub40APM wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:40 Thieving Magpie wrote:On September 06 2013 06:24 quebecman77 wrote:On September 01 2013 01:00 LegalLord wrote:On September 01 2013 00:51 quebecman77 wrote: Poor guy exposed something really illegal , other that make the USA government look pathetic et released no data who would hurts the usa , other that make the government of us look really damn pathetic and illegal .
Running away from a fair and reasonable justice system for no reason other than to avoid punishment is not the mark of an innocent man. And also, it's utter BS that releasing the inner workings of the NSA would not harm the country. That's pretty important as far as security goes. Exposing specific overreaches would be whistleblowing, but that's not what Snowden did. And FWIW the NSA was and still is being investigated for overreach for programs including PRISM. If you think your country doesn't have a spy program that does the exact same thing as the NSA, then you are naive. Every country that can gather data will do it. the usa justice system far far far from reasonable and fair , if you ask , that a damn joke , the guy with the most money never end up in jail , that broken , if he would have stay he would be in your ''private'' prison . but hey , some country are worst , but not many  unless they are third rate The US justice system is philosophically sound, but sadly, since it hinges on representation and precedence, some lawyers end up being much better at digging up old cases/finding mistakes than others. That's when money comes in. The better lawyers win more and hence cost more. there is no case in the history of America that hinged on someone finding a better precedent case than someone else.
Better precedence?
"some lawyers end up being much better at digging up old cases"
I said some lawyers are better at digging up old cases. What the hell does "better precedence" mean?
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On September 06 2013 06:48 Sub40APM wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:43 Thieving Magpie wrote:On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service. If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach. Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information. ...what would Snowden's lawsuit be about? You realize you have to some kind of claim and ability to show some kind of damages...you dont just show up to court and say 'I feel this sucks and therefore I demand to sue!'
idk...
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.[1]
Specifically
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Specifically
nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation
Wire taps without proper due process Personal information without just compensation etc...
But no, that would be randomly pointing out unconstitutionality of a public institution.
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On September 06 2013 06:43 Thieving Magpie wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service. If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach. Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information.
It's already well-established that the government can make you waive your First Amendment rights through contract; in fact, the ACLU even cooperated with the CIA to set the guidelines, so good luck getting good representation.
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On September 06 2013 07:17 HunterX11 wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:43 Thieving Magpie wrote:On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service. If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach. Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information. It's already well-established that the government can make you waive your First Amendment rights through contract; in fact, the ACLU even cooperated with the CIA to set the guidelines, so good luck getting good representation.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances"
I don't see how any part of the first amendment is relevant to what we're talking about...
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On September 06 2013 07:00 Thieving Magpie wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 06:48 Sub40APM wrote:On September 06 2013 06:43 Thieving Magpie wrote:On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service. If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach. Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information. ...what would Snowden's lawsuit be about? You realize you have to some kind of claim and ability to show some kind of damages...you dont just show up to court and say 'I feel this sucks and therefore I demand to sue!' idk... Show nested quote +No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.[1] Specifically Show nested quote +nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Specifically Show nested quote +nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation Wire taps without proper due process Personal information without just compensation etc... But no, that would be randomly pointing out unconstitutionality of a public institution. and yet weirdly no one has yet managed to use the constitution to argue before a court of law successfully that the patriot act is unconstitutional. i guess they just arent that good at finding past precedent or something. But lets say some random court does decided that legally you can use the 5th amendment in this way, what are the damages he is suing for?
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On September 06 2013 08:26 Sub40APM wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2013 07:00 Thieving Magpie wrote:On September 06 2013 06:48 Sub40APM wrote:On September 06 2013 06:43 Thieving Magpie wrote:On September 06 2013 06:38 biology]major wrote: If you even remotely care about the constitution of the USA, then you would understand the why behind Snowden. Our rights are being traded for our "security", this is a debate that should be had publicly and let the voters decide on this important issue.
However the NSA has removed the power away from the people, by not being transparent about their actions or at least acknowledging their infringement on privacy. For this reason Snowden gave Americans the chance at truth and see how we would react. We haven't done shit, but atleast he has done his job and got the truth out there, and for that I greatly appreciate his service. If only someone came to court with a lawsuit against NSA using evidence from the fact that he worked there. Sure, he'd be counter-trialed for breaching contract, but then both cases would legally be on the table. One about the constitutionality of the NSA, the other the illegality of a contract breach. Sadly, instead we have someone who ran off to another country being charged with treason and selling of information. ...what would Snowden's lawsuit be about? You realize you have to some kind of claim and ability to show some kind of damages...you dont just show up to court and say 'I feel this sucks and therefore I demand to sue!' idk... No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.[1] Specifically nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Specifically nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation Wire taps without proper due process Personal information without just compensation etc... But no, that would be randomly pointing out unconstitutionality of a public institution. and yet weirdly no one has yet managed to use the constitution to argue before a court of law successfully that the patriot act is unconstitutional. i guess they just arent that good at finding past precedent or something. But lets say some random court does decided that legally you can use the 5th amendment in this way, what are the damages he is suing for?
because the Patriot Act was a governmentally discussed and voted on measure that, as a whole, does many things that are legally. The specificity with the Snowden case is that what he can attest that the NSA specifically pay people (he is the evidence/witness for this) to do things that are unconstitutional. The Patriot Act is not on trial, the NSA is not on trial, the NSA practice of paying him to steal information and to bug without evidence is what is on trial.
He can only put in front of the courts what he himself has witnessed/has evidence for. This does not include the Patriot Act, nor does it include the sleeziness of the NSA. This only is about the NSA practice of paying people to steal information and bug without evidence.
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Bisutopia19156 Posts
It's been a while since this thread was in discussion. Lots of stuff has come out. Most recently though his acts are having great affects on us.
"The New York Times has an interesting story on how NSA put transmitters into the USB input devices of PC, allowing computers unplugged from the Internet to still be monitored, via radio, from up to 8 miles away. The article mainly reports NSA's use of the technology to monitor Chinese military, and minor headline reads 'No Domestic Use Seen'. The source of the data was evidently the leak from Edward J. Snowden." source: http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/01/15/1324216/nyt-nsa-put-100000-radio-pathway-backdoors-in-pcs
So, I can agree to some level if you want to argue in favor of him doing right by providing information on domestic affairs. But the job of the NSA and CIA are here to gather information on affairs outside of the US. I'm not great at debating, but in my opinion I think Snowden is more then guilty and wonder why he's getting so many accolades.
Written before this latest news is the best argument for my opinon"
"Fred Kaplan, the Edward R. Murrow press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relation, writes at Slate that if Edward Snowden's stolen trove of beyond-top-secret documents had dealt only with the domestic surveillance by the NSA, then some form of leniency might be worth discussing. But Snowden did much more than that. 'Snowden's documents have, so far, furnished stories about the NSA's interception of email traffic, mobile phone calls, and radio transmissions of Taliban fighters in Pakistan's northwest territories; about an operation to gauge the loyalties of CIA recruits in Pakistan; about NSA email intercepts to assist intelligence assessments of what's going on inside Iran; about NSA surveillance of cellphone calls 'worldwide,' an effort that 'allows it to look for unknown associates of known intelligence targets by tracking people whose movements intersect.' Kaplan says the NYT editorial calling on President Obama to grant Snowden 'some form of clemency' paints an incomplete picture when it claims that Snowden 'stole a trove of highly classified documents after he became disillusioned with the agency's voraciousness.' In fact, as Snowden himself told the South China Morning Post, he took his job as an NSA contractor, with Booz Allen Hamilton, because he knew that his position would grant him 'to lists of machines all over the world [that] the NSA hacked.' Snowden got himself placed at the NSA's signals intelligence center in Hawaii says Kaplan for the sole purpose of pilfering extremely classified documents. 'It may be telling that Snowden did not release mdash; or at least the recipients of his cache haven't yet published — any documents detailing the cyber-operations of any other countries, especially Russia or China,' concludes Kaplan. 'If it turned out that Snowden did give information to the Russians or Chinese (or if intelligence assessments show that the leaks did substantial damage to national security, something that hasn't been proved in public), then I'd say all talk of a deal is off — and I assume the Times editorial page would agree." source: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2014/01/edward_snowden_doesn_t_deserve_clemency_the_nsa_leaker_hasn_t_proved_he.single.html
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Whether Snowden should be judged as guilty of espionage does not matter, what matters is the NSA.
The rapid development of technology involved in our lives are making these info even more easily obtainable by the NSA. what it can do now is only a small proportional of what it can do in the not too far distance.
And what can we do about it? Nothing, exposing NSA will only slow it down. Government can easily change its name, make backdoor deals with companies and run it all over again and this time, we might never ever hear about this program.
imo, he might have exposed too many documents to other countries, it might be a safety net for him to "bride" his way into a foreign land and live his life, or it might be him making deals before he even ran off with the documents.
But we should not place any less attention onto these spy activities, especially on its own people. I thought the great wall of China was bad. but NSA bad? What if China has this level of technology and spying on its own people. and we know it will happen because technology will get figured out, adopted and improved.
I worry for our society future and what it means to live in such country.
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Bisutopia19156 Posts
On January 16 2014 00:41 ETisME wrote: Whether Snowden should be judged as guilty of espionage does not matter, what matters is the NSA.
The rapid development of technology involved in our lives are making these info even more easily obtainable by the NSA. what it can do now is only a small proportional of what it can do in the not too far distance.
And what can we do about it? Nothing, exposing NSA will only slow it down. Government can easily change its name, make backdoor deals with companies and run it all over again and this time, we might never ever hear about this program.
imo, he might have exposed too many documents to other countries, it might be a safety net for him to "bride" his way into a foreign land and live his life, or it might be him making deals before he even ran off with the documents.
But we should not place any less attention onto these spy activities, especially on its own people. I thought the great wall of China was bad. but NSA bad? What if China has this level of technology and spying on its own people. and we know it will happen because technology will get figured out, adopted and improved.
I worry for our society future and what it means to live in such country.
To me I am under the opinion China is currently spying at a much greater level then the US and that it's just common knowledge. It would almost be naive to think that China is spying any less then the US. Our computer systems are hacked into on a daily bases from Chinese hackers. Obviously I'm biased from what history classes has taught me about the cold war. But seeing the extent that North Korea goes to, to keep tabs on every citizen the US and China could be no better, but are just less obvious.
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On January 16 2014 00:00 BisuDagger wrote: So, I can agree to some level if you want to argue in favor of him doing right by providing information on domestic affairs. But the job of the NSA and CIA are here to gather information on affairs outside of the US. I'm not great at debating, but in my opinion I think Snowden is more then guilty and wonder why he's getting so many accolades.
He is getting a lot of support because what the US intelligence agencies are doing is unconstitutional, hurting the privacy of US citizens and people all over the world(all men are granted equal rights?) and brings the US into discredit?
Why does the country that claims to be the 'land of the free and home of the brave' need twenty different intelligence agencies that exceed the costs of other countries whole defense budgets?
And China also is an authoritarian one party state that tells its people how many children they are allowed to have. Does the USA want to become China?
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On January 16 2014 03:23 BisuDagger wrote:Show nested quote +On January 16 2014 00:41 ETisME wrote: Whether Snowden should be judged as guilty of espionage does not matter, what matters is the NSA.
The rapid development of technology involved in our lives are making these info even more easily obtainable by the NSA. what it can do now is only a small proportional of what it can do in the not too far distance.
And what can we do about it? Nothing, exposing NSA will only slow it down. Government can easily change its name, make backdoor deals with companies and run it all over again and this time, we might never ever hear about this program.
imo, he might have exposed too many documents to other countries, it might be a safety net for him to "bride" his way into a foreign land and live his life, or it might be him making deals before he even ran off with the documents.
But we should not place any less attention onto these spy activities, especially on its own people. I thought the great wall of China was bad. but NSA bad? What if China has this level of technology and spying on its own people. and we know it will happen because technology will get figured out, adopted and improved.
I worry for our society future and what it means to live in such country.
To me I am under the opinion China is currently spying at a much greater level then the US and that it's just common knowledge. It would almost be naive to think that China is spying any less then the US. Our computer systems are hacked into on a daily bases from Chinese hackers. Obviously I'm biased from what history classes has taught me about the cold war. But seeing the extent that North Korea goes to, to keep tabs on every citizen the US and China could be no better, but are just less obvious. I agree, anyone valuing freedom should neither trust China, nor North Korea nor the USA. And yes, the extent of US spying might be even more than the Chinese one, in Europe that is, just based on technical capabilities and the access to international telecommunication nodes. This is even worse by the US, because they were trusted to some extent in the western world, but as it seems, they treat allies (and their own citizens for crying out loud) just the same as enemies. They, or any other government that commits similar crimes (this includes the German one, should they be responsible for similar things, before anyone screams hypocrisy), should relentlessly be exposed and judged for this. The internet should be a means for freedom of speech and sharing of thoughts and promoting the furthering of knowledge, not a tool to monitor the people by a 1984'esque police state. I find it very sad how much our democratic, western culture has deteriorated.
We should protest against this, express how despicable this is for any democracy - accepting this as something unaviodable is nonsense and only strengthens the position of those autocratic governments. Principiis obsta! Imho, Snowden deserves a medal if anything, exposing illegal crimes at the risk of losing everything, maybe even his life.
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United Kingdom13775 Posts
Standard US policy involving intelligence agency scandals is to deny knowledge of the event, throw someone under the bus, and move on as if nothing happened. For this reason, presidents generally are kept out of the loop of the works of the CIA/NSA/etc.
But honestly, if an intelligence agency isn't borderline illegal, it isn't doing its job right. As long as the information is used responsibly, I don't see any problem with it.
On January 16 2014 03:44 Nyxisto wrote:Show nested quote +On January 16 2014 00:00 BisuDagger wrote: So, I can agree to some level if you want to argue in favor of him doing right by providing information on domestic affairs. But the job of the NSA and CIA are here to gather information on affairs outside of the US. I'm not great at debating, but in my opinion I think Snowden is more then guilty and wonder why he's getting so many accolades.
He is getting a lot of support because what the US intelligence agencies are doing is unconstitutional, hurting the privacy of US citizens and people all over the world(all men are granted equal rights?) and brings the US into discredit? Why does the country that claims to be the 'land of the free and home of the brave' need twenty different intelligence agencies that exceed the costs of other countries whole defense budgets? And China also is an authoritarian one party state that tells its people how many children they are allowed to have. Does the USA want to become China? He is getting support from a lot of people who want to stick it to the US. Being a powerful country tends to gain enemies all over the world.
Do other countries use the intelligence gathered by the efforts of the US? If so, then there's your answer. And FWIW, by fraction of country GDP, neither the military nor the intelligence budget of the US is abnormally large. It's just a wealthier country. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS (larger % than most but not by all that much)
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On January 16 2014 04:30 LegalLord wrote:Do other countries use the intelligence gathered by the efforts of the US? If so, then there's your answer. And FWIW, by fraction of country GDP, neither the military nor the intelligence budget of the US is abnormally large. It's just a wealthier country. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS (larger % than most but not by all that much)
Why would you think it's a good thing to put intelligence spending in relation to a countries wealth? How much you spent on intelligence and military should be solely dependent on what threats you face, and not "Hey our economy grew, more espionage!" Spying on other people isn't an end in itself.
Someone has yet to show what threats the US giant intelligence apparatus is stopping. It's a giant money sink. You could as well let all the intelligence analysts paint pictures of the president.
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On January 16 2014 04:00 ACrow wrote:Show nested quote +On January 16 2014 03:23 BisuDagger wrote:On January 16 2014 00:41 ETisME wrote: Whether Snowden should be judged as guilty of espionage does not matter, what matters is the NSA.
The rapid development of technology involved in our lives are making these info even more easily obtainable by the NSA. what it can do now is only a small proportional of what it can do in the not too far distance.
And what can we do about it? Nothing, exposing NSA will only slow it down. Government can easily change its name, make backdoor deals with companies and run it all over again and this time, we might never ever hear about this program.
imo, he might have exposed too many documents to other countries, it might be a safety net for him to "bride" his way into a foreign land and live his life, or it might be him making deals before he even ran off with the documents.
But we should not place any less attention onto these spy activities, especially on its own people. I thought the great wall of China was bad. but NSA bad? What if China has this level of technology and spying on its own people. and we know it will happen because technology will get figured out, adopted and improved.
I worry for our society future and what it means to live in such country.
To me I am under the opinion China is currently spying at a much greater level then the US and that it's just common knowledge. It would almost be naive to think that China is spying any less then the US. Our computer systems are hacked into on a daily bases from Chinese hackers. Obviously I'm biased from what history classes has taught me about the cold war. But seeing the extent that North Korea goes to, to keep tabs on every citizen the US and China could be no better, but are just less obvious. I agree, anyone valuing freedom should neither trust China, nor North Korea nor the USA. And yes, the extent of US spying might be even more than the Chinese one, in Europe that is, just based on technical capabilities and the access to international telecommunication nodes. This is even worse by the US, because they were trusted to some extent in the western world, but as it seems, they treat allies (and their own citizens for crying out loud) just the same as enemies. They, or any other government that commits similar crimes (this includes the German one, should they be responsible for similar things, before anyone screams hypocrisy), should relentlessly be exposed and judged for this. The internet should be a means for freedom of speech and sharing of thoughts and promoting the furthering of knowledge, not a tool to monitor the people by a 1984'esque police state. I find it very sad how much our democratic, western culture has deteriorated. We should protest against this, express how despicable this is for any democracy - accepting this as something unaviodable is nonsense and only strengthens the position of those autocratic governments. Principiis obsta! Imho, Snowden deserves a medal if anything, exposing illegal crimes at the risk of losing everything, maybe even his life.
The argument that there shouldn't be any spying seems a bit naive to me. Countries will need to observe their own citizens to intercept messages that could lead to criminal/terrorist acts, especially when the vast majority of communication is done online. How else can they ensure a basic level of awareness of whats going on without monitoring the internet in some way?
I feel like the episode where the US was caught spying other countries may have been embarrassing but its not necessarily something that has to be Orwellian. All countries are interested in what happens in other countries behind closed doors, and if they have a reasonable assurance that they won't find out they may take a peek. I'm sure there are far more interesting and meaningful political reasons for looking into another country's affairs, I'm not sure what they are but I imagine there would be some important facts that governments could use to position themselves more advantageously in negotiations or perhaps understand what the other country's perspective on the US is behind closed doors (assuming they don't get caught and make it worse ).
Its easy to blow things out of proportion and say this will lead to 1984, but I think to be honest that is a slippery slope argument and its no more reasonable than the idea that having a gun registry will necessarily lead to the government confiscating everyone's guns and then imposing a tyranny. Governments everywhere need to collect data, and they will need to do it on a large scale. Some lines will be blurred, some will be crossed. Does this mean a tyranny is incoming or it will corrupt democracy? I don't think so. At least no more than corporations and the sheer amount of money needed to be a political candidate has already corrupted democracy.
I think the key thing to remember is, in spite of all this data, how many reports do we hear of people being inexplicably jailed with friends and family confused as to why, except all they know is that family member has anarchist beliefs or is affiliated with Occupy Wall Street? The only thing that happens in America is the same kind of overzealous police brutality that we see everywhere, but I don't see any authoritarian, Orwellian police state brewing.
You could argue that it is a dangerous possibility and could spiral out of control, but for that to happen there would have to be a total breakdown of the justice system and our representatives would have to become authoritarian despots, which I think is pretty unlikely. We would know if the system were being abused, and a lot of things need to go wrong before it can be abused.
Just to finish this already lengthy post, obviously its good to be cautious and question how much the government knows about others as abuses will probably happen especially with all the privatization of intelligence gathering in the US. Just don't blow it too out of proportion!
Looking back on everything now Snowden definitely did the US a service as it is clear the NSA lied about a few things, and I can't really see that as being harmful to the US. He did his service as a whistleblower; those people should be protected.
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