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After Anti-Donation Executive Order, Bitcoin Donations For Snowden Jump

ZDNet reports that after a recent executive order from President Obama "said to have made it illegal to donate to Edward Snowden's fund," anonymous donations to the fund have soared -- at least ones as anonymous as Bitcoin makes possible. From the article: A new executive order signed into law this week by the president has one online community up in arms, after its loose wording effectively ruled out donating to Edward Snowden and others. In a post on Reddit's Bitcoin subreddit, members pledged to donate to the whistleblower's relief fund, despite the wording of the new executive order suggesting that doing so was illegal. In the new executive order, signed into law on Wednesday, US President Barack Obama declared cyber-threats aimed at the US a "national emergency." The order threatens sanctions against those (including US residents) who engage in cyberattacks and espionage activities that threaten US interests at home and abroad. The wording of the order specifically addresses any person whose "property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States." Redditors were quick to assume (likely correctly) that this includes Edward Snowden, who for more than a year-and-a-half has lived in Russia, evading US justice.

289 comments

  1. Anonymous donations? by Iamthecheese · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fuck anonymous donations. As an act of civil disobedience I intend to donate directly from an account with my real name on it. They can come and get me.

    --
    If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    1. Re:Anonymous donations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Fuck being a pretender advocate. Ahem..

    2. Re:Anonymous donations? by dcollins117 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I don't see any language that targets Mr. Snowden so I'm assuming it's perfectly fine to send him your donations. From TFS

      The order threatens sanctions against those (including US residents) who engage in cyberattacks and espionage activities that threaten US interests at home and abroad.

      Now that I think about it that sounds more like the NSA than Mr. Snowden.

    3. Re:Anonymous donations? by Livius · · Score: 1

      Now that I think about it that sounds more like the NSA than Mr. Snowden.

      I guess that means sanctions against members of Congress.

    4. Re:Anonymous donations? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3, Informative

      This suggests there's a list of people it is forbidden to donate too, but the list is secret: You don't get to see it until the FBI or CIA come after you for funding terrorism.

    5. Re:Anonymous donations? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      This suggests there's a list of people it is forbidden to donate too, but the list is secret: You don't get to see it until the FBI or CIA come after you for funding terrorism.

      This is alarmingly close to the secret laws Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote about in the Gulag Archipelago.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    6. Re:Anonymous donations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I wouldn't worry too much; giving away money is now a first amendment right as an expression of free speech. If there ever was a positive side to Citizen's United, this is it.

    7. Re:Anonymous donations? by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      Its not really a secret list. Giving material or monetary aid and support to any fugitive from the law or in support of any one breaking the law has already been illegal to some degree. That degree depends a lot on what you know when doing so. It has to do with the "mens rea" or state of mind. For instance, donations to a "feed the children" charity or a legal defense fund for someone when used to render such aid would likely not show intent and couldn't be prosecuted outside of who misused the funding. But donations specific to help Snowden or Al Capone avoid capture and prosecution could be prosecuted. But even then it would depend on how much resources the government wants to spend and any "ideological" statement they want to make. They likely would not prosecute 2000 people making $100 donations but they might pick a few and freeze their bank accounts turning their life upside down to create a high profile case with lots of media exposure to send a message.

      I don't particularly like Snowden but i dislike the administration's use of executive orders to ignore, change, or even create new law without any congressional interaction at all even more. I just suggest that if you decide to aid Snowden that you do it as anonymous as possible.

    8. Re:Anonymous donations? by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Which of course in reality is even more perverse. Consider if you catch a US spy, spying on your country, according to the most perverse imaginable US policy, they claim the right to take sanctions out against you if you report that criminal activity with the intent to disrupt that espionage activity to your own government. So by sanctions do they mean 'Eiger Sanction' https://www.youtube.com/watch?..., hmm, a violation of the law to enforce the law ie screw your laws only ours count.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    9. Re:Anonymous donations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Bitcoin
      > Anonymous

      I seriously hope you guy's don't believe this.

    10. Re:Anonymous donations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This has become a habit with US politicians. The US fully supports terrorists all over the Middle East and Africa, openly demanding regime change for Governments they don't like. Sanctions Russia for the same thing in the Ukraine. The whole "Kill all Arabs/Islamic people" mentality because a few are highly publicized terrorists, and the President has a kill. Hypocrisy is a word that US politics should really consider, but won't as long as it's citizens remain ignorant fools.

    11. Re:Anonymous donations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Enjoy your time at guantanamo for financially supporting a terrorist.

      You think I'm joking, but let's remember that while the government can take your taxes and donate it to terrorists around the world to keep our wars going, YOU can not donate to someone who did their american duty to inform the public of unamerican activities.

    12. Re:Anonymous donations? by nbauman · · Score: 2

      That degree depends a lot on what you know when doing so. It has to do with the "mens rea" or state of mind. For instance, donations to a "feed the children" charity or a legal defense fund for someone when used to render such aid would likely not show intent and couldn't be prosecuted outside of who misused the funding.

      The Holy Land Foundation was a "feed the children" charity, and their managers were sentenced to effectively life in prison https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      They had a hung jury, and the prosecution prosecuted them again until they got a jury that could convict. If they get a hung jury, they don't have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, IMO.

    13. Re:Anonymous donations? by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      It appears their problem was getting involved with Hamas. Maybe that was because one of their founders was directly involved in Hamas but Hamas was declared a terrorist organization as far back as the mid 1990s.

      I have no sympathy for them and doubt they were only a "feed the children" fund from the little I have been able to find about them in the last 20 minutes.

    14. Re:Anonymous donations? by ckatko · · Score: 1

      If they truly committed those crimes, then why did they have to MAKE UP EVIDENCE to convict them? People following the truth don't need to lie to bring justice.

    15. Re:Anonymous donations? by HiThere · · Score: 1

      Some are ignorant fools. Others realize that they have a choice of two bad actors and a few real nuts when it comes time to vote. And only the bad actors have a serious chance to win. For some reason voting keeps falling off.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    16. Re:Anonymous donations? by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      What evidence did they have to make up? Seriously, I only did a cursory search on them and don't really care about their cause or situation. If you have something to say, you should say it with that in mind as I don't know what you think you know and I do not know what you think you know is true or false. From all the available sources I could find in a short search, they went to supporting Hamas and the guy in question to this day says he will still smuggle weapons into the west bank for Hamas. That is his own admission so I suggest it is reasonable to assume the claims are true enough.

    17. Re:Anonymous donations? by nbauman · · Score: 1

      The question was whether the zakat committees were controlled by Hamas. The Holy Land Foundation was supporting the same zakat committees that were also supported by the USAID. Even the U.S. Embassy in Israel had no information that the zakat committees were controlled by Hamas. It's quite a stretch to say that by supporting committees that provide food, shelter, clothing and medical care is "material support" of terrorism. The first jury didn't accept it.

      Why doesn't the justice department go after Sheldon Adelson, who is giving "material support" to settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal, defy U.S. policy against them, and kill Palestinian farmers? By any objective judgment, they meet the same definition of terrorism that Hamas does.

      I spent more than 20 minutes on it, and I got both sides. Let me know when you've done the same.

    18. Re:Anonymous donations? by AK+Marc · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That degree depends a lot on what you know when doing so. It has to do with the "mens rea" or state of mind. For instance, donations to a "feed the children" charity or a legal defense fund for someone when used to render such aid would likely not show intent and couldn't be prosecuted outside of who misused the funding.

      You don't know what mens rea means, so you should stop describing it wrongly to people. The act must have been deliberate (conscious). Not the intent, but the act. So giving $1 to "save the children" thinking it was UNICEF and having it be an IRA front is a crime that meets all the requirements of mens rea. You intended to do the act that someone else later thought illegal.

      You needn't have any intent to break the law (ignorance of the law is no defense), nor do you need to have any intent to have the outcome. You must only have intended the precipitating event.

      Example: you are cleaning a gun, and you accidentally snag the cleaning cloth on the trigger and the gun discharges, killing someone, there is no mens rea, because you didn't intend to pull the trigger. If you are cleaning the gun, and you want to clean the hammer, so you cock it, then later attempt to dry fire it, but there was one in the chamber, you meet the mens rea requirement because you intended to pull the trigger. That you didn't intend to fire a bullet, or strike a person with it is irrelevant. You intended the action that lead to an illegal result.

      That may not be the Latin definition, nor the original or non-US definition, but in the US currently, mens rea is tied solely to the intent to commit an action, not any intent to commit a crime, nor any act after the last conscious one. It's a low standard, and the way it's applied now, is useless, aside from being the basis for insanity pleas, though those are rare, as they last longer than the penalty for the crime, and are generally served in worse conditions, unless the rare "temporary" condition can be argued. But that happens more in TV shows than real life.

    19. Re:Anonymous donations? by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      First, I have no idea why the US government doesn't do something it should do or you think it should do. Second, the US government can and does operate against US law with almost complete impunity and has demonstrated they have absolutely no qualms about doing so or attempting to do so. The settlements in the west bank do not seem to be in violation of any US law and since 1981. the official US policy was that they do not violate international law either.

      but since you spend more than 20 minutes on it, tell me, when has the Israelis on the west bank been classified as terrorist, a terrorist organization, or enemies of the state by the United States?

      As I've said earlier, I really do not care enough to be bothered by it. I know they lost their appeals, the supreme court refused to take the case up, and outside a few people claiming problems with the case, they seem to have knowingly did what they were accused of.

    20. Re:Anonymous donations? by Lord+Apathy · · Score: 1

      Fuck this executive order. An executive order has no more word of law than marks I made on the toilet paper this morning.

      --

      Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification

    21. Re:Anonymous donations? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Nope. You're not a big corporation, so Citizen's United doesn't apply to you.

    22. Re:Anonymous donations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok Iamthecheese.

    23. Re:Anonymous donations? by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      There's nothing secret about the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list (actually lists).

      There's also non-SDN lists, which are included in this consolidated list:
      http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/SDN-List/Pages/default.aspx

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    24. Re:Anonymous donations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. Mens rea has to do with your knowledge of the outcome, not your knowledge of the specific outcome.

      To use your example, "I thought that I was donating to 'save the children' and had no idea that it was actually an IRA front" is a valid defense, but "I knew that this 'save the children' charity was actually an IRA front, but did not know that the indirect donation was illegal" is not valid.

      The difference is subtle, but your knowledge of the outcome is very important.

      This gets even murkier when risk is involved in unintentional outcomes. In your gun example, both events involved negligence or recklessness, and therefore your knowledge that handling a gun without checking if it's loaded makes you responsible for the outcome. The accidental trigger pull vs. the intentional trigger pull may be the difference between negligence and recklessness, but both are crimes.

    25. Re:Anonymous donations? by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      To eliminate the murky you mention, the application of mens rea currently in the US was whether one consciously decided to do the precipitating event. It's unrelated to the desires, goals, or mind of the person acting, nor their ability to predict the outcome.

      Eggshell skull appears more in torts than criminal law, but applies in criminal law as well. An unpredictably bad result is still 100% the "fault" (criminally, in torts you can share responsibility, for criminal law, you are either 100 or 0, with no "half-murder" charges i've ever heard of, short of completely different charges that don't actually mean the same thing). So, if your act results in a death, and you intended the act, the law (unless specified otherwise), acts as if you acted to cause death. A light nudge that results in someone improbably falling down stairs to their death is a crime with mens rea if you intended to nudge them, and not if you didn't intend the nudge.

      That's the application today. Your description is closer to the law-book description, and not the courtroom application.

  2. Essential link missing from /. article, here it is by Press2ToContinue · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    --
    Sent from my ENIAC
  3. Hey! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stop recording what everyone does, it's creeping everyone out. Or do continue.

  4. What the fuck? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    a recent executive order from President Obama "said to have made it illegal to donate to Edward Snowden's fund,"

    What in the actual fuck? It is now illegal to donate to fund someone that has not been convinced of anything, and who has done great justice exposing criminal things our government has been up to? And yet it's totally fine to donate under the table to politicians (ie, bribe) for "favors"?

    When will it end? What the fuck happened to having a free society?

    1. Re:What the fuck? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a recent executive order from President Obama "said to have made it illegal to donate to Edward Snowden's fund,"

      What in the actual fuck? It is now illegal to donate to fund someone that has not been convinced of anything, and who has done great justice exposing criminal things our government has been up to? And yet it's totally fine to donate under the table to politicians (ie, bribe) for "favors"?

      When will it end? What the fuck happened to having a free society?

      Calm down. The summary is grossly innacurate.

    2. Re:What the fuck? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm more worried about how an EO can be signed into law.

    3. Re:What the fuck? by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      They use pens.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  5. Linky? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    What, no link to the source material or the executive order wording?

    1. Re:Linky? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Link to ZDNet article: http://www.zdnet.com/article/snowden-donations-rocket-after-obamas-cybersecurity-order-outlaws-fund/

      Link to executive order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/01/executive-order-blocking-property-certain-persons-engaging-significant-m

  6. Snowden donations... by MobSwatter · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So... Release information that will incriminate Uncle Sam in support of U.S. foundational principle and law of the land is taboo. They'll still attack out of spite and to starve you. Still they say freedom in the U.S. is a big seller and better than any place else in the world. Gotta call BULLSHIT on that one. I'm thinking the powers that be are bent on Hitler's ways, and in a both feet sort of way. Germany has all that shit behind them, I'm thinking that one of the two is perceptive enough to learn, and certainly not capable of learning from another's mistakes. So, Obummer, when do we all get bar codes, oh wait I forgot about the Obummercare thing, and the FEMA camps are looking a bit baron without barbeques. So tell us, which race will it be this time?

    1. Re:Snowden donations... by MobSwatter · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah, mod me ZERO, fine. But I don't see a big stink made out of the F35 plans making it into the hands of China. Instead I see a bigger stink made out of someone trying to support the supreme law of the land. The very one that made the U.S. what, well what it was and certainly not what it is now.

    2. Re:Snowden donations... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Unless you are releasing classified information not out of a sense of duty but because you want to fuck a hot journalist - the General rule is that's OK.

    3. Re:Snowden donations... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot about FATCA - if somebode is unlucky enough s/he may be found liable to US tax by US IRS.

  7. Executive orders are not law in and of themselves by Astro+Dr+Dave · · Score: 1

    For this to be true, there must be some law passed by Congress making the donation illegal, presumably when the recipient is a member of some group as determined by the executive branch. Anyone have the details?

    The courts would never fall for this, but if there isn't a very good justification for the law, Citizen's United ought to apply...

  8. Zdnet reports, where's the link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Zdnet reports, that's all that matters. Keep on reading your Dicedot. News for turds

    1. Re:Zdnet reports, where's the link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lol

    2. Re:Zdnet reports, where's the link by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      I'll bet it's on zdnet.

      http://www.zdnet.com/article/s...

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  9. Love that hope and change. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Seems like when he said "Fundamentally change America" he meant into a crony capitalist police state.

  10. Even worse. by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What in the actual fuck? It is now illegal to donate to fund someone that has not been convinced of anything, and who has done great justice exposing criminal things our government has been up to?

    It's much worse than that.

    The president, by himself, created and enacted a law which carries a criminal penalty.

    (My outrage meter is pretty much pegged, and I had a polemic about secret laws, secret courts, ordering US citizens killed, and such... but I think that one statement above stands by itself. The US is well and truly fucked.)

    1. Re:Even worse. by snowgirl · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actual Executive Order

      Nothing there says criminal penalties.

      Also, it says that the actors must be outside of the United States. Remind me again, but Snowden did all of his stuff inside of the United States, right?

      As usual, non-lawyers read something think it means something that makes them upset, and it spreads and no one actually sits down to read the actual law.

      --
      WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
    2. Re:Even worse. by CaptQuark · · Score: 0, Troll
      OK, I'll remind you again. Snowden is currently outside the United States. He is releasing information that meets the requirements "by persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States that are reasonably likely to result in, or have materially contributed to, a significant threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States..." The President is declaring it a "National Emergency" to be able to use economic means to block access of certain parties to donations.

      Section 4 also now blocks some people from entering the US. The President finds that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in section 1(a) of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of such persons.

      As usual, non-lawyers read something think it means something that makes them upset, and it spreads and no one actually sits down to read the actual law.

      Yes, you did.

      IANAL, but I think there is much more going on here than meets the eye. Why block people that contribute or materially represent "certain persons"? Is this to prevent Snowden from accessing funds or accepting payments from people wanting him to release specific information? Is this to prevent other parties from accessing assets for him? Much more in play here that I don't understand.

      ~~

    3. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      He didn't make any law. The Congress gave him certain powers that require him to first declare an emergency before exercising them. So he just declared an emergency.

      Blame Congress for passing such laws. Or blame previous presidents for requesting them. (Considering that the Democrats only nominally controlled the House and Senate for less than 6 months, most of which they spent on Obamacase, President Obama didn't have any unfettered hand crafting these emergency powers.)

      But you didn't need this law to make donating to Snowden illegal. Snowden is a criminal fugitive, and anybody sending him money is aiding & abetting. It doesn't matter that Snowden hasn't been convicted yet. They can use the same evidence they'd use to convict him in order to convict you.

      Also, even though the Supreme Court said that money is speech, they've made it super easy to convict people for donating money to any organization even remotely tied to terrorism. I'm sure that covers Snowden somehow.

      So, please, take your feigned outrage somewhere else.

      If you're gonna donate to Snowden, I'd suggest you be discrete about it. There are government officials with even more discretion than the President: United States District Attorneys. And 200+ years of accreted federal criminal law means they can nail your ass to a cross for looking at them the wrong way.

    4. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I don't understand. The money is not going to a person, but a fund with a specific, defined humanitarian purpose, handled legally and lawfully in another country - by lawyers. This law is a throwback from the wild west and lynching mobs.
      Under the legal adversarial system, you don't get a fair trial if your legal resources are not roughly equal to the other side, and especially if the the other side is gunning for you with extreme prejudice. So by stopping donations to say 'ES legal defense fund' are you breaking some pretty fundamental human rights, that most of Europe can't be in support of. (Should not in case of UK).

      Ok,so you can't give money to someone accused of something dreadful, if its kinda harmful or deeply embarrassing, even if its not constitutional. A reasonable lawyer would say if you label/name a person so, it is to poisonously prejudicial - more so than OJ or Nixon.

      Perhaps the majority will conclude giving money to a lawyer can never be illegal or immoral - same as any, say political candidate fund.

    5. Re:Even worse. by Guy+From+V · · Score: 2

      It isn't Snowden who is releasing this stream of information, its the various journalists (Greenwald, Poitras etc.) to whom he gave it that are determining the contents and scheduling of each revelation.

    6. Re:Even worse. by thisisauniqueid · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's much worse than that. The president, by himself, created and enacted a law which carries a criminal penalty.

      I agree that is bad. I don't know if the alternative is worse though: Congress has effectively become completely useless, because no bill on any issue can ever get pushed through Congress these days without major blockades from the non-sponsoring side, and (usually last thing on a Friday afternoon) without large amounts of unrelated legislation (riders) being stuffed into the bill after hundreds of pages of fluff so the riders won't actually be read by anybody before they're signed into law.

    7. Re:Even worse. by citizenr · · Score: 1

      Actual Executive Order

      Nothing there says criminal penalties.

      there wont be any criminal penalty, just itty bitty cia handled rendition or a drone strike

      --
      Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
    8. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod up as Insightful AC. esp: "If you're gonna donate to Snowden, I'd suggest you be discrete about it. There are government officials with even more discretion than the President: United States District Attorneys. And 200+ years of accreted federal criminal law means they can nail your ass to a cross for looking at them the wrong way."

    9. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The supposed-harm has been done. Whether more is released is another question. Consider commuting any potential sentence for his deeds up to this point. Assuming he doesn't release any more information, have him come back and stand trial. Whether or not he is found guilty doesn't matter, since no jail/prison time will be given if his sentence is commuted. Right?

      Blocking legal funds feels like it would be unconstitutional.

    10. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By "non sponsoring side" you mean Republicans. ANY democrat bill is blocked because Obama may look effective if he got something past.

      It was a bloody plank of the republican party to do this for christ sakes! They said they were going to do this! It is not a secret! So there's no need to be all fake fair and blame both sides. Both ISIS and the Roman Catholic Church are religious, but one takes it to a whole new ball park. There's no need to be "false fair" and claim they both are violent on occasion. If you'd picked Islam and RCC, then you'd be in the arguable ball park area.

    11. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> usually last thing on a Friday afternoon

      Friday, in politics -> Take out the trash day

    12. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The president, by himself, created and enacted a law which carries a criminal penalty.

      Executive orders can't do. Well, in theory.

    13. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nothing there says criminal penalties.

      I suppose this is technically true, in that there is no jail time or fine. However,

      All property ... are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in

      means that people can not get their own money out of a bank. From a practical perspective, having money that you can't use is not much different from having the money taken away. Likewise,

      any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, cyber-enabled activities originating from, or directed by persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States
      I hereby determine that the making of donations ... for the benefit of any person [so blocked] impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations.

      Includes people located within the US who aid people outside the US. The origin clause applies to the people directing the "cyber-enabled activities," not to the persons indirectly complicit or making donations. So, sending money to Guardians of Peace, to ISIS, or Snowden, indirectly supports their activities, and could get your checking, credit card, and mortgage accounts frozen. Not technically a "criminal" penalty, but not being allowed to exchange money with any other person or business is pretty fucking disruptive.

    14. Re:Even worse. by dcollins117 · · Score: 1

      ANY democrat bill is blocked because Obama may look effective if he got something past. It was a bloody plank of the republican party to do this for christ sakes!

      Yes, and it's quite sad to see that type of petulant, childish behavior coming from adults. That is how children behave. When coming from statesmen who are (in theory) representatives of this country it is downright tragic.

    15. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't speak for Europe, but the US has long treated any humanitarian donations to Hamas as material support to terrorists. They (US government) treats such donations as fungible, in contrast to their own humanitarian foreign aid.

      Many of the US counter-terrorism policies rely on the theory that national security supersedes due process. The EO in question specifically states that penalties can be imposed unilaterally, with no warning to the targeted individuals or groups. Certainly drone targets are given no prior warning nor opportunity to surrender. So yeah, it's harder and harder to distinguish between the US government and a lynch mob.

    16. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Blocking legal funds feels like it would be unconstitutional.

      The Supreme Court has decided. Only corporations have free speech.

    17. Re:Even worse. by TheCarp · · Score: 2

      Which has been almost as great a service in and of itself as the content of the releases. If they had released it all at once, the administration could have prepared a cohesive response. The slow dissemination tripped them up in lie after lie in their attempts to cover up and deny the truth.

      I, for one, thank them for exposing the domestic enemies of the public who operate within the highest levels of out own government.

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    18. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But but... outrage meter!! I don't let facts get in the way of my outrage toward Obummer!

    19. Re:Even worse. by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Snowden is not releasing documents. He doesn't have the documents. He can't stop the flow.

      He gave those documents up.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    20. Re:Even worse. by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      This.

      Forget the meat of the Executive Order.

      Presidents are, by law, allowed to issue Executive Orders.

      If you don't like that, campaign to change it.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    21. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the D side was doing *THE* *SAME* *THING*. You can look no further than the senate for the past 6 years and see that. Then the congress for the 2 years at the start. They sidelined the republicans. Look no further than most votes. They are split party line. Meaning the party leaders are running the show. The congress and senate are just along for the ride.

      The president is at the center of this. At some point (and 6 years ago was a good time for it) he needs to be in charge and work with these people. Instead he has time and time again acted without congress. He leaves them out when he meets with congress leaders to plan what to do. Then he continued to 'blame the republicans'. He has pretty much refused to work with them at all. He took a massive amount of good will and turned it into total shit.

      The media has basically been sucking his dick for 7 years now. They do not ask tough questions like 'how did you act in libya without the approval of congress?'. 'In syria how do you plan to not cause a civil war?' 'what sort of safeguards are you putting in place in the IRS so you do not have people using it as a political weapon?' 'How do you plan to balance the budget?' Instead they are giving him airtime on sitcoms and talk shows and letting him come on with his talking points and not challenging him. Which is cute but not very president like. At every point where he needed to be effective he has show not leadership but 'gut instinct'. His crowning achievement is 1 million more people on medicade (which is a loan btw) and raising everyone's insurance rates by 3x with his love letter to the insurance industry.

    22. Re:Even worse. by istartedi · · Score: 1

      Read the law? Are you crazy? Without that we can't have "blah, blah, blah... Obama is Hitler, blah, blah, blah". You might think ObamaHitler propaganda is bad, but we need it. It has electrolytes. It's what plants crave. If you pull the plug on ObamaHitle propaganda, a good chunk of the economy could collapse.

      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    23. Re:Even worse. by ckatko · · Score: 1

      The following is a notification:

      You have been added to the governments secret list of happy awesome people we don't hate or want to censor at all.

    24. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't Snowden who is releasing this stream of information, its the various journalists (Greenwald, Poitras etc.) to whom he gave it that are determining the contents and scheduling of each revelation.

      So tell me why the US Government is not demanding the arrest of Greenwald et. al. if the information provided to them by Edward Snowden is so damn dangerous to the national security of the "homeland?"

    25. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think the correct response to having difficulty passing some legislation over the course of a few short years really justifies a dictatorship. What point is there to having a legislature with multiple parties, multiple houses, checks and balances, etc if it's just going to be disregarded whenever the governing party can't pass a law.

    26. Re:Even worse. by Sabriel · · Score: 1

      It will undoubtedly vary between person to person, but for me? The moment it became painfully obvious that Congress was forsworn was when the Senate voted 98-1 for a "Patriot" bill they hadn't even read.

    27. Re:Even worse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And it seems like only yesterday that Republicans were accusing Democrats of being obstructionists.

      It wasn't yesterday, but it wasn't that many years ago either.

      The parties are at least similar in that respect.

    28. Re:Even worse. by snowgirl · · Score: 1

      Snowden released all of his information to journalists before he left the country.

      The President finds that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in section 1(a) of this order

      Snowden is both a resident and a citizen of the US. Yes, we revoked his passport, but we cannot revoke his citizenship without his consent. As a citizen, he cannot be blocked entry into the country. He can be detained indefinitely the second he enters the country, but we can't stop him from returning.

      hy block people that contribute or materially represent "certain persons"? Is this to prevent Snowden...

      For the last time, THIS EO DOESN'T APPLY TO SNOWDEN. *mumbles mumbles mumbles*

      --
      WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
  11. Link? by snowgirl · · Score: 2

    No link? [citation needed]

    --
    WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
  12. Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was not thinking about donating until now because I fucking hate being told what to do.

    1. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same exact response here. Never cared about it before, but now I will make a point to donate.

  13. At long last by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally a legitimate use for Bitcoin.

  14. Fixed that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    evading US injustice

    Fixed that for you

  15. "National Emergency" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This is no "national emergency". Fuck you, Obama.

    --Card-carrying, 3rd generation, life-long liberal Democrat.

  16. Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is no US justice to evade.

    Caption: deride.

    1. Re:Impossible by HiThere · · Score: 1

      There actually *is* US justice. There's even more of it than there is injustice. It's just that the injustice is a lot more damaging than the justice is constructive.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
  17. Ed is welcome by AndyCanfield · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ed Snowden is my hero. He can sleep on my floor anytime.

    - Andy Canfield (Thailand)
    www.andycanfield.com

    1. Re:Ed is welcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thailand? Where that wet hooker pussy flows.... if you can get them wet.

    2. Re:Ed is welcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thailand? Where that wet hooker pussy flows.... if you can get them wet.

      Impotent pricks like you probably have trouble getting ANY pussy wet. Try a garden hose.

    3. Re:Ed is welcome by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I'm not real sure that I have any heroes, but yeah, Ed is probably as good as they get. Heh - I'm amused by the AC posts to your comment . . .

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    4. Re:Ed is welcome by AndyCanfield · · Score: 1

      Actually, the lady you refer to works in Bangkok. I live in Isan, where the lady was born and raised and retires once she's caught her tourists.

    5. Re:Ed is welcome by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Dude, you could at least offer him the sofa...

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re:Ed is welcome by AndyCanfield · · Score: 1

      Don't have a sofa. Have several bedrooms, some with mattresses, some with people, many pillows. blankets, towells, hot water, electricity, Intrenet wifi. No air condiioning. Motorcycle, no car.I live like a Thai farmer.

    7. Re:Ed is welcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +1 for having a sense of humor about the sexploitation of the economically disadvantaged women that you went to school with. :(

      Then again, most of the girls I went to school with I don't really care if they're hooking either.

    8. Re:Ed is welcome by AndyCanfield · · Score: 1

      Oh, and actually, I don't much care what your twit president says and does. I live on the other side of the planet, about as far away from Washington D.C. as one can get (12 hours before EST). But it's nice that you finally have a black president; maybe a women next time?

  18. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by BlueStrat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For this to be true, there must be some law passed by Congress making the donation illegal, presumably when the recipient is a member of some group as determined by the executive branch.

    How 1980's!

    There is only one branch of government, the Executive, then there are the minor agencies and departments like the Congressional Dept. and Legislative agency, all closely overseen by the Executive branches' all-seeing intelligence and monitoring apparatus.

    Any who buck the status quo are destroyed.

    But hey, there's rumored to be a new Marvel Comic-based movie in the works!

    Strat

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
  19. Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    On his seventh year as the POTUS Obama is acting as if he is Judge Dredd

    One after another of his so-called ' executive order ' are designed to stripping off the liberty of the citizens of the United States of America - this latest one only adds to his 'credential' of being amongst the most heinous president ever to occupy the Oval Office

    1. Re:Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A bit rich from a man who receives so many millions from private corporations.

      Perhaps he can show some ethics and only receive donations from private citizens. You know, those who actually vote.

    2. Re:Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Every president has done such things.

      If the US wants to change the current course it needs to make some changes at the "executive" level.

      1) No more "executive orders", laws should be passed via congress not a presidents whim.
      2) No more "secret orders" (FBI participating in political warfare in secret).
      3) Make it easer to get rid of a president. In many ways a US president is more like a king then an elected (sort of) official. Most "democratic nations" have several tools to remove their leader and trigger an election to vote for a new one. The US only has impeachment, and even when they break the laws they are just pardoned by the next president anyhow.

      Last comment, the US laws around armed citizens was suppose to be about the citizens being able to protect themselves from their government.
      There are literally millions of guns in citizens hands, when will they stand up against the gvt?

    3. Re:Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by StillAnonymous · · Score: 1

      Amazing how when presidents WANT to do something, they whip out the Executive Order pen. Yet when it comes to fulfilling any promise they made to get voted in, it's "muh hands are tied, it's the fault of the House, or the Senate, or... due process, whatever."

    4. Re:Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      #1 is broken in that Congress no longer passes laws.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    5. Re:Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by Grishnakh · · Score: 2

      The answer is pretty simple: we need to throw out the Constitution, and switch to a Parliamentary style government like every other democratic republic in the world (except a few crappy places like El Salvador and Honduras). I read a great, though lengthy, analysis of this not long ago, but can't find the link now, but the main problem with presidential republics like ours is that the President has too much power, can't be replaced easily, and worst of all is frequently at odds with the rest of the government due to the way elections work. When the Executive and Legislative Branches are in conflict, then the business of running the government screeches to a halt, and can stay that way for months or more. When Clinton and Congress got into it over the Lewinski affair, the federal government basically stopped operating for over a year. This never happens in a Parliamentary system: there, the Prime Minister is selected by the ruling party in Parliament. If there's a big problem, Parliament can be dissolved and new elections held, and the government can get back on track very quickly.

    6. Re: Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't equate voters with Citizens. Not in the US anyway.

    7. Re:Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by mgcarley · · Score: 1

      Here's an idea: all bills/laws - federal or state - should have to be approved unanimously by a panel comprising of teenaged (under 18) boys and/or girls of the group (sex/race/religion or whatever the case may be) which the proposed bill/law will most likely affect.

      And if they can't reach a unanimous decision by simply reading the law, the politicians sponsoring the bill/law should have to make their case to the panel.

      Also, the panel should be chosen by lottery with mandatory participation (travel/accommodation expenses would be reimbursed by the sponsors of the proposed bill/law, of course, with the participants remaining anonymous until the panel gets to their seats).

      --
      Founder & COO, Hayai India (hayai.in) / USA (hayaibroadband.com) // t: @mgcarley
    8. Re: Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by LinuxLuver · · Score: 1

      Yeah...because citizens having guns worked so well in Libya and Syria. Why don't American pay attention to reality? Guns would just result in fascist theocracy in the American South.

      --
      Only boring people are ever bored.
    9. Re: Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by LinuxLuver · · Score: 1

      Agreed. The US would be a much better, saner country under a parliamentary model, with representatives elected via proportional representation. The US Constitution is proving to be a disaster..... though of course most Americans wouldn't understand why even if you explained it to them. They know next to nothing about alternative political models.... Or why NO ONE copies the US model.... At least, not in the last 50 years.

      --
      Only boring people are ever bored.
    10. Re: Obama wants to become Judge Dredd? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      50 years? The US, after it won WWII, took control of both Germany and Japan and reworked the governments there. Did it make them adopt presidential systems like ours? Nope, they both got parliamentary systems. Hmm.....

  20. Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am also thinking of doing just that

    What's the account number that I can donate to help out Mr. Snowden?

    To /. pranksters: This is serious, so please, spare your pranks for the next victim

    Thank you !

    1. Re:Account number? by megahurts.gr · · Score: 0

      Yes, I'd also like to know. Someone up-vote parent please!

      --
      This guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inacurate. (from THHGTTG)
    2. Re:Account number? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      I have no idea if this is real:
      https://fundrazr.com/campaigns...
      It was linked from here:
      https://fundrazr.com/campaigns...

      There's also this domain, which mention the word courage:
      https://www.freesnowden.is/don...

      The same bitcoin address is used in all of them:
      1snowqQP5VmZgU47i5AWwz9fsgHQg94Fa

      But don't take my word for it and I have no idea whatever that's the real deal.

    3. Re:Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If there ever gonna be a trial, donating to his legal representatives will be perfectly legal. I would imagine a world charity for that purpose.

    4. Re:Account number? by kuzb · · Score: 1

      If it ever goes to trial it won't matter how much money people throw at Snowden's lawyer(s). He will lose. If there was any chance of a fair trial, Snowden probably would have come back to the US by now.

      --
      BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
    5. Re: Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There won't be a trial hell just get gitmo d
      he opposed the president and isn't rich that makes him an enemy combatant. ( If he was rich he could have been a opposition party member )

    6. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 0

      Snowden won't come back if there is any chance of a fair trial. Both the law and the facts are against him.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    7. Re:Account number? by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      no, just bootlickers like you, fnord. you're the kind of person who is against him. ie, scum of the earth.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    8. Re:Account number? by StillAnonymous · · Score: 2

      If the situation were such that there was a chance of a fair trial for someone like this in the US, the whole affair probably never would have happened in the first place.

    9. Re:Account number? by zarthrag · · Score: 1

      Agreed. We're *supposed* to be the Good Guys, pointing out the emperor's nakedness is patriotism, not treason. I would hope any jury could see that.

      --
      Why can't all fpga/microcontroller manufacturers just release free optimizing compilers???
    10. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I have to wonder what would happen if Snowden returned home to stand trial. Would they be able to convict him? I think they'd have to try him many times to get past a hung jury. In the end I think he'd walk free. At least a third of the population support him in some way.

      http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us...

      To convict requires a unanimous jury and I really don't think that's possible. My father is a 90 year old WWII Navy vet who supported the war in Vietnam and even he, who watches Fox news every day and by the standards of today is heavily conservative, thinks Snowden is a hero. I personally disagree but I doubt they'd ever be able to panel a jury to convict him.

    11. Re:Account number? by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Yes, he's a traitor, yet nobody can name the enemy of the US he helped, and what help they got from him.

      Nope, for the most outlandish claims, both the law and the facts are on his side. Likely, they'd torture him with threats of 153 consecutive life sentences in a water-boarding cell, when the convictions they could get would be for nothing other than mishandling classified documents.

      Beyond factless accusations of treason, I've not seen anything concrete against him. They don't seem to talk about the "minor" things he actually did, and instead make it sound like he personally delivered the nuclear launch codes to Iran and North Korea.

    12. Re:Account number? by Rujiel · · Score: 1

      Cold Fjord: the *incredibly lonely* token establishment voice of slashdot.

    13. Re:Account number? by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 2

      I think the issue is that he would not get a fair trial, or possibly not even get a trial at all.

      At best, the trial would suffer years of delay after delay after delay, throughout which he would still be imprisoned of course, while every avenue of defense was contested and denied, in secret, for "national security reasons". More likely, they'd just skip the formality of a trial, declare him an "unlawful enemy" or some such, and drop him into some gulag like Guantanamo Bay. Possibly, they'd even go the "extraordinary rendition" route, and shuffle him off to some third-world craphole to be tortured and murdered by the CIA.

      In no case, barring a massive reform and house-cleaning of the federal government and its intelligence agencies, do I see things working out well for Snowden if he returns.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    14. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      I think most of that is highly unlikely. I do think you're correct about him being in prison for several years while all this played out in the courts but there is no way they can refuse him a trial under any interpretation of the law. If they take away the right to a trial by a jury of his peers then basically we are no longer under the rule of law. It would be the equivalent of Caesar crossing the Rubicon. The lid would come off then for sure.

    15. Re:Account number? by careysub · · Score: 1

      ...

      At best, the trial would suffer years of delay after delay after delay, throughout which he would still be imprisoned of course, while every avenue of defense was contested and denied, in secret, for "national security reasons"....

      And he would be in solitary confinement the entire time, probably with no access to family.

      Just look at Wen Ho Lee whose only charges were a technical mishandling of classified information (he downloaded a lot related to his work, but there was never any evidence he gave it to anyone), and was held in solitary confinement for nine months.

      And yes, the nine months for Lee would surely correspond to many years while the government "gets ready" to try Snowden.

      --
      Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
    16. Re:Account number? by Loki_1929 · · Score: 1

      Calling out the government for violations of the US Constitution is not illegal, regardless of what laws are passed. The US Constitution is the highest law in the land; bar none. No mere law passed by Congress nor order issued by the President nor opinion handed down by the Supreme Court can supersede it. The only thing that matters in this case are the facts. If the facts demonstrate that the government has been violating our rights and that Snowden was left with no legal avenue but the one afforded by the US Constitution due to a lack of whistleblower protections or other oversight failure, then a jury of his peers must - necessarily - find him not guilty.

      There's a common misconception that the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the Constitution's true meaning. The fact is that the people of the United States have that distinction. The SCOTUS is merely the government's final arbiter. They can't get a conviction against Snowden without stacking the jury thanks to nullification.

      --
      -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
    17. Re:Account number? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Look, you sick fuck, we're tired of your totalitarian bullshit. Just go fuck off and die already, won't you?

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    18. Re:Account number? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      If it ever goes to trial, it's a given that he will not get a fair trial from the government.

      But if the population, or rather, a large portion thereof, pays for his attorney, it speaks volumes.

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

      The law being against him? Well, duh, considering that his opponent is the very same entity that makes the laws, I wouldn't expect otherwise.

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

      More the Fox News outpost on /.

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

      If he was rich he'd simply buy enough of the politwhores to get a free pass.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    22. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      The one thing playing in Snowden's favor is that he is famous. Unlike Lee who was relatively unknown Snowden is a household name and everyone has an opinion about him. If they treat him too harshly that'll play out in the media which will only cause more sympathy for him. I really think Snowden returning for trial could only be a huge nightmare for the government.

    23. Re:Account number? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      If they take away the right to a trial by a jury of his peers then basically we are no longer under the rule of law.

      So you believe we are under the rule of law now?

    24. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      Yes. It might get twisted and bent but ultimately it is still necessary to make a case in court to keep people in prison. After all they put Wen Ho Lee through in the end they had to let him free and the judge who ordered him put in solitary apologized to him for the treatment. The judge also had some harsh words for the government's actions in the case and Lee was awarded 1.9 million dollars in compensation. Were we not under the rule of law, Lee would still be rotting in solitary. As bad as you may perceive things to be it could be much, much worse. We still have freedom in this country but we don't exercise it. We return the same people to office over and over knowing they aren't any good. We are at fault, as a people, for failing to take charge of our government.

    25. Re:Account number? by buck-yar · · Score: 1

      I have zero faith in the US justice system. From police officers only pursuing people they don't like, via officer discretion, all the way to judges who heavily favor women in custody / divorce, to women teachers getting slapped on the wrist for having sex with underage kids, to high profile cases that are a mockery of justice (OJ, Casie Anthony, Trayvon). Doesn't seem to matter what you did, only matters how people feel about you.

    26. Re:Account number? by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

      Well since we aren't talking someone defecting to sell State secrets we are talking about a whistleblower. I think trial should not even be needed, he should be welcomed back.

      There are traitors who spy and sell secrets, those that don't sell secrets and blow the lid off massive illegal spying by the government are patriots.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    27. Re:Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What are the chances that anyone who donates to this cause may find themselves on a no-fly list?

    28. Re: Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think he's saying he is technically in violation of the law.

      He doesn't say, but he could well think it's an unjust law.

    29. Re: Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Publishing official secrets is illegal. And as a contractor he isn't subject to whistle blower protections. I'm afraid the law is not on his side. A "fair" trial in the US would not go well for him, unless the law were fixed first.

    30. Re:Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I actually like Cold Fjord, insofar as he/she offers a consistent (albeit retarded) view of the world.

      The part that is batshit insane is that he/she just ignores everything that doesn't fit their pre-conceived ideas of how the world works. You call them out on lies and half-truths, they just completely ignore it, won't even say "I disagree" just jumps beyond to avoid getting hit with facts.

      If Cold Fjord didn't already know it, it is not true. QED.

      I can logically and rationally reason that if Cold Fjord is a government or military employee or otherwise depends on them for livelihood, the insane parroting makes sense, is to be expected, is just PR, and Cold Fjord doesn't care about reality at all in the first place, it is only about selling you a picture and hoping you buy it.

      If Cold Fjord does not profit off of being ignorant, then he/she is gullible and too naive, yes.

      There are many people who simply have "uncomfortable thoughts" and do not voice them. To these people, truth doesn't matter. Information is power. Blabbing about something, anything, regardless of its truth or implications, is a blow to the status quo.

      Therefore, Cold Fjord refrains from any utterance that does not match the official government line. This does not mean that is actually Cold Fjord's own position or thoughts, or that he/she does not have other ideas; people with that kind of belief system, will not tell anyone the sky is blue, if it means the "enemy" might get a hold of that information.

      Does it matter people have always suspected? Does it matter "color" is more complicated than that? No. What matters is noone who is pre-approved can know this information.

      Cold Fjord is not dumb, just hates the idea that people might know something they are not supposed to. It is a personality defect, not a moral failing, in most cases.

      You also see this trait with psychopath CEOs and the like. It comes with authority (real or imagined) that telling the truth is more dangerous than stonewalling, even when the subject knows reality does not match the image they are selling to their underlings and peers.

      I consider Cold Fjord a typical bumbling CEO, of the Dilbert variety. You don't expect any sense to come out of Cold Fjord's mouth. You learn to expect that truth does not matter one fraction of an atom, these people's minds are already made up and reality is not applicable to them.

      On other topics, they may be different. Cold Fjord comes across as someone having something personal invested in disclosure of how governments operate. You can't expect to change these people, information is power to them. Information kept from others is power.

      Sure, balance is needed. However, I do not fault emotionally-stunted people for their ramblings. It is just Who They Are and the sooner we learn to accept Cold Fjord for Who He/She Is the better for everyone.

      The thing is, people like Cold Fjord will, in secret, agree with you 100% on various things...they just won't voice it. That, would be bad PR.

      To understand the military mindset, the first rule is "war is fun" and many themselves feel governments are "unnecessary" and a waste of time -- they get in the way of warfare.

      Don't go expecting reason or integrity. Those things run counter to warfare. Hiding, lying, stonewalling, being so insecure as to think everyone is your enemy -- these are traits associated with soldiers and other government people.

      Citizens cannot be trusted, it is a security risk if they were the master of their government. The government rules over them for their own good. They aren't capable of knowing or understanding such delicate things as government operations.

      It would be bad for profits, hurt the U.S. and other superpowers' image, and so forth.

      When you think Cold Fjord, think "superjail warden" and all the confusion vanishes.

    31. Re: Account number? by AK+Marc · · Score: 2

      Define "publish". If publishing them is illegal, why aren't they arresting the editors of the papers printing them? Seems the law is selectively being used against whistle blowers. That alone proves unequal application of the law, thus a constitutional violation.

    32. Re:Account number? by LessThanObvious · · Score: 1

      Sometimes doing the right thing is illegal. I don't expect the government to look the other way. Doing the right thing in spite of the consequences is what makes it heroic. I know they won't give him amnesty, I'll be happy enough if they just don't capture him abroad or have him killed.

    33. Re:Account number? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Snowden committed a crime, and there's tons of evidence to show for it. A fair trial would send him to prison for some time. Snowden might come back, given changes in some laws, or if promised a pardon. (He's not getting one from Obama, that's certain.)

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    34. Re:Account number? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Why do you think that? There's extremely strong evidence that he did what he claimed he did, which is seriously illegal. If he were to come back, he could be arrested, given a fair trial, and then sent to prison for years. There's no need for any extralegal "justice" here.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    35. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      We have different ideas about who the "scum of the earth" are. I place al Qaida and ISIS in that category. The are the ones crucifying children, taking women by the thousands as sex slaves, raping, torturing, murdering, and committing genocide. Those are the same scum benefiting tremendously from Snowden's massive theft and leaking of classified documents. You don't seem to have any particular opposition to al Qaida/ISIS, you cheer Snowden who has empowered them, and yet you show utter folly in your labeling of "scum." So for you I guess it's ok to rape the women, burn the village, and crucify the men, just so long as they don't offer any criticism of Ed the thief. You aren't one of the shining lights of our age.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    36. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      I was wondering if you could clarify something for me? If the new "patriotism" consists of stealing millions of Top Secret defense documents, spreading them around the world to unvetted people to be published in newspapers for the nation's enemies to make use of them instead of going to Congress with them, and the new "treason" is apparently trying to prevent your citizen from being killed en mass, how do we separate the new "patriotism" from the old treason?

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    37. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      An "establishment voice"? Hardly. It all depends on what the facts are. In the controversy about the IRS engaging in political suppression (or repression) the facts are against the IRS. In the Snowden controversy the facts are against Snowden. The interest of the Slashdot crowd in the facts varies by topic. On Climate Change the demand for facts is vehement. On the IRS is it at best mixed. On the Snowden controversy the facts are generally ignored.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    38. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      Will I? ..... Let me think. ...... No.

      In fact I might create another healthy vegetable salad and name it after you. I'm thinking about basing it on radicchio and assorted vegetables dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lime juice. Incorporating the mrchaotica salad into my diet will probably add years to my already splendid prospects for longevity. Thanks man!

      If you think I support totalitarianism you don't understand totalitarianism, me, or both.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    39. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      There is another possibility that you aren't accounting for: disaffection and defection prompted by ideology. If Snowden had gone to Congress I could stand behind him, but he didn't do that. He admitted that he only took his job with NSA to steal documents. Snowden is the Kim Philby of our age.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    40. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 0

      Yes, he's a traitor, yet nobody can name the enemy of the US he helped, and what help they got from him.

      Al Qaida, ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, North Korea, Iran, ... others.

      At a minimum they received copies of all published documents informing them of highly secret intelligence techniques, capabilities, programs, and strategies of the US and its allies. From this they can device counter measures or use it as a blueprint to devise capabilities of their own as Russia has done.

      It is also likely that the highly capable intelligence services of various nations (such as Russian and China) were able to obtain the entire trove of stolen and leaked documents.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    41. Re:Account number? by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      That's funny since I probably link to the Guardian more than I do Fox News.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    42. Re:Account number? by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Personally I still haven't figured out if 'cold fjord' is a paid shill or just incredibly stupid. Regardless, he/she is exactly the type of person oppressive governments love and use to increase their power.

    43. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Juries are made up of people. It takes a unanimous jury to convict so just one person can cause a hung jury. Given that at least 3 out of every 10 persons thinks he did the right thing by outing the NSA it could be nearly impossible to get a conviction. Out of the other 7 people many are "not sure" how they feel. I think he could come back and after 2 or 3 years waiting for trial he'd be a free man.

    44. Re:Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They wouldn't. He'd commit suicide by shooting himself in the back of the head.

      And the socalled leader of the free world is a fascist

    45. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Never happen. They're probably grateful the motherfucker is hiding in Russia. It makes him look like a traitor. If he came back he'd be the hero standing up against oppression. The media loves that shit. If he caught a cold and died there would be a shit storm.

    46. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Up is now down didn't you know?

    47. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      It's an open forum here. Maybe he's an ISIS member for all we know. From his perspective it would be fine to rape and kill women and slaughter children while their parents scream in agony. Don't be so fucking judgmental.

    48. Re:Account number? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      You know, all governments are evil. They are however considered a necessary evil to maintain some kind of civilization. The problem is of course in the balance between freedom and regulation. I personally, as a libertarian, lean toward much more freedom and much less government. Alas, when the choice is the savages composing Al Qaeda and ISIS and the current crop of idiots running the US I have to choose the idiots running the US. As bad as they may be when it comes to oppression they can't hold a candle to the monsters currently on the rise in the world of Islam. Sometimes we have to make bad choices to avoid worse. I'm certainly open to a better choice of president but it appears it's going to be tweedle dee and tweedle dum again.

    49. Re:Account number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah they named the enemy. the enemy not of the US but the US Government.

      it is us. the legal law abiding citizen.

  21. first ammendment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didnt these same ass clowns recently rule that donations are free speech? Oh its America, where any benefit of law is only applicable to a corporation.

  22. Suggested Summary Correction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could the word "justice" be put in scare quotes?

  23. Free country? USA???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    a recent executive order from President Obama "said to have made it illegal to donate to Edward Snowden's fund,"

    What in the actual fuck? It is now illegal to donate to fund someone that has not been convinced of anything, and who has done great justice exposing criminal things our government has been up to? And yet it's totally fine to donate under the table to politicians (ie, bribe) for "favors"?

    When will it end? What the fuck happened to having a free society?

    Just in case you have been hiding inside a cave for a long time, the US of A hasn't passed the 'free country' test, for the past 2 decades or so

    All the so-called 'freedoms' are but a poor illusion, a charade, a scam

    The problem is that most of the USians (I am not going to use the noun "Americans" here because using it would degrade the dignity of other citizens of the American Continent such as the Canadians, the Mexicans, the Brazilians, and so on ...) still think that they live in a free country !

    Land of the Free? Home of the Brave? Pffffffttttttttt !!!!

    1. Re:Free country? USA???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just in case you have been hiding inside a cave for a long time, the US of A hasn't passed the 'free country' test, for the past 2 decades or so

      All the so-called 'freedoms' are but a poor illusion, a charade, a scam

      The problem is that most of the USians (I am not going to use the noun "Americans" here because using it would degrade the dignity of other citizens of the American Continent such as the Canadians, the Mexicans, the Brazilians, and so on ...) still think that they live in a free country !

      Land of the Free? Home of the Brave? Pffffffttttttttt !!!!

      I feel for you buddy. I hate when I'm just reaching the climax of a really good argument and, in my excitement, fart audibly.

    2. Re:Free country? USA???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those people are never refered to as "Americans." Stop being "cute" and use proper English please.

    3. Re:Free country? USA???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, weakens his own argument.

    4. Re:Free country? USA???? by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure how anything he says can be taken seriously when he does that. Its like a young earth creationists trying to explain evolution and angiogenesis. Perhaps like a Klan member trying to espouse racial equality would be a better comparison. It just takes credibility away completely.

    5. Re:Free country? USA???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree with the premise, but not the rant about "American" vs. anything else. You think Canadians are better off than US citizens? hahaha, yeah.. I'm sure the queen's asshole tastes great.. and you pay her to give it a lick. Mexicans are more free? Brazilians? Nope, they are all bad too.. and at least as bad as the US in terms of freedom.

      One thing that strikes me as different, is that there are numerous people in the US advocating revolution to rid us of the corruption. Canadians on the other hand will fight to the death to keep licking that British monarchy asshole. Oh, I know.. you don't pay them "that" much money and they don't own "that" much land in Canada. The Southern American countries are much less pretentious... they don't pretend to be better than anyone else.

    6. Re:Free country? USA???? by thrich81 · · Score: 1

      "the US of A hasn't passed the 'free country' test, for the past 2 decades or so" -- the AC who posted this and anyone who believes it is grossly ignorant of history. Take a look at the Espionage Act of 1917. Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus. Look up the history of the Japanese-Americans interned during WWII. Prohibition in the 20s. Women couldn't vote until the 20's. Anyone other than Caucasians effectively couldn't vote until the '60s. Look up the destruction of people and careers during the Red Scares of the Cold War (start with Robert Oppenheimer). Hell, go look up the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 passed by the great "Founding Fathers". The USA has never been as "free" as the myths about it say, just usually better than almost anywhere else. It (the USA) has always been a work in progress and by many measures is more free now than it has been in the past, especially compared to the 20th century. J Edgar Hoover was FBI director for life and (unlike today's NSA) didn't make a big secret of the surveillance files he kept on anyone he disliked. Anyone want to go back to the 1920's, 30's, 40's, or 50's? -- you don't get to choose who you go back as and may be of another race than Caucasian or sexual orientation other than male and heterosexual.

    7. Re:Free country? USA???? by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      The problem is that most of the USians (I am not going to use the noun "Americans" here because using it would degrade the dignity of other citizens of the American Continent such as the Canadians, the Mexicans, the Brazilians, and so on ...)

      So you refuse to use the correct term because you are bigot. That invalidates everything else you have to say.

      Just in case you have been hiding inside a cave for a long time, the US of A hasn't passed the 'free country' test, for the past 2 decades or so

      2? Try 6. When Washington warned that parties would be the downfall of the US, he meant it as a warning. He didn't belong to a party and didn't believe in the divisiveness they created. When Eisenhower "warned" us about the miitary-industrial complex, it wasn't a warning. It was an apology. He was a part of the M-I complex, and helped found it. So his farewell address wasn't a warning, but an apology. And we've been paying for his mistake ever since.

      Many of the problems we are left with today are because of his actions. Rather than picking a fight and starting the Vietnam war, as his M-I handlers requested, if he had disbanded the standing army, we'd have no deficit, and have many more freedoms than we have now. Though the lack of a Vietnam for all the protests of the '60s would have changed the nation's development greatly, the lack of trillions being spent harassing the rest of the world would have left us much better off than we are now. Aside from going back to the Treaty of Versailles and getting them to not issue reparations to Germany (or conversely, getting the US to enter WWI on Germany's side), that's the one thing that would have the greatest effect on today's life. Though, publicly backing the white army (while providing no actual support) was another massive mistake that echoed for 70+ years, shaping the planet.

  24. Super Pac Time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder if it's legal if you use a giant money anonymizing Super Pac to do the donating?

    Next thing you know it will be illegal to donate to the EFF or ACLU because they are publishing information about stingrays.

    Once activist and terrorist become conflated, you lose the right to free expression pretty quickly.

  25. May as well plead the 5th by MrKaos · · Score: 1

    because you can't plead the 1st.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  26. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by BlueStrat · · Score: 0

    ...Congressional Dept. and Judicial agency...

    Gah! o.0

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
  27. Re:Essential link missing from /. article, here it by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    To be fair the summary had ZERO links. One is better than none.

  28. Re:Product placement anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    getting a plug because this was news on reddit like 3 days ago. I think my favorite part of slashdot now is seeing stories on the front page here days after they appear on reddit... not sure why i'm still here

  29. FTEO by Runaway1956 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Fuck the executive order. This president has pushed the boundaries with his executive orders. He usurps the authority of congress with many of them, including his immigration/amnesty orders.

    The President of the United States has ZERO authority to tell people how they can spend their money.

    This is the same mouthy prick who told stay at home moms that he had no use for them. He doesn't WANT mothers caring for their children, or for their aging parents/grandparents. He wants them in the work force, so that they are paying SOMEONE ELSE to care for those children.

    I kinda voted for Obama, in that I voted against Romney. But, Obama is as big a prick as any president has been. Liberal love him, but that doesn't make him a good president.

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    1. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1, Troll

      Leftism is not "liberal". Obama is a Leftist, which means he (and his political Party) feel they can regulate *every* aspect of your life - including who you donate to. They feel they can regulate how much soda you have have in one sitting, what kind of car you may drive, how much electricity you can use and where it is sourced from, what is "Politically Correct" for you to say on any subject (they dictate what you can say, or they'll shred your life and drive your name into the mud), whether you can agree or disagree with the unilateral redefinition of marriage, whether you agree or disagree that someone's 'privilege' is based on events from two hundred years ago, and their skin color.

      Leftism brought you National Socialism. Leftism brought you communism is dozens of flavors and the murder of hundreds of millions of citizens at the hands of their own government as they tried to enact their Leftist utopia.

      The Left is is no way "liberal". There are Classic Liberals, but they are slandered for opposing Big Government and promoting Individualism. The media do not want you to understand the Classic Liberals who are the equivalent of the Rebel Alliance. The small groups of moms and pops who rose up against government cronyism and started the "TEA" Parties around the US to restore the Constitution to legal primacy (and the Constitution was designed to protect citizens from Government - but the Big Government types and their media allies don't want you to think about this).

      Government is not your friend. It never has been, and it never will be. President Obama represents a political ideology that wants to expand Government into every aspect of your life - how come people don't get this. This fascism from Obama is exactly what one would expect from Statist Collectivists (which the Democratic Party unabashedly is, and the Establishment Republicans are moving that way too).

      If you want the Government to:

      1. Leave you alone
      2. Not to take your stuff, and
      3. in return you promise not to be a jerk

      The you citizens need to stand up for Indiviidualism. Now. Time is running out quickly as the Statist Collectivists shred the remaining tatters of your Constitution, while their propagandists in the media spin it as being for you own good.

      If you don't stand for Individual Liberty now, then it will be gone before you know it - and Obama is working his hardest to take a flamethrower to your rights (except for pseudo-rights he gives you, which he can just as easily take away too).

    2. Re:FTEO by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Well said. I used the term "liberal" as it is most commonly used in American politics today. That is, voting democrat and/or supporting democrat goals is considered to be "liberal".

      But you are perfectly right. I have liberal leanings, although I despise the "liberal" party.

      In my own small way, I stand up. Not frequently, but I stand up. I questioned my state representatives about unconstitutional roadblocks in my area. One representative, a guy, couldn't be bothered to reply to my inquiry. The OTHER rep, a lady, made her own inquiries, directly to the police chiefs and the court houses in the area. I haven't seen a roadblock (by whatever name they might choose to use) since then.

      Funny how the cops can come up with new names every six months, to disguise the fact that a road block is a road block. "Sobriety checkpoint". "Safety checkpoint". "Thinking of the children" checkpoint. If they just give it a name that indicates that they are providing a SERVICE, that makes it alright for them to stop and arrest people randomly, for infractions ranging from parole violations, to suspended licenses, to expired tags, to driving while black. It's all a revenue generating scheme, no matter how you look at it.

      The system is broken, but sometimes, it works in spite of itself.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    3. Re:FTEO by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting to hear if this is truly as described.

      I cannot believe anyone can make a law (in the US) that denies the ability of people to donate to the cause of their choice. especially a defense fund.

      then again, if snowden is declared 'an enemy' I guess even assholes like our president can get away with murder. and yes, murder is what he's pretty much shooting for, one way or another, with snowden.

      one thing amuses me and I enjoy it quite a lot: the fact that our executive is so pissed off and annoyed, along with all the other agencies - I rather LIKE THAT! I enjoy seeing them angry and put into a corner where they cannot defend themselves. and so far, they have not defended themselves one bit; we all know who the real traitors and cowards are.

      snowden, you tweaked those in the highest levels of power in the world. for that, I say THANK YOU. I wish I could do more to help you - we all owe you so much.

      obama - you're an asshole, if this story is true. shame on you! pathetic loser of a president who cannot admit that he and his cronies were wrong, wrong, wrong.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    4. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You think Obama's executive orders cross the line. Just wait till those tea-party wackos from the republican side are writing them up! They'll have to create a whole new department just to manage all the US executive assassination squads.

    5. Re:FTEO by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      And the opposite of Leftism must be Rightism? And Rightism is responsible for Fascism and GFC and such shit...
      I'm not sure what is "Individualism" is supposed to be, but having experienced no government, I can assure it is much much worse than you can ever imagine. From reading posts like yours, you lot seem to think "no government" means everyone has a party and lives happily ever after. The reality is though, in that scenario the guys with the most power kills and tortures everyone else. So yeah, the likes of Obama and Bush aren't on my Christmas card list, but I'll gladly pick this way over whatever the hell law of the jungle, winner kills all world you think you want to live in.

    6. Re:FTEO by DamnOregonian · · Score: 0

      Leftism brought you National Socialism

      You started out stupid, and just went to full on fucktard.
      Congratulations, friend. You are officially an idiot.

      You have gotten caught up on the word "Socialism", indeed, a left-wing ideal in the National Socialism name, without any knowledge as to why it is there, and what it meant.
      Since you are, in fact, an ignorant douche-wad, I will educate you. The National Socialist movenent, or nazism for brevity, sought to sell left-wingers on a "new brand" of socialism, one that rejected class struggle, international communism, and equality.

      It was an attempt by very far-right nationalists to usurp the Socialist movement, and it was successful. So successful, in fact, that 85 years later, ignorant hillbillies in America still think that nazis were left-wingers. Some people just can't figure out that a left-leaning or right-leaning revolution has about an equal change of turning into a totalitarian shithole full of mass-murder. Ones that end in stability right away are pretty goddamn rare.

      The first order of business for the "National Socialists" was to essentially outlaw anything resembling socialism, communism, or progressivism in Germany. They were Nationalist Totalitarian Statist Crony Capitalists. Not a far cry from Republicans and Democrats today in the US, minus all the genocide shit.

      I hope the little bit of knowledge I have presented here today has diluted the tea-party diarrhea that fills the void between your ears.

    7. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I love how they subsidize daycare so single Moms can pay a white man(nearly the same amount of money they are taking home at the end of the day) so they can go to work and never see their kids...

      Why doesn't the government just pay the single Mom to stay home and raise her kids?

      Oh, right: this way the government can pay a DIFFERENT white man(or the same one these days...) to babysit that child in a prison cell when they grow up having never interacted with their parents.

      Makes total sense when you have record unemployment:
      -create 10x extra(HS-dropout) resumes so that you can create an extra 15x (eventual)felons 18 years later to enrich your buddies in the prison industrial complex.

      That's "systems thinking" for you: "If it's white, If it's brown, If it's black, etc.". What's the end game? Salary suppression for the working class, broken families, corporate profits.

      If they're so concerned women will pop out kids and/or not get married just to defraud the system why don't they just finance it with gasoline taxes and scholarship opportunities for women who get an IUD the freshmen year of highschool? Most of the ones you're trying to threshold out would rather spend $200 on marijuana than pay a doctor to remove the IUD. Accidental pregnancies are where welfare queens start, not some elaborate scheme to raise their children in low income housing projects.

    8. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Fuck the executive order. This president has pushed the boundaries with his executive orders. He usurps the authority of congress with many of them, including his immigration/amnesty orders.

      The President of the United States has ZERO authority to tell people how they can spend their money.

      This is the same mouthy prick who told stay at home moms that he had no use for them. He doesn't WANT mothers caring for their children, or for their aging parents/grandparents. He wants them in the work force, so that they are paying SOMEONE ELSE to care for those children.

      I kinda voted for Obama, in that I voted against Romney. But, Obama is as big a prick as any president has been. Liberal love him, but that doesn't make him a good president.

      He's just learning from Bill Clinton (364), the Blessed Saint Ronald Reagan (381), Jimmy Carter (321) and George W. Bush Jr. (291) who all made frequent use of executive orders. Having said that none of these presidents were really outrageous in their use of executive orders compared to their contemporaries and none of them can touch true expert users of executive orders like Franklin D. Roosevelt (3522), Woodrow Wilson (1,803) and Theodore Roosevelt (1081). But none of this is really important. The abuse of executive orders is just a symptom of a much deeper and more serious problem in your country. What you should be pissed off over is how the US congress has made it self utterly unable to achieve anything at all through the fanatical adherence of many congress members to puritanical religious/political ideologies that they put before the welfare of the nation. Your country has developed a political culture where politicians define them selves by the ferocity of their complete and utter unwillingness to compromise. As long as the Republicans/Tea Party/Democrats think that democracy is about being against everything the other guys want to do no matter what it may be or how good it may be for the nation and fighting them tooth and nail on even mundane acts of government that attract no controversy in functioning democracies around the world then you will be continually disappointed by ever single person you vote for.

    9. Re:FTEO by Crashmarik · · Score: 0, Troll

      http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/n...

      http://www.thecommentator.com/...

      Right = Individual liberty even when it hurts

      Left = State control of the individual no matter what.

      The Nazis were the epitome of the modern left. Just remember that next time you think about what you can and can't say and which group has more rights than you do.

    10. Re:FTEO by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      I cannot believe anyone can make a law (in the US) that denies the ability of people to donate to the cause of their choice. ....

      Supreme Court upholds ban on 'material support' to foreign terrorist groups

      The First Amendment does not protect humanitarian groups or others who advise foreign terrorist organizations, even if the support is aimed at legal activities or peaceful settlement of disputes, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.

      ---------------

      ... a defense fund.

      I'm not sure that Snowden needs a defense fund at the moment since he is a fugitive from justice. He doesn't seem to be involved in any US logal proceedings at present. Seems like this could be just a slush fund.

      snowden, you tweaked those in the highest levels of power in the world. for that, I say THANK YOU. I wish I could do more to help you - we all owe you so much.

      The funny thing is that al Qaida, China, Russia, and Iran could say the same thing.

      one thing amuses me and I enjoy it quite a lot: the fact that our executive is so pissed off and annoyed, along with all the other agencies - I rather LIKE THAT!

      In short you like to stick it to "The Man" even if it's "The Man" that keeps the suicide bombers out of your gay pride parade or naked protest (a San Francisco thing). I'm not sure that will work out well in the long run.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    11. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An "Executive Order" is any order given by the President that has the words "Executive Order" written at the top.
      If he doesn't feel like being dramatic like that, the President can just call up one of his Cabinet members and say "Hey, do this."

      Same effect, different name. Counting Executive Orders, as if that number means something, is absurd.

    12. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      international communism

      Well, they were nationalist sure...but they had larger ambitions.

      They were indistinguishable from international communists.

      As far as state-managed everything, yes, they were certainly communist. Tracked every little thing, distributed everything most "efficiently" to "areas in need."

      Whether the people "owned" the means of production, no. They certainly were united in a common cause.

      They cared dearly for the "health" of "the people" and Naziism was all about "healthcare" and purging
      "diseases."

      one that rejected class struggle, international communism, and equality.

      No, you are just making up your own words. There certainly was a "class struggle" of Aryans and "true Europeans" versus others.

      There certainly was a drive to extend borders. If one nationalist government is intent on invading the world, that is equivalent in effect and outcome to "international communism" at that point, from the point of view of the conquered. They were certainly all about "dividing up resources" of other nations for the good of the "class struggle."

      Equality, I will give you that one, don't see any of that with Naziism. They were perhaps happy to let other Aryans and True Europeans join and/or they were not targetted for "cleansing" ... they did not think "Germans" or people inside any specific border were "superior" ... it was a race and genetics thing -- they had conspirators around the world, and agitators and friends with other groups who helped the persecution around the world.

      Again, they were international in scope...it was not "clean Germany" it was "clean all of Europe" and perhaps the world.

      They had their own brand of "international communism" and nationalism...that only makes them "not socialist" if you have delusions to think a world government that "voted" for the same thing would end up different. To the conquered, it makes no difference.

      They did not respect existing borders.

      The effect was the same as international communism and international socialism -- everyone under a single banner. The idea they had rights to everyone else's property. Coincidentally, capitalists think the earth belongs to them too.

      Governments marking something "private" or "public" and saying all other uses are off limits, is indistinguishable to the people who can no longer use that land how they like.

      It is kind of funny to see you get so up in arms; if you don't like them using your "Socialist" word why didn't the "Socialists" rise up and stop them?

      I can appreciate the frustration, but they were all about "redistibution" of private property. You may not agree with who it went to or why, but they were 100% "socialists" and did not care for private property of any of their enemies. It became state-owned, and redistributed for more "worthy" causes than Jewry and other "diseases."

      That is well within the "socialism" banner whether you like it or not. Too bad they didn't distribute how you wanted, when you wanted, to who you wanted. They had zero respect for private property of anyone they didn't like. That is "socialism" whether you like it or not.

    13. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, you managed to make a fool of yourself, and you probably don't even understand why. Here's a hint: Communism and Socialism are not interchangeable terms.

      The National Socialists were socialist through and through. They rejected Communism, because Communism was controlled by the USSR, and the National Socialists were supporters of German Nationalism. This shouldn't be a difficult concept, it's right there in the name. This meant that the Communists were rivals for power, even if the basic philosophy of the two groups was similar.

      The policies implemented by the National Socialists included things like a livable minimum wage, laws that prevented workers from being fired without government approval, laws that forced companies to hire workers at government direction, government appointed "observers" on the Boards of companies, very high progressive tax rates, nationalization of industry - sound familiar? Leftist progressive policies for over a century.

      The Nazis were Leftists. You may not like it, but it is true.

    14. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is well within the "socialism" banner whether you like it or not. Too bad they didn't distribute how you wanted, when you wanted, to who you wanted. They had zero respect for private property of anyone they didn't like. That is "socialism" whether you like it or not.

      And they did such redistribution on an international scale.

      If you want to argue "once you start invading other areas, there is no form of government or label that applies" that is fine. Not respecting previously-private property around the world is "international socialism" to many people, whether you like it or not.

      Now, since most land that is "private property" nowadays is essentially "the government has decided how this land may and may not be used" it looks pretty blurry.

      If the government reclaims a national public park and puts up for-profit private apartment buildings instead...that looks an awful lot like "socialism" and "government redistribution" to everyone outside of labels.

      Hence, I don't agree with "socialism means government-led (involuntary for everyone else) redistribution of private property" because it makes little difference to the persons displaced who is doing it, if they have no choice or recourse.

      However, that definition of "socialism" exists, whether you like it or not. Yes, the Nazis were all about "socialism" you just don't think they redistributed in a fair manner. Fair enough.

      I have deliberately avoided "left" and "right" because those words are meaningless to me.

      You are 100% correct: zero government (power vacuum) will become totalitarian in a flash, since there is zero organized resistance likely to prevent such a thing.

    15. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like it or not, once a governments steps in and starts redistributing previously-private possessions and land and businesses...that is "socialism" to many people.

      Regardless of all else. It sucks if the word means something "more" to you, but I don't think you will change anyone's mind on this, unless you start "cleaning"

    16. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the U.S. is full of communism and socialism, top to bottom, every area of life.

      We outlaw all forms of competition. We despise free markets at every turn. We give no assistance without strings attached (free market means you can spend things how you like).

      Even things like unemployment, we require people look for full or part time work, in the same field. We standardize on 40 hours / week as "full time" for everything. This is written into law in many spots. We don't care about "markets" at all.

      We are all about "freedom through work"

      If that is not communism, the government forcing (a million incentives is indistinguishable, again, to the conquered) everyone to work the same number of hours a week, what is?

      We just do socialism and communism only in favor of for-profit "private" corporations who are propped up over and over with public (taxpayer) money and exemptions and bailouts...again, to anyone footing the bill, it makes little difference what labels the "redistribution" is justified under.

      "capitalism" and "free markets" with a million "incentives" and "tax breaks" and exemptions and subsidies and bailouts...it is indistinguishable from communism and socialism and redistribution by the government...it just happens to be communism for (many times global) "private" corporations, that's all.

      We pretty much force everyone to subsidize for-profit players so our pretty graphs look good and the stock goes up. That is the U.S.

      We have centralized and State-run everything, from education to currency to religion.

      Even the "right wingers" who rant about Jeebus are tax-exempt (merging of "God" and "the State" is godless communism 101). They don't notice the irony, they just want the $$$.

      No, the U.S. is 100% communist and socialist...it is just for "the corporations" and not "the people" ... it is a private club, and you are not invited.

      U.S. government figures rant all the time about "how many jobs they created" and they pull various levers when they need X people entering Y field for projected $Z / hour.

      It is all State-run markets. They hate free markets. Crony capitalism is fitting, yes. But again, to the vanquished, "communism" and "socialism" are indistinguishable.

      In the U.S. we outlaw all private business that is not government-sponsored...it is the same effect.

      Once you have a government of any stripes managing everything, for whatever supposed reasons or ideals...they all start to look the same at that point, there is no line they won't cross.

    17. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, and if you are ignorant to the history of the term "Leftist" do some fucking homework instead of asking dumbass questions.

    18. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it is accurate to say...the U.S. will pretend to be any old -ism just as long as they get paid.

      That is perhaps the most accurate way to describe the U.S.

      They are happy to allow you communism and socialism, at home or abroad...just as long as they get a cut and profit off of the transactions. That's all.

      That is the most accurate...people in the U.S. will embrace anything...just make sure they make money on the deal, that's all. Nothing else matters.

      If you think the U.S. has any ideals at all that it clings to, you don't understand the U.S.

      We are marketing masters and all about deception. What we actually do, does not matter.

      What matters is, you buy it, and we make the "sale."

      What matters is, you think our currency has value.

      What matters is, you think you are free, because we constantly tell you how horrible the rest of the world is.

      Don't assume the U.S. follows any laws or ideologies at all except making a quick buck, everything makes much more sense, you will have so much less stress wondering WTF is going on.

      We are hard-core capitalists...in the sense we will embrace ANYTHING if it makes us money in the short term. In that sense, we care not for capitalism at all...we are just after the $$$.

      I hope this avoids any future confusion about the U.S.

      No, we don't care about labels at all. We like $$$. Do you like $$$ too?

      You are a friend of "America" now.

      Come along now friends and fellow "business" people, let us plot and scheme how we can get the gullible taxpayer to fund our next for-profit "private" escapades!

    19. Re:FTEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They can make a law in question. Whether it's enforceable is up for question- I used to think that it couldn't stand Supreme Court scrutiny before all the recent outside THEIR authority decisions on things like PPACA and the like.

      What's not up for question- this isn't legal, it isn't a law, and it's yet another impeachable offense on Barry's pile. But...we're functioning in an effectively lawless manner. But the laws? They're for us, not for "them".

    20. Re:FTEO by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      It's not for you to define the boundaries of Executive Orders. That's the jurisdiction of the legal system. If the Executive Order were not legal, it would not exist.

      You cite no evidence to the contrary.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    21. Re:FTEO by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Of the people, for the people, and by the people.

      Yes, it is for me to determine what is proper in government. Did you not have any high school civics classes, or even social studies? The people are the ultimate authority in this nation. Not only has government forgotten that, but the people have forgotten as well.

      Everything that the government does is my business, how it does it, when it does it, and why it does it. That is precisely why so many of us are pissed off at NSA spying on the people. We, the people, have every right to spy on the NSA, the NSA has no right, no authority, no permission to spy on we the people.

      Not one person, branch, agency, or officer of the United States government is superior to we, the people.

      And, I say again - FUCK the executive order. The dumb fucker just makes me want to contribute to Snowden. No arrogant cocksucker in this world can dictate when, where, or how I spend my money.

      Citing evidence? ROFLMAO - you offer no citations to demonstrate that no illegal EO can possibly exist. What a nutcase.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    22. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1

      Actually, the well-off already do massive good for others. The concept is called "charity". The great thing about charity is it is VOLUNTARY, in contrast to the INVOLUNTARY forced wealth confiscation called "socialism". And because charity is voluntary it is moral. Because socialism is involuntary it is immoral. It's the same difference between romance and rape, one is voluntary and one is not.

      Furthermore, charity is also 250% more effective per dollar than socialism. This is because you don't get 60% of the aid going to inefficient bureaucracy, and thus bloating up the Government that will then regulate your life to death.

      Of course you don't know this. The Government and media won't tell you these concepts, or that the Individualist on the political Right give *much* more in charity that the self-styled "socialists" on the Left (who give very little, and want the Government to take stuff through threat of force; which is immoral).

      Words change. "Christian", for example, used to refer to people who were tolerant and put the needs of others before their own.

      They only change when you listen to the Statist Collectivist propaganda coming from the neo-Marxist Left. "Christian" simply means follower of Christ. They have not changed. What has changed is your masters have now decided unilaterally that they need to destroy the ancient tradition of marriage and the family as the building block of society. This has been a project the Left (eg. the Cultural Marxists of the Frankfurt School with people like Antonio Gramsci) has been working on for a century.

      "Liberal" used to mean tolerant. Now we see the self-styled liberals running around destroying anyone who does not slavishly follow the zig-zags of the ideological decisions. Even worse, the illiberal, totalitarians of the Left spew out propaganda at a rate that otherwise intelligent individuals (that would be you) buy into their Matrix and enforce it. They have trained you to hate any idea that doesn't match their own. They use Orwellian methods, so their "liberal" methods are completely illiberal and they advance Big State totalitarian intolerance in the name of "tolerance".

      You will have to choose. Do you support the Big State making all decisions for you and smashing all Diversity of Opinion, or will you stand for Individual Liberty and choice?

      At the moment you are advancing the Cultural Marxist meme that the Left cares about individuals (it doesn't, which is why it savages anyone who disagrees with it, as well as murdering one hundred million of its OWN citizens in the last century) and the Right does not care (which is total bs, it is just called "charity" rather than coercive and immoral socialism).

    23. Re:FTEO by HiThere · · Score: 1

      Individualism is a theory that only works when there is an open frontier where those who are oppressed by the system can escape. It's not all that great, either, and gives rise to essentially uncontrolled scams. It also tends to yield to warlords. (See California during the Bear Republic. Mind you, most systems allow some groups to scam.) Kit Carson, the noted traitor, cannibal, and indian scout is a individualist hero.

      Communalism which is people giving their loyalty to their immediate community, is what many people think of when they praise individualism (but not when they act on it). Again Communalism tends to depend on a strong leader, but often that leader is expected to ensure that everyone accepted as a member of the community is supported. It also tends to maintain itself by "outcasting" persons judged not suitable for membership in the community. In isolated groups this outcasting can be quite violent, and can result in death. This binds the group more tightly together.

      Nationalism is an distant descendant of Communalism, and tends to be formed by communities amalgamating into groups too large for everyone to know everyone else. It's commonly seen around us in a developed form, but the essential ingredient is respect for written laws. I'm not sure what to expect when the central authority of the nation evinces distaste and disrespect for the law, but it can't be good. The most likely result is the reorganization around some different authority. I don't think I've ever seen this happen in a nation before, but it has much similarity to the way the Nazis took over Germany. Everything was done following legal forms, though only the forms. Much the same seems to be happening now in the US. Germany didn't last long enough to determine what it would have evolved into, but I don't think it would have been pleasant. The US seems to be much more likely to survive, as in not be conquered, but only be subverted from within, and it's even possible that the persons doing so believe that they are protecting the country. Barely possible, but possible.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    24. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1

      Fascism is a form of socialism. It advances the Big State and decreases Individual Liberty. It is a Leftists ideology. Technically, it is the far Left of the Government-Power verses Individual Liberty Spectrum.

      National SOCIALISM is a form of socialiism. It is also Far Left. yes, you've heard it repeated endlessly that the Nazis were somehow "right wing". This is completely false and comes from the Communists of the Extreme Left. From their perspective everyone is to the Right of them.

      Since the media and many academics are also Extreme Left or Far Left they repeat the falsehood that National Socialism is somehow not socialism and somehow on the Right. This disinformation has been wildly successful and has allowed fascism to re-emerge around the World with the increase in Statist Collectivism which suppresses individual liberty and empowers the State over its citizens.

      If you want to understand the actual political spectrum that shows State Power verses Individual Liberty (an increase on one necessarily detracts from the other) then please study the following diagram:
      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TI8b...> From
      http://chowanriver.blogspot.co...

      In order for the Collectivists to "win", it means Individuals must lose. This Slashdot article is a perfect example of this, and you can see it everywhere if you look. But the Left will never tell your their secret, that they are not liberal at all, they just use the word as camouflage for their actual agenda - increasing the power of the State over every aspect of your life ("for your own good"). This is evil and deceptive.

    25. Re:FTEO by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      You can SAY "Fuck the Executive Order," all day and yet it exists.

      You STILL don't get to define the boundaries, do you?

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    26. Re:FTEO by HiThere · · Score: 1

      Excuse me, but what evidence do you have that
      """it's "The Man" that keeps the suicide bombers out of your gay pride parade or naked protest """
      It's barely possible that there have been averted incidents, but the reports I've seen generally are along the lines of "some low level operative attempted to report this threat in process, but was ignored". Now I can understand ignoring the actual signal because they are swamped with noise from irrelevant reports, but to me that suggests that they need a much better level of filters on what they receive more than that they need to snoop even more.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    27. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1

      Man, your indoctrination is really complete, isn't it. And your use of slanders of insults betrays the fact you are unable of critical thinking or reasoned debate. So sad that you choose to deny reality, and you help to advance the fascist agenda of the Statist Collectivists who necessarily must crush individual liberty.

      Please study the following diagram:
      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TI8b...

      In economics terms a Fascist system is one where: The Means of Production remains in private hands, but the Fruits of Production are controlled by the State.
      This is exactly the system that the Democratic Party of the USA is trying to implement. They chose Barack Obama to help advance this agenda (which he agrees with, if you listen carefully) because of his skin color. This US is so racist it judges people by their skin color, and Barack Obama is immune from criticisms that a white President would have been impeached for. The Left knows this and used it against the population of the US that it seeks to subjugate and control ("for their own good") as it takes a flamethrower to citizen protections in the Constitution.

      Do you not understand that Far Left Fascism and Extreme Left Communism were rivals in World War II? It is only disinformation from the communists against their rivals (starting in the schism of the Left in the Spanish Civil War) that calls the Far Left National Socialists "right wing" (which everyone is from the perspective of the Communists of the Extreme Left).

      Do you not understand that by repeating the propaganda you are HELPING the fascists come to power? can you not spot Statist Collectivists (Communists and Fascists) unless they were snazzy Hugo Boss uniforms or call each other "comrade" in front of you?

      Smarten up, amigo. Any time the State gets more power it means that citizens MUST necessarily lose some Individual Liberty. This entire article is another perfect demonstration of Barack Obama advancing the fascist anti-citizen agenda of the Far Left, and he has done many such measures.

      yes, the "Establishment" Republicans are also Statist Collectivists but are less to the Left. That is why the TEA Party opposes them (because the TEA Party stands for Individual Citizens against the Big State, no matter what they call themselves).

    28. Re:FTEO by HiThere · · Score: 1

      I think you understand the process. Every party out of power decries the actions of the party in power. Every party in power accepts the power accrued by the prior regime and adds extensions of its own. Sometimes they don't actually implement their own extensions, but just leave it as an additonal tool for their successors.

      Or did you mean to imply that the sucessors to the current government will be crazier? While that's possible, I suspect that they will just extend their powers in a slightly different direction (while continuing to keep all the extensions of power claimed by the current regime).

      As for "a whole new department just to manage all the US executive assassination squads", I'm not sure that isn't already in existence. What else would you call the group that runs targeted drone assassinations. (Though, of course, there's still some "on the ground" work done by human agents where it's undesireable to use drones. I think the group that does that is called the CIA.) But you could have been implying that those two groups would be combined under a post analogous to the department of defense. I think the current bureaucracy would object.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    29. Re:FTEO by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      I don't get your point. I can say "Fuck you" to you as well, and you continue to exist. You know, and I know, that I am expressing my contempt for your opinion, right? You don't die because I've expressed my opinion.

      Likewise, I am saying, "Fuck the executive order". Given an opportunity to defy the order, I will do so. Given the opportunity to express my contempt for the author of the order to his face, I would do so. The bastard is trivializing the office he holds, by giving trivial orders, aimed at hurting his foes, both real and imagined.

      And, once again, I'll state the obvious. An American citizen may spend his money as he sees fit. If I wish to send six month's wages to Snowden, to aid in his legal defense, than I will do so. I might even send the president an email telling him of the fact, after the fact.

      Obama can blow this order out his ass. It is just so much hot air anyway.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    30. Re:FTEO by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      My assertion is that you don't get to establish the boundaries of Executive Orders.

      That stands.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    31. Re:FTEO by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      No, your assertion does not stand. The PEOPLE establish the boundaries of EO's. And, I, one of the PEOPLE assert that Obama is usurping the authority of congress with his EO's. Congress represents the will of the people. The executive branch's duty is to carry out the will of the people.

      WTF did we revolt against a king, if we are just going to allow a president to set himself up as king?

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    32. Re:FTEO by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      OK, enough of this.

      You don't set the boundaries of Executive Orders. We The People have already done that.

      There are a lot of things you don't get to change.

      That's fortunate, because I have not chosen you to represent me.

      Thanks for playing.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    33. Re:FTEO by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Your persistence is noted - along with your ignorance. We the people did set those boundaries, and as I stated, Obama is pushing the limits. It is time for congress to find it's collective balls, and defund the president's actions, among other things. This administration is using my tax money, as well as yours, to entice illegal aliens to invade this nation. And, this president is attempting to tell you and me who we can give our money to. He is wrong, wrong, wrong. And, as evidenced by the article under discussion, a lot of Americans are telling Obama to go fuck himself.

      I am a free man. I will send my money where I wish, and anyone who attempts to prevent me doing so can go fuck themselves.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    34. Re:FTEO by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      If "tha man" could keep those bombers out of various events, we could talk. But time and again what we learn is that the main reason why there's no suicide bombers blowing up a gay pride parade is that they don't even try it. Because when they do, they usually also succeed and we only get to find them after they blew up whatever they wanted to.

      And, frankly, to find suicide bombers AFTER the fact, we don't need to give up our liberties. Finding him afterwards is less a job for a bomb sniffing dog. More one for a corpse sniffing one.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    35. Re:FTEO by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      If you want to understand the actual political spectrum that shows State Power verses Individual Liberty (an increase on one necessarily detracts from the other) then please study the following diagram:

      You're an idiot. I suggest you go hang out Afghanistan or Somalia for a bit and see how individualism works out for you.

    36. Re:FTEO by DamnOregonian · · Score: 1

      Man, your indoctrination is really complete, isn't it. And your use of slanders of insults betrays the fact you are unable of critical thinking or reasoned debate. So sad that you choose to deny reality, and you help to advance the fascist agenda of the Statist Collectivists who necessarily must crush individual liberty.

      I find that to be a fascinating accusation coming from someone who posts a diagram presenting a political spread with terminology supported by only a tiny fraction of people, existing primarily only in the United States, who are regarded by almost all other groups of people to be insane.

      Please study the following diagram: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TI8b... [blogspot.com]

      I'll raise you a bullshit blogspot opinion diagram with a bullshit wordpress opinion diagram.
      https://sepetjian.files.wordpr...
      or another:
      http://fee.org/files/imglib/20...
      Hell, let's just go with some reading material.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...
      In particular:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...
      The citations are numerous, you may go through them- though many are books used in classical political science courses.

      In economics terms a Fascist system is one where: The Means of Production remains in private hands, but the Fruits of Production are controlled by the State.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...
      More reading for you.
      In a fascist system, everything is controlled by the dictator, for the will of the dictator. Those who play ball are allowed limited autonomy. Simply because the dictator is effectively "the State" does not mean that the economics in play are left-wing, particularly because the State in no way represents the people anymore in an autocratic dictatorship. Fascism is not left-wing economics. It's pre-Magna Carta England economics: Do what I say, or I'll fucking kill you. Hail to the King, baby.

      This is exactly the system that the Democratic Party of the USA is trying to implement. They chose Barack Obama to help advance this agenda (which he agrees with, if you listen carefully) because of his skin color. This US is so racist it judges people by their skin color, and Barack Obama is immune from criticisms that a white President would have been impeached for. The Left knows this and used it against the population of the US that it seeks to subjugate and control ("for their own good") as it takes a flamethrower to citizen protections in the Constitution.

      This is a massive pile of horse shit that you can't begin to back up. While I think most people wouldn't disagree that Democrats are certainly Statists, they're in no way unaligned with the Republicans on this point. It's one of the few things they agree on. The primary disagreement is on protection of the people rendered powerless by both parties, and protections of the Corporations from attack by the people. The social issues are purely red herrings to distract the weak minded.

      Do you not understand that Far Left Fascism and Extreme Left Communism were rivals in World War II? It is only disinformation from the communists against their rivals (starting in the schism of the Left in the Spanish Civil War) that calls the Far Left National Socialists "right wing" (which everyone is from the perspective of the Communists of the Extreme Left).

      Again, Nazi Germany was far-right. Nazism is far-right. Fascism in general evolved to be far-right everywhere it was instituted. No matter how much you seem to want far-right to be

    37. Re:FTEO by DamnOregonian · · Score: 1

      The policies implemented by the National Socialists included things like a livable minimum wage, laws that prevented workers from being fired without government approval

      And laws that prevented employees from quitting their jobs, or forming a Union, or exercising the rights the Unions that still existed had.

      government appointed "observers" on the Boards of companies, very high progressive tax rates, nationalization of industry

      These are all things done in most autocratic dictatorship regimes. Turns out absolute leaders like absolute power.

      Leftist progressive policies for over a century

      Policies instituted by many left-wing revolutions- definitely. Balanced and blueprinted by 2000 years of right-ring rule. They didn't invent state control, and it's entirely orthogonal to their goals.

      The Nazis were Leftists. You may not like it, but it is true.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...
      The nazis were right-wingers who used some left-wing thought to win some elections and institute a totalitarian regime. Everything after that point was simple slavery of the people, which has existed in both far-right and far-left governments, and been missing from both as well.
      You may not like it, but a lot more people agree with me than agree with you.

    38. Re:FTEO by DamnOregonian · · Score: 1

      How does one respond to incorrect information? I don't know what to tell you, your political spectrum is incorrect as accepted internationally in political science discourse.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...
      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TI8b...
      That is much close to the political science norm in the definitions of both.
      But I thank you for your attempt at reclassifying your fascist tendencies as something belonging to "the other side" instead of something you share willingly with them.

    39. Re:FTEO by DamnOregonian · · Score: 1

      Sounds like the argument for literally now meaning literally... or not literally.
      Forced redistribution isn't usually an aspect of Socialism. Policies that encourage natural redistribution in an equitable fashion is an aspect of Socialism. The fact that Fox News and Glenn Beck have redefined the word doesn't matter to me. They're more than allowed to continue being wrong.

      Forced redistribution has been a facet of Communist regimes, and Monarchies, left-wing and right. Even democracies from time to time. It's usually a product of totalitarianism, rather than economic theory or policy. It all depends what you're redistributing to. If you're moving toward equity of the people, you're likely a Communist. If you're padding your own pockets, or further empowering the state machinery that you are directly in control of, you're likely a dictator who believes nothing in Socialism.
      The U.S. doesn't engage in redistribution of wealth toward the proletariat any more than it engages in redistribution of wealth from the proletariat into the Military Industrial Complex, which can very easily be shown to really only benefit the bourgeois.
      When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die.

    40. Re:FTEO by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      Well if you are going to go around correcting people you might as well get your facts straight first

      http://mises.org/library/origi...

      You might even try reading the sources you are linking to

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

      Or at least try looking at the pictures

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

      Here's bonus points for you, In your own words what is the effective difference between Communism and Nazism ?

      When you are done stuttering and trying to come up with something you might want to think about apologizing to all the people you have without doubt been a douchebag to.

    41. Re:FTEO by DamnOregonian · · Score: 1

      Well if you are going to go around correcting people you might as well get your facts straight first http://mises.org/library/origi... [mises.org]

      Wait, a columnist employed by a neoconservative think-tank is a source of facts? Excellent.
      Unfortunately, he falls prey to also misusing the word Socialism.

      You might even try reading the sources you are linking to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P... [wikipedia.org]

      Good idea. FTS:

      "Most long-standing spectra include a right wing and left wing, which originally referred to seating arrangements in the French parliament after the Revolution (1789–99).[1] According to the simplest left–right axis, communism and socialism are usually regarded internationally as being on the left, opposite fascism and conservatism on the right. "

      Were the Nazis Socialists, or were they Fascists? Boko Haram fancies themselves Freedom Fighters, yet I'm not sure I'd call an Islamist Theocracy free.

      Or at least try looking at the pictures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F... [wikipedia.org]

      Ah, yes. I can see how one could try to spin that as authoritative without giving the context in which the picture is placed. Here, I'll go ahead and do that for the audience.

      "One alternative spectrum offered by the conservative American Federalist Journal[29] accounts for only the "Degree of Government Control" without consideration for any other social or political variable, and thus places "Fascism" (totalitarianism) at one extreme and "Anarchy" (no government at all) at the other extreme."

      That's quite the claim of authority, right there.

      Here's bonus points for you, In your own words what is the effective difference between Communism and Nazism ?

      Simple. Nazism isn't Communism. Nazism is totalitarian state-controlled capitalism. It makes no attempt at moving toward social ownership of the means of production, unless one wants to twist the Leninist interpretation of Marxism to include Dictator-owned as social ownership. It doesn't make any attempt at eliminating class struggle between bourgeois and proletariat. In fact, there was literally nothing about Nazism that was Socialist. Sure, there were plenty of aspects of the Welfare State within the political ideology, but those existed before hand, and are not aspects of the definition of Socialism.

      When you are done stuttering and trying to come up with something you might want to think about apologizing to all the people you have without doubt been a douchebag to.

      Hardly. You're still a tool.

    42. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1

      You're the idiot. You have conflated Anarchy (the Extreme Right) with Individualism (which is the continuum of the political Right spectrum). I gave you link, which you clearly did not follow. So you are basing your strawman argument on your ignorant assumptions, rather than the data I supplied. This is an epic fail on your part. No wonder you zombies are so easy for sociopaths to manipulate.

    43. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1

      I find that to be a fascinating accusation coming from someone who posts a diagram presenting a political spread with terminology supported by only a tiny fraction of people, existing primarily only in the United States, who are regarded by almost all other groups of people to be insane.

      Actually, this idea is acknowledged by all NON-LEFTIST political scientists across the globe. Just because you do not understand this, does not make you Leftist interpretation so. But let is get this straight. You disagree with a diagram that asserts that as Government Power grows bigger that Inidividual Liberty must necessarily be reduced, right? you think the diagram is counter-factual merely because people you have been indoctrinated to hate happen to consider this view of the world to be significant? is this an accurate assessment? you think that as Government Power becomes more and more absolute that Individual Liberty can somehow be preserved? ROFL !!! I suggest you get yourself a clue and read "Disinformation" by Lt Gen Ion Mihai Pacepa. You know when you watch The Matrix and you can never understand how people are so blind they cannot see the tricks that the control freak sociopaths are pulling over the eyes of the people? and cannot understand how some people actually defend the very system of control that enslaves them? well, that's you ya big muppet, You are just not smart enough to understand it yet. Some poeple are so dumb they never do. It is absolutely hilarious you think the Government gives a flying fsck about you, and you work to make the Government Bigger and Bigger.

      While I think most people wouldn't disagree that Democrats are certainly Statists, they're in no way unaligned with the Republicans on this point.

      Thank you for re-iterating my earlier point. Both the Democrats and **Establishment** Republicans are Statists (although of differing degrees, with the Democrats being worse). The only people who want to increase Individual Liberty, which necessitates reducing State Power, are the Tea Party branch of the Republicans - and this follows the designed intent of the Founding Fathers of the USA (which is why the Tea Party look like such dorks in their Tricorn hats and ancient duds - because they are the only ones who grok what the USA was meant to be).

      Again, Nazi Germany was far-right. Nazism is far-right. Fascism in general evolved to be far-right everywhere it was instituted. No matter how much you seem to want far-right to be limited to your definition of "free market", it's not.

      "Nazi" is a shortened version of the German Nationalist SOCIALIST Workers Party. If you ever care to read the policies of the Nazis you will see things like the minimum wage etc. Here are their SOCIALIST policies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N... Do you think fasicsts win elections by saying "We're gonna wage war on the entire World, and put all of ou political opponents in death camps?". NO! They start with a socialist agenda. And when socialism starts failing (as it must, because it cannot succeed as it fails to understand the greatest principle of economics: Wealth is Created). The Nazis were socialists. The Italian fascists were socialists. Their policies are all socialist and are echoed today around the West.

      Funny- I haven't seen many "tea party" advocates arguing for freedom from state-imposed Christianity (Ya, you can be a not-Christian, you had just better accept that our State is Christian, and you're living in a Christian State),

      Are you really that stupid. The reason the Tea Party doesn't protest against "State-imposed Christianity" is because there is no State-imposed Christianity you muppet. Which US law mandates citizens practice Christianity? name it. You are making bs up. The First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a state religion. Bec

    44. Re:FTEO by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      Nazism is totalitarian state-controlled capitalism

      Communism is totalitarian state-controlled capitalism

      The difference exists only in your mind.

      As to

      Social ownership of the means of production

      Own a mutual fund ? 401k ?

      Totalitarian regimes are totalitarian regimes, you just think your shit doesn't stink.

    45. Re:FTEO by DamnOregonian · · Score: 1

      Communism is totalitarian state-controlled capitalism

      Not really. You've just demonstrated that you don't really understand what that big Socialist spectre that was fed into your throat by McCarthy really is. Though I'm guessing we agree that Leninism, Stalinism, and Maoism certainly progressed in that direction. I'm not trying to fall prey to No True Scotsman, but it is a fact that totalitarian state control of the economy/state ownership is *not* a prerequisite of Socialism or Communism.

      Own a mutual fund ? 401k ?

      Sure do. I wouldn't quite call my 401k equitable ownership of the company that profits from my labor. I'd estimate my compensation is somewhere around 1/10th of the actual value I create, and my 401k gets me somewhere close to 1/10000000th ownership I'd otherwise deserve in an equitable Socialist economy.

      Totalitarian regimes are totalitarian regimes, you just think your shit doesn't stink.

      We agree entirely! I think you've made my point. Totalitarian regimes are totalitarian regimes, whether they're right-wing Fascist nationalists, or left-wing Communists. Totalitarianism is orthogonal to economic theory. Revolutionaries have a tendency to be totalitarian shitbags, however, so there we are. But I can't remember the last time someone called Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, or Belgium totalitarian regimes.

    46. Re:FTEO by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      but it is a fact that totalitarian state control of the economy/state ownership is *not* a prerequisite of Socialism or Communism.

      I don't live in abstract land where all property can be owned and controlled by the community without the ownership and control being vested directly in a totalitarian state.

      . I'd estimate my compensation is somewhere around 1/10th of the actual value I create, and my 401k gets me somewhere close to 1/10000000th ownership I'd otherwise deserve in an equitable Socialist economy.

      Really ?

      Well from the capitalist perspective lets say you're correct in your self valuation. It should be no trouble for you to go out on your own and capture a much larger percentage of the value you create. If you can't do that your estimate may be off.

      Now from the equitable socialist perspective. "From each according to their means to each according to their needs" You need to be helping every screwed up failure of a business/individual you had nothing to do with and you should be thankful you get what you do.

    47. Re:FTEO by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      National SOCIALISM is a form of socialiism.

      Nobody but an idiot has any trust in anything the Nazis said. Given the Nazi move to cozy up to the big capitalists and screw the workers, nobody but an idiot would call them socialist.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    48. Re:FTEO by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      You seem to want to live in a world where you get to redefine words to support your ignorant prejudices, not the real world. Communism has been successfully practiced, without totalitarianism, in groups of a couple thousand people at most, for maybe a generation, given a charismatic leader to kick it off. It's not a big success story, but it has happened in the real world.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    49. Re:FTEO by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The people, through their elected representatives, have established the boundaries of executive orders. Obama's order cites the laws that Congress made that allow him to issue the order, and if it exceeded those boundaries I'd expect to see detailed reports of that here. You are of course free to assert what you want, but it does appear that Obama is using authority duly given him by the law, created by Congress, elected by the people.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    50. Re:FTEO by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      Why didn't you provide examples ?

      Would that be because the only ones that have had even a moderate measure of success were religious communes ?

    51. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1

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

      The Nazi policies were all SOCIALIST policies. You are a denier, because you don't want to admit the truth.

      The Communist policies were also another variant of socialism.

      The various flavors of socialism killed 100 Million of THEIR OWN citizens in the 20th Century. This is the second-most dangerous ideology on the planet behind Islam. However Islam has slaughtered its 270 million innocent victims in 1400 years of continuous jihad against the hated kaffir (non-Muslims). Socialism did their killing in less than a century, which gives socialists the crown for mass-murder per-unit-time.

      Every self-styled socialist has to deny what socialism is and the terrible crimes it INEVITABLY commits once the State increases its power so that the Individual has no way to resist the socialist sociopaths.

      As a denier of socialism's crimes, you are part of the problem, David. Individuals matter, not the Collective.

    52. Re:FTEO by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      You believe something Adolph Hitler said? You think that 1920 Nazi propaganda had something to do with what they actually did? (In fairness, their wholesale adoption of capitalism and courting of industrialists came somewhat later.)

      Read up on some of the things the Nazis did when they came to power. I can only hope that will shake your faith that all totalitarianism was socialist.

      Now, Communism is a variation on Socialism. Marx liked to call other forms Utopian Socialism (an ideal that would not work in a world populated with humans) and his form Scientific Socialism (an ideal that would not work in a world populated with humans). Given the various Communist regimes, I'd think you'd find plenty of crimes there.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    53. Re:FTEO by zapadnik · · Score: 1

      You believe something Adolph Hitler said?

      LOL. You are saying that the founder of Nationalist Socialism did not know what he was talking about, and you know better than he does. I've heard some silly things on the Internet, but this really takes the cake. So are so indoctrinated by socialism that you simply must deny the reality: National Socialism IS a form of socialism.

      You think that 1920 Nazi propaganda had something to do with what they actually did? (In fairness, their wholesale adoption of capitalism and courting of industrialists came somewhat later.)

      Ah, you see to think that the only kind of socialism is Communism (eg. Soviet Socialism). This is completely untrue. While a Communist economic system is defined as "The Means of Production are controlled by the State, while the Fruits of Production are also controlled by the State", a Fascist/National Socialist economic system is defined as "The Means of Production are in Private Hands while the Fruits of Production are controlled by the State". This is the same system that the Democrats which to impose on America - where companies create wealth but the political class controls what is done with the wealth (eg. how it is distributed).

      Read up on some of the things the Nazis did when they came to power. I can only hope that will shake your faith that all totalitarianism was socialist.

      I never said that. Please stop inventing false strawmen. While it is true there are other forms of totalitarianism that are not socialist (eg. Islam is totalitarian, but not socialist in the Western sense), it is true that all socialist systems tend toward totalitarianism over time (even Sweden is trending that way - dissent and diversity of opinion is crushed by their political class and media).

      Now, Communism is a variation on Socialism. Marx liked to call other forms Utopian Socialism (an ideal that would not work in a world populated with humans) and his form Scientific Socialism (an ideal that would not work in a world populated with humans). Given the various Communist regimes, I'd think you'd find plenty of crimes there.

      Communism is merely the political Extreme Left - the State has all the power and the Individual has none. National Socialism and fill-blown Socialism are Far Left - the Collectivist State has nearly all the power and individuals have little. In contrast, the political Right is defined as the State having decreasing power and the individual gaining more and more - you pass through the Mid Right Conservatism/Classic Liberalism (a great deal of Individual Liberty and Limit Government), to far Right Libertarianism (more Individual Liberty and very minimal Government), and then to the Extreme Right of Anarchy (Individuals have all the power and the Government has none).

      The following political spectrum shows the continuum between State Power and Individual Liberty (one grows at the expense of the other; the political Left favors the State and the Collective, while the political Right eschews the State in favor of the Individual):
      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TI8b... From:
      http://chowanriver.blogspot.co...

      The various flavors of Socialism (eg. National Socialism, Soviet Socialism, Chinese Socialism, East German Socialism, Cuban Socialism, Vietnamese Socialism, etc etc) collectively slaughtered 100 million of their own citizens last century, and started nearly all the major conflicts.

      The fundamental problems with socialism are two-fold:

      1. 1. It is involuntary in almost all cases. Involuntary wealth-confiscation is immoral Contrast with "charity" (which the political Right champions) which is
  30. This is what was said... the rest is assumption by meglon · · Score: 0

    https://medium.com/@PresidentO...

    The text, because this "news" article couldn't seem to post a link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the...

    There's people even on the reddit thread pointing out that the person mentioning Snowden has no basis for the assumption. As with all things, follow the money; in a couple days if that link to "Snowden" donations turns out to be some fat fuck padding his own bank account by preying off mental midgets, i will not be surprised in the least.

    From what the EO actually looks like, i'd suggest the only ones who are going to be hating it are the hackers and thieves stealing personal data.... oh, and the numbnuts who have such a kneejerk reaction of hating anything Obama does so much that if he came out in favor of breathing, they'd all hold their breaths till dead.

    Remember what they say about assuming. The title of the article should be something along the lines of: "Potential con-man fleecing more anti-Obama idiots by scaring them again."

    --
    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  31. Fascist by zapadnik · · Score: 0

    Is there no aspect of your life this President thinks he cannot control? Talk about overbearing!

  32. But but... I love Shawarma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There was a huge scandal here last decade where a popular family run chain of shish-kebab restaurants were found out to be supporting terrorists and I had supported them with my patronage for years because they had the best pita and raw ju... hold on there's someone knocking at the door and a bunch of black SUVs parked outside.

  33. Bad Press by gewalker · · Score: 1

    Once again proving the adage that there is no such thing as bad press. Memories Pizza being a recent example too. There is even a fancy name for it, Succès de scandale -- the Wiki article has additional examples.

    Of course this adage is really a case of selective memory. There is plenty of examples of bad press harming the subject. Plenty of businesses, and people are harmed by bad press. When I was young, the Tylenol scare occurred because some sicko poisoned some bottles of Tylenol. Had Johnson and Johnson done anything wrong, not at all. But they had to spend a ton of cash recovering from the bad press, including changing their bottling to include anti-tampering, having product pulled from the shelf, etc.

    So what is the difference in stories like these? If enough people see the bad press as over the top or simply unfair, the bad press magically transforms in just press and the net outcome is positive for the P/R victim.

    1. Re:Bad Press by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 1

      Snowden should claim that Obama's executive order was motivated by his refusal to deliver NSA secrets to gay weddings.

  34. Typo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That should read, "evading US injustice."

  35. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by radarskiy · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Executive Order cites the laws that are claimed to authorize the order in the first paragraph, to wit "including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code".

  36. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by rossz · · Score: 2

    He can cite them all he wants. They don't apply. There is no emergency. Fuck Obama.

    --
    -- Will program for bandwidth
  37. How do I know if I'm breaking the law? by Cacadril · · Score: 4, Insightful
    To find out if this order applies to what you intend to do, you probably need to study the conditions specified in the order. Donations...

    "...to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to section 1 of this order..."

    are being prohibited. Now, how do I know whether Snowden is such a person whose property is blocked pursuant to said order? Is there a registry over such persons?

    --
    There is no substitute for common sense. Especially, no body of rules will do.
    1. Re:How do I know if I'm breaking the law? by Cacadril · · Score: 2
      Another portion of the order, highlighted in the Reddit article:

      there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

      But it could easily mean that no prior warning need to be given to Snowden himself before he is listed, not that nobody will have the means to find out who is listed at a given moment.

      --
      There is no substitute for common sense. Especially, no body of rules will do.
    2. Re:How do I know if I'm breaking the law? by alphatel · · Score: 1

      Another portion of the order, highlighted in the Reddit article:

      there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

      But it could easily mean that no prior warning need to be given to Snowden himself before he is listed, not that nobody will have the means to find out who is listed at a given moment.

      You have to understand the sheer brilliance of it all. As long as everything is classified then everything is illegal. It is just an extension of the terrific unending over reach of the government in all matters criminal.

      The first rule of donation club is you cannot donate to section 1.
      The second rule of donation club is YOU CANNOT DONATE TO SECTION 1.
      The third rule of donation club is you cannot know what is defined by section 1.

      --
      When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
  38. April Fool? by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 2

    That's an interesting read. While nothing in the order says criminal penalties it mentions the laws which apparently let one person rule by diktat so I expect that they specify the penalties.

    The part I thought interesting though was that any of these funds which come under the control of an "American person" are included. I'm guessing that this means Americans with jobs in the financial sector abroad are going to have a hard time: if they follow this law then they may find themselves breaking local laws, or at least out of a job, and yet if they don't they will be breaking US law.

    I wish them luck trying to figure out how to deal with the slightly insane decrees coming from their leader. Now I think of it didn't the US have a revolution to get rid of a king who was issuing somewhat insane decrees? A bit of nostalgia for the "good" old days is one thing but I think you might be taking this a bit too far. Mind you it was issued on 1st April...

    1. Re:April Fool? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mind you it was issued on 1st April...

      And the NDA which provisioned indefinite detention of US citizens without hearing or trial was signed at 23:59 on 12/31 too. "When" really does not have any bearing on the EO.

    2. Re:April Fool? by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 1

      The USA, following its revolution, implemented a system that was relatively novel at the time, and had not been tried on anywhere near that scale, at least in recent memory. Its leaders at the time were aware of the failings of the past (in their view), and tried to build a system that would counteract/prevent similar abuses.

      We're now 240 some years later. While the USA's system has not, pretty much every other country that modeled its system on the US collapsed in one way or another. Its structure tends to accrete power to the executive, and has a strong preference for inertia and dysfunction in the absence of a significant degree of unity. The USA has avoided this fate thus far, but the underlying problems are making themselves much more manifest of late. The system has already failed catastrophically in the US once, leading to Civil War, and while that's unlikely in the present day, there isn't likely to be any sort of quick solution either.

      This isn't a partisan thing either - pretty much every President has increased the power of the executive, overall, even if they entered office ideologically opposed to it. Even the one who was the most suspicious of the power of the executive, Jefferson, changed his mind when tempted by the offer of purchasing French Louisiana. Sure, some things get rolled back, but others get advanced, and even those that are rolled back tend to be two steps forward one step back. In that, we should not be surprised in the least that President Obama has gone back on what Candidate Obama promised in that area.

      Personally, even if I agree with the policy in general, such as immigration deferrals, I don't like the fact that I see Congressional refusal to act on serious problems leading to unitary action by the executive. Even if I think the action is necessary, it sets precedents, and the more we set a tradition of doing things one way, the less the law actually matters in practice.

    3. Re:April Fool? by TubeSteak · · Score: 2

      That's an interesting read. While nothing in the order says criminal penalties it mentions the laws which apparently let one person rule by diktat so I expect that they specify the penalties.

      Isn't that the entire point of emergency powers? The order specifically says "national emergency."

      Anyways, let's look at the laws that are cited:
      Termination of existing declared emergencies: 50 U.S.C. 1601
      Unusual and extraordinary threat; declaration of national emergency; exercise of Presidential authorities: 50 U.S.C. 1701
      General authorization to delegate functions: Section 301 of Title 3
      Inadmissible aliens: 8 U.S.C. 1182(f)

      Presidential authorities: 50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)
      Banning entry to aliens covered by the order: section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 [really long name] (PDF)
      Critical infrastructure definitions: Presidential Policy Directive 21
      Reporting requirements to Congress on spending for emergency orders: 50 U.S.C. 1641(c)
      Reporting requirements to Congress in general for emergency orders: 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)

      The only ones that I think worth quoting are:

      50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)
        (b) Exceptions to grant of authority
      The authority granted to the President by this section does not include the authority to regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly--

      • (1) [not what is cited]
      • (2) donations, by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, of articles, such as food, clothing, and medicine, intended to be used to relieve human suffering, except to the extent that the President determines that such donations
      • (A) would seriously impair his ability to deal with any national emergency declared under section 1701 of this title,
        (B) are in response to coercion against the proposed recipient or donor, or
        (C) would endanger Armed Forces of the United States which are engaged in hostilities or are in a situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances; or [2]

      8 U.S.C. 1182(f)
        (f) Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President
      Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. Whenever the Attorney General finds that a commercial airline has failed to comply with regulations of the Attorney General relating to requirements of airlines for the detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers traveling to the United States (including the training of personnel in such detection), the Attorney General may suspend the entry of some or all aliens transported to the United States by such airline.

      If the war on terror never ends, neither will these emergency powers.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    4. Re:April Fool? by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

      Interesting. My take on the problems with the US system of government (as a non-US citizen who lived there for a few years) is slightly different. When it was setup the US government seemed to be an incredibly well designed system: it could cope with the poor communications and for the first time in a modern democracy power really did rest in the hands of the people and not the aristocracy and those commoners of whom they approved.

      The problem as I see it is that the US governmental system is far, far too rigid and impossible to change to adapt to modern realities e.g. there is no need for a college of electors with modern communications, you no longer need a well regulated militia to defend against invasion etc. However updating archaic rules like that requires so much support from everywhere that it is all but impossible and things like the constitution are used by large corporations with armies of lawyers to overturn laws which they don't like. The result is a government which is frustrated in its ability to do what it thinks is needed and a people who are frustrated by their government's inability to do what is needed.

      I think this is one of the perils of being first: they did not know that the system would work so they put lots of safeguards and protections into the system to stop mob rule which make the system too inflexible. Once we knew that the will of the people tended to be more tempered and did not result in chaotic mob rule governing systems, such as those in Europe, which were flexible enough to change could bring onboard the parts of the US system which work without importing the inflexibility. Not that they are without their own flaws but, when those flaws get large enough, there is the potential for self reform which the US, in practical terms, lacks.

  39. Re:Product placement anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because the comment system is better here. I kind of like having the summaries too.

  40. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by SuricouRaven · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The US has been in a perpetual state of emergency since 9/11. Every time things look like they are settling down, some new crisis is presented to prolong the panic a bit longer.

  41. Re:Essential link missing from /. article, here it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    essential link and reddit in the same sentence? really??

  42. Re:Product placement anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you on glue? The comment system on slashdot is a complete pile of outdated shit that goes out of its way to stifle discussion of topics by making it hard to know when someone has replied to you, and ensuring that anyone below a certain number of posts has almost no chance of getting seen, let along being modded up.

  43. Re:Essential link missing from /. article, here it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sit down and shut up before you find a creative, yet totally believable way to strangle yourself with your own shoelaces.

  44. Edward Snowden for Senate ! by randalware · · Score: 5, Interesting

    contributing to a crook running for political office is legal !

    if an executive order against that happens, we will get the political reform we need !

    --
    This is my opinion based on what little I know and understand of the rumors and lies Thanks, Randal
    1. Re:Edward Snowden for Senate ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      contributing to a crook running for political office is legal !

      ... electing Snowden?! That's crazy talk. In fa-act... it's just crazy enough it might work.

  45. Where? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So where can we donate?

  46. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank Shrub for that. Produced the most executive orders. Oh, and also blame the active stonewalling of the republicans who do not want a nigger in the whitehouse therefore have decided to ensure that this one can't do a damn thing through channels.

    Look at RomnyCare. When White Cracker Romney pushed it, Republicans liked it. When that nigger in the 'house put it forward, even going further and compromising from there after the Republicans said it was terrible, they hated the even more republican-like bill. Because the nigger was responsible, and he's going to take your women and your money. Because he's black. That's what they do.

  47. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by bgarcia · · Score: 2

    The perpetual state of emergency extends back even further, to Jimmy Carter in 1979. At this point, it's just a tool for the executive branch to hang on to the additional powers granted by the 1976 bill.

    --
    I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
  48. EO's not law, not Constitutional. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not illegal to donate to Snowden's defense fund- Barry DOES NOT HAVE THAT AUTHORITY, Congress does. It's actually illegal for Barry to try this stunt...but nobody's seeming to be wising up and dealing with all the High Crimes (treason's a high crime...) and Misdemeanors that he and all of his Administration are actually guilty of. In many cases, the SOB's that should be working on stopping him are complicit.

  49. Re:Product placement anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If that's really the way you feel then leave. You won't be missed.

  50. Obama shows his true colors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, what a piece of shit Obama is.

    I am ashamed I voted for this piece of subhuman waste.

  51. This isn't how laws work... by ZeroSerenity · · Score: 1

    "A new executive order signed into law" What? Does the article author not have a clue that this isn't how executive orders work?

    --
    For those who seek perfection there can be no rest on this side of the grave.
    1. Re:This isn't how laws work... by mpthompson · · Score: 1

      Welcome to the brave new world. Orientations are being held tonight in cell block B19 followed by a social mixer in the exercise yard. Hope to see you there.

    2. Re:This isn't how laws work... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're correct, technically.

      If you have a more common definition of law as "a rule the government forces you to obey", it's a law.

    3. Re:This isn't how laws work... by tlambert · · Score: 1

      "A new executive order signed into law"

      What? Does the article author not have a clue that this isn't how executive orders work?

      The same way Roman imperial decrees worked, apparently...

  52. Re:If you voted, don't complain.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because we would have been so much better off under the McCain/Palin administration?

  53. No inisight at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    your comment wasnt' insightful, or even thoguhtful, or anything other than the desired knee-jerk reaction to shilling. A) the order specifically applies only to activities done outside the country B) legal defense funds are, deliberately and legally, set up to be protected from seizure, as they are not in any way under the control of the person they are defending C) You have the right to an attorney; to attempt to stop this has already been well litigated and the answer is clear D) This is one of the good affects fo the "money is speech" decision; you are most certainly and obviously making a political comment by contributing to the Snowden defense fund. His lawyers are getting rich of your knee jerk reactions.

  54. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by sumdumass · · Score: 1

    If I didn't think you were serious I would suggest you are trying to be funny and disgusting at the same time.

    Many republicans rejected Romney care at the time and many told of it's failures before Obama was even elected. Republicans also promoted a law similar in the 90s and got shot down by their own then too.

    If you really think it is about a nigger in the white house, you are delusional and ignorant.Its about ideological differences and strong arm shenanigans that started off in this administration like how they played games to pass Obama care in the first place or harry Reid's purposeful blocking of republican amendments and inputs in senate bills.

    Now i understand why you would want to make this about race because it doesn't require any thinking and can be used to rally support from people who seem to be dropping it. But it doesn't reflect the reality of the situation.

  55. What did you expect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You elect a nigger to be president and he instantly thinks he's a king.

  56. Not "US justice" by jodido · · Score: 1

    "evading US justice"? I don't think so.

    1. Re:Not "US justice" by tlambert · · Score: 1

      "evading US justice"? I don't think so.

      He really meant "evading just ice", which is a good idea, if you have sensitive teeth.

  57. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I extends back even longer. Closer to 1912 (or even perhaps the mid-1800s) when the accretion of power to Washington began. It is a slow process, but the authoritarians may not get all the power they want in their lifetimes, but will continue to grab it until they own everyone.

  58. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

    you sound right, but you are really wrong.

    it IS about race, for republicans. down deep, they are the modern minority-haters and have been for decades, now. not forever, (things were reversed previous to that) but now, they are the poster boys of 'if you are not white, straight and christian, we're against you'.

    no ideology anyone could have would create this much anger in a group of people - it HAS to be race. america never got right about how to deal with race issues and this pretty much proves it.

    I find it cute that others deny this. its the (white) elephant in the room that the other side refuses to admit. and of course they won't admit it, to admit such a thing today is pretty much already on the wrong side of history.

    the anti-gay trend in the red states is more proof of 'if you aint a christian you're not one of us and we will shun you' belief. again, pure republican minority hatred.

    now, I totally dislike obama these days, but its because of how he turned his back on the liberal ideas and has become a push-over for the power brokers who control him and own him. he never did much good for the liberal cause (partly because he was blocked by the R's, but also because he really didn't TRY all that much. not sure if he was lying to us or just ignorant of how little control he'd have as president).

    the R's always hated him, and the D's now hate him for betraying them and their principles. he's not going to be remembered well by history. too bad, there was a lot of potential there, but it was all misused.

    perhaps this really is proof: no matter who you put in that office, the office will ruin them.

    I do think its time to redo our whole system. if your code base is so old, so tangled, so full of exception code and has more exceptions than rules, its time to scrap it and start over. and yes, I'm arguing for a complete re-do of our laws, our government and it needs to come sooner rather than later if we are to salvage what is left of our once great country.

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  59. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 1

    The short summary of your post is "Republicans must be racists, because I don't understand them."

    And apparently Democrats can dislike Obama all they want, and that doesn't make them racists. Great double standard there.

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
  60. It seems to me there's a Logical Flaw Here... by CAOgdin · · Score: 1

    ...specifically:

    1. Money is Speech (ever heard of the "Citizen's United" decision?)
    2. Sending money to (putative) criminals under this Executive Order is illegal.
    3. Logical conclusion: The Executive Order section asserting this prohibition is unlawful.

    That's not to say our corrupt government, hell-bent on benefiting the 1% and limiting freedoms for or benefits to the 99%, hasn't asserted that intentionally in order to start the long road to gutting the First Amendment.

  61. Such a campaign is bound to be fruitful... by tlambert · · Score: 1

    Presidents are, by law, allowed to issue Executive Orders.

    If you don't like that, campaign to change it.

    Such a campaign is bound to be fruitful... I'm sure whichever president is in at office at the time is bound to sign it!

    Also, if he or she doesn't, then I'm sure the senate, which is full of future-president-wanna-be's would come up with the necessary 2/3rd's majority to override a presidential veto!

    1. Re:Such a campaign is bound to be fruitful... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Are you saying that an Executive Order is a veto???

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    2. Re:Such a campaign is bound to be fruitful... by tlambert · · Score: 1

      I'm saying that campaigning to change a part of the political process which is to the benefit of politicians will never be successful.

  62. Re: Product placement anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The comments here are nothing but Russian propagandists, most of whom are probably sitting next to each other. :)

  63. Heck Ya.. by gamekeeper · · Score: 1

    Um, ya.. Way to Go Snowden.. ya I think these Exec. orders just inflate the situation. Whats the real reasoning behind the order ???? Since the Snowden campaign is not even on US soil (as I understand it, although in this day and age that may have changed recently). Help us to understand how an executive order can reach or be enforced outside the borders? If snowden is so off base, etc. then why has it been so difficult to squash his perceived rhetoric? Why is HBO Publishing a nice documentary about his adventures? I am confused, is this fact the world tells me or is it fiction what my government tells me?

  64. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by sumdumass · · Score: 1

    it IS about race, for republicans. down deep, they are the modern minority-haters and have been for decades, now. not forever, (things were reversed previous to that) but now, they are the poster boys of 'if you are not white, straight and christian, we're against you'.

    no ideology anyone could have would create this much anger in a group of people - it HAS to be race. america never got right about how to deal with race issues and this pretty much proves it.

    Outside of someone saying any opposition to Obama is because he is black, there simply is no evidence of your claim. Maybe you can stretch having the federal government grant special privileges to minorities and the ideological opposition to it as a racial bias but it would have to completely ignore reality.

    the anti-gay trend in the red states is more proof of 'if you aint a christian you're not one of us and we will shun you' belief. again, pure republican minority hatred.

    There is absolutely no anti gay trend in any state. There might end up being one if people are accused of it enough and get fed up with having extra rights pushed on them that override their own rights. Keeping the status quo is not anti gay, it is simply not changing to give anything extra. And when you sit there and say that freedom to exercise religion only applies as long as you do not try to make a living or conflict with any of these new found rights of a minority population, it isn't anti gay, it is anti Christianity.

    now, I totally dislike obama these days, but its because of how he turned his back on the liberal ideas and has become a push-over for the power brokers who control him and own him. he never did much good for the liberal cause (partly because he was blocked by the R's, but also because he really didn't TRY all that much. not sure if he was lying to us or just ignorant of how little control he'd have as president).

    He was definitely lying to you. All politicians do so to get what they want and then ignore those commitments as soon as it becomes inconvenient to something else they want.This has nothing to do with being democrat or republican or liberal, it has to do with how much of a chump they believe you really are. Evidently, it is more so of one than you envisioned and are disillusioned now.

    I do think its time to redo our whole system. if your code base is so old, so tangled, so full of exception code and has more exceptions than rules, its time to scrap it and start over. and yes, I'm arguing for a complete re-do of our laws, our government and it needs to come sooner rather than later if we are to salvage what is left of our once great country.

    I completely disagree. What needs to happen is that the federal government needs to stop nanny policing everything and go back to a limited constitutional directive they originally had and your state can do the things most people expect the federal government to do. This benifits you more because you have more control over local politicians and do not have to worry about idiots 4 states away overriding your concerns or wishes when implimented by your government. The problem now is that people seem to think everyone from different backgrounds all support the same trash you support because everyone you surround yourself with does but the reality is that not everyone does and 3/4s of the states can effectively block what you want to force on them. If you stuck to your state policies, you would have your momentum and paradise or whatever without having to be subjected to the will of the millions of other people in different states that do not agree with you.

    No, by all means, redoing the government is not needed, restricting the federal government is what is needed. It allows the most people to have the most freedoms most of the times.

  65. Re:Product placement anyone? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    He obviously doesn't feel that way because he's hanging out here. The people that really hate it aren't here. Some people just live to bitch about anything and everything.

  66. Re:Product placement anyone? by ganjadude · · Score: 1

    better comment system

    actually readable web design.

    --
    have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  67. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by HiThere · · Score: 1

    IIRC the US has officially been in a state of emergency ever since WWII. It was declared during the war and was never recinded. (I think it's also been redeclared a few times since then, but, again IIRC, the WWII declaration came with the approval of Congress, the others have just been presidential declarations, and didn't actually change the legal standing...though they did announce how the government intended to act.)

    --

    I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
  68. Money = Speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dear Mr. President,
    Pursuant to Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976), we have as a nation defined monetary contributions as speech. Per Amendment I, U.S. Constitution, congress shall pass no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech. Consequently, Congress has passed no law authorizing your abridging of speech in support of Mr. Snowden, or any other person. Your executive order notwithstanding existing law will fail in implementation.
    -- American tired of endless Federal bullshit.

  69. Good luck with getting a clearance. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Then forget any sensitive work. Tracing it to you will only make it easier to deny a security clearance.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  70. That's a function of the facts. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    The evidence against him and his co-conspirators is large enough that some mistake it for a kangaroo court.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  71. Re: Product placement anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And yet it's better than reddit

  72. I Never Worried About Executive Orders Much by Toad-san · · Score: 1

    Well, not very much.

    But now they'll be coming for me.

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

  73. Money=Free Speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If Bitcoin is money according the IRS that would tax it; How is donating to Mr. Snowden NOT an expression of FREE SPEECH?

  74. diktat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am going to assume you aren't referring to pictures drawn on a penis. Assuming that, let me say that Obama doesn't rule by diktat, but by deeznuts. Very large nuts at that.

  75. Here's some cream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Putting words in his mouth, joe. He said "Republicans ARE racists, because they physically, verbally, and emotionally demonstrate their hatred for non-white, non-straight, non-christians on a daily fucking basis."

  76. Re:Executive orders are not law in and of themselv by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh it goes EVEN FURTHER back than that. You can clearly pen all of these problems on Hannibal crossing the Potomac River conquering Russia in 1066.

  77. Election gambit? by Keith+Henson · · Score: 1

    I wonder what would happen if one of the candidates in the next Presidential election pledged to pardon Snowden?

    Is there enough of a majority for them to win on this issue?

    --
    End MGM. Get prospective parents of boys to Google: Men do complain