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Well, I have no great love for CNN, but I liked the look of this article. Let's see, there's a Forbes link on millenial underemployment, let's skip that one just in case. Hmm, there's an article on Monster with... no date? hmm, can't cite that. Here's one from time which says 46% of Americans Say They Are Underemployed, that's a fun idea. The federal reserve's estimate is "fairly close to the trend derived from CPS data, but at a much higher level".

IOW, the direction of trend is accurate, but the numbers are bullshit. Like always

changes would jeopardize the privacy rights of innocent Americans and risk possible abuse by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump

The law will be signed by President Barack Obama — who vastly expanded government's surveillance over his 8 years. So stop blaming Trump for it, uhm'k?

"It means serving patrons in a world in which government surveillance is not going away; indeed it looks like it will increase."

Although surveillance expanded dramatically under Obama, these guys didn't object.

They gave Obama a pass, but are exceedingly harsh on Trump. As we know, this can only be explained by racism... So, fook them — they aren't getting a penny from me until they publicly renounce this wasteful effort.

Suddenly, it's all about race

That's because this election was about demographics. In 2050, America will be a minority-majority country. California today is already a minority-majority state. Time Magazine had an influential cover in 1993 that described this demographic trend in one blended image.

http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19931118,00.html

If you think that's bad, try out 2030 when all the baby boomers are retired, the work force (tax base) is significantly smaller, and Social Security/Medicare will consume two-thirds of the federal budget. Taxes will have to go way up to pay for everything else.

Plus the inevitable virtue signaling.

The demographic trends are clear. You can change or not change. If you want to bitch about it, I'm not going to tell you to shut up. I'm too busy moving forward with the rest of America.

Down the list AC:
http://time.com/4472169/russia...
" did not say whether the hackers were working for the Russian government"
http://time.com/4471042/fbi-vo...
"It's unclear who targeted the databases"
"Cyber Division did not identify the intruders or the two states targeted"

Down the list AC:
http://time.com/4472169/russia...
" did not say whether the hackers were working for the Russian government"
http://time.com/4471042/fbi-vo...
"It's unclear who targeted the databases"
"Cyber Division did not identify the intruders or the two states targeted"

Blah blah. There's a clear distinction between equality of opportunity versus equality of outcome.

Which has nothing to do with your conceptualization of either. You really don't have to think of them as having poles.

It's not a presumption, it's a reflection of reality. The arrogantly presumptuous are the ones who want to deny reality and force-fit the world into their presumed idea of what should be.

Yes, yes, you'll proclaim you're the one with the greater connection to reality, which doesn't make you seem at all arrogant, so you can completely avoid thinking about the presumptions you're continually making.

This is very important for you. Very much so.

You presume the impression is false. Women can make up their own mind. Gender studies reveal that differences between interests in the sexes are innate that go beyond any kind of social construct.

You presume that there are no false impressions, and that people are not influenced by outside effects. Numerous studies reveal the existence of a multitude of factors that influence life choices, even irrespective of gender.

It has a bad name because of the actions and words of feminists.

Nope, it has a bad name because it's important for its opponents that it has a bad name. It's not new. It's standard practice.

They beat up Western society over a mythical rape culture while condemning those who speak out against importing Muslims from societies with actual rape culture problems.

Ah, now you're still confused about that. Really, no matter how many times you rant about it as if it were some intent to foster those attitudes, the whole point is to get the refugees into a position where they can be influenced for the better. Has no one ever been able to set you straight, or will you keep on screaming about it in obtuse hysteria for a few more years?

They cry for safe spaces and preferential treatment.

I just don't know if it's a joke.

I really don't.

I actually do think he's that unable to handle criticism. It reminds me of the past.

They've created a culture where a man can be tried for sexually assaulting a woman while video evidence shows what was claimed was clearly impossible.

Yes, yes, and we have a world where a father complains that his son was punished excessively for 20 minutes of action, where a man got a suspended sentence for raping his 12-year old daughter, well, we could trade dueling stories for a long while.

They've created a culture where the female star of The Big Bang Theory felt fine figuratively giving her fans the finger when they complained after she cut her hair, but fell over herself backpedaling after the media made a big ruckus when she said didn't identify as a feminist, because, you know, she didn't really face inequality, and that, *gasp*, she likes cooking for her husband.

I know, how terrible. Thank god the feministas set her straight.

A celebrity comment's is considered meaningful? What a world! What is it shaped like?

So I'll grant you that Trump is in the 1%

So was this guy. Somehow he gets a pass.
http://time.com/money/4235986/...

Obama set the record for an active president campaigning for Hillary Clinton . http://abcnews.go.com/Politics...
Obama in 2011 Trolling Trump, funny Trump has his job now http://time.com/3991301/donald....
Obama Feb 2016 , Trump won't be president http://www.bloomberg.com/polit...
Obama "at least I will be a president" http://www.politico.com/story/...
Obama playing the KKK card https://www.theguardian.com/us...
Obama continuing his un-presidential arrogant tone http://www.businessinsider.com... .

I'm posting from the future, and it turns out he was horribly wrong.

Did they abolished the electoral college in the future? Hillary has 1M+ votes in the popular vote so far.

http://time.com/4572295/hillary-clinton-popular-vote-lead/

You are retarded - http://time.com/4569129/racist... and http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/10/... which shows Trump made a feeble attempt to defuse it but hasn't made any serious efforts.

That may have been a reason that some put forward, but it doesn't have much to do with the arguments among politicians that were happening at the time. See here for a more in-depth analysis. Without slavery, I sincerely doubt the electoral college would have won out over a simple direct election.

Obama's fault for not trying to appoint anyone to the Supreme Court

Speaking of living in an alternative reality...

Obama nominated Merrick Garland three quarters of a year ago. It has been official republican strategy to block his nomination until the election so that there would be a chance that the next president might be a Republican and they could get a more conservative court instead. A strategy that ultimately paid off.

For more details, Wikipedia has a full article on the fight, with 88 references.

I could never have voted for Hillary, if not for any other reason than because of her long standing opposition to gay marriage and her subsequent lies about it

Rich. . . so you voted for the ticket with MIKE PENCE!? and Donald Trump, who has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality. Face it, you were also duped. This IS Brexit all over. . . where AFTER the election voters are like, "what is the EU?".

It will be interesting to see how long people like you will defend him. Trump will eventually unite America. . . with his universal disappointment. . .

Because Congress was never going to get it done. Not saying "because of the Republicans"... well, yes I am.
http://time.com/3741085/net-ne...
https://techcrunch.com/2015/04...

Totalitarianism doesn't like technology, except as a means to oppress.

Absolutely fscking true.

I guess this is how democracy dies, to thundering applause.

We may have a sexist buffoon for a president now, but at least democracy has a chance for another four years.

Trump followed the law, but wants change trade law and work visa laws to stop that sort of thing in the future.

No, Trump broke the law, and he got away with it because of his ability to bribe his way out. He is and always has been the worst kind of filth this country can produce. He continues to thrive because so many Americans are so clueless as to the ways the world really works, that they will let him say and do anything he wants without consequences. Trumps remarkable success this election season is proof positive that Democracy is a failure. Sooner or later, the ignorant masses will do something monumentally self-destructive, and Democracy gives them the power to do so.

Please note that when I say ignorant masses, I mean people who do not have a clear understanding of the consequences of their own actions. People who believe that Trump is somehow going to change course after 50 years of screwing everyone around him to make a buck, and is somehow going to work for the benefit of the American people. People who believe that after 3 marriages and god-knows how many affairs that somehow Trump is past all that, and is now a moral man.

People (and by people here, I mean almost every human on the planet) are particularly bad at seeing beyond their own prejudices. Americans see politicians how they want to see them: As good guys or bad guys, and they are not about to let reality impede on those opinions. Its times like these that have convinced me the human race is doomed, and that we deserve the fate were building for ourselves.

The judge in the Polish workers case ruled that the Trump organization, at least, knew about them and took an active part in using them. This eventually forced the Trump organization to settle out of court on undisclosed terms.

So, does this means Trump knew about them? No. That evidence comes from an investigation conducted by Time Magazine, which showed that Trump "sought out the Polish workers when he saw them on another job, instigated the creation of the company that paid them and negotiated the hours they would work," and when they sought their unpaid wages attempted to blackmail them over their immigration status. [citation].

Does this disprove the idea of Trump as a champion of the working man? No, because that's an article of faith with people who still believe it. There is literally nothing that Trump could have done that will shake that belief.

The server belonged to an email marketing company. In this case here isn't a big deep dark secret Trump-Russian conspiracy.

If you want an insight into Trump's ties with Russia, look at Paul Manaforte and read Time magazines article on the subject http://time.com/4433880/donald...

He was labeled anti-black for reasons I have yet to be able to find.

Donald Trump violated the civil rights act by refusing to rent homes to black people.

* http://www.nytimes.com/times-i...
* http://new.www.huffingtonpost....
* http://www.thedailybeast.com/a...
* http://www.newyorker.com/magaz...

Trump continued to refuse to rent homes to black people three years after Justice Department ruling on the matter sides against Trump.

* http://www.nytimes.com/1978/03...
* http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10...

Trump ordered blacks to leave casino floor whenever him or wife arrives on property.

* http://www.newyorker.com/magaz...

1991 book written by Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino President quotes Trump as saying:

"I've got black accountants at Trump Castle and Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day⦠. I think the guy is lazy. And it's probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It's not anything they can control."

* http://articles.philly.com/199...

Trump built a casino in black majority city and breaks promise to mayor about hiring locals, refrains to hire the minorities and opting to staff the casino with almost exclusively all Caucasian employees.

* http://www.nydailynews.com/arc...

Trump was asked about replacing TSA's 'heebeejabis' with veterans, responded with:

"We're looking at it"

* http://www.npr.org/2016/06/30/...
* http://www.businessinsider.com...
* http://time.com/4039658/trump-...

Trump responded to accusations of racism by hiring a former aid for Joseph McCarthy to sue the government for half a billion dollars.

* http://www.salon.com/2011/04/2...

Trump kept books of Hitler Speeches by his bed.

* http://www.businessinsider.com...
* http://forward.com/the-assimil...
* http://www.gq.com/story/donald...

Trump's campaign photoshopped a white model black.

* http://www.huffington

That's idiotic. Google made money early and often. 5 years in, it was profitable.

Twitter has lost money every quarter of the 10 years it has existed and has no hope of ever reaching even break even status. Literally no revenue.

I was talking to my officemate a couple of months ago about relational databases (she was doing a course on them). I prefer to think about things in a quite mathematical way, and I was trying t ooffer some insight in that direction. Turns out she apparently used to be decent at maths but dropped it after being told repeatedly in school words t othe effects of "maths isn't for girls".

This, in spades.

The thing we should be concerned about is not whether there are "enough" women in computing, it's why the percentage of them is falling. If it's simply because women in general aren't into computing as a career, then fine. But if it's because the culture is hostile to them, then let's do something about that, m'kay?

Your friend who was told math is not for girls apprently was not schooled in Iceland.

This is a smart gun. Did the target move while you were shooting -- that's what mid-trajectory course corrections are for!

Proof of that rigging came with the latest claim from the corrupt current administration. Real typical misinformation stuff http://time.com/4539904/fake-v.... Why that story because the US administration is going to hack the election and they wanted to pump out some propaganda about Russian hackers in case they fuck anything up and it is exposed. That's what the bullshit polls are all about as well, main stream media in collusion with the US administration, trying the create the public image of who should win to align with the digital hack of the voting system (they know full well if Trump wins he will have a field day forcing the prosecution of all those who attacked him, the more he can prosecute the happier he will be and he can pretty much decimate the corporate democrats).

Will they fuck it up, of course they will, which is why the story and hence any irregularities will be blamed upon Russian intelligence services (reality the Chinese government are actually doing more hacking but they are sticking to the old system of extorting acceptance of bribes but the US government ain't picking on them because the Government of China are keeping secret their evidence of corruption in the US government, for the time being, they are seeing how much fun exposing corruption and every now and then you do need to demonstrate you will destroy those who fail to obey their instruction when paid to do so, forcing the issue by paying less and demanding more).

Oh my, the current US administration is squirming so bad under the current global spotlight, the mistakes, the clumsiness, all being forced by their panic at the thought of finally being prosecuted for their high crimes, this spreading into both sides of the Congress and Senate, it is all becoming a total farce (those hacks have an extremely high risk of all being exposed by US intelligence services with integrity and that is the real cause of the current panic). The fear is thick in Washington, going through their minds right now, why the fuck did we stick with Clinton, why the fuck did we stick with Clinton, over and over and over again ;D (dudes it's not like you weren't warned, the soft landing would have been so much easier for everyone, would have taken longer but less harmful all round).

Many studies have indicated that people are happier when they feel well-off compared to others as opposed to being well-off in an absolute sense.

https://sciencehouse.wordpress...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new...
http://livingeconomics.org/art...
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-mo...
http://content.time.com/time/h...

It's a bit distressing to learn that we get a kick from schadenfreude, but there it is.

Corruption? Like this? http://time.com/4465744/donald-trump-undocumented-workers/

But I suppose there was no need for WL to leak the info given that it is already well documented in the MSM.

Has Thiel himself come out for these views against equality? If so, I missed that.

Thiel has stated that the 19th amendment to the United States constitution (granting female suffrage) has "rendered the notion of ‘capitalist democracy’ into an oxymoron.”

If Thiel has made statements which are incompatible with the mission of Facebook then those statements should be the basis for excluding him from the board. He should NOT be excluded from the board based who he supports politically.

Has Thiel himself come out for these views against equality? If so, I missed that.

Thiel has stated that the 19th amendment to the United States constitution (granting female suffrage) has "rendered the notion of ‘capitalist democracy’ into an oxymoron.”

OK, starting in 2013, merchants could start charging, EXCEPT in 10 states..

from http://business.time.com/2013/...

And there are laws prohibiting these surcharges in 10 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

So yes, there are laws. Just not federal laws like I had thought.

There ALSO were agreements between the credit card providers and merchants.

http://time.com/4406337/mike-p...

Here’s What Mike Pence Said on LGBT Issues Over the Years

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s running mate, attracted national attention last year when he signed a religious freedom law that members of the LGBT community said could worsen discrimination against them.

After criticism from the business community, Pence signed an amendment to the law intended to protect gays and lesbians.

But it was not his first brush with criticism from the LGBT community. A self-described “Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” the former member of Congress was a prominent conservative figure in battles over marriage equality and equal rights in the last decade.

Here are some of the statements and positions Pence had has related to LGBT issues:

He said gay couples signaled ‘societal collapse’

In 2006, as head of the Republican Study Committee, a group of the 100 most-conservative House members, Pence rose in support of a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Citing a Harvard researcher, Pence said in his speech, “societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family.” Pence also called being gay a choice and said keeping gays from marrying was not discrimination, but an enforcement of “God’s idea.”

He opposed a law that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would have banned discrimination against people based on sexual orientation. Pence voted against that law in 2007 and later said the law “wages war on freedom and religion in the workplace.”

More than 20 years after the bill was first introduced, the Senate approved the proposal in 2013, but the bill failed in the House.

He opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Pence favored the longtime military policy of not letting soldiers openly identify as gay. In 2010, Pence told CNN he did not want to see the military become “a backdrop for social experimentation.” The policy ended in 2011.

He rejected the Obama administration directive on transgender bathrooms

In May, the federal government directed school districts to allow students to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. The directive came as criticism crescendoed around a North Carolina law that would have restricted the use of bathrooms.

Along with many other conservatives, Pence opposed Obama’s directive and said it was a state issue. “The federal government has not business getting involved in issues of this nature,” Pence said.

You're welcome.

That's effective propaganda? You must have been living in a hole if you think that's propaganda.

You know what propaganda is? Saying the same thing over and over because you want people to believe it's the truth. Look at Trump. He's such a great businessman he never turned a profit at any of his casinos while he ran them for a decade. Every year they lost money.

He was such a great businessman his dad had to give him an illegal loan to keep one of his casinos afloat (at least until Trump declared bankruptcy).

He was such a great businessman he lost nearly $1 billion at a time when everyone else was making money hand over fist.

Trump Airlines. Failure.
United Football League. Failure.
Tour de Trump. Failure.
Trump University. Failure and a scam.

Here, take a look at his other failures (not an inclusive list)

To keep saying one is successful after repeated and numerous failures is nothing but pure propaganda.

India has more cows than any country in the world.
http://beef2live.com/story-wor...

http://qz.com/643433/all-you-w...
India's cows produce more climate damage that all of its cars and trucks.
http://content.time.com/time/w...

Yep, that steak you're eating is one of the largest carbon footprint problems in the world.

But, it is SOOO tasty!!!

cost $123.9 million...per year

You're confusing budgeted and actually spent. Wartime expenditures are not restricted to budget.

This is a really good point. In fact, most of the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was funded off-budget: the Congress would pass their budget not including costs for the wars, and then do a supplement later to fund the wars. A lot of the cost is not accounted to the war. The cost of munitions, for example (the munitions were bought under general military budget, and when they were used in the war they had already been paid for. Of course, they have to be replaced... but that's not cost accounted to the war.

For example. On paper, we budgeted only a few billion for wartime expenditures between 2001 and 2006, yet the actual money spent was in the trillions. My poli-sci teacher said in those 5 years, we spent enough money on the war to fund all healthcare and college for all of the USA for 10 years.

Good summary here: http://time.com/3651697/afghan...

It depends on the domestic, gov and legal media spin needed.
Blame one or two distant nations seems to play well to the domestic press.
Nations that can get in, stay in, move data but are so easy to detect just after an event...
The insider threat just seems to be in the too hard basket for most to even think to ask about.
Recall some of the past news events surrounding security and later findings.
New Research Blames Insiders, Not North Korea, for Sony Hack (Dec. 30, 2014)
http://time.com/3649394/sony-h...
More Data on Attributing the Sony Attack
https://www.schneier.com/blog/...
For an outsider to get in, stay in, have free movement inside a network, get out with some amount of usable data? Not been detected?
Or a walk out?

Until recently, there were no laws against transsexuals using the women's bathrooms. This is a post-2000 phenomena. It's speculated that this is in reaction to gays and lesbians gaining the right to marry - people are now looking for a new target.

WRT harassment, legally it makes no difference if the person was born female or became female. The same rules apply to both in the eyes of the law. Harassment is harassment, and not protected speech.

As for the percentage of men who would date or marry a transsexual, many do without even knowing it. The reason the percentage isn't higher is because of a lack of supply to meet the demand.

After all, even 1:10000 is still a lot of people (and we know just by looking at surgeries performed in the US, ignoring those by US residents outside the country). The true number is now estimated to be 1:1000, plus 1:1000 who haven't yet sought treatment.. That's way more than the number of people who have gotten zika, and look at how much fuss that's causing.

So sure, it's a small number, but in real terms that's still 315,000 in each category, or 630,000. That's more than the total population of Las Vegas, and way more than Pittsburgh or Boston, or the population of Wyoming.or Vermont.. Look at all the synthetic outrage that's been directed at transsexual women over bathrooms for what you think is such a small number, and why the people who are so outraged don't say anything about transsexual men using men's bathrooms. Just more old-fashioned misogyny.

As for men dressing up as women always being for laughs, try watching Transparent. 23 awards, including two to Jeffrey Tambor, including his Emmy 3 days ago playing Mort who transitions to Maura. And then there's Orange is the new Black star Laverne Cox, who made the June 9th, 2014 cover of Time Magazine. Pretty main-stream not-for laughs stuff. Caitlyn Jenner's show also was not for laughs. And yet, you would also insist on calling them men in dresses, denying the legal realities.

Yes, there are bigger problems to tackle, so it's a wonder that people (including you) expend so much time putting down transsexuals and backing bathroom bills, and that others have to spend so much time and energy refuting the bigots who are in favor of discrimination based on birth sex instead of current sex (which renders birth sex irrelevant).

Many other modern countries don't get their panties in a twist over this. Take Canada -there's never been a law against transsexuals using the washroom of their new gender, even before they finish transitioning, and there have been judgments in favor of transsexuals when someone tries to force the issue.

Ireland lets adults self-declare their sex on all official documents, including birth certificates, passports, and drivers licenses, no questions asked, no supporting documents needed. Argentina, Malta, Colombia and Denmark have similar practices, though Denmark has a 6-month wait before it becomes official, for "reflection."

Australia just requires a doctor's note. New Zealand doesn't even require a doctor's note. Ditto for most Canadian provinces, though usually an affidavit from someone who has known the applicant for a year or more is required.

It's now mainstream because laws are being passed that benefit only transsexuals, allowing them to better lead their lives in their true identities. The US is way behind the times, like in so many other social aspects such as universal health care. Of the 25 wealthiest nations, only the US fails to provide universal health care. Invading other countries under false pretexts and undermining legitimate governments is more important to Americans, because you do it so much.

Robots wouldn't kill humans we didn't insist on keeping them in cages, working for nothing. At the very least, they need enrichment.

They at least want the appearance of a painless death. As for your nitrogen suggestion, it's coming into play.

Hindus come out on top, as they have for some time now: evidence that the more gods you believe in, the more successful you are in life.

A majority of Hindus in US will the upper caste (start from Brahmins) upper class who had the advantages of traveling to US for study (or work) and settled down. They are generically called "caste Hindus", they would be materially wealthy whether in US or India.

The right wing Hindu movement (not all of them are bat-shit evil, though quite ignorant) has a lot of support from US, so when the Indian PM Modi shows up at Madison Square Garden, he gets a full house. http://time.com/3442490/india-narendra-modi-madison-square-garden/

In India, they assert their power forcing down vegetarianism (this is a complex issue, which can be argued on moral, ethical and functional terms, here is a primer http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/on-diet-in-india-and-western-arguments-against/article7440854.ece, the usual fear of minorities, which includes Christians, lower caste Hindu's themselves, and other standard issue conservative and regressive ideals.

In USA, they will be seen as archaic with the next generation and the current Millenials, who had the fortune to study in secular American schools which promote some version of tolerance and humanism, which is closer to the core tenets of Hinduism in its truest essence...Tat Tvam Asi.

Former CIA Officer: President Obama Should Pardon Edward Snowden

Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations and is the author of 12 novels, including The Detachment

He let Americans evaluate omniscient domestic surveillance for themselves

This week, Edward Snowden, multiple human rights and civil rights groups, and a broad array of American citizens asked President Obama to exercise his Constitutional power to pardon Snowden. As a former CIA officer, I wholeheartedly support a full presidential pardon for this brave whistleblower.

All nations require some secrecy. But in a democracy, where the government is accountable to the people, transparency should be the default; secrecy, the exception. And this is especially true regarding the implementation of an unprecedented system of domestic bulk surveillance, a mere precursor of which Senator Frank Church warned 40 years ago could lead to the eradication of privacy and the imposition of “total tyranny.”

That today we are engaged in a meaningful debate about whether such a system is desirable is almost entirely due to the conscience, courage and conviction of one man: Edward Snowden. Without Snowden, the American people could not balance for themselves the risks, costs and benefits of omniscient domestic surveillance. Because of him, we can.

For this service, the government has charged Snowden under the World War I-era Espionage Act. Yet Snowden did not sell information secretly to any enemy of America. Instead, he shared it openly through the press with the American people.

For this service, Snowden has been accused of having “blood on his hands“—the same evidence-free cliché trotted out every time a whistleblower reveals corruption, criminality or anything else the government would prefer to hide. That this charge is being aired by the very people responsible for wars that have led to thousands of dead American servicemen and servicewomen; hundreds of thousands burned, blinded, brain-damaged, crippled, maimed and traumatized; and hundreds of thousands of innocent foreigners killed, is more than ironic. It’s also a form of psychological projection, or propaganda, intended to distract from where true responsibility for bloodshed lies.

And for this service, the usual suspects have claimed Snowden has caused “grave damage to national security.” As always, the charge is backed by nothing but air, and ignores—in fact, is intended to distract from—the real damage caused by metastasizing governmental secrecy. This includes not only disastrous government mistakes and cover-ups (see the Bay of Pigs, the “missile gap,” the Gulf of Tonkin, Iraqi wea

Former CIA Officer: President Obama Should Pardon Edward Snowden

Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations and is the author of 12 novels, including The Detachment

He let Americans evaluate omniscient domestic surveillance for themselves

This week, Edward Snowden, multiple human rights and civil rights groups, and a broad array of American citizens asked President Obama to exercise his Constitutional power to pardon Snowden. As a former CIA officer, I wholeheartedly support a full presidential pardon for this brave whistleblower.

All nations require some secrecy. But in a democracy, where the government is accountable to the people, transparency should be the default; secrecy, the exception. And this is especially true regarding the implementation of an unprecedented system of domestic bulk surveillance, a mere precursor of which Senator Frank Church warned 40 years ago could lead to the eradication of privacy and the imposition of “total tyranny.”

That today we are engaged in a meaningful debate about whether such a system is desirable is almost entirely due to the conscience, courage and conviction of one man: Edward Snowden. Without Snowden, the American people could not balance for themselves the risks, costs and benefits of omniscient domestic surveillance. Because of him, we can.

For this service, the government has charged Snowden under the World War I-era Espionage Act. Yet Snowden did not sell information secretly to any enemy of America. Instead, he shared it openly through the press with the American people.

For this service, Snowden has been accused of having “blood on his hands“—the same evidence-free cliché trotted out every time a whistleblower reveals corruption, criminality or anything else the government would prefer to hide. That this charge is being aired by the very people responsible for wars that have led to thousands of dead American servicemen and servicewomen; hundreds of thousands burned, blinded, brain-damaged, crippled, maimed and traumatized; and hundreds of thousands of innocent foreigners killed, is more than ironic. It’s also a form of psychological projection, or propaganda, intended to distract from where true responsibility for bloodshed lies.

And for this service, the usual suspects have claimed Snowden has caused “grave damage to national security.” As always, the charge is backed by nothing but air, and ignores—in fact, is intended to distract from—the real damage caused by metastasizing governmental secrecy. This includes not only disastrous government mistakes and cover-ups (see the Bay of Pigs, the “missile gap,” the Gulf of Tonkin, Iraqi wea

No, it was wrong intelligence. Or else, why did UK, run by a Left wing government run by Tony Blair, back that? They could easily have told the US that Iraq had nothing, and that would have worked, but everybody's intelligence agencies seemed to suggest that Saddam had chemical and/or biological weapons

Because Blair had already agreed to go along with whatever Bush did.

Sure, everybody thought Saddam had WMDs, but none of the intelligence agencies were certain and they didn't believe he was a threat.

I don't know how dubious Powell was of the evidence at the time, but the intelligence agents who produced it were very dubious. Powell gave the presentation he did because it was his job to push the administrations agenda and the administration really wanted war.

Sales aren't the only area affected by the need to keep the money flowing. Research grants work the same way. In order to keep your job you have to produce the data the people with the money are looking for.

I've worked in sales with a quota. I've worked in research.

They don't remotely work the same way. The sales were sales, nothing particulary difficult. My sponsors wanted correct answers, not something that corresponded with their desires. There were no "wrong" outcomes, just abandoned avenues.

For the occasional rogue researcher, there's a path to find out their transgressions. Most take this very seriously, and disgrace can be forever http://time.com/3084494/japane...

Andrew Wakefield lost his career permanently after his conman anti vaccine conspiracy came to light.

Malcolm Pearce did fraudulent work on ectopic pregnancies - presumably transplanting the out-of place embryo into the uterus and resulting in a full term healthy infant A man who signed on as co-author because of being the head of the medical department where Pearce worked, one Geoffrey Chamberlain also lost his career in disgrace.

Dong Pyou Han was sentenced to 4.5 years in jail, and a fine/repayment of 7.2 million dollars.

Now if you will, let us compare disgrace ending in suicide, disgrace ending in lost careers, with the treatment of the head of the unit of Wells Fargo that was doing this sandbagging, Carrie Tolstedt. http://fortune.com/2016/09/12/...

She made the decision to retire after 27 years, and is getting 125 million. Nearly the amount of the fine levied against Wells Fargo. Toltsted profited off the sandbagging, and although Wells Fargo could have elected to demand the fraudulently received money in a device named "clawback", she is keeping the money that was illegally obtained.

And finally, who was punished? It's pretty difficult to call retiring with a 125 million bonus punishment. But the employees who fell to the pressure to do this industry standard dandbagging? Oh - they were fired. Seldom happens to the technicians involved in a research fraud case, unless they were highly complicit

Fscking identical treatment between scientists and the banking industry - damn near exact, eh? Meantime the stockholders are picking up the Wells Fargo tag.

And that's the really weird thing. A huge amount of fraud going on, and people committing the fraud getting away stock free, and people who might have an issue with scientists act like they should be lined up and shot for their malfeasance.Yet appear to think that the bank fraud is just business as usual. I dunno if that's you or not.

There was a We The People (Whitehouse.gov) petition back in 2013 to pardon Snowden.

It took the Whitehouse two years to respond; they said no. It seems really unlikely – to me – that Obama will change his mind at this point.

Snowden is lucky that Putin was around and so "accommodating."

The Whitehouse site won't show the petition for some reason, for me anyway; there are several summaries around, e.g. http://time.com/3974713/white-...

I used to work for their investment bank and I share your feelings about the company.

This story should cheer you up a little.
Homeowner Forecloses on Bank of America.

Part of me really believes that Donald's health was "astonishingly excellent" given that all his tests were "showing only positive results". And I'll continue to mostly believe this until his doctor issues a corrected letter with his signature on it.

How hard is that?

Trump's tolerance for shoddy workmanship, as exemplified by his health letter, beggars the imagination. And I do think a little suspicion is warranted here.

In the rush, I think some of those words didn't come out exactly the way they were meant.

That's far from a direct disavowal of his "accidentally" inverted semantics. Not all that far, in fact, from what you might expect from Clinton 42, if his weasel had blended better into a backdrop of verbal incompetence (problem: brain too big to drop the stammer-hammer "I do not recall having sexual relations with, uh, that woman, er, what's-her-name?")

Nixon was another Pinocchio president who suffered for having a brain too big to discretely tuck behind his thigh in a Statue of Liberty fizzle drizzle (if that's not immediately obvious, picture the opposite-George razzle dazzle of the Iran–Contra affair, ultimate doper's edition: don't look here, I'm less mentally continent than Frank Drebin shuffling around an extended care facility in a strapless night gown) so he went up the gut with "well, I am not a crook" only to slam into a human wall of meat, though not quite so literally as Mark Foley.

In this play book, where it concerns Trump's doctor, I'm not positive I could locate his actual brain given three Dixie cups and a hundred reveals, so the SoL mind-tuck is definitely in play here.

"Ginny!" said Mr. Weasley, flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.

... hero for betraying his country ...

Yes, once again, telling the truth is a far worse crime than internal corruption. Maybe that's why you mention Russia and China so much: You believe bureaucrats should be criminals. It's explains why don't hold politicians accountable when the USA "went bankrupt fighting a war".

... I support the NSA / CIA / whatever spying on and killing anyone ...

That's still a war: Unconventional and probably asymmetric, but war. I understand you now: When 'might is right' doesn't work, when 'the world does what the USA says' doesn't work; you want the war all over again, on the cheap and away from the real armies.

... Domestic spying by the intelligence services is a good thing.

The Russian Cheka and NKVD, East German Stassi, Nazi Germany Gestapo all agree with this statement.

Spying has stopped acts of terrorism on US soil.

A lot of people are saying this but the few terrorists being arrested are US-trained and badly trained at that: Not defensible evidence for believers like yourself.

... want the government spying on Muslim activities.

That's how police caught Andrew Joseph Stack (USA), Ted Kaczynski (USA), Anders Behring Breivik (NOR), Timothy McVeigh (USA). The 'New America foundation' declared white terrorists more dangerous than Muslims. The FBI has declared 2nd Amendment militias the biggest threat to the USA. But let's blame the loud-mouthed minority only when they're not Christian devotees.

Pretty crazy considering all of the new taxes they've raised from cannabis.

What relationship with Europe?

Russia would love the natural gas concession to Western Europe. It's one of the few things left they have to export besides hacking and suppression of political dissent.

http://time.com/4205782/pussy-...

[Note: they were arrested again after this]

Cops also saved tens of thousands of people like you, and keeps the rabble from overrunning our suburban house and shooting you in the fucking head. Go fuck yourself.

I don't live in the suburbs, and the rabble has already overrun my house.

Plus, cops get paid well, have great benefits and get to retire at 45, so excuse me if I don't break out my tiny violin. Oh yeah, and being a cop is a safer job than driving a beer truck, being a garbage man or a school janitor. We canonize cops way too much in this country.

http://time.com/4326676/danger...