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Edward Snowden: the World Says No To Surveillance
An anonymous reader writes: Two years after his whistle-blowing, Edward Snowden finds that his action had profound effects on political decision making and on citizen's understanding of privacy issues. He writes in the NY Times, "In a single month, the N.S.A.’s invasive call-tracking program was declared unlawful by the courts and disowned by Congress. After a White House-appointed oversight board investigation found that this program had not stopped a single terrorist attack, even the president who once defended its propriety and criticized its disclosure has now ordered it terminated. This is the power of an informed public. ... We are witnessing the emergence of a post-terror generation, one that rejects a worldview defined by a singular tragedy. For the first time since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we see the outline of a politics that turns away from reaction and fear in favor of resilience and reason."
I guess the "terrorists attacks" phase is over. Let's start the "aliens attacks" phase.
Signed,
The Illuminati.
I feel like they're sensationalizing what is essentially a game of musical chairs -- the data is still being collected (by law). The spying is still happening.
Mr. Snowden, love him or hate him, actually did a service to the world by pointing out something that, if left ignored, would have rivaled the old East German Stasi in scope and reach (well, if it hasn't already. Hint: It probably has.)
I would say that if anyone deserved the title of 'whistleblower', this man damned sure qualifies.
Now, the next step - what in the hell do we actually do about it aside from individual protection? Sure, recent congressional actions (Thank you, Sen. Paul!) have put an end to at least one program... problem is, another grew to take its place (basically, the FBI is picking up where the NSA is allegedly leaving off).
I suspect this is going to take a lot more work than deleting web cookies and an occasional filibuster...
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
This. Ended the program? Bullshit.. We outsourced the program, the same way the government routinely does with anything it wants but can't legally do itself.
That said, I'll still take this over what we had last week. But don't think we won the war yet - Not by a looong shot.
He really seems to live in his own bubble of self-delusion. The majority of Americans: (1) do not know about NSA surveillance, (2) do not care and (3) have no fucking idea who Edward Snowden is. Just this week, the USA Freedom Act reauthorized these programs, and the only politician who seems to care? Rand Paul, the most hated man in the Senate. I'm sorry, but the consequences of Snowden's leaks have been minimal, and, if the world is saying anything about surveillance, it's not no, it's "Yeah, okay. Whatever."
OH SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING IDIOT.
The UK is part of Europe and internet is CENSORED over there. Everything you do online is logged.
In France ENCRYPTION IS ILLEGAL, to the point that there is a special version of Windows there that disables encryption.
Why do Europeans have a tendency of making fools of themselves trying to look superior to the USA? (And no, i'm neither north american nor european)
I guess you and your fellow European citizens had better grab your pitchforks and torches because every major European country has an NSA equivalent - UK and Germany are notable examples.
Popisms.com - Connecting pop culture
Edward Snowden knowingly gave the world this information at enormous personal cost. Only if enough of us stand up, stop debating minutiae, and demand that it stop will Mr. Snowden's sacrifice have been worth it.
The spying is still happening.
That's right... Nothing has changed. And Mr. Snowden hasn't been watching the elections recently. Right wing nationalism is all the rage and making a big comeback. Mass media says a lot about surveillance, but at election time the people still don't give a shit.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
"In France ENCRYPTION IS ILLEGAL"
I don't think that this is the case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...
"As of 2011 and since 2004, the law for trust in the digital economy (LCEN) mostly liberalized the use of cryptography.
As long as cryptography is only used for authentication and integrity purposes, it can be freely used. The cryptographic key or the nationality of the entities involved in the transaction do not matter. Typical e-business websites fall under this liberalized regime.
Exportation and importation of cryptographic tools to or from foreign countries must be either declared (when the other country is a member of the European Union) or requires an explicit authorization (for countries outside the EU)."
"The UK is part of Europe and internet is CENSORED"
This one is complex, but it looks like any type of net filtering is done voluntarily by ISPs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I...
As for the parent:
"If something like that had happened in Europe, we would not have tolerated it even for a microsecond. We would have rallied on the streets and attacked the agency's headquarters."
I assume he's talking about recently? I mean, Europe was home to the Stasi, Fascism, Nazism, etc etc. Besides, what are they going to attack the agency's headquarters with? Cricket bats?
If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
Maybe it's because I value my privacy more than any of those things.
If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
In France ENCRYPTION IS ILLEGAL, to the point that there is a special version of Windows there that disables encryption.
[citation needed], see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...
Making that statement means one of three things: you are naive, you are stupid, or you are a troll.
Popisms.com - Connecting pop culture
The Onion had it right: Frustrated NSA Now Forced To Rely On Mass Surveillance Programs That Haven’t Come To Light Yet.
Without real oversight, we can write, repeal, or expire whatever laws we want. It won't make a difference.
An interesting anagram of "BANACH TARSKI" is "BANACH TARSKI BANACH TARSKI"
Good plan. What we really want is to make sure that the cost of doing the right thing is always the death penalty. That will make the world a better place. Want to do something for the benefit of society? Lay down your fucking life for it or STFU.
An interesting anagram of "BANACH TARSKI" is "BANACH TARSKI BANACH TARSKI"
What 'left leaning' party?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
As a European at hart and born I am sorry to say you are wrong.
But there is some truth, European law is usually more in favour of the individual than what we see in the USofA and the UK.
Very few governments would be able to get away with spying programs like it is happening in the Anglo-American circus.
One difference is their legal system was not affected by the French revolution.
And both the the Brits and Americans believe that because they live behind a moat they are somewhat special and this needs additional protection.
Yes this is medieval thinking.
For most continental Europeans this notion of neutrality was destroyed first by Napoleon and later by the likes of Stalin and Hitler.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
Pretty much. The NSA stops and so the surveillance shifts to some other obscure agency that does exactly the same thing, but without the NSA's charter. The internet is a two edged sword. It makes corruption and incompetence harder to hide, but guarantees almost universal surveillance.
Ya' know, when we were watching Star Trek or Babylon 5 as kids, we kind of assumed universal surveillance, a global government and that all money was electronic. Not that it's starting to happen, it's scary as crap. I think it's because we don't have aliens as a common enemy. It's not us against them. It's us against us.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Yes, somewhat like that.
Live free or die.
"As long as cryptography is only used for authentication and integrity purposes"
Which means you can't encrypt the content of a message.
Due to the nature of the two party system, in order to gain the most votes the parties in the United States gravitate towards the center. How much so? The democrats are rated at a 4.8 (just slightly below centrist, hardly enough to describe as left-leaning), and Republicans at a 5.5 (just slightly above centrist) -- meaning both parties are quite similar and have only minor differences. In the end, they are both centrist parties.
In the United States, there are authentic left-leaning parties like the Green Party, and right leaning ones like the Conservative Party; but these never get enough votes to pass thresholds for campaign financing nor seats in a federal body like Congress.
In conclusion, the major parties of the United States are both centrist, and while their rhetoric might illustrate contrasts between them, in reality they are very close to each other in the political spectrum.
Yes the spying is still happening and it's the worst of it that the legislature has yet to address. Yeah, phone meta data collection is bad and unconstitutional, but the data collection from internet activity is worse. It's about a whole lot more than phone calls. Privacy laws related to electronic communications and data storage need to be updated to protect citizens rights from mass surveillance, heavy handed dishonest law enforcement tactics and corporate intrusion into our private lives.