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NSA Considers Linux Journal Readers, Tor (And Linux?) Users "Extremists"

New submitter marxmarv writes If you search the web for communications security information, or read online tech publications like Linux Journal or BoingBoing, you might be a terrorist. The German publication Das Erste disclosed a crumb of alleged XKeyScore configuration, with the vague suggestion of more source code to come, showing that Tor directory servers and their users, and as usual the interested and their neighbor's dogs due to overcapture, were flagged for closer monitoring. Linux Journal, whose domain is part of a listed selector, has a few choice words on their coveted award. Would it be irresponsible not to speculate further?

211 of 361 comments (clear)

  1. FreeBSD by approachingZero+ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One more reason to use FreeBSD.

    --
    'I don't know what it's called. I just know the sound it makes, when it takes a man's life.' ~ Four Leaf Tayback
    1. Re:FreeBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      What, then you're daemonic

    2. Re:FreeBSD by approachingZero+ · · Score: 2, Informative

      It was meant to be funny, I'm sure they're watching everyone.

      --
      'I don't know what it's called. I just know the sound it makes, when it takes a man's life.' ~ Four Leaf Tayback
    3. Re: FreeBSD by bylund · · Score: 2

      The voices in my head use NetBSD.

    4. Re:FreeBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      no we're not

    5. Re:FreeBSD by Pseudonym+Authority · · Score: 1

      TempleOS is the choice OS for schizophrenics.

    6. Re:FreeBSD by countach · · Score: 4, Funny

      They don't flag the FreeBSDers for closer monitoring. They just send them straight to Guantanamo Bay.

    7. Re:FreeBSD by approachingZero+ · · Score: 1

      Very good. My bag is packed.

      --
      'I don't know what it's called. I just know the sound it makes, when it takes a man's life.' ~ Four Leaf Tayback
    8. Re:FreeBSD by MrBingoBoingo · · Score: 2

      No. No true paranoid would use an OS where everything runs in ring 0.

    9. Re:FreeBSD by davester666 · · Score: 2

      Well, we all are individual sleeper terrorist cells, just waiting to rise up when the right circumstances occur.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    10. Re:FreeBSD by aliquis · · Score: 2

      But the NSA is the only (?) terrorist group with armed aircraft drones.

  2. Yeah, right. by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's this story about an off-duty bridge officer aboard a large US military ship who, groggy after having to get up rather early, called the bridge and requested that the vehicle, some quarter of a million tons of steel, personnel and equipment, be rotated 15 degrees, all so he didn't have to move an inch to get the sun out of his eyes while he drank his coffee.

    Maybe whoever wrote that list merely wants to read the Linux Journal forums. Surely we're not pretending as if SELinux doesn't exist and that the NSA hasn't historically contributed to Linux. That would be a foolish thing to do. Of foolishness.

    --
    Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    1. Re:Yeah, right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Reading the definition. It seems designed to flag mentions of "tails" on linux journal forum.

    2. Re:Yeah, right. by Charliemopps · · Score: 2

      There's this story about an off-duty bridge officer aboard a large US military ship who, groggy after having to get up rather early, called the bridge and requested that the vehicle, some quarter of a million tons of steel, personnel and equipment, be rotated 15 degrees, all so he didn't have to move an inch to get the sun out of his eyes while he drank his coffee.

      Maybe whoever wrote that list merely wants to read the Linux Journal forums. Surely we're not pretending as if SELinux doesn't exist and that the NSA hasn't historically contributed to Linux. That would be a foolish thing to do. Of foolishness.

      Keep in mind that management is often divorced from reality. I'm sure that applies to the NSA as well.

    3. Re:Yeah, right. by davydagger · · Score: 3, Insightful

      you don't understand how these people work, and how they think.

      The concept of a scientific investigation as seen on CSI is a work of creative fiction, nothing more. The capablities of the US government to deter threats including profiling the target with the largest brush feasibly possible, then trying to fuck with the people who fall under whatever target they made up enough that they point fingers at someone else, and whoever has the most fingers in their dirrection looses.

      Hypocrisy and the fact that they might be targeting their best chances to do what most people think they do is not relivant.

      After they label people as "extremists", they then use excedingly long jail sentances, other threats, and attempts to ruin their social lives, and a split from mainstream society as leverage to get these people to work for the NSA or other government or capitalist agencies.

      They can then denounce everyone not explicitly helping them as terrorists.

      The fact that most nerds, anyways still say "fuck the system" is a tribute to moral character, more absolute ideas of freedom, and knowledge of history that isn't dependant on the 2 year TV news election cycle, is a tribute to the moral fiber of the computer enthusiast, something that mainstream society lacks.

    4. Re:Yeah, right. by ctheme · · Score: 5, Funny
      I'm not exactly contributing to the topic at hand, but felt compelled to give a source for your story. It's a reddit post from earlier this year. Here is the relevant portion:

      I was once on a US military ship, having breakfast in the wardroom (officers lounge) when the Operations Officer (OPS) walks in. This guy was the definition of NOT a morning person; he's still half asleep, bleary eyed... basically a zombie with a bagel. He sits down across from me to eat his bagel and is just barely conscious. My back is to the outboard side of the ship, and the morning sun is blazing in one of the portholes putting a big bright-ass circle of light right on his barely conscious face. He's squinting and chewing and basically just remembering how to be alive for today. It's painful to watch.

      But then zombie-OPS stops chewing, slowly picks up the phone, and dials the bridge. In his well-known I'm-still-totally-asleep voice, he says "heeeey. It's OPS. Could you... shift our barpat... yeah, one six five. Thanks." And puts the phone down. And then he just sits there. Squinting. Waiting.

      And then, ever so slowly, I realize that that big blazing spot of sun has begun to slide off the zombie's face and onto the wall behind him. After a moment it clears his face and he blinks slowly a few times and the brilliant beauty of what I've just witnessed begins to overwhelm me. By ordering the bridge to adjust the ship's back-and-forth patrol by about 15 degrees, he's changed our course just enough to reposition the sun off of his face. He's literally just redirected thousands of tons of steel and hundreds of people so that he could get the sun out of his eyes while he eats his bagel. I am in awe.

      Cue downmods and comments of "Slashdot has literally become reddit."

    5. Re:Yeah, right. by geniice · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Eh its got more to do with nerds tending towards white and middle class and thus generaly being left alone by the system.

    6. Re:Yeah, right. by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 1

      That's the one! I would've posted the source but I'd only seen it as an image and didn't remember what to search for. Thanks.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    7. Re:Yeah, right. by davydagger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      oh yeah, your right. I mean no nerd ever killed them selves facing 35 to life for technical infractions related to accessing publicly available scientific files.

      No nerd ever lost their job, and is on the run from US law enforcement for exposing unethical mass survialence and harrassment by the US Government.

      No nerd was ever arrested for trying to do the right thing and exposing unethical or dangerous computer behavior.

      No nerd was ever arrested for modifying his own video game system, that he bought, and then blabbing about it on the internet.

      No nerd was ever targeted for being either a terrorist or a school shooter by rampant paranoia from authorities.

      but yeah, your right, nerds are left alone by the system.

    8. Re:Yeah, right. by countach · · Score: 1

      I can't think of any military ship that would be anywhere near a quarter of a million tons.

    9. Re:Yeah, right. by dragonfly_blue · · Score: 1

      >> Cue downmods and comments of "Slashdot has literally become reddit."

      You mean, except for the interface. Right?

      --
      Free music from Jack Merlot.
    10. Re:Yeah, right. by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 1

      My mistake; the original text merely said "thousands." See ctheme's comment.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    11. Re: Yeah, right. by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 1

      I believe you'll find it's spelled "navel vassal."

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    12. Re:Yeah, right. by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      you don't understand how these people work, and how they think.

      And, you do?...Not.

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
    13. Re:Yeah, right. by bzipitidoo · · Score: 1

      You didn't go far enough. Many of the people in control at these agencies are of average stupidity and somewhat greater than average paranoia, and they fear and distrust smart people just for being smart. They are political hacks who kissed up to the right politicians in the right ways. One of their qualities is blind loyalty to their masters. This problem was at its worst during the Bush administration. Remember how it was nearly treasonous merely to argue against going to war in Iraq? We had little choice but to watch the idiots charge into the War of Choice.

      They want smart people on their side, but constantly fear that those same people might turn traitor according to a very broad definition of treason. They want those smart people thinking only about the technical details and not any larger implications. They reserve for themselves the right to think about larger pictures as long as they aren't too large, and seem to really believe that's acceptable. They and their masters do the thinking and smart people are supposed to do nothing else other than make it happen. They are blindly loyal to their masters, and expect their underlings to show the same blind loyalty to them. A smart person just thinking about larger pictures is potentially treasonous. They also want contradictory things, and will suspect inability to accomplish two opposing goals could be treachery. You could do it if you really wanted to, and you're just giving them bull, is what they're wont to think. Why don't you want to do it? They think smart people can do almost anything, particularly black hat stuff. But at the same time they constantly suspect incompetence, especially when hearing protests that something is impossible. They actually want to see smart people humbled on occasion and when they think they've seen a mistake, they jump all over it, indulge in a bit of bashing just to enjoy bringing a smart person down to their level. Sometimes they resort to threats, think that can make things happen. They totally fail to see their own double standards and hypocrisies, and that their thinking is irrational, stupid, and vicious, and drives smart people away.

      --
      Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
    14. Re:Yeah, right. by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

      I'd like to mod this comment up even though that might make me seem like a terrorist.

      Some of the best people I know seem to be on that list these days. Sounds like the Founding Fathers would fit in the same category.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    15. Re:Yeah, right. by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

      While there may be a lot of minorities over represented in the Penal system -- you get on the wrong end of the law and you are suddenly one of the minorities. If you go the route of contesting your guilt, you face higher penalties fines and punishment than if you just cop a plea. Being innocent is painful and expensive. How many people just say; "You are right, I'm a bad boy" because it was bankrupting them? Only people with means can afford to be innocent. It's easy to believe the system is fair as long as you never get on the wrong end of it. The accusation becomes the reputation which rationalizes the punishment.

      I can't imagine if the Feds wanted to make an example with me, and their credibility were on the line. "Tipping the scales" because they want to make an arrest easy and 'get the bad guy' -- I can imagine that happens more often than not. There's a lot of financial and career pressure on enforcement -- and I'm sure to get cyber criminals and whistleblowers, regardless of merit, is even greater.

      As someone said; it's probably got little to do with investigation, and more coercing people to give up associates who MIGHT be guilty, and then leaning on them until they get somewhere. Like the drug war, that friendly recreational drug dealer that supplied your party gets squeezed and their life ruined to get SOMEONE. I suspect intimidation and thuggery is more useful than detective work.

      So, suffice to say, if your parents aren't totally politically connected and rich -- you aren't the precious white boy if you are a nerd in the cross hairs of the Fed or NSA. You are at least going to be collateral damage because Uncle Sam isn't spending a few billion on this agency not to have results. Again, just like the inquisition finding a witch -- it doesn't matter if you've actually consorted with Satan.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    16. Re: Yeah, right. by davydagger · · Score: 1

      you mean like catching rapists who broadcast their deeds online. I mean terrible, its some sort of violation of the bro code.

    17. Re:Yeah, right. by davydagger · · Score: 1

      I think at this point if your not on a terrorist list, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

  3. Extreme? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I do feel kind of extreme. Extremely awesome for being a Linux user!

    1. Re:Extreme? by chispito · · Score: 2

      I do feel kind of extreme. Extremely awesome for being a Linux user!

      Most Linux users do.

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    2. Re:Extreme? by MrBigInThePants · · Score: 1

      What I am is More Than Words.

      The NSA are just a Hole Hearted organisation Run with way too much Money. I wish they would just chill out and Play With Me and do the Decadence Dance. If not, then they can just Get the Funk Out.

      Time for me to watch some more Pornograffitti.

    3. Re:Extreme? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      They label us as religious extremisms for our belief in the power of the source and trying to force our beliefs onto others (that may be why they mention Linux but not BSD.)

  4. It's not what you think by tyggna · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They're looking for potential hires. What better pool to pull from than technical terrorists?

  5. I'm finally Extreme by Culture20 · · Score: 2

    Too bad it's not slang for groovy radically bodacious these days.

  6. BINGO! by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    My whole card's filled out!

    I guess that makes me Cyber Bin Laden?

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:BINGO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      More like Recycle Bin Laden

    2. Re:BINGO! by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Funny

      -sh: /usr/bin/laden: not found

      Muahahaha! >:-D

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    3. Re:BINGO! by Dishevel · · Score: 1

      Actually they are all just in fear of our /root powers.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    4. Re:BINGO! by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      My whole card's filled out!

      Now go outside and hold it up high to claim your prize.

    5. Re:BINGO! by jones_supa · · Score: 4, Funny
    6. Re:BINGO! by BronsCon · · Score: 1

      Osama Bin Hacken

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    7. Re:BINGO! by jd2112 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sounds cool until they show up and kill -9 your ass.

      --
      Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
    8. Re:BINGO! by jenningsthecat · · Score: 1

      More like Recycle Bin Laden

      Replying to reverse a fumble-fingered mod. Meant to mod you up as Insightful - accidentally modded you down as Redundant. Sorry about that...

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    9. Re:BINGO! by gargleblast · · Score: 2

      kill -9 `/usr/bin/Laden`

      I'm looking for something like: moderate .. -1 "unix newbie"

  7. BINGO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I guess that makes me usr bin Laden?

    ftfy

  8. Silver Lining by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally someone pays attention to us Linux folk!

    1. Re:Silver Lining by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      NSA - proof your government does listen to you.

  9. Magazine by freeze128 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That sounds like a good name for a magazine: "Linux Extremist"

    1. Re:Magazine by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I do recall a magazine called 'Linux Extreme'

  10. Year of the Linux Extremist? by inhuman_4 · · Score: 1

    Year of the Linux Extremist?

    That has got me curious. I wonder how many terror groups use linux?

    1. Re:Year of the Linux Extremist? by spacepimp · · Score: 2

      Linux Fundamentalist is the term.

    2. Re:Year of the Linux Extremist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's starting read like a Linux version of the Chinese zodiac.

      Year of the Zealot
      Year of the Desktop
      Year of the Extremist ...

  11. We're all Terrorists by BlueTemplar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At this point, I think I'm not going to be too far away from the mark by saying that if you're not part of the USA' "Military-Industrial Complex", then you're a terrorist.

    1. Re:We're all Terrorists by Dishevel · · Score: 1, Troll

      Snowden was a part of the USA' "Military-Industrial Complex", and he is a terrorist.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    2. Re:We're all Terrorists by Dishevel · · Score: 4, Funny
      Oh.

      Thank you for your comment. I really appreciate the way ACs are not only so free with their opinions, but I have noticed that almost without fail they always offer tons of well researched supporting facts to back up their opinions.

      That coupled with their awesome grasp of humor and their perfect recognition of sarcasm makes me value opinions of ACs like you so very much.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    3. Re:We're all Terrorists by BlueTemplar · · Score: 1

      Hey, I never said that if you _were_ part of the USA' "Military-Industrial Complex", you couldn't be a terrorist as well! Don't underestimate their paranoia...

    4. Re:We're all Terrorists by Dishevel · · Score: 1
      I never do. I was just specifically pointing out that everyone is a terrorist.

      The NSA should look more deeply into my grandson. He is quite good at terrorizing sometimes.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    5. Re:We're all Terrorists by BlueTemplar · · Score: 1

      Well, of course! Don't forget, I'm an extremist after all!

    6. Re:We're all Terrorists by sgt+scrub · · Score: 1

      So not true. If you are part of the USA "Prison Industrial Complex" you are exempt.

      --
      Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
    7. Re:We're all Terrorists by BlueTemplar · · Score: 1

      I like this one!

  12. Re:neat by mu51c10rd · · Score: 2

    so, can the government now confiscate their own bank accounts for financing terrorists?

    Would there be anything there to confiscate?

  13. Can you blame them? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you want weird you go where the weirdos are.

  14. Underlying cause? by no-body · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are they in any way successful in catching "terrorists"?

    Hardly - maybe they caught one guy in - was it San Diego - to give money to some far away organization labeled as well, offensive/dangerous in some way (don't recall all details).

    There was also a hearing and a lied number of 20-isch? was admitted but later debunked.

    So - all in all, the tremendous snooping effort is not showing much result and essentially being a flop.

    Remedy: Increase effort in more and more complex systems.

    Otherwise, maybe it's just inner need for control, power and conditioned thinking which motivates and attracts humans to participate in this nonsense (religions come to mind following the same principle).
    Actually a very dangerous route this is taking - thought control (if you THINK that, you are...) and modeled prediction of events based on secret procedures

    1. Re:Underlying cause? by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

      So - all in all, the tremendous snooping effort is not showing much result and essentially being a flop.

      For whom?

      - Count de Monet

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:Underlying cause? by Zordak · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So - all in all, the tremendous snooping effort is not showing much result and essentially being a flop.

      I don't know about that. I'm sure it's been about as successful as J. Edgar Hoover's mid-century communism witch hunts, which had more to do with propping up Hoover's own personal empire than with catching communists.

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    3. Re:Underlying cause? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Re 'Actually a very dangerous route this is taking - thought control (if you THINK that, you are...) and modeled prediction of events based on secret procedures"
      "IRS policy that targeted political groups also aimed at open source projects" (July 3 2014)
      http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...
      So a person codes in the freedom of their basement, free time and uploads quality code to the world for free.
      Slowly self radicalizing? A cult like mascot and forming deeper emotional links to incompatible European views on intellectual property.
      At university? Talks to the press? Goes to European Open Source conferences?
      Would that make any code contributor a freedom fighter to be watched?
      Thats a lot of new funding for some gov or mil budget and a flood of new informants to turn.
      Does they live in a state with a farm? Tack on some nice Ag-gag findings. (agricultural anti-whistleblower laws, gag: prevent speech)
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
      State got a mil base, site, camp? Pass the details onto base security.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    4. Re:Underlying cause? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      It was well documented after the fall of the Soviet Union that there was a powerful network of communist infiltrators within the US government, and that Sen. McCarthy was right, though he had a horrible clumsy way of acting in reaction to it. Also, read about The Venona Project. The Rosenbergs deserved to die, they were guilty.

    5. Re:Underlying cause? by Megol · · Score: 1

      Clumsy? I guess the nazis were horrible clumsy too then?

      He and his ilk were not clumsy - they destroyed the lives of a huge number of people that didn't fit into the Amerikkkan ideals. Many of the harassed people were Jews too and (given the documented facts about McCarthy and fans) that was probably not coincidental.

    6. Re:Underlying cause? by jeIlomizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It was well documented after the fall of the Soviet Union that there was a powerful network of communist infiltrators within the US government, and that Sen. McCarthy was right, though he had a horrible clumsy way of acting in reaction to it.

      Clumsy? People's fundamental liberties were violated. No matter how 'safe' that makes us, that's more criminal than clumsy.

      The Rosenbergs deserved to die, they were guilty.

      I don't see how the former follows from the latter, because I don't believe in government thugs executing people to begin with.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    7. Re:Underlying cause? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Hardly - maybe they caught one guy in - was it San Diego - to give money to some far away organization labeled as well, offensive/dangerous in some way (don't recall all details).

      Ironically the former head of the NSA was a person that was giving large sums of money to the Provisional IRA not long after they attempted to blow up Maggie Thatcher.

    8. Re:Underlying cause? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      He was clumsy. His attention seeking witch hunt aimed at getting him into the White House failed when he started calling US war heroes traitors. He did a lot of damage before that implosion.

    9. Re:Underlying cause? by Zordak · · Score: 1

      Well, I didn't actually say anything about Senator McCarthy. It is true that there were communist infiltrators, and it is true that the Rosenbergs were guilty. I'm talking about J. Edgar Hoover, who had secret files on pretty much every person in power in America. Like that dangerous communist, John F. Kennedy, for example, who knew not to mess with J. Edgar because J. Edgar could prove that Jack was bedding two or three different women a week. How many current politicians know not to mess with the NSA, because they know the NSA could scuttle their careers?

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    10. Re:Underlying cause? by marxmarv · · Score: 1

      It was also well-documented after WWII that there was a powerful network of industrialists trying to defend their privileges in capitalism, and that the John J. Birch Society was a creation of the same Koch family that bankrolled climate denialism and the Tea Party movement.

      If we're going to play G-d and hand out deserts, you're right, Alyssa Rosenberg did deserve to be executed (but, sadly, wasn't).

      --
      /. -- the Free Republic of technology.
  15. Well, of course by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you dare to not follow the herd, think for yourself, make up your mind by yourself without the aid of government "guided" media, of course you must be an extremist.

    It's frightening how close the US already got to the USSR of old.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Well, of course by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It's frightening how close the US already got to the USSR of old.

      I don't know.

      I think the in days of the USSR, the citizens didn't believe the propaganda. Whereas a lot of Americans seem to think "why, we have to do this to stop the terrorists".

      Convincing people to buy into it is quite a feat.

      Basically the NSA has decreed anybody who disagrees with their methods and scope must be an extremist.

      I predict in less than 10 years any form of dissent, or privacy will be completely gone in the West. And then we're all harmless sheep, which is exactly what they want.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Well, of course by c6gunner · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you dare to not follow the herd, think for yourself, make up your mind by yourself without the aid of government "guided" media, of course you must be an extremist.

      It's frightening how close the US already got to the USSR of old.

      Oh, irony.

      See, a rational person would have looked at what's going and concluded that the NSA's position is "of course you're more likely to be an extremist" rather than "of course you must be an extremist". But self-styled "free-thinkers" such as yourself always seem to tend toward these extreme, paranoid views that barely resemble the actual situation. It's almost as if you tended towards extremism or something.

    3. Re:Well, of course by Flavianoep · · Score: 2

      It's frightening how close the US already got to the USSR of old.

      I don't know.

      I think the in days of the USSR, the citizens didn't believe the propaganda. Whereas a lot of Americans seem to think "why, we have to do this to stop the terrorists".

      Soon will come the time when they will not need to convince anyone anymore.

      --
      Linux is for people who don't mind RTFM.
    4. Re:Well, of course by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Soon will come the time when they will not need to convince anyone anymore.

      Yes, because they'll have arrested anybody who disagrees with them, and all that is left will be people too scared to say anything or who agree.

      The NSA is the enemy of freedom and liberty, they just act like they're defending it.

      And, yeah, some desk weenie has probably flipped a switch that says I'm an extremist -- what they don't realize is the more they do this shit, the more they'll create extremists.

      What's really pathetic is how many Americans are buying into this, when not 20 years there would have been outrage.

      Really, and truly, on 9/11 the terrorists got exactly what they wanted -- the destruction of Western societies as we knew it, and the rise of Americans saying "we don't give a crap about the rest of the world, we're scared". Sadly, that will create a backlash of people saying "we don't give a crap about the US, now piss off".

      There's no going back from this kind of thing.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:Well, of course by purpledinoz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And what is the actual situation? The searching for terrorists is probably not the only thing the data is used for. I'm sure the data is used for various nefarious purposes, such as industrial espionage, political espionage, blackmail. Maybe figuring out the sentiment of the population and their likelihood to breakout into mass protest. I'm sure they're doing some non-evil research too. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a database identifying people who are against the status quo of the Democrat/Republican duopoly, and feeding that data to the media outlets so they run stories smearing any third party candidates. That's a bit farfetched, but everything the NSA was confirmed to be doing was also farfetched before Snowden leaked those documents.

    6. Re:Well, of course by CaptainDork · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I used to think that way, but more and more I think it's going the other way.

      Governments seldom get anything right. Look at the NSA. It's big, it's grabbing data so fast that it has 1.) Nowhere to put it and 2.) Nothing to analyze it with.

      Meanwhile, the general population is growing data at exponential rates AND is increasing its own awareness of government's interest AND is taking steps to muck things up for the NSA.

      In my view, the people are smarter than their government.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    7. Re:Well, of course by Sique · · Score: 2

      Actually no. A rational person would think: See, the NSA tries to keep an eye on everyone that is more likely to find a way out of their dragnet, and because it's politically not very easy to label them "not easy to spy on", they use the catch-all phrase "extremist".

      --
      .sig: Sique *sigh*
    8. Re:Well, of course by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      I think the in days of the USSR, the citizens didn't believe the propaganda.

      I think that most USSR citizens did believe it. Many people outside the USSR like H.G.Wells and old-style socialists like my (British) grandfather even believed it. The impression that they did not is due to the coverage that the Western media gave (and still gives) to the minority dissidents.

    9. Re:Well, of course by DMJC · · Score: 2

      Follow the Herd? you must be GNU here?

    10. Re:Well, of course by dragonfly_blue · · Score: 1

      I must also be extremely extremist, unlike all o' these *amateur* milquetoast extremists you see around these days.

      I say "Debian GNU/Linux" out loud even.

      I would ask somebody "Greetings & Salutations, friend. How is that MIPS/ARM cross-compilation of the GNU/hurd kernel & toolchain coming along?"

      This is of course to appease Her Majesty "savannah", which is either extremely gnu or extremely non-gnu of me.

      Basically, I guess I'm just a hipster. Perhaps a radical, extremist hipster who deserves to be on all these watch lists, but pretty much just a hipster.

      ( Also, to pre-emptively appease RMS, I make a pan flute burnt offering, hopefully before he can play it. )

      --
      Free music from Jack Merlot.
    11. Re:Well, of course by Megol · · Score: 1

      Well they ARE the glorious victors of the second world war! And they payed for that victory with a lot of blood. Thinking otherwise is believing US-centric propaganda.

      That doesn't absolve them from previous and current crimes against humanity.

    12. Re:Well, of course by jeIlomizer · · Score: 1

      See, a rational person would have looked at what's going and concluded that the NSA's position is "of course you're more likely to be an extremist" rather than "of course you must be an extremist".

      Which is also a bullshit position. Actually, a rational thinker's position would be, "They're just using this as another excuse to violate the constitution and people's fundamental liberties."

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    13. Re:Well, of course by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      They did believe it. My mother says that when she was in her 20s, she very much believed that she was living in the best country in the world. It took five years of Komsomol career to begin to notice the discrepancies in the message, and that largely because she got acquainted with some of the elite party kids and saw how they lived.

    14. Re:Well, of course by c6gunner · · Score: 2

      I'm sure the data is used for various nefarious purposes

      No doubt planned by a guy with a cat in his lap, who likes to say "eeexcellent" a lot.

      That's a bit farfetched, but everything the NSA was confirmed to be doing was also farfetched before Snowden leaked those documents.

      There was nothing far-fetched about the idea that the government was dong metadata analysis, or working with large corporations to access their data. Both of those things were pretty much an open "secret" well before Snowden leaked anything; he merely provided greater detail about the extent of those operations, and brought that information into the public consciousness.

      Besides which, if your thought process goes along the lines of "these far-fetched things have happened, therefore all these other far-fetched things are probably true" .... you are not a rational person. People who think that way end up believing every goddamn conspiracy theory under the sun.

    15. Re:Well, of course by TerryC101 · · Score: 1

      The USSR didn't have Hollywood. Just look at the amount of positive propaganda that gets consumed as entertainment. It's almost like there's some sort of plot.

    16. Re:Well, of course by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The problem is, that terrorist can really mess with your life. They can arrest you, destroy your life, career and credit and in the foreseeable future they'll sure find a way to legally kill you.

      Compare to that shit the crap that Bin Laden and his merry men could do and eventually did was peanuts.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    17. Re:Well, of course by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      That's where capitalism is a bit more insidious than communism. We too see those party member kids, but we still buy the shit that they "earned" it.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    18. Re:Well, of course by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The only difference is that they don't kick your door open yet on the "because we wanna" premise.

      Not yet at least. Let's give it a few more years. One more "terrorist" attack and you can wave due process and the fourth good bye. Well, rather, you can wave good bye to what's left of it.

      The only reason they don't go NKVD on everyone's ass that they deem a suitable target is that this could possibly still cause some people to actually raise their voice. The sooner that threat to liberty and democracy in the US is disbanded the better for the US and its people.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    19. Re:Well, of course by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      At one time, long ago, the US was actually a capitalist paradise. No, really. The "levels of society" were penetrable. You could actually get far if you decided to work hard. There are quite a few stories of people who started out as the dishwasher in a hotel and eventually owned their own chain of hotels. Those rags-to-riches stories did exist, and they were not few and far between, but actually very possible. An idea, a dash of daring to take a risk and hard work and you could go far. And even if not, even if you didn't land the big deal and got rich, there was still the promise that you could at least get somewhere if you put your mind to it, rolled up your sleeves and worked for your goals.

      Not anymore. And people are catching up. They don't believe in it anymore. The new American dream is not getting rich from work. The new american dream is winning the lottery. And it sure ain't just 'cause people got lazy. People simply got disillusioned. Even if you're well educated, smart and would be willing to take the risk and work for it, it just won't fly. Not in this world. The business form of the lottery dream is basically founding a startup and hoping that Google or Facebook buys you before someone else shoots you out of the sky with patents and copyright or other red tape.

      The American dream is over. And people are noticing that. People used to work for their goals and tried to reach their dreams. But people are just completely disillusioned today. If you start out your career with more debt than you could possibly hope to ever earn in your life, why bother working? Why bother staying honest? If you could only work 'til your back breaks and still won't ever see retirement because you simply can't earn more than you need to just get by, why bother trying?

      Get a lottery ticket. Hope for the best.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    20. Re:Well, of course by X.25 · · Score: 1

      Oh, irony.

      See, a rational person would have looked at what's going and concluded that the NSA's position is "of course you're more likely to be an extremist" rather than "of course you must be an extremist". But self-styled "free-thinkers" such as yourself always seem to tend toward these extreme, paranoid views that barely resemble the actual situation. It's almost as if you tended towards extremism or something.

      Kiddo, the "you're a conspiracy theorist" line doesn't work anymore.

      You should really try something new.

    21. Re:Well, of course by marxmarv · · Score: 1

      what they don't realize is the more they do this shit, the more they'll create extremists.

      How do you know that they don't? C'mon, systems thinking (or even murder thinking): for which agents in the system is that outcome a win (motive)? Who is equipped to pull it off (means)? Who has the political capital to put such a thing through without mass disobedience (opportunity)? Or, forget that, and just look at the USA's documented habit of quietly funding, arming and training a new flavor of fundie (ISIL, 2012, Jordan) to break down working secular governments so Grover Norquist can drown them too in a bathtub and steal the hydrocarbons from under them.

      Static analysis is useless in politics. Assume every word or act from every authority figure is an attempt to exploit until proven otherwise. (If infosec were a high school graduation requirement, this consumer politics of jousting with pool noodles would collapse instantly.)

      --
      /. -- the Free Republic of technology.
    22. Re:Well, of course by HuguesT · · Score: 1

      If you look at just about anybody's success story, the first thing that is of utmost importance is being in the right place at the right time. In other words, luck. The American dream has always been a dream. I'm not convinced that anything much has changed in the last 70 years about this, i.e. since about the end of WWII. Sure hard work is a factor but by no means the only one.

    23. Re:Well, of course by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Sure, you always needed a hint of luck and a bit of "right place, right time". That's how the game ran. But that just isn't true anymore. It's no longer "be at the right place at the right time, have some luck and work hard". It's "know the right people, have some luck, no work required. If there is some required, find some idiot you can swindle out of his share".

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  16. Re:oh god by Tyrannicsupremacy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I cant imagine how you can find spare time amidst all of your jihadding to post on slashdot...

    --
    http://i.cubeupload.com/T6cyLu.png
  17. It is time to by Twelfth+Harmonic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    liberate our OSes !! In all seriousness; it pains me to see the country that created the Bell Labs to fall into the hands of these lunatics.

  18. Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by timrod · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I just finished reading the article, and here's something I don't get. They mention that for certain "fingerprints", the NSA would automatically exclude users believed to be in one of the "Five Eyes" countries. Yet, for other fingerprints (such as searching for Tails) it would gather data regardless of where the user is located or believed to be located. Why would they apply the "Five Eyes" exemption some but not all of the time?

    1. Re:Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Interesting

      They give you the Five Eyes exemption until you do something really dangerous like read a Linux magazine or look up encryption tools. Then you've shown that you are a potential threat like all those shady characters who live in every other country on the planet.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by timrod · · Score: 2

      I guess that begs the question then: If they're putting people on watch lists (and capturing data on them for permanent storage) merely for reading Linux Journal or trying to download Tails, how much taxpayer money are they wasting on server space, bandwidth, personnel, electricity, etc to capture and maintain all of this data on people who are on the list for the sole reason that they tried to read about Linux or encryption?

    3. Re:Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      To be serious, I'd have to imagine they're wasting the vast majority of their resources on this crap. There are a lot more Linux users, privacy advocates or cipherpunks than terrorists in the world, and that's not even getting into the human rights activists, world leaders, phone users from the Bahamas, etc.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    4. Re:Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You are missing the point.

      Threat has to be created for the apparatus to be funded.

      Repeat the above until it sinks in. People would lose jobs if they said "hey, well, we don't really have a serious threat.... so yeah, we are doing nothing at this time". So they make shit up to keep busy.

      Wars are fought for the idea "keep population distracted".

      If people were actually rational beings, not "retarded emos", we would not need more than half (more like 90%) of the so called security apparatus. And FBI would not be having a war on drugs, they would be having a war on DUIs (driving under influence), speeding and we would require yearly vehicle safety checks. Also, most people would not be speeding anyway, because hey, would be rational creatures. We would not need to even debate US's outdated second amendment.

      But no, we live in a world of phycohistory. Masses are not governed by rationality, but by emotion. The world is "fuck you, got mine". So that's what we have and deserve. We have thousands of nukes still ready to kill off our civilization *today*. We have War on Drugs and War on Everything. We have people protesting nuclear power, because hey, AGW is not real and somehow they think coal is better.

      So, it's back to square one. "Fuck you, got mine". That's why we are where we are. /RANT

    5. Re:Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      The other eye nations are trusted to watch their own people based on generations of US and UK methods using US funded equipment.
      The staff in the Eyes nations will share all with the USA by default over generations by default.
      Local staff are not selected, advanced, cleared and trained until they are ready for projects of that scale and the sharing with 5+ other nations.
      Its a big step to give away all your nations secrets for free every decade to 5+ other competing nations.
      Shared sites are costly to run for the US and why waste time on duplication of material?
      The locals get the same product from all networks in their county and can look deep into their region for as a thank you.
      Thats the cover story. Reality might be that the tasks flow down to a site and the product flows back. The locals ensure the hardware and software is in place 24/7.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    6. Re:Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

      Also, most people would not be speeding anyway, because hey, would be rational creatures

      This, of course, assumes that speed limits in North America are rational. There are some pretty strong arguments against this.....

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    7. Re:Why do they not exempt 5 eyes countries? by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

      That is really the question, isn't it? NSA has created the biggest haystacks in the planet's history and most of them are needle-free. They have their collective fingers in their ears as we ask, "What / Where's the point?!"

      That is why we are being targeted because we can show that they are full of shit, that is what makes us "dangerous" andwe can show others too which scares them even more.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  19. Re:"Sir.. HOLY SHIT SIR!" by dysmal · · Score: 1

    This would be Science Fiction because the NSA will never learn how the internet works.

  20. Re:Not a big surprise by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    With people like Richard Stallman at forefront, who can blame them?

    You mean the guy screamed about the government spying on us and that we can't trust closed source anything for decades. Guess what he turned out to be right.

    --
    ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  21. The NSA has a "game of thrones" complex. by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    Everyone who isn't us is the enemy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  22. To a coward... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They say to a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To a frightened small-minded cop, everyone looks like a crook. To an agency charged with protecting a nation against people who keep secrets, everyone looks shifty, and like he has something to hide.

    To the hanging judge, every man looks guilty, and to a coward, every man is a terrorist.

    Their attitude reflects their mindset: they're a bunch of frightened, small-minded cowards. The sad thing is...

    We. All. Collectively. Hired. Them. To. Protect. Us.

    What does that say about us? Sure, it was by proxy, we hired the useless, corrupt, bought-out politicians who hired them, but it is still the fault of the person who voted these clowns into office. Don't blame the NSA for doing their job, blame the lazy, stupid, good-for-nothing assholes who hired them and gave them permission or negligently allowed them to do what they do, and then blame the people who elected THEM.

    There is an old saying: in a democracy, people deserve the government they get. To be honest though, it's not just democracies where this happens. In general, people deserve the government they get. Period.

    1. Re:To a coward... by Zordak · · Score: 3, Informative

      There is an old saying: in a democracy, people deserve the government they get.

      Actually, the saying is, "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." It was H.L. Mencken who said it.

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    2. Re:To a coward... by dbreeze · · Score: 1

      My gravestone will say "I never voted for a democrat or republican...".
      One of my life's proudest accomplisments......

      --
      When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
    3. Re:To a coward... by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      I want a bumper sticker that reads: "I voted for Clinton twice, I voted for Bush twice, but at least I never voted for Obama."

    4. Re:To a coward... by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

      They say to a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To a frightened small-minded cop, everyone looks like a crook. To an agency charged with protecting a nation against people who keep secrets, everyone looks shifty, and like he has something to hide.

      To the hanging judge, every man looks guilty, and to a coward, every man is a terrorist.

      Their attitude reflects their mindset: they're a bunch of frightened, small-minded cowards

      And this kind of insightful eloquence (from an AC, no less) is the reason I still come to /., despite Dice's best efforts at killing it.

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    5. Re:To a coward... by mark_reh · · Score: 1

      Back when Clinton was in office I wanted a bumper sticker that said "the wrong Clinton is in the Whitehouse". I refer, of course, to George Clinton.

  23. FreeBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Linux people _might_ be terrorists. FreeBSD users most certainly are terrorists, don't ya know?

  24. Enjoy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The feds have been tagging talk radio listeners, gun enthusiasts and others as "extremists" in training material and other non-public documents for years now.

    How's it feel?

    The precedent is long set, but you didn't care when it started because you agreed with it at the time; "teabaggers herp derp."

    Too late now, fuckers. Keep your head down.

    1. Re:Enjoy by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

      The feds have been tagging talk radio listeners, gun enthusiasts and others as "extremists" in training material and other non-public documents for years now.

      How's it feel?

      The precedent is long set, but you didn't care when it started because you agreed with it at the time; "teabaggers herp derp."

      Too late now, fuckers. Keep your head down.

      I've never agreed with it. A gun enthusiast is no different from a racing enthusiast. A talk radio listener is no different from a /. visitor. An 'other' is no different from you or I. For the government to tag any of these as "extremists" or "needs closer monitoring" or anything else, is just wrong.

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    2. Re:Enjoy by Megol · · Score: 1

      Your definition of "gun enthusiast" must differ with mine and . People that call themselves that tend to basically worship the idea of guns and using them for shooting people IME, often combined with extremist right wing political views. And that's f-king scary if you ask me...

      Now I do agree that there are a lot of sane people that like shooting and collecting guns etc. and those are just like normal enthusiasts.
      [I'm not anti-gun: Personally I think .22 pistols are the nicest for normal shooters due to price of ammunition (and one have to shoot quite a lot if one want to get good at it), 9mm isn't as precise for target shooting IMHO but that may be due to mostly using ex military overpressure rounds. Other than that I've shot a lot of 7.62 NATO rounds with a H&K G3 variant, nice gun and nice round for longer distances.]

    3. Re:Enjoy by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Some time in the 1970s US gun clubs got taken over by batshit insane weekend "warrior" draft dodging pussies who want to use military grade weapons as toys without the responsibility to learn how to use them properly. They have failed to run their sport well since then but they have put a LOT of effort into dabbling with politics.

  25. Re:Paging cold fjord and c6gunner! by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

    Please go ahead and tell us how great it is that the NSA is spying on Americans in order to protect us from extremist Linux users.

    Thanks in advance!

    -- an American who researched encryption utilities for the electronic medical software he's a developer for. You know who I am!

    not even cold fjord could come up with twisted enough of a logic to call this reasonable.

    --
    ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  26. i dont know how much more i can take. by nimbius · · Score: 4, Interesting

    First i was an extremist because I visited, and posted, to slashdot. then i was an extremist because I used tor, then again because I used crypto on my laptop, and again for reading wikipedia...and once more im an extremist for reading the linux journal?

    At what point in my extremety should I start endorsing things like sports drinks and shoes? Am i still allowed to drink tea in the morning or does this mean i need to switch to energy drinks and techno music. Does this work like GTA? can i take up knitting and become less extreme instead? Do the kids know im extreme? I mean the only un-extreme thing i seem to have been able to do last year was buy this Model M keybo0@0#69t@[NO CARRIER]

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  27. Yeah, right. by slashdice · · Score: 1

    The NSA also contributed to Dual_EC_DRBG.

    --
    Copyright (c) 1990 - 2014 Dice. All rights reserved. Use of this comment is subject to certain Terms and Conditions.
  28. Re:Paging cold fjord and c6gunner! by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

    Really? Check out the beards on Islamic fundamentalists and l33t *nix sysadmins. Are you ready to assume that's a coincidence?

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  29. That's nothing by m.dillon · · Score: 4, Informative

    In the 80's it was well known that the CIA was monitoring the USENET. Apparently there was a list of keywords that they searched for that became well known, so we used them all the time. We had it on good authority that the CIA had become amused by our antics. It probably relieved the boredom.

    -Matt

    1. Re:That's nothing by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      In the 80's it was well known that the CIA was monitoring the USENET. Apparently there was a list of keywords that they searched for that became well known, so we used them all the time. We had it on good authority that the CIA had become amused by our antics. It probably relieved the boredom.

      -Matt

      I have this sense that US people, on average, would be scared to pull something like that nowadays. I occasionally see a slashdotter type a line of words like 'bomb bomb bomb nuclear suitcase etc.." in a post to be funny when something about monitoring comes up. But other than that, I can't picture 'messing with intelligence services' on a wider scale in a particular medium just for fun anymore.

      Without any evidence whatsoever.. I get this feeling that CIA/FBI would not be amused in this day and age. Well..I guess some evidence may be found in the overreactions to kids bring pocket knifes to schools and stuff like that.

  30. I'm extra screwed then by Maquis196 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm a Linux sysadmin, run Tor at home and vote Green Party. (In UK were considered domestic extremists - http://www.theguardian.com/pol....

    I do wonder how that Ice cream van outside stays in business, its not even hot outside!

    1. Re:I'm extra screwed then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      at least buying ice cream is convenient.

  31. A mark of honor by A+non+moose+cow · · Score: 1

    Anyone who has not been categorized as an extremist by now should be ashamed of their "fainting goat" status.

  32. Know your history by HeckRuler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Time to remind everyone of the last time this happened.

    Except it was J Edgar Hoover, the FBI, their programs like COINTELPRO, and those crazy radicals like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein as well as people on the list for being part of the women's right movement, civil rights movement, "the new left", criticizing the Vietnam war, and the typical boogy-man organizations of socialists and communists.

    Or hey, how about MINARET? or SHAMROCK?. Both of which had no warrents, but when people got a whiff of them, congress came down hard and the projects were discontinued.

    What's so different about this time? Why are the power that be not doing their job?

    Here's a great quote by meta-monkey, from A YEAR AGO:

    Re:"Congressional hearings" (Score:5, Insightful)
    by meta-monkey (321000) Friend of a Friend on Wednesday July 31, 2013 @12:39PM (#44437417) ...
    Scarier part: why aren't they blaming each other for this "serious overreach?" That they will then investigate, have some hearings, and then go right back to biz as usual? That's all politicians do. Make vague, meaningless statements and take no responsibility, blame everyone else, then do nothing. Instead they're making firm, direct statements. "Legal!" "Constitutional!" "Full oversight!"

    Why are they so far off script? Here's how the script is supposed to go:

    Snowden: "They doin' teh snoops!"
    Democrats: "Bush started it!"
    Republicans: "Saint Bush never would have authorized this! This must be part of a secret communist Muslim plan to install sharia law!"
    Obama: "No, really it was just the Cincinnati branch of the NSA!"
    Senate committee: "Thank you for your service, Mr. Snowden for bringing this overreach to our attention. We've got top men working to correct it. Top. Men."
    Snowden: "No prob, I'll go rot in obscurity now."
    Clapper: "Ow. My wrist. From the slapping. Wheeeeeelp, back to the shadows for biz as usual."

    The mask isn't just slipping. It's on the floor. The man behind the curtain is doing a tap dance. Just what the fuck is going on?

    One YEAR. The exact same trend is continuing. No one of power is fighting this. No one is backing down. Just what the fuck is going on?

    1. Re:Know your history by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Informative

      You forgot about one of the dangerous communists he was tracking, Isaac Asimov.

      (TFA in that link is worth a read, or you can read my spoilers)

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Know your history by meta-monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

      Shit man, don't attract more attention on me! I, uh, use Windows! Windows...ummm...8? Is that the least terreristy one? I don't know! Don't rendition me, I'm harmless I swear!

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    3. Re:Know your history by Noryungi · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The Stasi (East Germany Secret Police) used to be one of the most powerful intelligence service in the world. It is estimated they had hundreds of thousands of informants and it maintained files on millions of citizens of East Germany.

      But the Berlin wall eventually fell, despite all its efforts and all its agents. I believe the same thing will happen in the US. When the times comes, the whole rotten house of cards will crash down to earth.

      Oh, and, NSA? Please go f**** yourself.

      --
      The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
    4. Re:Know your history by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You can be god damn sure that Hillary and whoever ends up with the Republican nomination won't do anythign about it when they get elected in 2016.

      If you care about stuff like this more than all the other political crap, vote libertarian. I'm not saying libertarian is a perfect party, but putting an end to this stuff is at the top of their agenda, which you can't say about either of the two big parties.

    5. Re:Know your history by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

      What dirty secrets?
      Me and a friend regularly chat about this sort of social trends. His father was an enforcer for the Hell's Angels. He's lead a slightly more colorful life than I have. I have to remind him at regular intervals that some of us actually kept our nose clean and don't have a sordid past and a laundry list of activities that others could hold over our head forever.

      But sure, in such a hypothetical scenario: I'D ABSOLUTELY OPPOSE THE NSA'S ILLEGAL PROGRAMS! (especially when it gathered said dirty laundry). I'd just do it anonymously, because otherwise they could end me at a moment's notice. Because I'm not sure I'm such a martyr that I'd make that sort of sacrifice just to showcase how badly they could abuse their power.

      Now... if I were a hypothetical politician, becoming a martyr and exposing such actions is actually good for the career. Sooooooo maybe I'd try to exchange the dirty laundry for the good deed.

    6. Re:Know your history by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

      HAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, it's too good of a post not to pass along.

    7. Re:Know your history by Zordak · · Score: 1

      One YEAR. The exact same trend is continuing. No one of power is fighting this. No one is backing down.

      No one, or almost no one, gets that high in the political machine without having some serious skeletons in the closet. And who knows where all those skeletons are hidden? Oh, yeah. The NSA. QED

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    8. Re:Know your history by Zordak · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, when it happens, the good things about the USA will fall with it. I admit, I enjoy being in a place where I can live on a nice suburban street with minimal immediate worries, drive a comfortable car with air conditioning, gas it up when necessary, and purchase as much food as I need at the grocery store whenever I need it. When the house of cards comes tumbling down, the WHOLE house of cards will come with it. Of course, our runaway spending will probably topple it before the iron fist of the NSA. But when it does happen, it will hardly matter what the most immediate exciting cause was.

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    9. Re:Know your history by dbreeze · · Score: 1

      Vote for most anyone without big money support. Especially if they're being ridiculed/laughed at by the MSM.......

      --
      When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
    10. Re:Know your history by ShaunC · · Score: 1

      No one of power is fighting this. No one is backing down. Just what the fuck is going on?

      The answer is fairly clear: NSA has sufficient dirt on anyone with the power to fight this that they're too afraid to do so. We know they've tapped Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, presidential candidates, etc. We've reached a point where it's going to take one or more of these officials to get so fed up that they're willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Whatever's being used to keep them quiet, they're going to have to air it up front and then start in with congressional hearings.

      If I were NSA, my biggest fear would be an unfriendly Senator who discovers he has a terminal illness. Not long to live, no re-election to worry about, and done giving a fuck whether people find out he's secretly gay and loves snorting coke with illegal immigrants. That man, the one with power and nothing to lose, that's the one who can bring the whole thing down.

      --
      Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
    11. Re:Know your history by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1
      There's no Berlin Wall in America. No guard towers, barbed wire, or land mines to keep the people in. In fact, fences are regarded as useless and large sections of the borders are simply left unguarded, for anyone to escape. I think you didn't get the memo on the whole Berlin Wall metaphor. And besides, you're supposed to compare the USA to Nazis, those are the wrong kind of Germans.

      "Communism is powerful, powerful stuff. So powerful it managed to spread laziness, poverty, and hideously poor engineering in a country populated entirely by Germans."

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    12. Re:Know your history by Noryungi · · Score: 2

      There's no Berlin Wall in America.

      ... Yet. They are working on it, thank you very much. See here. Or here.

      I think you didn't get the memo on the whole Berlin Wall metaphor.

      Your poor attempt at sarcasm betrays (a) an overly sensitivity to criticism of your country, and (b) a complete misunderstanding of the issue at hand. There is no Berlin Wall because there is no escaping the NSA. They are spying on the entire world. You can move to Mexico - that makes you a suspect. You can move to Canada - that makes you a suspect. If you even talk to someone who may know someone who may have been in contact with a suspect, you will be caught in the dragnet.

      Everyone is fair game, everyone is a potential target. Everyone will be spied on, because terrorists! 9/11! Dirty bomb! Mushroom clouds! They hate our freedom!

      I suspect YOU did not get THAT memo. Or maybe you are of the "I did not do anything wrong - so I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear from Big Brother" persuasion? Hmmm?

      By the way, why are you reading Slashdot, citizen? Do you have your permit for that? And why talk to this terrorist suspect or that one?

      The rest of your comment are more of the same drivel, so I will not even dignify it with a response.

      --
      The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
  33. And yet they can't find hires by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    LOL, simultaenously they struggle to find hires. Maybe the NSA will collapse under the weight of its own absurd contradictions. /dream-on.

  34. ISIS Caliphate by turgid · · Score: 2

    Anyway, the new dude is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and he's assimilating Irag, Syria and probably Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Somalia, Nigeria... you name it... into his all new "proper" Islam state.

    A number of armies in the region are already squaring up, including Iran and Saudi. There have been some murders of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers by terrorists too, probably trying to goad each side into action.

    It's a bloody miserable state of affairs.

    1. Re:ISIS Caliphate by Shompol · · Score: 2

      Judging by the map it is mostly Iraq and some Syria so far. Thanks, Bush Jr!

    2. Re:ISIS Caliphate by turgid · · Score: 2

      ...and his side-kick Blair.

    3. Re:ISIS Caliphate by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      I love the picture on that page of the 'scud missile' they captured and are parading about. They almost certainly have neither the expertise to fire the missile, nor is it likely complete and able to be fired. They'd have a hard time even unloading the 'missile' off the parade-float truck it's resting in. They're a bunch of goatherds with rusty kalashnikovs and light pickup trucks.

    4. Re:ISIS Caliphate by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      I was talking to a co-worker who is 15+ year Army vet, and we both agree with you. When ISIS is faced with a "real military" (Jordon, Iran, Syria, whomever) they will crumble into dust.

    5. Re:ISIS Caliphate by dbIII · · Score: 1

      It's possible that like in Bouganville they are led by real military (in this case Jordon, Iraq, Syria) that disagree with whoever used to give them orders. It's too early to tell especially since it's looking like they are lining up on a religious divide (one that puts them firmly on the side of Iran) and they get mass defections to them if everything goes even more pear shaped.

    6. Re:ISIS Caliphate by turgid · · Score: 1

      So you nicely repeat the lies they have fed to you ?

      What lies? That there are a bunch of murderous thugs trying to take over the Middle East and impose a 1500-year-old fascist dictatorship on the 99.9% of ordinary people that live there?

      The lies about the suicide bombers with surgically-implanted bombs?

      The Isis thing is once again financed by the Sauds. YOUR friends.

      Yes, I know who finances them. They're not "my friends." I've never met any of them personally, and I don't approve of any of it, whichever of the warring sides you care to mention.

    7. Re:ISIS Caliphate by sgt+scrub · · Score: 1

      Oh look. There is a nut-job named Bakr on that side of the world too.

      --
      Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
    8. Re:ISIS Caliphate by turgid · · Score: 1

      Sing: "Send me your money."

  35. Re:"Sir.. HOLY SHIT SIR!" by CreatureComfort · · Score: 2

    Personally, I'd rather have a bunch of total fuckups in charge of this stuff, rather than someone more capable, and therefore more dangerous.

    --
    "Unheard of means only it's undreamed of yet,
    Impossible means not yet done." ~~ Julia Ecklar
  36. Re:Paging cold fjord and c6gunner! by CreatureComfort · · Score: 4, Funny

    You can tell the difference by the Cheeto stains.

    --
    "Unheard of means only it's undreamed of yet,
    Impossible means not yet done." ~~ Julia Ecklar
  37. Actually they're saying they are going to watch... by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    ... them. They label them extremists because they need to do that to watch people. Is it fair or reasonable? No. It just how our stupid government works.

    Should the NSA be watching the very savvy computer communities? Obviously. They have to do that. They can't do their jobs unless they're aware of what is going on there.

    Should they label them extremists? No. But neither should they need to do that to watch someone.

    This is why a lot of political groups in the US are being labeled as extremists. Because there are some people in those groups that do crazy stuff like make bombs. Practically none of them do that but one out of a million does... and they need to watch for that.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  38. The NSA also considers Slashdot by tekrat · · Score: 3, Funny

    The NSA also considers Slashdot to be a terrorist organization.

    And they'd be right too, judging from some of the comments I've posted here... oops.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:The NSA also considers Slashdot by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

      The NSA also considers Slashdot to be a terrorist organization.

      You mean just beta? Or /. in general?

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
  39. Twitter by Shadyman · · Score: 1

    In other (related?) news, I can't seem to send twitter direct messages containing "http://yro.slashdot.org". Is it just me?

    1. Re:Twitter by Shadyman · · Score: 1

      In other (related?) news, I can't seem to send twitter direct messages containing "http://yro.slashdot.org". Is it just me?

      False alarm, it seems you can't direct message any urls except Google's. Derp.

  40. Re:News Flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's just the punctuation police triangulating your unlicensed apostrophe emissions.

  41. Odd choices all around by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

    Linux Journal, really? The real extremists are over at LWN. And by extremists, I mean those who are extremely good at what they do.

    Anyway, while the NSA is searching nerd sites for terrorists, the FBI has been caught covering up for Saudi terrorists.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  42. What's with the 'might'? by Mister+Liberty · · Score: 1

    Linux since 1991 (MCC floppies).
    Proud to be an extremist.

    1. Re: What's with the 'might'? by jrumney · · Score: 1

      I seem to recall only two floppies were needed, one for the kernel and one for userspace. But that was a bare bones command line install. As there were no distros yet, everything else was downloaded to my 40MB hard drive and compiled from source (including a replacement kernel that had all the drivers for my hardware, once the bootstrapping was out of the way).

  43. Re: Not a big surprise by chromeronin799 · · Score: 1

    Yeah, he is not only a dirty commie, But a neck beard hippy too. Why not add terrorits to his list. 8) just remember that without peaceful liberal extremists there can be no middle ground against the conservative fascists.

  44. Just Connect The Dots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    1.) Bush senior is CIA boss, has excellent relations to the Saudis. See "House of Bush, house of Saud" movie.
    2.) Bush Junior is an idiot, needs money.
    3.) Conjecture: Sauds sell oil to Bush junior much below market rate, so he can "finally make some money".
    3.1) Russia has become a very weak bogeyman by 2001. They are essentially bankrupt and cannot be used to justify MIC pork in the hundreds of billions.
    4.) Saudis fly into WTC
    4.1) Tata ! A new bogeyman is on stage
    5.) Totally unrelated Iraq (Saddam was a socialist and not a islamist) is being hit with war. Saudis are not touched at all
    6.) Big business for war industry. 800 billion/year

    What does it mean ? We (pax Americana) are ruled by a massively corrupt security establishment. Military officers, police, NSA, CIA, DIA and the "commander in chief" are actually corrupt bastards. They easily kill their own compartiots in order to ensure funding. That's the tough shit truth.

    Grow some cynical balls and forget all those fairy tales they indoctrinated you in school.

    1. Re:Just Connect The Dots by dbreeze · · Score: 1

      AC needs a mod up here......

      --
      When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
  45. So, Linux on your iPod makes you what? by sandbagger · · Score: 1

    Seriously, this is so bizarre that this has to be a garbled report of something simpler. I can see them tracking white power bigots, drugs villains, and people saying any variant of 'God tells me to kill anyone who disagrees with me' but readers of computer science materials?

    --
    ---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
    1. Re:So, Linux on your iPod makes you what? by dragonfly_blue · · Score: 1

      Do they really have Linux for your iPod? ( serious )

      *ahem*

      _I_ have an iPod.

      --
      Free music from Jack Merlot.
    2. Re:So, Linux on your iPod makes you what? by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

      Do they really have Linux for your iPod? ( serious )

      *ahem*

      _I_ have an iPod.

      There used to be at least but it is outdated unsupported now.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I...

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  46. This isn't the first time I've been called... by mark-t · · Score: 1

    ... an extremist.

    Alas, the bill in question was pushed through despite otherwise unanimous opposition within a few weeks of the conservative party obtaining a majority government in Canada.

  47. Finally!! by hduff · · Score: 1

    At last it's the Year of the Linux Desktop! That's terror-riffic!

    --
    "I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
  48. Is NSA being just a little Schizophrenic? by hAckz0r · · Score: 1
    First they publish the SELinux security enhanced architecture for all of the Linux community to use, to be safely computing. A really great technology, and highly advisable.

    .
    Then they put all the people on the black list that might want to *read* about SELinux, or other technologies, before using it?

    Come on, you either want people to be safe _from_ hackers (the bad guys) or arrest all the hackers (software engineers). Maybe someone needs to buy them a current dictionary including the many uses of the common word "hacker" and what it really means in which context?

    1. Re:Is NSA being just a little Schizophrenic? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      When the military wants a jock they hint at parachutes, skiing, diverse sporty conditions globally for free with advanced tech.
      When the military wants a nerd they hint at seeing the world, a safe lab coat with neat tech, a good starting wage and the academic freedom for free further education.
      Hinting you will be working on open source OS or securing banking codes might be some good news to have floating around too.
      Anyone on a list can/will be turned just before arrest.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  49. Give 'em something to worry about... by jcochran · · Score: 1

    Just download tails yourself and start using it. Increase the amount of encrypted traffic that they don't know the contents of.

  50. Re:Not a big surprise by TheReaperD · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There are few greater crimes in the US than being right when the right answer isn't popular. Ask any Vietnam war protester or George Carlin about airport security.

    --
    "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
  51. You Might Be "Extremists" If: by LifesABeach · · Score: 2

    You Do Not listen to Fox news for content.

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You ask why?

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You think things through.

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You disagree with the NSA.

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You work for the government, and you don't think its a good idea to shut down the government.

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You're old, white, male, and NOT angry.

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You think the Iowa caucuses are comedy.

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You haven't seen any voter fraud.

    You Might Be "Extremists" If:
    You think anyone that doesn't think like you may have a valid point.

    apologies to Jeff Foxworthy

  52. 'Tis better to be thought a terrorist by reboot246 · · Score: 1

    than a jack-booted thug trampling everyone's God given rights. Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!

    It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for an NSA employee to enter the kingdom of God.

  53. Re:Paging cold fjord and c6gunner! by DMJC · · Score: 1

    You've got it backwards dude... Unix Sysadmins have long ponytail hair... Everyone knows that. Just checkout Johnathon Schwartz to see what I'm talking about.

  54. And now I understand how by ralphaostrander · · Score: 1

    Extremest are created. Perhaps they are actually Mildest.

  55. Virtual Burner Phones by dragonfly_blue · · Score: 1

    I use OpenBSD & Debian GNU/Linux primarily, which I'm *positive* triggers some kind of NSA monitoring trope whenever I use apt-get to install GPG or OpenBSD's pkg_add to install, well; *any* OpenBSD package is probably viewed as "suspicious".

    Since I use Debian sometimes, I also *sigh* hereby admit that I've occasionally frequented _The Linux Journal_, & I enjoy their content immensely.

    I don't *always* go there to learn how to enable full-disk encryption or how to create "burner" phones by running SIP/VoIP software in a _qemu_ virtual machine, but I'm sure I've bumped into black-flagged projects & probably, in some kind of desperate, bumbling attempt at following an article about $PRIVACY::$ANONYMITY Perl modules, well, you can probably guess.

    I admit it. I've accessed cryptographic software directly from the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network, on more than one occasion.

    I've succombed to kitten huffing.

    I keep a three-ring binder filled with barrettes from females I've encountered over the years as a kind of "keepsake" album.

    And once I shot some racy digital photographs with a woman I was dating, & I couldn't decide whether or not 2048-bit, 4096-bit, or 8192-bit encryption was strong enough to protect the images from being leaked into the internet. So I deleted them.

    So, I admit it. I'm a Linux & OpenBSD user that has rummaged through countless software repositories on all seven continents over the course of several decades. I read _The Linux Journal_ & I like it.

    The way I figure it, that probably puts me into some kind of watch-list bonus round, or some kind of keyword-trigger-list Hot 100 chart on the NSA's giant wall of pulsating 256" plasma displays.

    I don't usually talk about it, & hell, I haven't even been over here to SlashDot for quite some time, but I figure, if TrollHax0r, Sarcasta, CmdrTaco, Bruce Perens & friends are still around, they can vouch for the fact that I am guilty as charged on all counts.

    Sincerely,

    dragonfly_blue

    --
    Free music from Jack Merlot.
  56. Re:Not a big surprise by jenningsthecat · · Score: 3, Informative

    But the government is intercepting data primarily from open protocols to do the spying. I don't think that closed source had anything to do with that.

    That's only because they picked the low-hanging fruit first, and long-ago compromised closed-source with the sometimes-eager help of the companies who sell it.

    --
    'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
  57. Who Will Die? by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    Covert operations tend to allow actions to come into play. If they find a problem person will they suddenly develop really bad health or worse?

  58. Re:FreeBSD, OpenBSD, GhostBSD, DragonflyBSD by dragonfly_blue · · Score: 1

    My optical drive crapped out on me a couple months ago so I have unfortunately not been able to install NetBSD on my toaster oven, which doesn't have a coreboot/openbios compatible EEPROM so I can't even do a PXE network install.

    That's not NetBSD's fault obviously. But since I can't complete that project, that means I have to use my OpenBSD systems to make breakfast.

    I'm sure if _The Linux Journal_ was a selector, that the OpenBSD package repositories & mirrors are likewise tripwired.

    And even if they aren't, well. The NSA would hardly overlook the OpenBSD community for possible deviants, especially considering the time Theo de Raadt started a food fight in the company cafeteria with some of the fine representatives of DARPA. I'm *pretty* sure that the NSA heard about that.

    So instead of monkeying around at monkey.org or whatever, I'm trying to come up with some catchy OpenBSD slogans or whatever. Hopefully that will make us seem a little bit less... "Linux Journal"-esque, & you know. More appealing to stay-at-home dads & soccer moms.

    OpenBSD: Maybe not portable enough to install on your toaster oven, but portable enough.

    OpenBSD: Paranoid by default: paranoid by choice.

    OpenBSD: the choice of security-conscious systems administrators worldwide.

    --
    Free music from Jack Merlot.
  59. Re:Gnome3 by dragonfly_blue · · Score: 1

    Gnome3 has far surpassed my expectations on OpenBSD 5.5.

    It is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Microsoft Windows, in every way.

    In fact, this is the last time I will even mention Gnome3 in the same paragraph as Windows. Promise.

    --
    Free music from Jack Merlot.
  60. Mountain Dew connection by ulatekh · · Score: 1

    The problem started when the NSA realized that many programmers drink Mountain Dew, given its caffeine/sugar jolt.
    Add to that all those Mountain Dew commercials featuring "extreme" personalities.
    Treating programmers as extremists was simply the next logical step.

    Now pardon me, I must ride my snowboard down the side of the building while screaming "WOOOOOOOO!!!!"

    --
    "Once we've identified and embraced our sickness, we'll have strength...and that's when we get dangerous." - John Waters
  61. Re:Gnome3 by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

    Gnome3 has far surpassed my expectations.

    in which direction?

    --
    ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  62. Re:News Flash by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 2

    NSA closely monitoring /.

    well in that case one thing to say to the NSA '); DROP TABLE 'lister king of smeg';--,

    --
    ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  63. Re:Not a big surprise by Megol · · Score: 1

    Sources for that claim PLZ?

  64. Re:"Sir.. HOLY SHIT SIR!" by Evtim · · Score: 1

    Is that you, mister Buttel/Tuttle?

  65. Re:Not a big surprise by jeIlomizer · · Score: 1

    I don't see where RMS is crazy at all.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  66. Are they seriously monitoring anyone using Linux? by netsurfer912 · · Score: 1

    They are very welcome to look at my programs that don't even compile, crappy website and a whole lot of pictures of my cat. I'm an extremist, you know? They absolutely need to waste your tax money on me, it's for national security.

  67. Re: Are they seriously monitoring anyone using Lin by netsurfer912 · · Score: 1

    Wait a minute, I forgot that they can't break into Linux, that's why it's the top choice for extremists ;-)

  68. Re:Actually they're saying they are going to watch by jeIlomizer · · Score: 1

    But neither should they need to do that to watch someone.

    So they should just be able to watch people for absolutely no reason at all, no warrants required?

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  69. Re:Not a big surprise by emj · · Score: 2

    Sources for that claim PLZ?

    RSA, Cisco?

  70. Re:Actually they're saying they are going to watch by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    ... You don't need a warrant to pay attention to what people are doing.

      Does a cop need a warrant to watch a street corner? Obviously not.

    Anywhere in my post did I reference breaking into people's machines or compelling people to release information by court order or otherwise?

    no... I did not.

    So I'm talking about the sort of things you need warrants for at all.

    If the NSA is getting warrants to tap the communications of people that they don't know even did anything then that's obviously wrong.

    However, the NSA obviously should watch savvy computer groups to be aware of new technologies, new programs, new ideas, new threats, new talent, new names in the game, etc.

    If they don't pay attention then they're going to be clueless.

    Should they label people extremists simply because they have information that they might want? Obviously not.

    But then this is a lot of the consequences of the patriot act which is still screwing things up. The government just labels everyone a terrorist and then gets to do whatever it wants.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  71. Situation normal - cross purposes by dbIII · · Score: 1

    The CIA ran guns to Castro while another portion opposed his revolution, and that's when the CIA was relatively small. One of the guys running guns to Castro later got mixed up in Watergate which is how that sillyness eventually came out in court and got into the press.

  72. The NSA is more extreme than you know by kevlar_rat · · Score: 1

    See, a rational person would have looked at what's going and concluded that the NSA's position is "of course you're more likely to be an extremist" rather than "of course you must be an extremist".

    This is a comment in the actual code used by the NSA:

    /* These variables define terms and websites relating to the TAILs (The Amnesic Incognito Live System) software program, a comsec mechanism advocated by extremists on extremist forums. */

    The source also says the NSA refers to "the Linux Journal - the Original Magazine of the Linux Community", and calls it an "extremist forum".

    So yes, the NSA, in their own words, do indeed believe if you use TAILS, or read The Linux Journal, you are an extremist.

  73. What "Publication" ? by Wdi · · Score: 1

    "Das Erste" is a (major) TV broadcaster and its name roughly translates as "TV1". The fact that they also have a Web site which summarizes the content of previously broadcast features does not change this.

  74. Extremism is evil by kevlar_rat · · Score: 1

    'Extremism' is an evil concept. An 'extremist' implies someone on the edges of the bell curve of belief - but guess what - most people think of themselves as being in the middle of that curve, no matter what their own beliefs. So in practice 'extremist' means 'extremely different from me'.
    The purpose of law enforcement should be to stop acts of violence, terrorism, subversion, whatever - but never to stop mere difference. In a violent society, peace is extremist. In a dictatorship, freedom is extremist. In a racially segregated society, equality is extremist.
    It's no wonder authorities love the word 'extremism', it's a slur for any kind of dissent.
    Remember, the direct opposite of 'extremism' is 'conformism'.

  75. Re:Actually they're saying they are going to watch by X.25 · · Score: 1

    This is why a lot of political groups in the US are being labeled as extremists. Because there are some people in those groups that do crazy stuff like make bombs. Practically none of them do that but one out of a million does... and they need to watch for that.

    There are some Americans that make bombs.

    Better watch all of them. Just in case.

  76. Ever hear of something called a "sales pitch"? by marxmarv · · Score: 1

    It's what comes out of most Americans' mouths when they open. They can't help it, though. They've mostly accepted that social self-determination is bad and needs to be razed at gunpoint and replaced with markets.

    --
    /. -- the Free Republic of technology.
    1. Re:Ever hear of something called a "sales pitch"? by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      I am sorry you:

      1.) Live among most Americans
      2.) Chose to be a statistician.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  77. Ah, ah, sources and methods by marxmarv · · Score: 1

    Rays can be traced both ways. Each bit of intelligence gathered provides information about how and whence it was collected. That's not the sort of thing you throw around casually unless you're trying to burn it. (See also "parallel construction".)

    Besides, why would they when GCHQ's already got a whole company of Internet trolls to run propaganda ops (or as they call them, "Internet effects operations") and outsourcing makes for cleaner hands and more deniability?

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    /. -- the Free Republic of technology.
  78. Speed limits are perfectly rational by marxmarv · · Score: 1

    as a means of keeping the working class obedient and docile and paying for the middle class. They are also rational from a safety perspective. The devil (or the intent to exploit, if you prefer) is in the details.

    The mistake is assuming that the ancien regime exists to serve you, which is not only laughably ahistorical, but nauseatingly consumerist. Unless you're part of the gentry, you exist to serve them.

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    /. -- the Free Republic of technology.
  79. "I hunt sysadmins" by marxmarv · · Score: 1

    I Hunt Sysadmins discusses why sysadmins are high-value targets. In short, sysadmins are often softer targets than the high-value Linux systems they might be paid to secure or administer. They probably use webmail or social networking services from PRISM partners, and the things they look up often reveal information about their projects and methods. The thrust of it is how to look at haystacks with CT technology instead of boring old flat radiographs, and as odious as the ends are, the means are the stuff of a fascinating, occasionally scintillating read. They are, after all, just a very large IT shop with a one-of-a-kind data set to play with.

    Of course the haystack analogy breaks down before it starts as there is no +1 Needle of Revealed Wisdom to locate and extract. Is Russia fomenting a "color revolution" in the US as payback for the two we gave them in Ukraine? Is China building a fifth column inside the US to ensure their trillions in dollar holdings will hold value? Is French heavy industry spying on major US political patrons and stealing intellectual "property" or business information? Does Germany still believe the USA is faithfully holding all their gold on deposit at Fort Knox? Is Elizabeth Warren really a danger to foreign investors favored by the ruling class? etc.

    If you think situational awareness is a waste, you're probably forgetting that government organizations can provide good service to customers iff the government thinks it's important. City hall treats you with hostility not because they're the government, but because you're not.

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    /. -- the Free Republic of technology.
  80. Random thoughts by marxmarv · · Score: 1

    DUAL_EC_DRBG was a random number generation algorithm that only its mother could love. It's slow, complex not provably more random than other algos, and comes with magic, unexplained constants, which are the last thing you want to see in an ostensible entropy generator based on asymmetric crypto... and if you want FIPS certification you have to use the given constants. Why did NSA want it in there so badly? Why, after a potential flaw was found and corrected, did NSA personnel "suggest" a change that, in retrospect, only made that putative flaw more reliably exploitable? Cryptologists explain.

    On the hardware side, Theodore T'so observed that Intel was very eager to have RDRAND be the exclusive source of entropy for the kernel's RNG, as was one goofball at Red Hat who tried to introduce a kernel parameter to do the same thing. He fought them both off, thankfully.

    In general, see also ProPublica on the SIGINT Enabling Project.

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    /. -- the Free Republic of technology.
  81. Re:oh god by sgt+scrub · · Score: 1

    It is all about taking EP to another level.

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    Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
  82. Colour me unsurprised! by Majestix · · Score: 1

    I was wondering when something like this would happen.

    K

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    --- I was far from home, and the spell of the Eastern sea was upon me. -Lovecraft-
  83. First reaction by ABZB · · Score: 1

    While not surprised, given the standard set of stereotypes that generally seem to be employed, both justifiable and not, nevertheless: The Flibberty!?