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Meet the Muslim-American Leaders the FBI and NSA Have Been Spying On

Advocatus Diaboli (1627651) writes The National Security Agency and FBI have covertly monitored the emails of prominent Muslim-Americans — including a political candidate and several civil rights activists, academics, and lawyers — under secretive procedures intended to target terrorists and foreign spies. From the article: "The individuals appear on an NSA spreadsheet in the Snowden archives called 'FISA recap.' Under that law, the Justice Department must convince a judge with the top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that there is probable cause to believe that American targets are not only agents of an international terrorist organization or other foreign power, but also 'are or may be' engaged in or abetting espionage, sabotage, or terrorism. The authorizations must be renewed by the court, usually every 90 days for U.S. citizens. ... The five Americans whose email accounts were monitored by the NSA and FBI have all led highly public, outwardly exemplary lives. All five vehemently deny any involvement in terrorism or espionage, and none advocates violent jihad or is known to have been implicated in any crime, despite years of intense scrutiny by the government and the press. Some have even climbed the ranks of the U.S. national security and foreign policy establishments."

223 comments

  1. Probable cause by qbast · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apparently being Muslim is good enough for probable cause. So much for freedom of religion.

    1. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      To be honest, in the presence of taqiyya, a fanatic jihadist could be easily expected to lead an exemplary public life provided that he considered it important for the cause.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Probable cause by MRe_nl · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Unless, of course, you work for a multinational, are a serving member of the armed forces, you have traveled there and made friends, your forefathers came from the region, you still have family there, or lovers, you like to watch the news and have an inkling of an interest in international politics, history or economy it is indeed incredibly unlikely as an American citizen to be involved with anything happening in the Middle East.

      --
      "Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
    3. Re:Probable cause by thaylin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So it is ok to profile people because they may be lying about who and what they are? Sounds like a police state to me.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    4. Re:Probable cause by TubeSteak · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What a Muslim American Said to Defend His Patriotism
      http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/what-a-muslim-american-said-to-defend-his-patriotism/374137/

      -"You should be active in your community. And I have done that. The fact that I was surveilled in spite of doing all thatâ"it just goes to show you the hysteria that everybody feels."
      -"I've never given a speech where I've said any ill feelings toward the United States."
      -"I was a very conservative, Reagan-loving Republican."
      -"I watch sports. I watch football. My kids are all raised here. My kids at that time went to Catholic school. It isn't as if I was raising them in a different way ..."

      Gill correctly perceives that we'll all know what he means when he invokes the characteristics he possesses that would seem to make him less suspicious. The fact that most people internalize these judgments to some degree illustrates how chilling effects work: Americans, especially those who belong to minority groups, formulate a sense of what speech and actions will cast suspicion on or away from them.

      Chilling Effects.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    5. Re:Probable cause by MRe_nl · · Score: 1

      To be honest, under duress, any fanatic could easily be expected to lead an exemplary public life provided that he considered it important for the cause.

      --
      "Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
    6. Re:Probable cause by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2

      And there were "Commernists hiding under every beadstead" in the 50's.

      Your neo-Macarthyism is based in pure irrational hate/bias. As such, you will always find an unassailable, self-justification for insisting on your views.

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    7. Re:Probable cause by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      And of course you could be such a fanatic jihadist pretending to not even be muslim. So you want mind if the FBI goes through all your communications and belongings anytime they feel like it. And of course you won't mind the occasional week long questioning session..

    8. Re:Probable cause by qbast · · Score: 2

      "I was a very conservative, Reagan-loving Republican." - obviously he is trying way too hard to appear harmless. Only most hardened jihadist fanatic would go this far, so good job NSA. He will slip sooner or later.

    9. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean Obama?

    10. Re:Probable cause by mjm1231 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      freedom of religion IS the seperation clause.

      --
      Ideology: A tool used primarily to avoid the bother of thinking.
    11. Re:Probable cause by thaylin · · Score: 1

      You really have a weak understanding of Islam, our country, and it seems your own God as well. All of those things you listed could be said of most of the popular religions in our country. Also our nation is not founded as a theocracy so your religious objections due to your belief in Christianity has no merits.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    12. Re:Probable cause by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Interestingly it does not seem to include Freedom From Religion...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    13. Re:Probable cause by Mister+Liberty · · Score: 1

      You left out all the WASP perpetrators of crimes in that region.
      Not on purpose, I think -- but even though, glad to assist.

    14. Re:Probable cause by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Nor does it include My Freedom From Your Freedom From Religion.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    15. Re:Probable cause by Jawnn · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yes, it does include a freedom "from" religion clause. If you take the time to learn anything about the framers of the Constitution, you'll know that they were dead-set against allowing anything invoking divine authority to creep into the system of law and government which they were creating. Not all of them, but most, and that wisdom, thankfully, carried the day.

    16. Re:Probable cause by kelemvor4 · · Score: 1

      Apparently being Muslim is good enough for probable cause. So much for freedom of religion.

      I'm pretty sure that the agencies in question did not tell these people they aren't free to be Muslims.

    17. Re:Probable cause by aristotle-dude · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Yes, it does include a freedom "from" religion clause. If you take the time to learn anything about the framers of the Constitution, you'll know that they were dead-set against allowing anything invoking divine authority to creep into the system of law and government which they were creating. Not all of them, but most, and that wisdom, thankfully, carried the day.

      What language exactly are you writing in? It appears to be english but you appear to not understand english. I quote the first amendment.

      Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

      Where in that set of phrases do you see a freedom "from" religion? It enshrines the principle that the "government" can neither establish a state church or prevent the free exercise of any religion. It does nothing to protect atheists from having to live around non-atheists. You have to make that choice yourself and move elsewhere if you don't like your neighbours. It binds the government to prevent them from interfering and it does not grant you any rights as a citizen to lord over others who choose to practice a religion.

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
    18. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      That's obviously the case. The religious motivation adds an additional impetus, thought. But you're right that the "exemplary citizen" defense doesn't apply to anyone.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    19. Re:Probable cause by thaylin · · Score: 2

      You cannot have fee exercise of your religion without freedom from other religions... no where did he say it protects atheists from being around the religious, but keep on strawmaning.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    20. Re:Probable cause by Your.Master · · Score: 1

      I think people have different notions of what "freedom from religion" means. What you're talking about is not at all the same as what some others I've seen have talked about. The first time I encountered the "separation clause doesn't imply freedom from religion" was somebody arguing that it would not violate the US constitution to require politicians to swear that they believed in a god (without specifying further the attributes of this god), which seems like a crystal-clear violation to me.

    21. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      And there were "Commernists hiding under every beadstead" in the 50's.

      Except that he was at least partly right. That doesn't justify his actions, of course, but he was by no means a pure paranoic.

      Your neo-Macarthyism is based in pure irrational hate/bias.

      Wouldn't I have to be a right-winger to be able to be a "neo-Macarthyist"? I know I get labeled as a "godless commie" by Americans. Also, my opposition to ludicrous fairy tales with no foundation in reality hardly seems irrational. It's a waste of time at best times, and oftentimes it gives some people stupid ideas.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    22. Re:Probable cause by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      I don't think the people spending massive amounts of time and money to impose their moral opinions on us through law get it... I understand the intent, but it didn't work. Deciding what consenting adults can do with each other or what bonds they chose to form is none of their business. Deciding what forms of recreation adults chose is none of their business (other than to tax it, that started right before the whiskey rebellion and will never stop). There is a large block of people who consider it their god given right to tell others what to do (in a god fearing manner). Then there is another block of people that just want to tell you what to do just because they think they should. In no case will we ever be free of this...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    23. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      I have no communications FBI might want or be able to intercept, my belongings are physically removed from the nearest US territory by at least seventy miles (plus thousands of miles away from the continental US), and I'd be perfectly happy to chat with them in a local café on fascinating international topics, but I suspect the café owner would throw us out before midnight.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    24. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So Ghandi was a terrorist who just lived exemplary in front of everyone while ordering people to kill others?

      Those damn terrorists are finding ways to avoid breaking the law to spread their message. So now law abiding pacifists are actually terrorists who decide to live exemplary lives to avoid prosecution?

      You kinda sound like it's okay to target pacifists because even though they are breaking no laws, in reality we know they are dirty evil terrorists who are just breaking no laws in order to help out their cause.

      Now you don't have to break laws to be a bad terrorist. It's really just what we know you are thinking about. That defines your freedom.... not your actions.

    25. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      It is my understanding that police forces are doing this everywhere. You just can't arrest all the grannies in the area whenever someone gets mugged. You'd have to wait for a utopia for this to end.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    26. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, it does include a freedom "from" religion clause. If you take the time to learn anything about the framers of the Constitution, you'll know that they were dead-set against allowing anything invoking divine authority to creep into the system of law and government which they were creating.

      Hence, the reason that both houses of Congress, from the very first continental congress, have opened their proceedings with a word of prayer from their very own appointed chaplains? You mean those same framers of the Constitution who also wrote a Declaration of Independence which includes "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"? You mean those guys? Are you sure you know what you are talking about? You might want to contemplate that there is a subtle distinction between establishment of a state-sanctioned Church, on the one hand, and completely eschewing "religion" from public debate on policy, on the other.

    27. Re:Probable cause by MRe_nl · · Score: 1

      Most of the WASPS in the region have been replaced by DRONES; get with the program : ).

      --
      "Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
    28. Re:Probable cause by thaylin · · Score: 1

      Just because they did not want the government to have religion in it, does not mean they themselves did not believe and mind it being opened with a prayer.. Also I like how you highlighted "their Creator", which leaves it up to each individual as to who their creator is, and not Lord Almighty.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    29. Re:Probable cause by thaylin · · Score: 1

      hmm, someone has anger issues..

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    30. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nothing to see here. They did this with any and all civil rights, peace movement, anti war, drug research, religious movements, ect.... leaders of the 60's.

      And it continues to this day. By the way the above statement is public knowledge released by the FBI/CIA thanks to the hard work of freedom groups (ACLU, EFF).
      When it comes to people threatening the powers-that-be in government any/everyone is a target to be monitored.

    31. Re:Probable cause by fizzer06 · · Score: 1

      The Feds kidnapped a "suspected" Russian hacker (Roman Valerevich Seleznev) in the Maldives the other day and flew him to Guam. I wouldn't feel too safe.

    32. Re:Probable cause by HornWumpus · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You might want to study a little of the history of India they don't teach in high school.

      After Ghandi got control of India he ordered _many_ killings in the future 'Pakistan' and 'Bangladesh'. Non violence is for when you don't have the power.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    33. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The same way being a member of the KKK should be probable cause.

    34. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Citation needed.

      Ghandi was not one to ignore killings.

    35. Re:Probable cause by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      You could make the same list for Catholics....

      --
      Good-bye
    36. Re:Probable cause by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      So you don't think the Crusades are relevant to mention?

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    37. Re:Probable cause by DrJimbo · · Score: 5, Informative

      After Ghandi got control of India he ordered _many_ killings in the future 'Pakistan' and 'Bangladesh'. Non violence is for when you don't have the power.

      You mean when he personally visited the riot-prone areas to stop the massacres:

      Gandhi suggested an agreement which required the Congress and Muslim League to cooperate and attain independence under a provisional government, thereafter, the question of partition could be resolved by a plebiscite in the districts with a Muslim majority. When Jinnah called for Direct Action, on 16 August 1946, Gandhi was infuriated and personally visited the most riot-prone areas to stop the massacres. He made strong efforts to unite the Indian Hindus, Muslims, and Christians and struggled for the emancipation of the "untouchables" in Hindu society.

      Read the reasons given for his assassination:

      Godse felt that it was Gandhi's fast (announced in the second week of January) which had forced the cabinet to reverse it's earlier recent decision not to give the cash balance of Rs. 55 crores to Pakistan on 13 January 1948.

      [...] He also felt that Gandhi had not protested against these atrocities being suffered in Pakistan and instead resorted to fasts.

      [...] In Godse's own words during his final deposition in the court during the trial, "...it was not so much the Gandhian Ahimsa teachings that were opposed to by me and my group, but Gandhiji, while advocating his views, always showed or evinced a bias for Muslims, prejudicial and detrimental to the Hindu Community and its interests.

      If Gandhi had been ordering murders in addition to his fasts and prayers and actions to stop them, I would imagine this would have been added to the list of reasons given for his assassination.

      --
      We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
      -- Anais Nin
    38. Re:Probable cause by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      As relevant as the Muslim wars of conquest.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    39. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have no communications FBI might want or be able to intercept, my belongings are physically removed from the nearest US territory by at least seventy miles (plus thousands of miles away from the continental US), and I'd be perfectly happy to chat with them in a local café on fascinating international topics, but I suspect the café owner would throw us out before midnight.

      As you accompany him back to his hotel, the waiter follows the both of you, waving at you to detain the man and as you reach out to shake your acquaintance's hand for farewell you notice a glint of metal....

    40. Re:Probable cause by Tharkkun · · Score: 0

      And of course you could be such a fanatic jihadist pretending to not even be muslim. So you want mind if the FBI goes through all your communications and belongings anytime they feel like it. And of course you won't mind the occasional week long questioning session..

      I have nothing to hide, except the pron from my wife (she found it already) so why would I care what the FBI does? They aren't going to act on any of this unless these people actually plan to do something criminal and in that case, they should.

    41. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > no where did he say it protects atheists from being around the religious, but keep on strawmaning.

      This was, in fact, argued in one of the recent Supreme Court cases where people did not want to allow people to pray at government meetings of their own accord because they did not want to hear speech they disagreed with, making one question why they would go to a political meeting to begin with.

    42. Re:Probable cause by ilparatzo · · Score: 1

      Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but not freedom "from" speech. Same goes for religion. The two don't really go all that well together.

      But in this case, you have the freedom to ignore their religion, and ignore speech you don't like. You also have the freedom to speak out against their religion, or their speech. How amazing is that?

    43. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So you don't think the Crusades are relevant to mention?

      Well, since most of us weren't alive when they happened, and were done by a church we don't all agree with ... this constant reference to the Crusades is idiotic.

      Yes, a long time ago a Pope decided that killing anybody who didn't follow his teachings was a good idea.

      And somehow you think that all white people should bear the blame for that? Fuck that.

      Sorry, but I am not responsible for what some fucking idiot in a funny hat advocated for hundreds of years ago.

      Or, do you think in 500 years we should all be blaming all Muslims for 9/11? You can't have it both ways.

      The Crusades are fucking irrelevant, because they have nothing to do with the present. It's an excuse put forth by people who would simply find another reason if they didn't have that one.

      Fuck all of your gods. Let them fuck one another. But please, stop fucking the rest of us over your petty bullshit.

      Your god is a fucking myth, and if he/she/it did exist, would be far less narrow minded and stupid than the people who act in his name.

      You want to be angry at the people who did the Crusades? Run wild. You want to act like the rest of the world bears responsibility for that, then you're a fucking idiot.

    44. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first time I encountered the "separation clause doesn't imply freedom from religion" was somebody arguing that it would not violate the US constitution to require politicians to swear that they believed in a god (without specifying further the attributes of this god), which seems like a crystal-clear violation to me.

      Every time I've heard that quote it has been from someone who really should have said, "separation clause doesn't imply freedom from Christianity", because it only is said by Christians about Christians beliefs. It's is often followed by, "This is a Christian country."

    45. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trolling real hard today

    46. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also I like how you highlighted "their Creator", which leaves it up to each individual as to who their creator is, and not Lord Almighty.

      Whether you like it, or not, is entirely beside the point. The plain fact is that the assertion "the framers of the Constitution...were dead-set against allowing anything invoking divine authority" into their new government is just plain wrong. If you or Jawnn had said that the framers of the Constitution were dead-set against a State-established Church (or religion), I would agree with you wholeheartedly.

    47. Re:Probable cause by TheP4st · · Score: 1
      As relevant as the atrocities committed by the (mostly christian) Anti Balaka in Central African Republic.

      Amnesty International has taken over 100 first-hand testimonies of large-scale anti-balaka attacks on Muslim civilians in CAR's northwest towns of Bouali, Boyali, Bossembele, Bossemptele, and Baoro. International troops had failed to deploy to these towns leaving civilian communities without protection. The most lethal attack documented by Amnesty International took place on 18 January in Bossemptele, where at least 100 Muslims were killed. Among the dead were women and old men, including an imam in his mid-70s.

      Source: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news...

      --
      "I have downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records, why would I care if somebody downloads ours?" Robin Pecknold
    48. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I was a very conservative, Reagan-loving Republican." - obviously he is trying way too hard to appear harmless. Only most hardened jihadist fanatic would go this far, so good job NSA. He will slip sooner or later.

      You joke, but for the islamophobes it is literally a witch-hunt. They all have a hard-on for this practice called taqiyya which is basically the idea that if you are being persecuted for your religion it can be ok to deny that you are an adherent of that religion. It is not a unique concept. The bigots think taqiyya is really about 'sleeper-cells' which lets them go full witch-hunt -- anyone they don't like is really just a wolf in sheep's clothing patiently biding their time until the right opportunity.

    49. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > You could make the same list for Catholics....

      And people have. There was serious public discussion about whether electing Kennedy would put the pope in charge in of the US. Sure, it was only idiots doing it, but the same class of idiots are still with us today, just with their xenophobia aimed at the latest popular target.

    50. Re:Probable cause by ph1ll · · Score: 1

      Eh? Mahatma Gandhi never "got control of India".

      You might be thinking of Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi, neither of whom were related to the Mahatma.

      --
      --- "We've always been at war with Eastasia."
    51. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To be honest, in the presence of taqiyya, a fanatic jihadist could be easily expected to lead an exemplary public life provided that he considered it important for the cause.

      This, of course, opens up the question of where well-played taqiyya ends and sincerely-held principle begins. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and otherwise acts like a duck, then when are we rightly allowed to believe it is a duck? And what would stop a fanatic jihadi from pretending to be an evangelical Christian, for the sake of "the cause"?

      Or is that too subtle for you? Maybe we should establish a probable cause which goes a bit beyond merely having a religion which is not Judeo-Christian?

    52. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      So Ghandi was a terrorist who just lived exemplary in front of everyone while ordering people to kill others?

      If this is supposed to be a counter-argument, it's quite poor due to the obvious logical fallacy.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    53. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You really have a weak understanding of Islam, our country, and it seems your own God as well.

      I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Christian God and the Muslim Allah is the exact same fucking entity.

      You're all idiots arguing about which book written by men is more divine than the other. Your belief in it doesn't make it actually true.

      Focus on reality, it makes everybody happier in the long run instead of all this stupid, petty crap about whose god has a bigger penis. Mostly, you all sound like dicks.

    54. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean being a HUMAN is good enough cause for NSA to spy. Don't try to bring religion into the conversation, it's happening to EVERYONE.

    55. Re:Probable cause by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Yes: 'I'm New Around Here' is trolling hard.

      What else would you call only mentioning one side of a war?

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    56. Re:Probable cause by jc42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I have nothing to hide, except the pron from my wife (she found it already) so why would I care what the FBI does? They aren't going to act on any of this unless these people actually plan to do something criminal and in that case, they should.

      If you think you have nothing to hide, you should probably spend a bit of time studying the history of the FBI. Leading an exemplary life has never been a protection from them, if they suspect you may be part of whatever conspiracy is popular at the time. A few decades ago, it was Communists, and having no connection to any Communist organization was never protection from them or their colleagues in organizations like HUAC. It's quite clear that the "anti-terrorist" push nowadays is no more concerned with whether you have anything to hide; if they need a scapegoat and you're handy (perhaps because your name is vaguely like some name on one of their lists), they'll go after you and make your life a hell on Earth.

      Having "nothing to hide" is one of the most naive misconceptions going around, and has been for at least a century. Dig into the history of the FBI and assorted other similar organizations. Google can find a lot of it for you. Then come back and tell us again whether you have anything to hide.

      (And they probably already have a copy of your pron collection, added to their own. ;-)

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    57. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, it does include a freedom "from" religion clause. If you take the time to learn anything about the framers of the Constitution, you'll know that they were dead-set against allowing anything invoking divine authority to creep into the system of law and government which they were creating. Not all of them, but most, and that wisdom, thankfully, carried the day.

      ummm....

      look at US courtrooms...what words are plastered behind the Judge for all to see? An obvious Christian slogan.
      US coins and banknotes....The same thing.
      You guys have let religion (one religion in particular) creep into your courts and government and education system (Texas textbook debacle) and seem perfectly happy for this to happen.

      Upholding the spirit of the Founding Fathers my ass...

    58. Re:Probable cause by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 1

      So you don't think the Crusades are relevant to mention?

      You might want to read a couple of history books concerning the period 600AD to 1000AD. Other than all those ABCs and silly dates it's a good way to educate yourself.

      --
      "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
    59. Re: Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

    60. Re:Probable cause by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      No, that's not at all what I was getting at.

      Mister Liberty mentioned in his post WASPs in the Middle East. I referred to the Crusades because those happened before there were WASPs. If you think someone is picking on Christians or white people, it started before I posted.

      But in reality, claiming I'm trolling because I mention a historic episode is pretty thin. When I'm trolling this board, everyone knows it, and mods appropriately.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    61. Re:Probable cause by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 0

      What does that have to do with pointing out another period in history, which didn't have the "WASP perpetrators of crimes". I left it as a thought problem for you guys to figure out why, and so far no one has. Reading about the time period has no bearing on it.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    62. Re:Probable cause by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2

      OK. To de-escalate, and in the interest of trying an educational dialogue, I will attempt to clarify what appears to be an assumption in the posting to which I responded.

      You mention "taqiyya" as a point of doctrine, or an approved mode for action, by those who profess a "witnessing" of Islam ("tashud").

      This is in most was incorrect. Certainly, it is misleading, as a generalization. Al-Taqiyya is usually translated as "dissimulation". There are numerous arguments about the permissibility of this specific shading of deceit or "lying" in the history of Islamic discourse. The most common, and widely known usage was for Shi'ite partisans of 'Ali and his descendants, immediately in the time of their political schism. This was during the lifetimes of the original 3 Imams. The purpose thereof was defensive - used to deflect persecution or compulsion by "Sunni" adherents.

      It is important to note this: In the first few centuries, Shi'a were a political distinction for legitimate leadership of the 'Ummah or community. Doctrinally there was not a separate school of theology or jurisprudence. Thusly, the term "Sunni" as a contrasting group is often a more modern anachronism when applied to the period - up to about the time of Jaffar Al-Siddiq, or so... "Shi'a" of that time - and indeed probably today - consider themselves to be following in the "Sunnah" of the prophet.

      All of this aside, dissimulation is a means to defensively avoid harm and persecution, without giving up or rejecting articles of belief. This is true of Shi'a or of Sunni jurisprudence. There is no corresponding school of thinking that has authorized Al-Taqiyya for means of "deception" versus "dissimulation" in pursuing acts of war or other hostility.

      There is in fact another term "Al-Makr" for "deception" that relates to concealment of intention. There are a number of debates about the use of this term in the Q'ran, as applied to God. Most of that discussion is quasi-theological for political ends and beyond the scope of discussion here. Let us only say that the message of the book is roughly "Those who try to trick God, have in the end only tricked themselves - for God is master over all things, including their trickery." Parse as you will.

      Let us conclude that Al-Makr, as a doctrine to promote the faith, is haram.

      To suggest that the existence of Al-Taqiyya provides a doctrinal basis under which one may make generalized assumptions about the threatening character of any Muslim believer is ignorant or provocative, at the least.

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    63. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, they are not. Allah is a construct of Satan's servant the pedophile rapist Mohammed.

    64. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      This is all fine and dandy, but even if all that is true and correct, 1) doesn't that assume that all Muslims are theologians of your calibre to interpret things correctly (and I see them bickering how this and that should be interpreted with a frequency hardly lesser than that of Christians of various denominations arguing over parts of the Bible), and 2) given that it seems that virtually any provision in "holy books" has been misused at least once in history in the way described by the proverb "give the devil your finger, and he'll take the whole arm", often by a charismatic individual to sway weaker people, why should these provisions, of all things, be immune to that?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    65. Re:Probable cause by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      The crusades were a response to the muslim's wars of conquest. Mentioning one as relevant, while pretending the other never happened is a huge distortion of history.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    66. Re:Probable cause by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

      There is still an instrument for guiding one's evaluation of claims and conundrums: Cui Bono?

      In matters of human affairs, it is generally less erring than application of Occam's razor.

      "Someone" is interested in getting you to think that the biggest potential for catastrophe, in your daily life and for your way of living, is impending Muslim ideological violence. They wish you to believe an absurdity.

      What group or party benefits from this? Why have they chosen this from other possible alternatives? What other possible real threats and risks are diverted from attention by this condition?

      Those are the basic questions for the truly inquisitive, not those merely questioning from a habit of personality.

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    67. Re:Probable cause by brianerst · · Score: 1

      To be fair, at least one of the targets (Nihad Awad of CAIR) appears to have been targeted only during the period that his organization was labelled an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism trial. When the label was removed (by court order), the surveillance stopped. (This assumes that the data released by Greenwald is complete and the lack of surveillance after January 2008 is real.)

      Awad has some questionable associations in his background but that alone shouldn't be cause to put him or anyone under surveillance.

    68. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      There may be such people, but given my general suspicion of ideologies, I don't even need to listen to them to be wary of anything that comes out of any religion, regardless of the pathway such damage to the society takes. But obviously, the fact that there might be yet another group with an agenda is independently worrisome.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    69. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > I have nothing to hide,

      Wow. You must be trolling.
      That's right up there with, "Think of the children!"

    70. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That your first assumption was a competing religious group shows you have a long way to go in figuring out how the world works. Religions are just tools. What always has mattered and always will matter is power. The powerful will use a religion if it helps them achieve their goals, but there are plenty of other tools available too.

      Furthermore, it is rarely an evil hand-rubbing plot, more often it is a case of opportunism. People taking advantage of circumstances - riling up the religious by selectively quoting scripture (either their own scripture or the 'bad guys' scripture), rabble-rousing the disadvantaged to direct their ire at deserving but also useful targets, or even just not acting to stop a problem when they morally should have acted because the end results are likely to align with their goals (c.f. Narendra Modi's non-action in the Godhra riots).

      The people doing this aren't necessarily masterminds, but they are generally smart enough to avoid the easy, connect-dot-a-to-dot-b incriminating evidence. And they love their useful idiots.

    71. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently being Muslim is good enough for probable cause. So much for freedom of religion.

      Something that Muslims so readily believe in

      /sarc>

    72. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gandhi (note the spelling!!!) had a simple philosophy in life: support the Muslims. In his book, he refers to South African Blacks as 'Kuffar' - an Islamic term for 'Repugnant' - a term that only Muslims use for anybody. Whenever there were Hindu-Muslim riots in India, he'd do what he could to stop the Hindu side, and only the Hindu side from rioting, on the grounds that since Muslims were the minority, their wishes needed to be obeyed.

      The above description of Godse's reasons for assassinating Gandhi were correct. If Gandhi had ordered murders, it depends on whose murders he ordered. If he ordered that of pro-Hindu people, Godse would still have assassinated him. But if he had ordered murders of Muslims, Jihadis would have gone after him..

      Except that Gandhi himself was a non-Muslim Jihadi, if there can be such a thing. In 1918, he supported a movement in India to restore the Islamic Caliphate, which had collapsed after the defeat of Ottoman Turkey in WWI. So those who accuse Gandhi of being a pro-Muslim Jihadist have it absolutely right

    73. Re:Probable cause by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      I never pretended anything "never happened". I mentioned one episode, as I said above, only because I thought it was funny that someone would specifically mention "WASPs" messing up the Middle East. So I brought up the Crusades because there were no WASPs in it.

      Honestly, I don't know what you think my mission is, but you're barking up the wrong tree.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    74. Re: Probable cause by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      Someone has a few issues I think, probably a very small dick to produce a lying rant like this

    75. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Being a christian who meets regularly with white hoods around burning crosses might be of some concern, but people get a pass if they are a person who agrees with another set of religious texts that also mandates violence, sexism, child abuse, etc. "my books about taking young girls as sex slaves is way better than your set of books!" . freedom to swing fists ends at my freedom to not be hit. But religious exemptions seem enshrined. my right to kill my kids because a blood transfusion is against my religion doesnt end at my kid dying. and my right to demand the extermination of homosexuals or jews or non-believers is totally fine, as long as its part of my religion. it doesnt seem to end at the laws already in place about inciting murder.

    76. Re:Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It looks like the public moderate muslims and the moderate muslim organisation are always under suspician by some agency or other.

      How long before the moderates get disgusted and let the extremists represent them. After all, the extremists will possibly deserve the suspician.

      And how many moderates will decide that if they are getting treated as extremists, they may as well become extremists, to suit the manner they are treated anyway.

    77. Re:Probable cause by Roachie · · Score: 1

      Jeeezz.... fella. Can I recommend a good decaf?

      --
      This sig is not paradoxical or ironic.
    78. Re: Probable cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can go to war and fight a satan loving puke motherfucker like you. I am a minster of death, praying to go to war with you. I would love nothing more than to bayonet you to death.

    79. Re:Probable cause by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      This is more like J Edgar Hoover stuff. Spying on loyal Americans because he though they were up to no good.

    80. Re:Probable cause by davester666 · · Score: 1

      In Canada, the general population is considered unconvicted criminals living in the community...according to officials in the Canadian Prison System...

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    81. Re:Probable cause by CarbonShell · · Score: 1

      That used to only reserved for blacks and 'communists'. Remember the FBI will target and try to crush anyone who is not white(enough), non-Christian and is not politically right enough. i.e. MLK, MalcomX, ACLU anyone who ever supported them. On the other hand, they had no problems supporting mafia thugs such as James "Whitey" Bulger. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
      Btw, we only have a bunch of 'criminals' (kinda like a 70's version of Snowden) to thank for exposing COINTELPRO.
      Does anyone honestly think they just stopped? Read what they did during COINTELPRO and then ask yourself, do you think they, as well as the NSA or other groups, have any level they would not stoop to? What else have they done that just has not come out yet?

      guess not: http://www.wired.com/2011/09/f...

      As for the BS 'judge approval', they will simply rubber-stamp any request that comes in. Not to mention in a secret court!
      To quote the Article: But its rulings are notoriously one-sided: In its 35-year history, the court has approved 35,434 government requests for surveillance, while rejecting only 12.

    82. Re:Probable cause by thaylin · · Score: 1

      No, the issue was it seems the governments are endorsing those religious statement by allowing only those it agrees with to hold prayers.e

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    83. Re:Probable cause by qbast · · Score: 1

      I would love to see those 12 requests.They must have been something *really* special.

    84. Re:Probable cause by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      Ah OK. So police state behavior is all perfectly reasonable as long as it happens some place you aren't.

      You are quite the selfish prick. Congrats.

    85. Re:Probable cause by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      If you think WASPs had anything to do with the Crusades you'd better get back to your history lessons.

      Hint: What does the "P" in "WASP" stand for?

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    86. Re:Probable cause by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Zow! New forms of insanity creep out from the shadows.

      You want to look up the work "kaffir".

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    87. Re:Probable cause by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      I heard that if you say that five times in front of a mirror a black guy will become president.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    88. Re:Probable cause by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      But Islam is a Judeo Christian religion.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    89. Re:Probable cause by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      That was my point. Why mention what the WASPs did, when the Crusades are more culturally known, and had no WASPs?

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    90. Re:Probable cause by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      I have no idea if it's reasonable or not (since there are very likely many things around this case I'm not aware of), but I'm not in the capacity of fixing it for you.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    91. Re:Probable cause by Sciath · · Score: 1

      QUITE right. The case was Town of Greece (NY) v. Galloway. The town board allowed only Christian prayer at town meetings since 1999. Prior to that it was merely a moment of silence. By permitting only Christian prayer the litigant asserted the town was showing an obvious sectarian bias which is supposedly unconstitutional. However, in the Supreme Court ruling in May, the majority ruled that such prayer is permissible BECAUSE the court had ruled in the early 1980's in a similar case that prayer was permissible since prayer was permitted at the very first congressional session. As intelligent as justices view themselves, the majority opinion was ludicrous in that it demonstrated their own religious prejudices. First of all the majority justices failed to draw any distinction between state/federal legislative session and local government functions. At the state and federal legislative sessions the general public is admitted merely as observers/nonparticipants. Whereas local sessions are the exact opposite because that is where local residents take their government concerns such as zoning ordinances, budget matters, community health concerns, fire and law enforcement concerns, etc. etc. In other words, at local government meetings citizens are active participants and EVERYONE has a right to be treated equally and with respect as to their individual freedom of conscience choices. Secondly, the justices have failed (or purposely ignored) the fact that the chaplains allowed at the first congressional session (and ever since) was/is merely an accommodation to the more religiously extreme. Thus contradicting themselves in word and deed. After all, the actual Constitution clearly states the government will give no preference to religion. That is a legal document which holds more power than mere accommodations historically made. Another example, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution clearly state that "all men are created equal" and that there is NO religious test for anyone to hold public office. Yet there were accommodations made at the time that allowed plantations owners to keep their slaves even though most northern representatives opposed slavery. Which ultimately led to the Civil War. It was morally wrong then as it is today. The same is true of religious preferences the Supreme Court seems inclined to view as perfectly natural thing for the government to do. Obviously because of their own prejudices and indoctrination. However, like slavery, it is morally reprehensible and someday a wiser and better educated court (or series of courts) will ultimately see the huge error made by this court and reverse the decision. Technically, there shouldn't even be "In God We Trust" on our currency, "so help me God" in swearing in ceremonies or for judicial witnesses, and no "under God" in our national pledge. All that came about by overzealous religious fanatics (and anti-communists) in the mid twentieth century. How is it America got along just fine without any of that crap for 230 years before it was wrongly changed?

      --
      "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
    92. Re:Probable cause by Sciath · · Score: 1

      Yah, those guys. First of all, you (or anyone else) should realize the Declaration of Independence is not this country's LEGAL document. It was merely a statement claiming America was divorcing itself from British rule. There is very little in that document that is used as a framework for what happens legally or constitutionally in America. Second, the actual legal document, the Constitution, specifically states there is no religious test to hold public office. Government will accord no preference to religion (or interfere with its practice). There is NO "under God" "so help me God", "In God We Trust" or any other god phrase in the Constitution. In other words, the Constitution is essentially devoid of any reference to god except for the brief reference in the First Amendment. What does that tell you? It says the Architects wanted nothing to so with religion when it came to the functioning of secular government. Third, the federal legislative session prayer (and architectural frescoes) were merely an accommodation made to the religious zealots elected to Congress. Nothing in the Constitution called for it. That same Declaration of Independence you mention also states "all men are created equal" but slavery was permitted to continue as an accommodation for plantation owners. It was wrong then as it is now. And so is government showing ANY preference (seeming or factual) toward religion... period. The fact that the Supreme Court found in favor of religion doesn't make the decision correct, morally or legally. The courts have made many errors in the past and this is just another one to chalk up to their incompetence.

      --
      "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
  2. i remember when by Cardoor · · Score: 1

    i remember when it seemed that if theconstitution was flagrantly violated, there would actually be consequences for the perpetrators and such actions would stop.. it must have been a dream

    1. Re:i remember when by disposable60 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's just pre-9/11 thinking.
      Everything's different now - we got the National Security State we always dreamed of. Better, even!

      --
      You're looking for quotes? See my journal.
    2. Re:i remember when by Cardoor · · Score: 1

      very true - we dont need rule of law.. especially because... you know... tuhhrrists!!

    3. Re:i remember when by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There have never been consequences. The Constitution of the United States is the highest suggestion of the land.

    4. Re:i remember when by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget the 1%ers. We hate them too. Unless they praise Obama, then they're cool and stuff. Even if they are all old rich white guys.

    5. Re:i remember when by ADRA · · Score: 1

      Well, you don't remember very clearly then. People's 'rights' have always been trampled on when the state deemed it necessary. This is nothing new to the US. It's happened since the dawn of time. Human's requirements for security will always trump their desire for equality (well unless you're the top of the pyramid I suppose). Once things 'calm down' on a global scale, expect more politicians massaging away the bad bump in these laws. Then expect 'the next great calamity', which will again cause more knee jerk laws to be passed with roughshod through the political spheres.

      --
      Bye!
    6. Re:i remember when by qbast · · Score: 1

      Are we supposed to hate tourists now?

    7. Re:i remember when by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suddenly understand why the TSA treats travellers so badly.

    8. Re:i remember when by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      They haven't suspended 'Habius Corpus' yet. Lincoln remains the most flagrant violator of the constitution.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    9. Re:i remember when by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      While i hate that he did it, you have to agree his need was greater than any other's before or since.

      --
      Good-bye
    10. Re:i remember when by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      FDR sent 100,000 Americans to concentration camps, while allowing their property and belongings to be stolen or destroyed. I think that may outweigh Lincoln.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    11. Re:i remember when by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's just pre-9/11 thinking. Everything's different now - we got the National Security State we always dreamed of. Better, even!

      You gotta love the logic here: " More than a dozen former and current law enforcement officials contacted by The Intercept say that the process for seeking a FISA warrant is so bureaucratically complex and larded with privacy safeguards that it is essentially inviolate. If the surveillance court approved a warrant, they say, then the target must have deserved it."

      Reminds me of the old Soviet joke. A citizen is yanked off the streets by the KGB and locked into a small room with only a tiny window. "Why are you keeping me here? What am I suspected of?" The KGB agent points to the window and the people walking outside and says "You're not suspected of anything. They are the suspects. You are already guilty. We're just trying to find out what you're guilty of."

    12. Re:i remember when by Cardoor · · Score: 1

      a) well, in your belligerent haste, you apparently don't READ very clearly. i deliberately wrote 'when it *seemed*', suggesting, to an observant reader, the inherent and now acknowledged illusory nature of that perception. while government has always 'trampled rights', it's also always been to varying degrees, with a clear and marked acceleration in this country since the end of ww2 (cue eisenhower's MIC warning). b) once things 'calm down' on the global scale? good luck waiting for that.

    13. Re:i remember when by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Habeus Corpus may be suspended when necessary in case of insurrection or invasion. I take it you are aware of no military actions on US soil during Lincoln's Presidency.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    14. Re:i remember when by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, we didn't dream of it, Osama bin Laden did. And he won.

  3. Civil Rights Activists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, it's a good thing they are monitoring civil rights activists because the last thing we want in America is civil liberties and rights. Civil rights and freedoms are unAmerican and have no business here.

    Why yes, I do watch Fox News. why do you ask?

    1. Re:Civil Rights Activists by SpankiMonki · · Score: 2

      Why yes, I do watch Fox News. why do you ask?

      Because citizens who do not watch Fox News are threats to national security, and are therefore placed under surveillance. No need for you to be concer...oh wait, you're posting on a known subversive site that is part of our selector set. I guess we'll be watching you after all.

    2. Re:Civil Rights Activists by JimSadler · · Score: 1

      Some things don't change. The spooks payed a lot of attention to black folks when civil rights were blooming as an issue.. Apparently they still seek to spy upon the NAACP and other civil rights workers. Quite a bit of this twisted behavior comes from the second half of the law and order mission. Any thoughts or actions that cause change also generate a certain amount of disorder. And that gets the covert agents excited. Protest is seen as a threat to the establishment. Even a quiet life can be seen as a person trying to remain secretive. If a new religion starts to attract members you can bet the government will be all over it. And a company like Tesla that produces a wonderful product that challenges the powers that be is always at great risk. Maybe we need term limits up and down the public employee spectrum. Not only elected officials but military and civil service workers might have a fixed length of employment. That might bust up some of the nonsense that we see these days.

    3. Re:Civil Rights Activists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your civil rights activist is another person's church bomber. FISA doesn't issue warrants just because people are Muslim. This whole article is a troll. FISA sucks ass, to be sure, but to characterize them as watching people JUST because they are Muslim is extremely ignorant. People meet certain profiles, they get watched after they trip a few flags. Are they all guilty? No. Have they all been arrested or harrassed? No. Just watched.

      I am NOT defending FISA or the Patriot Act, but the characterization of these agencies in the Post and most of the higher rated comments is ridiculous, unwarranted outrage.

  4. Re:OUTRAGE!! by thaylin · · Score: 1

    Same dude, slightly different take on what he wants.

    --
    When you cant win, ad hominem.
  5. They're not a corporation by HangingChad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Until they incorporate they're not entitled to free speech or religious exemptions.

    --
    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
    1. Re:They're not a corporation by madhatter256 · · Score: 1

      Not just that, they have to be heavy donors to a SuperPAC in order to have basic rights...

      --
      Previewing comments are for sissies!
    2. Re:They're not a corporation by chispito · · Score: 1

      Until they incorporate they're not entitled to free speech or religious exemptions.

      Non sequitur.

      One is a case involving employer responsibilities for health care, in light of the religious views of the employers. The other is an article about individuals being surveiled for their religious views.

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    3. Re:They're not a corporation by idontgno · · Score: 1

      See? The perfect marriage of American Patriotic Capitalism and American Freedom! Bid for rights! You have every right you can afford!

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    4. Re:They're not a corporation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GREAT idea! THAT's how to get the radical coup-2000-'activist' SCOTUS-5 to start actually considering rulings (rather than tortured 'logic' and self-serving-'disappeared'-tort-rationalizations for giving corporations far more rights than real citizens): every citizen should incorporate themselves immediately.

  6. No surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you are not a drooling "police-dog" type, then you must be an enemy, there Bubba!

  7. Law Enforcement has been doing this forever. by timrod · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Back in the 50s and 60s, when the Civil Rights Movement was starting to pick up, the FBI had files on most of the major civil rights leaders, even those that advocated purely peaceful resistance. I recall reading an interview with a high-ranking FBI official at the time who said that J. Edgar Hoover was particularly proud of the file he had on Martin Luther King. They tracked relationships between civil rights groups, and tried to watch them all. I'm fairly certain that there were also secret wiretaps done on some of the people they were tracking, though I don't remember if that was the case with MLK or not.

    If you look on the list, the agency responsible for maintaining the surveillance against the Muslim-Americans targeted in this case is the FBI. They haven't changed much since 1960, and it shows.

    1. Re:Law Enforcement has been doing this forever. by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If memory serves, the ostensible logic was that civil rights groups were pawns of International Communism(because clearly only sinister foreign influences could have given the negro the crazy idea that certain aspects of American life were less than ideal) and thus a terrifying internal threat. That, and Hoover just didn't feel alive if he wasn't wiretapping somebody.

    2. Re:Law Enforcement has been doing this forever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm fairly certain that there were also secret wiretaps done on some of the people they were tracking, though I don't remember if that was the case with MLK or not.

      Not only did they wiretap MLK, they bugged his hotel room and then used the recordings to try to blackmail him.

  8. No Warrant? by weilawei · · Score: 4, Informative

    Under the heading “Nationality,” the list designates 202 email addresses as belonging to “U.S. persons,” 1,782 as belonging to “non-U.S. persons,” and 5,501 as “unknown” or simply blank. The Intercept identified the five Americans placed under surveillance from their email addresses.

    It is unclear whether the government obtained any legal permission to monitor the Americans on the list. The FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment for this story. During the course of multiple conversations with The Intercept, the NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence urged against publication of any surveillance targets. “Except in exceptional circumstances,” they argued, surveillance directly targeting Americans is conducted only with court-approved warrants. Last week, anonymous officials told another news outlet that the government did not have a FISA warrant against at least one of the individuals named here during the timeframe covered by the spreadsheet.

    So, for all the idiots arguing that we have FISA to make sure mass surveillance isn't abused: it looks like they've decided to skip that step entirely.

    1. Re:No Warrant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FISA just rubberstamped general warrants and such anyway.

    2. Re:No Warrant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even if that is the case at least it creates a paper trail that can presumably one day be retrieved via FOIA. Knowing that their actions may one day be released may be enough to discourage some abuses and perhaps prosecute some of the criminal misuses (spying on girlfriends, political/personal attacks, industrial/economic espionage) when our government hopefully comes to its senses.

  9. Reason? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They have usual name. Good enough reason, right?

  10. Incorporate by tekrat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Every American should incorporate themselves. It's the only way to guarantee you have rights. If you are a closely held corporation, your religious rights cannot be infringed, your property cannot be confiscated, you can commit heinous crimes and only face a fine (no jail time for CEOs); and furthermore, NSA "spying" can be sued over as industrial espionage or as copyright violations under intellectual property rights laws.

    Basically you have way more rights as a corporation. If you're an individual or "citizen", you're screwed.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Incorporate by GlennC · · Score: 1

      ^^^ THIS ^^^

      Since I don't have any mod points, please accept a virtual +10 from me.

      --
      Go on, citizen, stamp the vote card. R or D, your choice.
    2. Re:Incorporate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More importantly, the money to make the government go fuck themselves.

      The closely held corporation spoken of has a very wealthy family behind them.

      I can incorporate for less than $100. But to hire the lawyers, bri....make campaign contributions, fund super-PACs, and everything else at the disposal of the 1%'ers? Fuck no.

      But that aside, that Hobby Lobby ruling probably pierced the corporate veil. You WILL be seeing court cases regarding that - there is NO doubt what so ever.

      So, maybe being a corporation is not such a good idea.

      Or, Big private corp shot self in foot. News at 11.

    3. Re:Incorporate by ADRA · · Score: 1

      Generally speaking, if you're a major shareholder with inside knowledge of wrongdoing and the power to change it, you can be personally held accountable for the actions of ' the corporation'. Since you're a 1 man band, you'd be guaranteed to meet the two conditions and be thrown in jail regardless of the veil of a 'corporate shield' or not.

      --
      Bye!
    4. Re:Incorporate by twistedcubic · · Score: 1

      It would help if you didn't begin your posts with "THIS".

    5. Re:Incorporate by ilparatzo · · Score: 1

      Incorporating doesn't help, because you also need the vast coffers of cash that the big corporations have so that you can a) pay for the lawyers to argue the stances you described, and b) put money into the coffers of the campaigns that are going to help you get off.

      Simply incorporating gives you squat, because you're still an individual without millions of dollars. Small businesses are still ground into the dirt when the politicians or public desire it.

  11. Re:OUTRAGE!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The POTUS and Attorney General, among others in the current administration, are brown, chuckles. Your argument is racist while trying to decry racism.

  12. Re:OUTRAGE!! by TheCarp · · Score: 1

    No they each imagine a different imaginary man in the sky, but their stories all have common origin so they pretend he actually exists and thus is a single being. Far more accurate that way.

    --
    "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
  13. Godless Communists..All Of Them! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anyone who believes that the government shouldn't be spying on and controlling every aspect of their lives is a godless communist with sympathies for the old Soviet regime. :)

  14. The Republicans... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    are just out of control with their rule of this country. It is a shame that the President is powerless to stop them with this. They setup so many rules that can't be undone like the Republican TSA group and the hamstringing of the BATFE in their fight against the guns that are flooding the streets. Of course, destruction and poverty are what their kind gets off on.

    1. Re:The Republicans... by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      woah woah woah, too many talking points rolled into one. besides obama already said if congress wont do it, he will, therefore obama is to blame by his own reasoning

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  15. Re:Incorporate AND be rich by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well not exactly. You also need money. You can incorporate yourself and still be a broke peasent that cannot represent themselves at trial and face a fine and jail time (look it up). At least with a corporation you can hire more people to speak on your behalf.. you can do that as an individual to but it makes you personally liable.

    So to amend your comment, Incorporate and then Gather Large Sums of Money!

  16. Re:Wake me when its 200+ by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

    What did you do to get the negative karma?

    --
    If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
  17. About that.... by dfenstrate · · Score: 3, Informative

    Every American should incorporate themselves. It's the only way to guarantee you have rights. If you are a closely held corporation, your religious rights cannot be infringed, your property cannot be confiscated, you can commit heinous crimes and only face a fine (no jail time for CEOs); and furthermore, NSA "spying" can be sued over as industrial espionage or as copyright violations under intellectual property rights laws.

    Basically you have way more rights as a corporation. If you're an individual or "citizen", you're screwed.

    I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you're someone who hates the recent hobby lobby decision; nonetheless, the opinion delivered by Alito directly addresses this 'corporations are treated like people and it's wrong!!!' outrage perpetuated by the left.

    "As we will show, Congress provided protection for people like the Hahns and Greens by employing a familiar legal fiction: It included corporations within RFRA’s definition of “persons.” But it is important to keep in mind that the purpose of this fiction is to provide protection for human beings. A corporation is simply a form of organization used by human beings to achieve desired ends. An established body of law specifies the rights and obligations of the people (including shareholders, officers, and employees) who are associated with a corporation in one way or another. When rights, whether constitutional or statutory, are extended to corporations, the purpose is to protect the rights of these people. For example, extending Fourth Amendment protection to corporations protects the privacy interests of employees and others associated with the company. Protecting corporations from government seizure of their property without just compensation protects all those who have a stake in the corporations’ financial well-being. And protecting the free-exercise rights of corporations like Hobby Lobby, Conestoga, and Mardel protects the religious liberty of the humans who own and control those companies.

    In holding that Conestoga, as a “secular, for-profit corporation,” lacks RFRA protection, the Third Circuit wrote as follows: “General business corporations do not, separate and apart from the actions or belief systems of their individual owners or employees, exercise religion. They do not pray, worship, observe sacraments or take other religiously-motivated actions separate and apart from the intention and direction of their individual actors.” 724 F. 3d, at 385 (emphasis added).

    All of this is true—but quite beside the point. Corporations, “separate and apart from” the human beings who own, run, and are employed by them, cannot do anything at all."

    --
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
    1. Re:About that.... by thaylin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That was bs justifications. You dont need to give corporations 4th amendment rights to protect people, because the people individually have those rights for example.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    2. Re:About that.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But you can take them away by suing the corporation (which has no rights, according to you) to provide documents, etc. that belong to the people who work for the corporation bypassing those individuals' 4th amendment rights. It's a loophole and they're closing it. You're just too caught up in being fashionable to realize the consequences that exist outside of this immediate case.

    3. Re:About that.... by robinsonne · · Score: 1

      I don't know who modded you up +5, but buy a clue. When a corporation is being sued/indicted it's that organization that is being taken to court, not it's individual employees, agents, or officers (unless some serious misconduct is happening individually). Therefore the legal entity (i.e. the Corporation) gains some of the legal benefits (4th Amendment) and responsibilities because that is the purpose of a corporation: to create a legal entity that stands apart from the individual members on it's own behalf.

      Look up the meaning of the phrase "corporate veil."

    4. Re:About that.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > A corporation is simply a form of organization used by human beings to achieve desired ends.

      Anyone who tries to minimize the issue with that sort of rationalization is just engaging in sophistry - just because a sitting member of the supreme court says something, does not make it good judgment. They have said some really stupid things before.

      Corporations exist to shield their shareholders from liability. They may have other uses too, but limiting shareholder risk of liability is widely accepted as a primary enabler of the success of the corporate form of organization. Therefore it is entirely reasonable to say that the benefit of limited liability should come with conditions like regulations that do not apply to individuals.

      This is why other forms of organization, like churches and other social groups, are permitted things like the exercise of religion - they don't get the same legal benefits as for-profit corporations so they don't have as many legal restrictions either.

    5. Re:About that.... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      If somebody were suing my employer, why would they need to look at anything that belonged to me? I don't own this computer, or the papers on my desk. They're corporate property.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    6. Re:About that.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'm going to have to dissent...in the words of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (the notorious RBG):

      "The First Amendment is not offended...when 'prohibiting the exercise of religion...is not the object of [governmental regulation] but merely the incidental effect of a generally applicable and otherwise valid provision....The exemption sought by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga would override significant interests of the corporations' employees and covered dependents. It would deny legions of women who do not hold their employees beliefs access to contraceptive coverage that the ACA would otherwise secure."

      "In sum, with respect to free exercise claims no less than free speech claims, '[y]our right to swing your arms ends just where the other man's nose begins.'"

      "Until this litigation, no decision of this Court recognized a for-profit corporation's qualification for a religious exemption from a generally applicable law, whether under the Free Exercise Clause or RFRA. The absence of such precedent is characteristic of natural persons, not artificial legal entities....Religious organizations exist to foster the interests of persons subscribing to the same religious faith. Not so of for-profit corporations. Workers who sustain the operations of those corporations commonly are not drawn from one religious community."

      "The distinction between a community made up of believers in the same religion and one embracing persons of diverse beliefs, clear as it is, constantly escapes the Court's attention. One can only wonder why the Court shuts this key difference from sight."

      "In a sole proprietorship, the business and its owner are one and the same. By incorporating a business, however, an individual separates herself from the entity and escapes personal responsibility for the entity's obligations. One might ask why the separation should hold only when it serves the interest of those who control the corporation."

      "Although the Court attempts to cabin its language to closely held corporations, its logic extends to corporations of any size, public or private. Little doubt that RFRA claims will proliferate, for the Court's expansive notion of corporate personhood -- combined with its other errors in construing RFRA -- invites for-profit entities to seek religion-based exemptions from regulations they deem offensive to their faith."

      "Indeed, approving some religious claims while deeming others unworthy of accommodation could be 'perceived as favoring one religion over another,' the very 'risk the Establishment Clause was designed to preclude.' The Court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield...by its immoderate reading of RFRA. I would confine religious exemptions under that Act to organizations formed 'for a religious purpose,' 'engage[d]...primarily in carrying out that religious purpose,' and not 'engaged...substantially in the exchange of goods or services for money beyond nominal amounts.'"

    7. Re:About that.... by thaylin · · Score: 1

      I dont need to "buy a clue". They dont need constitutional rights for that to work, corporate law is plenty.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    8. Re:About that.... by dfenstrate · · Score: 1

      So, under your logic, government agents can just stroll right into corporate offices, and take whatever they want, because a corporation has no rights?

      --
      Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
    9. Re:About that.... by thoromyr · · Score: 1

      I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're someone who loves the recent hobby lobby decision that grants freedom of/from religion and specific religious rights to corporations. By the rationale of the decision a corporation owned by a muslim family should be able to enforce sharia on its employees. But you are comfortable believing that this cannot happen because you have faith that the courts will only give religious rights to corporations that are identifiable as christian.

      Two faced hypocrites are the worst.

  18. Re:Buy the book BANNED by Costco! by jklovanc · · Score: 0

    According to this article there were 3,600 copies of the book sold at Costco during the month of June. Costco has 649 stores therefore they sold on average 5.5 books per store over a month's time. Costco make profits on volume and 5.5 books per store in a month is extremely low volume. No matter the content, Costco would return any book with such low sales. This was a sales decision not political censorship.

    By the way, after the movie came out sale of the book rose so Costco re-ordered it.

    This article brings up an interesting point;

    Not to mention, how do people think Costco buys books? Just randomly? There is no way that this book ended up at Costco without awareness of the content of the book, as well as the history of the publisher and author. Dinesh D’Souza, the author has made a whole career of writing books and making documentaries about how horrible liberals and Obama are for the US. And the list of books from the publisher, Regnery Publishing, makes it abundantly clear what side of the political aisle they are on, and it is definitely not the same one as the the current administration. I think Costco had sales expectations for this book that it did not meet. Perhaps they should have waited to make a decision about its continued poor sales record until after the movie was released. Of course, maybe this was just a part of the regular process they have for reviewing book sales. But whatever the reasoning, it looks tenuous at best to say that dropping the book was based on the political content of the book.

    Don't you think that if they wanted to "censor" the book they would never have put it on their shelves in the first place?

    I bet that the AC is, or is associated with, the author. Sorry but reader here can do a little research and math as well as read books.

  19. Re:OUTRAGE!! by thaylin · · Score: 1

    Actually no, it is the same. They believe in the same God, Islam even believes in Jesus, just that he was a prophet.

    --
    When you cant win, ad hominem.
  20. Home-Grown Terrorists by Tokolosh · · Score: 1

    This kind of behavior by the US government has the unintended consequence of creating more terrorists than it catches. The result is a vicious circle of rebellion and crackdown. It has already happened in the middle east with the constant meddling of the USA, and it is going to happen more and more at home. The country is already starting to divide into Patriots and Tories.

    As an example, the feds raid Waco, yada yada, Oklahoma City gets bombed. This is not to say that all was well with the Branch Davidians, but the excessive and heavy-handed response led to a bad outcome in many consequential ways.

    Other examples are Prohibition and the War on Drugs. We know how they turned out.

    --
    Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
    1. Re:Home-Grown Terrorists by CountZer0 · · Score: 1

      Other examples are Prohibition and the War on Drugs. We know how they turned out.

      Your usage of the past tense implies that you think either of these two things are over...

    2. Re:Home-Grown Terrorists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Prohibition is over. The Constitutional Amendment that made it (Prohibition) legal in the first place was revoked. The 'War on Drugs' is ongoing (strangely started without any Constitutional Amendment), but we already know how it has turned out.

  21. exemplary leaders under command to ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They lead exemplary lives, but their name of their movement translates to "submission" and leader has ordered them to submit to carrying out some very specific commands. Two examples:
    1) fight and kill those who believe other things: source: Koran chapter 9
    (which could be why there was a demonstration of 500,000 people calling for killing of atheists in Bangladesh in June 2013 - I am sure most had exemplary parents)
    2) "oh muslim, there is a jew hiding behind me - come and kill him" source: the Hadith collection of leader's quotes
    (which could be why they were killing people at the jewish museum in Brussels 2 weeks ago)

    Parents surely lead exemplary lives, but a percentage of their children will not, depending on their place of worship.
    In fact, the masses of 'exemplary people' from France were able to contribute some 900 warriors to carry out executions, beheadings and managed to crucify opponents last month. Germany reportedly contributed 250 attackers, UK over 500. (source of numbers: the Peshmegra)

    The best part is that neither France 24 state TV, nor german state TV will mention these commands when discussing the killings.
    A google search of BBC site indicates that BBC will not even report the crucifictions.

  22. The Republicans... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this serious or a joke, it's so hard to tell anymore.

  23. Re:OUTRAGE!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, they also believe all the christian scriptures about jesus have been falsified and that jesus was a muslim prophet preaching islam but that the evil christians falsified his teachings.

  24. Comments by bughunter · · Score: 2

    Many of the comments on First Look and even here are disturbing, both in their rancor and in their bigotry. These kind of haters represent a tiny but vocal minority of the US population but they seem seem to swarm to the comments sections of any story that touches on one of their hot button issues. This is especially true at "mainstream" media sites like Yahoo News, CNN, etc. Clearly their intent is to disguise their minority status and make it appear as if their radical opinions are mainstream.

    Do they have RSS feeds or Twitter Bots or something that tell them "Muslim story on First Look - Troll Force GO!" or something? It's fkn amazing.

    And it does real damage to our society by promoting the kind of racism and abuse depicted in TFA, both institutional and cultural, even when the majority of the people hold no such opinions...

    --
    I can see the fnords!
    1. Re:Comments by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Do they have RSS feeds or Twitter Bots or something that tell them "Muslim story on First Look - Troll Force GO!" or something? It's fkn amazing.

      I always wonder the same thing...and the answer is "maybe:"

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Comments by ilparatzo · · Score: 2

      These kind of haters represent a tiny but vocal minority of the US population but they seem seem to swarm to the comments sections of any story that touches on one of their hot button issues.

      This is true of many issues out there. There are techies that jump on everything they slightly disagree with. Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc ... they all have their vocal minority. Seems there will always be a group within any cause or idea that lets out the vitriol at the slightest opportunity.

      It's the price of living in a free society, lest you have a group (with their own biases) overseeing it all and deciding what can and cannot be said. It relies on a majority not getting sucked into the wild conspiracies and vitriolic hatred that is present and being more level headed.

  25. A republican political candidate! by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

    Hot Damn! A republican political candidate! This could not be better. I don't like either party, but the democrats will never address the NSA. It's just not part of their psyche to get up in arms about the government getting into their business.

    The republicans however? Their paranoid reactionary, "Government is bad" attitude could very well serve to light this fuse. This is probably the most helpful thing to come out of that archive. Everyone, get out there and start telling all your conservative friends how the NSA targeted republicans and suggest Obama was behind it. We need them as paranoid as possible, this IS the moment we've been waiting for.

    1. Re:A republican political candidate! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The republicans however? Their paranoid reactionary, "Government is bad" attitude could very well serve to light this fuse.

      The problem is, that these people's reaction is better expressed as : Government is bad unless it's doing things we agree with. It's not what I would call a consistent set of beliefs.

      Many many Republicans say this is a necessary thing in order to keep us safe, and they will actually defend this spying.

      I have yet to hear a single Republican law maker speak out against this spying. And if they got up in arms because one of their own was also being spied on, well, that's not a principled stance, that's merely hypocrisy.

      Because the Republican law makers have all overwhelmingly been the ones voting in favor of this stuff in the first place.

    2. Re:A republican political candidate! by meta-monkey · · Score: 2

      Naw, he's still an a-rab, and terreristy trumps republican.

      This is, however, part of what I've been waiting for for a year. I've always wanted Snowden through Greenwald to name names. They say they pick up everything but it's only the targets who get their emails read and their phone calls listened to. Okay, who are the targets? Names.

      So first they told us it wasn't Americans, it was only foreign terrorists. Now we find out they were targeting Americans. Now the Fox News crowd is going to say "yeah but it was just scary mooslems!" and the NSA will lie and say that this was the extent of their targeting operations.

      The next article, then, I expect to show that no, they were also targeting Americans completely unrelated to Islam, like Occupy organizers or Tea Partiers. Or even political candidates. That is when the shit will really hit the fan.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    3. Re:A republican political candidate! by mccabem · · Score: 1

      Just when you think the shit has hit the fan, everyone goes shopping.

  26. People need an outlet for their evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's hard and draining to be good and social _all_ of the time. Lulzcats and hater trolls troll because they get to shrug off the burden of the mask and revel in the intoxication of being a dickwad anonymously. Then they put on the mask again and rejoin society. Many people are simply evil inside--they just pretend to be nice and good when people are watching.

    1. Re:People need an outlet for their evil by ilparatzo · · Score: 1

      When you know that just about anything you say could turn you into a pariah within society, or cause you to experience bodily harm, you're generally careful with what can be attributed to you and go a little crazy when you've got the power of anonymity. This is true of truly hateful speech, borderline speech and more and more with rather benign speech. As it can often help a political or personal agenda, speech is often twisted and distorted into something it never was.

      In a world where every word we say or write runs the chance of living forever in it's original or a twisted form, you can't blame people too much for going a little crazy during those times they have a mask.

  27. Re:OUTRAGE!! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    The Koran is just like the Book of Mormon. It contains stories/passages derived from mistranslations of the christian bibles that were circulating at the time.

    Basically they are both logically proven to _not_ be deviny inspired books. Of course if you believe in them, they are true and my not be questioned.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  28. Re:Wake me when its 200+ by thaylin · · Score: 1

    He stated something that is against the constitution of the US. Spying on anyone without justification in our country is morally, and generally legally wrong.

    --
    When you cant win, ad hominem.
  29. Re:Buy the book BANNED by Costco! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I bet that the AC is, or is associated with, the author. Sorry but reader here can do a little research and math as well as read books."

    Hahahahahaha. Yes, this is Dinesh here. BOOOO!

    You fucksticks make me laugh.

    Just wait, when we get a conservative in the white house we plan to unleash the IRS on all your asses and audit you stupid sheep right into the poor house.

    Idiot.

  30. At least no spying on Linux users by houghi · · Score: 1

    The Linux users are acremely fanatic in their believe. At least they do not spy on linux users because that would be wrong. Right?
    And if it goes wrong, the USofA can just not elect those who do wrong. Right?
    I also hear people quoting some papers written several decades ago, so that is worth something as well. Right?

    (Not sure if people can detect sarcasm. Not even sure if this IS sarcasm or just really, really sad.)

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  31. Re:OUTRAGE!! by TheCarp · · Score: 1

    You miss my point, I say no two Christians even have the same imaginary friend, since each of them has an independent imagination in which to instantiate their friend.

    I mean yes, you can give two kids the same model of barbie doll, but if one cuts the hair on theirs, the other will not have short hair, they may be the same class of doll, but they are not the same doll.

    --
    "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
  32. Re:Buy the book BANNED by Costco! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So the fact that the CEO of Costco is a big supporter of Obama and even spoke at the 2012 DNC had nothing to do with it?

  33. Re: most of you guys don't have a clue by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

    The great and powerful government of the USA will send its spokesmen to appear on television, bringing this message to the masses: "Who could have predicted this? Nobody!"

    Followed by "Well, what difference does it make now?"

    --
    If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
  34. I thought FBI/NSA spied on everyone by dskoll · · Score: 1

    Is this really news? Are we going to have an exposé entitled "Meet the model railroad enthusiasts the FBI and NSA have been spying on" ?

    1. Re:I thought FBI/NSA spied on everyone by idontgno · · Score: 2

      Yes, the moment model railroading is a Constitutionally-protected right.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
  35. About that.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Regarding the Alito quote: "All of this is trueÃ"but quite beside the point. Corporations, Ãoeseparate and apart fromà the human beings who own, run, and are employed by them, cannot do anything at all." "

    This is fundamentally incorrect. If it were true then corporations wouldn't be needed and probably would not exist. The human beings who "own, run, and are employed by them" would simply act individually and independently. Certainly an unneeded corporate entity would not enjoy any of the legal protections that corporate citizenship affords.

    Why do people so often confuse the individual constituents of the corporation with the corporation itself? If I were a cynical person I'd say it was a argument of convenience, deployed to bolster a position when needed, and omitted when inconvenient.

  36. Re:Buy the book BANNED by Costco! by ilparatzo · · Score: 1

    The power wielded by a corporation obviously depends on whether or not it helps your argument.

    On one hand, corporations are evil and all powerful, swaying elections, forcing their religious beliefs on their employees and getting off scott-free for crimes Joe Blow on the street would swing from the gallows for.

    On the other hand, they don't have the ability to decide what books they will sell and make decisions from a purely neutral standpoint when doing so.

  37. No - the amendment prevents CONGRESS's action by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    The detail which most Americans are unaware of is that at the time of the Revolution most of the states had established churches, mostly Anglican but also Congregationalist. The amendment in the constitution was to protect those state churches from the federal government, NOT to create a barrier between church and state.

    1. Re:No - the amendment prevents CONGRESS's action by scuzzlebutt · · Score: 1

      Google "Thomas Jefferson wall of separation".

      --
      In C++, your friends can see your privates.
    2. Re: No - the amendment prevents CONGRESS's action by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice attempt at revisionist history.

    3. Re:No - the amendment prevents CONGRESS's action by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Well of course they did. Before the revolution the states were English.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    4. Re: No - the amendment prevents CONGRESS's action by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/... records that eight states still have a religion test on the statute books. It's been disabled now, but clearly evidences that the states had no compunction about imposing religious test for the first 150 years of the Federal constitution.

  38. True - but you're not going to be heard here by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    Reading the bible provides a clear contrast between Judeo-Christian ethics and Islam - most elegantly demonstrated in Islam's rejection of the ban on more than 40 lashes, and it's destruction of God's creation when a person's hand is chopped off for theft. By contrast the Hebrew bible offers only execution or 6 years slavery for offenders; they are required to pay back three times what they stole, and if they can't are sold into slavery.

    1. Re:True - but you're not going to be heard here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many angels can dance on the head of a Christian pin? An Islamic pin?

  39. Diversity doesn't work by hessian · · Score: 1

    It spreads distrust and destroys social standards in common.

    Thus, paranoia is an inevitable reaction.

  40. Islam has a problem by Bruce66423 · · Score: 2, Informative

    The traditional understanding of the faith is that it is a military organisation, committed to the conquest of the world to establish the kingdom of Allah by force. Many Muslims have abandoned this belief - but there is an important element in Islam which allows a Muslim to lie if it will advance the cause of Islam. Therefore it is impossible to trust what Muslims say about their beliefs - because they are free to lie. In this context being a muslim could be argued to be 'probable cause' for surveillance. Harsh but true. http://www.thereligionofpeace.... offers Quaranic reference that enable this behaviour.

    1. Re:Islam has a problem by thaylin · · Score: 1

      That is not what taqiyya is. It allows them to lie if they are under threat, not if it will just advance their cause. And it is only in some denominations, not all.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
  41. Or he may have been lying by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1, Informative

    As the quaran allows him to http://www.thereligionofpeace....

  42. Re:OUTRAGE!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You miss my point, I say no two Christians even have the same imaginary friend, since each of them has an independent imagination in which to instantiate their friend.

    You can make the same argument about actual people. We all perceive the world through our own imagination. You and I both might know one guy named "Joe" but our understanding of Joe will differ based on the different interactions we've had with Joe and our own biases formed through our own individual past experiences.

    The Joe you think you know and the Joe I think I know are not the same. Joe himself surely has a third understanding of who he is. All three have the same physical body in common and some identical traits, but we each perceive him in different ways - we only know the Joe we have experienced and we either have "blank spots" for the parts of Joe we have not seen yet or we fill in those blank spots with our own guesses as to what is there.

  43. Re:Buy the book BANNED by Costco! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's just simplistic geektard black-and-white thinking. All of those things can be simultaneously true because the group of things called "corporations" are not monolithic nor is the management of each individual corporation monolithic. Furthermore, even one specific manager within a corporation can make decisions based on differing, even contradictory, goals depending on circumstances as prosaic as how tired they feel that day.

  44. Re: most of you guys don't have a clue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's my prediction: Within two years, a caliphate controlled by Saudi Arabia (probably from behind a curtain) will attack Iran. Iran will resort to using nuclear weapons against Saudi Arabia. The Saudis already have access to nuclear weapons in Pakistan (if the Pakistanis actually have them) and will use them on Iran. The great and powerful government of the USA will send its spokesmen to appear on television, bringing this message to the masses: "Who could have predicted this? Nobody!"

    Quick !!! We must take action now if we are ever to have any hope of preserving our precious bodily fluids!

  45. Muslims/Islam and Freedom of Religion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cool! Muslims/Islam and Freedom of Religion....ahahahahahahahahaha ha aha aha aha aha ha aha ha aha ha aha ah aha ah aha ah aha ah ahahaha aha aha ahaha aha ha aha ha aha ah aha ha aha ha aha ha ah aha ha ah aha ha ahahaa ahahahahaha ah ahaha ha aha ahahaha aha hah aha haaha hahahahahahaha

  46. FISA Court should be abolished by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Regular Federal Judges in the circuit courts are all perfectly capable of issuing warrants in national security cases.

  47. Witch hunt? by ZenDragon · · Score: 1

    Sounds like a freakin witch hunt to me.... Salem all over again?

  48. Re:Wake me when its 200+ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is similarly wrong in all UN member countries. Constitutions and their enforcement actions are typically the vehicles for implementing such principles in various countries. glrotate has an indirect point, however. Often political action against legal oppression requires showing systematical and large scale nature of the abuse of power, constitutional principles and international agreements to form a sufficient incentive for the legislators. Sexual, cultural and ethnic minorities are clearly in this position in many places still today.

  49. Re: most of you guys don't have a clue by s.petry · · Score: 1

    Campaign contributions and other favors funneled through third parties by the Saudis and other middle eastern individuals and entities have created a US government that is more or less foreign controlled.

    I hate to break the news to you, but you are a moron.

    That "US politicians are puppets" would be a decent statement to make, but only "decent" because it's not all inclusive. To claim it's Islam, or Jewish, or Satanic, or what ever else people claim is simply a propagated argument to maintain the puppet show and keep everyone bickering instead of fixing the problem.

    Instead of playing the blame game, work to correct the problem.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  50. Re:OUTRAGE!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Um, and Christianity isn't real because Judaism? And Judaism isn't real because of some other proto-religion? It should be obvious that you can't prove if something is or isn't divinely inspired. And while Mormonism is a great example, it will be a lot harder to say it wasn't divinely inspired if it is around in hundreds or thousands of years and the information about its founding has been lost or mythologized.

  51. Re:OUTRAGE!! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    If there is a god, would she inspire you to write 'inerrant dogma' that correspond to local, very unlikely, miss-translations of previous 'holy books'?

    Remember the premise of 'divinely inspired book': There is in fact, a god, who is sending the book. All you need to do is find one blatantly wrong thing and POP. (Bats are not birds).

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  52. So what? by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    That Jefferson was campaigning for a wall of separation doesn't detract from the fact that most of the states had established churches. THEREFORE to interpret the FEDERAL constitution as imposing a wall of separation on the STATES makes no sense, because the states showed no particular inclination to disestablish as a result of indepence, despite your ideological commitment to doing so... Of course they did within a couple of generations, but because the wanted to, not because they were mandated by the federal constitution.

  53. Quaran 9.3 by Bruce66423 · · Score: 2

    Clearly indicates that a Muslim is not bound by an oath to an 'idolater'. This provides plenty of space to justify lying in court, let alone in day to day discourse...

  54. Now I remember why I stopped visiting /. as much by Mr.+Cancelled · · Score: 1

    Political Correctness.

    It's damaged the country (beyond repair?), ruined Reddit, and it's rotted away at /.'s integrity. Everything here now comes back to politics and bullying those who might have an original, independent thought into submission.

    I'm not in support of spying on American citizens at all. Having said that, the country has some obligation to try and root out Islamist extremists and unfortunately, until they have the minority report up and running at 100%, spying on people you suspect of having connections to terrorists is one of our only tools to determine if the threat is real.

    Should they continue to spy after confirming the person is verified as not being a threat? Of course not, but all of the barbs aimed at Republicans and Democrats in this thread, in addition to the blanket statements made about what should and should not be done, all goes to again show that it's sheeple on /., not free thinking individuals.

    Many of you appear to have been "programmed" to believe that any disagreement is wrong, and that any cultural differences should be eliminated entirely. Let me share something with you... It's these differences that drives societies.

    America has many things going for it, but the absolute hatred towards our country shown in this thread (and elsewhere on /. - Just search for the word 'Republican') is only weakening us as a nation. This belief that "my view is the only correct one" is the cancer slowly eating away at us. It's not based in reality, and it's not sustainable in the long run.

    /. has turned into a sheeple paradise. Unless you have a better solution, don't begin insulting others just because you don't agree with it. This kind of bullying is quickly replacing older, more physical forms of bullying, but it is still bullying! Nowadays instead of the bully's being jocks though, it's a bunch of narrow minded people who will publicly try to shame those they disagree with, rather than having an open discourse.

    It's sad... I remember when /. was a place for intelligent people to have great debates and conversation. Now it's a place where those who post their honest opinions are quickly attacked and called names by the bullies that disagree. How is this an open forum when this continues to happen?

    Between the new /. look and the diatribe being posted, it's no wonder /. is in a downward spiral.

  55. Re: most of you guys don't have a clue by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

    Here's my prediction: Within two years, a caliphate controlled by Saudi Arabia (probably from behind a curtain) will attack Iran. Iran will resort to using nuclear weapons against Saudi Arabia. The Saudis already have access to nuclear weapons in Pakistan (if the Pakistanis actually have them) and will use them on Iran.

    Idiot.

    Iran doesn't have nukes.

    Pakistan does.

    Pakistan would never give nukes to Saudi Arabia.

    --
    Watch this Heartland Institute video
  56. Re: most of you guys don't have a clue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I believe they already are committed to do so and may have already done so. The reason for pakistan doing is would be the Saudis funded the pakistan nuclear program. For context, the Islamic countries obviously needed an Islamic nuclear weapon capability. The way this is all wrong is the Saudis do not have nukes in the same way the Polish do not have nukes. Or less so. Perhaps sort of in the way the Soviets were not going to give Cuba nukes on a bet. We can hope anyway.

  57. Indeed by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    The point I am making is that that legal status persisted - in some cases for 50 years after the formation of the USA. In that context the first amendment clearly was not designed for the purpose to which it has become used - to exclude religion from state institutions such as schools etc.

    1. Re:Indeed by Sciath · · Score: 1

      Oh contrare my fine feathered friend. In the actual functioning of government religion was specifically written OUT of the Constitution. And any contrary appearances was due entirely to accommodations made to the religious zealots in Congress. However, legally the Architects intended for the government to be a secular government with laws based upon the Constitution which was firmly grounded in "enlightenment" ideals. And the enlightenment ideals were an overt movement to crush (in large part) the rule of the clergy and the church (i.e. rule of God or the bible). That's why the founding of American form of representative democracy was viewed by the rest of the world as the "great experiment", government without God. And it is feeble argument to keep asserting that America was founded as a Christian nation. All comers were welcome in order to build a nation in which citizens were free to worship (or not) as they please. It is well known that Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and many others at the time were either deist, agnostic or atheist. Something the church consistently loves to ignore. Diplomacy is the art of government. And those Founding Fathers were far more concerned about holding an emerging nation together than the validity of any faith belief.

      --
      "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
    2. Re:Indeed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure what point you're actually making - that (if you are correct) it took a while to implement the first amendment as intended?

      Your own country is considerably older than the U.S., and it is still very much a work in progress, even as the last remnants of global empire fade away.

  58. Look at the facts on the ground! by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    It's clear that any policy of the states was not prevented by the Federal constitution as originally enacted. Coincidentally the Washington Post has an article about the continuing requirement to believe in God in 7 state's laws http://www.washingtonpost.com/... Note that these are CURRENT laws - though effectively disabled by the 1960s decision of SCOTUS referred to in the article. But it is clear that there was no compunction about religious testsfor at least the first 170 years of the constitution!