Slashdot Mirror
Senator Dianne Feinstein: NSA Metadata Program Here To Stay
cold fjord writes "The Hill reports, 'Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) predicted Sunday that lawmakers who favored shutting down the bulk collection of telephone metadata would not be successful in their efforts as Congress weighs potential reforms to the nation's controversial intelligence programs. "I don't believe so," Feinstein said during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press (video). "The president has very clearly said that he wants to keep the capability So I think we would agree with him. I know a dominant majority of the — everybody, virtually, except two or three, on the Senate Intelligence Committee would agree with that." ... "A lot of the privacy people, perhaps, don't understand that we still occupy the role of the Great Satan. New bombs are being devised. New terrorists are emerging, new groups, actually, a new level of viciousness," Feinstein said. "We need to be prepared. I think we need to do it in a way that respects people's privacy rights."'"
will never go away citizen, we need to spy on you to keep you safe. Now pick up that can.
The useful ones.
Social programs
It's on America's tortured brow, That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
...perhaps, don't understand that we still occupy the role of the Great Satan."
On the contrary, I think they understand that very well.
NASA.
"We" are not the Great Satan, Dianne. That would be you and the rest of your despicable brood of self-righteous overbearing pax americana terrorists.
Is this woman for real? She seems very protective of our Great Satan role. There are new vicious terrorists popping up everywhere, especially right here in our own back yard she seems to infer... And what the hell, the president thinks it's a good idea, so those of us in the congressional branch ought to jump right behind him on that, because, you know, he's a politician, we're politicians and we all just roll like that... Everyone knows that the American people don't need/want privacy anyhow... They will all feel so much better once we remove those annoying constitutional freedoms that are such a distraction in their day to day lives. Just like castrating a dog! How does that silly putz stay in office anyhow?
"A lot of the privacy people, perhaps, don't understand that we still occupy the role of the Great Satan."
Maybe we shouldn't occupy that role?
What she is really saying is, "Fuck you Citizen! We are the Government and will do as we like. We are not concerned that nearly all Americans and 100% of foreign nationals are appalled by our actions. Go back to playing with your iPhones while us grownups take care of business".
It should be far more useful than it has been. So far, it's been useless, according to all of the Snowden documents. No benefit has been gained from it. Zero. Nada. Zilch. It's worthless.
Riddle me this, Batman: Why didn't the NSA stop the Target data breach? They surely could've seen it coming. They surely should've seen its traffic while it was in action. Why haven't they tracked down the perpetrator and thrown his ass in Gitmo? He's cost the economy something far more than a few billion dollars. He cost it confidence. That's a threat to national security and stability. Where is the NSA? Somewhere in a datacenter, doing fuck-all about the real security issues facing the nation, that's where.
"Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein" needs to address that before she starts parroting back crap the Ayatollah said 35 years ago. He's an old fart, and obviously incapable of rational thought. He's also been ineffective in reaching most of his goals for the last 35 years. Unfortunately, those same things can be said about Sen. Feinstein. It seems the old adage "physician, heal thyself" applies here.
the debate is about WHEN and HOW...the government has the right to access your personal data with proper warrant
what is proper warrant for the different kinds of digital communication?
THATS THE QUESTION that none of the privacy trolls here on slashdot want to discuss.
I think the issue is rather that the anti-privacy advocates do everything in their power to avoid that question, since the answer is pretty cut-and-dried - warrants shall be issued describing the particular place to be searched, and the particular thin to be seized, pursuant to Amendment IV of the United States Constitution.
Don't like it? Amend the Constitution, or deal with it and operate within existing law. Feigned ignorance is no excuse.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Forget the Target breach, how about the Boston Marathon bombing? That was exactly the kind of attack this program is being sold as preventing. And it didn't. Yet we still have it and it still hurts us.
while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
This doesn't surprise me at all. The "institutional left", (which is well represented in DC but probably not representative of the left-leaning public) has reached the point now where they'll seize any excuse for a larger, more powerful, more well-funded government, even crossing traditional lines to become defense hawks.
I expect the Democratic Party (at the federal level) to increasingly support any government program with a budget, even the military, to the increasing frustration of the voters, as the money starts to run out. At the state and local levels, acceptance that the budget can't be infinite is coming much faster and earlier, and politicians (on both sides) are discovering that cutting budgets isn't actually the end of the world, but that hasn't started trickling up to the federal level yet.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.