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WikiLeaks Supporters' Twitter Accounts Subpoenaed
HJED writes "The US Justice Department has served Twitter with a subpoena for the personal information and private messages of WikiLeaks supporters. There's a copy of the subpoena here (PDF); boing boing has a detailed article. Twitter has 3 days to turn over the information."
There is a threat to democracy, quick, suspend all civil liberties!
Individuals are entitled to say as they wish to each other in their private lives, the moment that is stopped in the name of 'national security' when they are discussing politics is when you should get the hell out.
To where is the only real question.
When you have a facist/nazi/evil/whatever state you have people getting taken from their homes for not supporting the glorious leader/fuhrer/overlord/whatever and protesting?
Good times.
Step 1: Pressure internet companies into violating individual rights
for the sake of security. e.g. withhold money saved online, block
websites.
Step 2: Play into anti-free-market sentiments of the Internet users.
Whine about how the companies that make the Internet possible are the
real threats to freedom of information on the Internet. Cite examples
of companies which were pressured into violating the individual
rights.
Step 3: Justify government control of the Internet as a measure
against excessive human greed.
Step 4: Take control. Decide who can see what on the Internet.
Step 5: POWER!!!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/state_dept_launching_democracy.html
..the State Department says, it's launching a Twitter contest to "tweet what you think democracy is in 140 characters or less." The person who gets the most "unique re-tweets" will receive a Flip Video HD Camcorder." ....
"Evan Williams [co-founder of Twitter] says Twitter fundamental to government"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8563109.stm
"open exchange of information will prevail in most regions, but we don't have any specific plans in China or other areas where we're blocked"
All sounded so cool when it was aimed at
Welcome back to reality. Enjoy the gems from WikiLeaks, note whats missing and welcome to the honeypot.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Well, at least, I'd hand them a gigantic picture of a whale. "Sorry, your legal standing is over capacity."
So they are demanding the personal information of a Non-US citizen, that's not in the country and did not access Twitter from within the United States? Nor did any of them commit any sort of crime on US soil. Could a middle eastern country charge my wife for wearing a bikini to the beach in Florida and then demand her personal information from Twitter?
Who's applauding, though? From what I can tell, it's mostly just a stunned silence punctuated by occasional mutterings of "wait, isn't this wrong?".
What is happening here is the application of war tactics applied by the US defense department, only Wikileaks has no WMD's only words. Perhaps the defense department can justify its military spending by using its stock of WMD's???
There is a genuine and serious need for psychiatric evaluation, constraints and care of what is apparently many in government, specifically the defense department and defense contractors like Halliburton.
Consider the following and how so far out of line it really is, to the point of insanity. Who are we ever going to go to war with that would justify this level of military spending? Add to the US spending that of allies that the US would not go to war against. And then consider what the last link presents.
Clearly, absolutely, without doubt, there is solid evidence of insanity of some in very dangerous positions. They need to be identified, removed from their positions and treated for their mental disorders.
What's wrong with this picture?
http://bit.ly/ey8svA
http://bit.ly/hHIwSs
http://bit.ly/9BDHA7
http://bit.ly/hsrMaE
vs.
http://bit.ly/8iTYUu (even if adjusted for inflation [x2]) Maybe the way to deflate so called terrorism is, instead of acts of destruction. correct real problems.
Everything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. The connections you make, the things you read, everything. The government has too much power and by indulging in these useless social media activities, people are making themselves into potential targets by participating in them. Say you were curious about wikileaks and subscribed to Assange's twitter. Well guess what, now the government knows who you are, you are on yet another list and only because you were curious about what he had to say.
I'm not condemning social media as much as I am condemning this sort of behavior from government. But while the government IS behaving this way, people should be more careful in response.
A law was broken? So what? You are probably breaking more than a dozen laws a week, just by living and breathing, taking shortcuts over the lane, missing some info on the tax report, etc. If someone is out to get you, they can easily find something on you, or fabricate evidence against you.
If you had any spine left in your body AC, you would ask yourself WHY someone put their LIFE on the line to disclose this information, and why someone else do EVERYTHING in their power to stop it..
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
Of course not! When it's China doing it, then it's "the bad guys". When it's USA, it's "the good guys".
Do as we tell you, but don't do as we do..
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
... in the US government's life of doing whatever the hell they want without a court involved
This was a court order; in fact the first link in the summary was to the court order. Page 2 basically states "This is a court order".
I am at a loss for words sometimes when people can assert things in direct contradiction with the article, and get modded up for it. Real "interesting", i suppose.
That's like saying FDR didn't actually imprison japanese-and-german-Americans. He just ordered other diplomats to do it.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall