http://m.guardiannews.com/world/2013/jun/07/google-facebook-prism-surveillance-program
I'm pretty sure most of these companies are putting on a face for PR. If they havent allowed it they atleast knew about it. The best thing to come from the data harvested from Verizon is the masses now know.
I agree. However, I'd like to add something;
It is still not clear to us whether those companies are allowed (or even ordered) by the US to lie, or if the US is giving them a blanket pardon for offering them any (or all) lies they tell the American people (or customers abroad, for that matter).
Because, just as the US can order citizens or companies to hide information from us, it is also possible for them to tell us to lie in public, or allow us to be exempt from any financial damages that lying might indirectly/incidentally cause.
Rachel Maddow, on her show at MSNBC pointed that out quite well, actually. I'd love to see just how much information the American people get from this, or if journalists abroad will become imprisoned because of leaking this info (regardless of the constitutionality of that).
I'm also curious as to who leaked this information; the Chinese could have very well leaked this information just today for their own interests (the Chinese president is visiting the US President, so it may be possible). Just as certain chinese hacking incidents were reportedly leaked by the US to journalists today because of that meeting, for the purposes of leverage.
We're going to end up having 100+ threads on this soon, upon the discovery of this.
But isn't that what happens with every subject on INBOX.EXE, or Rant:30, computer component review the Tek does, or any YouTube video they post?
Isn't that what 90% of YouTube comments are made of, and a huge percentage of forum post replies as well?
No but my comment was a reminder to other people considering to duplicate a thread for this to reconsider their decision again. So I'd take this thread as the whole. But not all subjects pointed out in every videos do have repitition elsewhere.
You know, you're absolutely right. Perhaps Logan should create threads about official News subjects he feels are worthy of the forum, in official forum area. This way, since only he could add threads, there wouldn't be users posting duplicates. Heck, Pistol and Wendal could probably add threads there, too.
I think that'd solve prett much the whole issue. Maybe they could even bring up news that was interesting enough that comes from the forums or from the attention of the users. Who knows?
Well the whistle blowers identity has now been revealed and the government may charge him. And In America telling a lie is not illegal unless you lie to the government or law enforcement. There is no law against lying to citizens even on a massive scale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5yB3n9fu-rM
I saw that too. I think Snowden rules, because he stands for the freedom of speech, even when the US law isn't in favor of that.
I hope that the US can stop spying on it's citizens, and hopefully/possibly that there will be enough oversight by the public into how these files are accessed, and so forth.
For example, I'd definitely be in favor of spying on all US citizens under one very strict condition. The condition being that the only time the information could be accessed is when it is related exclusively to a possible terrorist attack being planned, or that has happened. Alternatively, investigations into murder, rape, political manipulation and/or economic disaster would also be acceptable. But that's about it.
Under those circumstances, I'd be in favor of my information being stored. However, that means my data could only be viewed/accessed if there was probable cause. Storing the information isn't bad; there's no problem with that at all. It's viewing the information that I'm worried about.
The way I see it, information is only dangerous if it is known or if it affects someone. The idea that storing data about you is dangerous is silly. It's how the US government uses it that's the tricky bit. That's why I think we can store data, with no problem, on any and all US citizens.
I'm just a little worried about how the US would be impacted in regards to foreign relations with other countries, since they now know we spy on them. I'm also a little worried that, without proper oversight as to who can access what data, and when certain data can be accessed. If that can be sorted out in a virtually fool-proof form (and that'll be very tricky, given that congress is full of so many fools who forgot who they're supposed to be serving while in office), this might end up being bad.
I don't have a problem with FBI, NSA, or CIA agents looking through my data. I'm just afraid that one day the oversight might get a little bit lax because of some wacko president, who might then use the data collected for personal gain - be it financial, political, or other.
There's a limit as to who should access the data, who can view it, what are the criteria for any searches, and I think that the public (or at least congress) should have some access to how the program is conducted, and under what norms. I also think the american public should have a vote as to whether or not this program should continue; which is to say, we'd hold this as a proposition whether we stop all intelligence/data-gathering activity on civilians that aren't specifically associated/targeted in an ongoing criminal investigation, by any and all governmental and private agencies, foreign and abroad. (Except, of course, on certain required things like census and so forth. But, excluding that, private data would be off-limits for government and private organizations, national or abroad, if it isn't targeting a specific individual for a criminal investigation, and/or without his/her conscent.)