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NSA Cheerleaders Discover Value of Privacy Only When Their Own Is Violated (theintercept.com)
Advocatus Diaboli sends this report from Glen Greenwald:
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the NSA under President Obama targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top aides for surveillance. In the process, the agency ended up eavesdropping on "the contents of some of their private conversations with U.S. lawmakers and American-Jewish groups" about how to sabotage the Iran Deal. All sorts of people who spent many years cheering for and defending the NSA and its programs of mass surveillance are suddenly indignant now that they know the eavesdropping included them and their American and Israeli friends rather than just ordinary people. The long-time GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and unyielding NSA defender Pete Hoekstra last night was truly indignant to learn of this surveillance.
In January 2014, I [Greenwald] debated Rep. Hoekstra about NSA spying and he could not have been more mocking and dismissive of the privacy concerns I was invoking. "Spying is a matter of fact," he scoffed. As Andrew Krietz, the journalist who covered that debate, reported, Hoekstra "laughs at foreign governments who are shocked they've been spied on because they, too, gather information" — referring to anger from German and Brazilian leaders. As TechDirt noted, "Hoekstra attacked a bill called the RESTORE Act, that would have granted a tiny bit more oversight over situations where (you guessed it) the NSA was collecting information on Americans." But all that, of course, was before Hoekstra knew that he and his Israeli friends were swept up in the spying of which he was so fond.
In January 2014, I [Greenwald] debated Rep. Hoekstra about NSA spying and he could not have been more mocking and dismissive of the privacy concerns I was invoking. "Spying is a matter of fact," he scoffed. As Andrew Krietz, the journalist who covered that debate, reported, Hoekstra "laughs at foreign governments who are shocked they've been spied on because they, too, gather information" — referring to anger from German and Brazilian leaders. As TechDirt noted, "Hoekstra attacked a bill called the RESTORE Act, that would have granted a tiny bit more oversight over situations where (you guessed it) the NSA was collecting information on Americans." But all that, of course, was before Hoekstra knew that he and his Israeli friends were swept up in the spying of which he was so fond.
What, they thought they were special? they thought they were part of the untouchable elite? Fucking rubes, anyone championing the NSA's actions deserve what's coming to them. Retards, the whole lot of them.
Nancy Pelosi, Mike Rogers, all of you who voted for safety over freedom - you deserve neither. - Ben Franklin
Justin Amash - Thanks for standing for the constitution, specifically the 4th amendment.
The government should NOT be spying on its own citizens, but spying on heads of state? That's kind of what they are for, right? I mean, if you're opposed to them spying on those guys, you're probably opposed to their existence in general.
These people who routinely advocate for mass surveillance of the rest of us are outraged at being surveilled themselves? The arrogance and/or cognitive dissonance required must be astronomical.
They served their purpose.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
for hypocrisy, along with a Democratic Congresswoman who did pretty much the same thing a few years ago, and I'm sure there are others.
But, the larger picture is this. Our privacy is being invaded on an awesome number of ways by a bewildering assortment of actors using an incredible variety of tools for capture, aggregation, and analysis. And, like the Internet, one senses this really can't be stopped. To quote a former Silicon Valley CEO: "You have zero privacy now. Get over it." Or:
The Internet interprets privacy safeguards as damage and routes around it.
We all remember what Nixon's articles of impeachment were about, right? Illegal surveillance of political opposition. Executive branch (which NSA is a part of) has not legal authority to spy on congressmen.
Dear Rep. Hoekstra,
Here's your Word of the Day:
Hypocrisy (noun) - The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.
Sincerely,
The rest of us.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
For some reason, I read that as "NBA Cheerleaders Discover..."
How many times has Israel been caught spying on the US? All countries spy on each other. Senators conspiring with foreign heads of state though could be considered unamerican, however. It sounds like we were spying on Israel and some congress critters got caught up in it. In other words, the NSA was doing what it's supposed to be doing, monitoring and spying on foreign activity.
This post is encrypted twice with ROT-13. Documenting or attempting to crack this encryption is illegal.
We'll see your Jonathan Pollard and raise.
Have gnu, will travel.
Movies play it when people fuck up, or get caoght in their own game.
And they usually make a sad face when they realise this. Hence "sad" in the site name.
That the people watching it find it humorous is beside the point of the trombone itself.
I cant beleave i had to explain this shit to someone.
Don't spill your bias so early, guys! At least trick me into reading the first paragraph before you pile on the politics.
Jus' sayin'.
Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
What's the problem? As long as the targets aren't Congress members
Maybe you should have kept reading past the first sentence? To quote the second sentence of the summary
In the process, the agency ended up eavesdropping on "the contents of some of their private conversations with U.S. lawmakers and American-Jewish groups" about how to sabotage the Iran Deal.
It's "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" by either Roxy Music, Grace Jones and whoever else recorded it.
I'm sure the NSA doesn't care about those steamy penis pics you've been sending to Netanyahu. At least, so long as the NSA continues to meet its funding goals.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Article 1, Section 6
"They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place."
Right, so treason and felony then. Engaging in direct diplomacy with foreign governments.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
"Ricker-racker, firecracker, sis boom bah!
Anonymous collection of metadata, anonymous collection of metadata!
Rah, rah, RAH!"
(note to humor-impaired-NSA-hating moderators: it's just a joke :-)
The NSA hasn't suddenly discovered Justice. They do not now serve the working man.
They have become so powerful that they are no longer leashed by the rest of the Government. They are serving their own interests, with less of a need to compromise in deference to the interests of the current crop of politicians.
This event does not represent a swing in our favor, so much as a bit of a step up in the NSA's own power.
The only question that remains is whether they will get a beat-down, or whether they will do the beating down.
When did the US media start allowing publication of any kind of news that might reflect unfavourably on Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party? Isn't that grounds for immediate classification as a terrorist and transfer to some dark, ugly hole in the back of a Third World prison?
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Will it make a difference at election time? Probably not. The regular 95% reelection rate is going to continue for the foreseeable future, and people will come back here and complain like it's not their fault that it does. We've been through this before. It's just another day in paradise. Go back to your drinks, and forget about it.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Charma strikes again.
No need to watch us, just the terrorists!
Dictatorships are only fun if it's you who does the dictating.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
So the difference between him and his predecessors is only that Nobel Prize anymore.
Well, except Carter.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Only want it for themselves. Who'd have thunk it.
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Anything which helps bring clarity and disclosure is a plus. Next year we will see massive amounts of information about these under the table multinational deals come to light, and it will not be easy to digest.
It's "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" by either Roxy Music, Grace Jones and whoever else recorded it.
Apparently, it's a Smokey Robinson song. I'm going to go ahead and declare the Massive Attack version to be the pinnacle, though. Clearly inspired by the Marvelettes version. I couldn't track down the Roxy Music cover, but I'm not a big fan to begin with.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
from the british newspaper The Independent
My standard response to people cheering for new government powers (including NSA spying) is: Would you want these powers in the hands of someone on the opposite end of the political spectrum from you? If the person is a Democrat, imagine President Donald Trump with those powers. If the person is a Republican, imagine President Hillary Clinton with those powers. Rarely is the person fine with this situation, though they are perfectly willing for someone who shares their political philosophy to have those powers.
This here is a real-life example of that response. These people are just fine with the NSA spying on people, but once that spying turns on them they find it a violation of their rights. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways. You can't declare that "all people like me are special and exempt from X." You either are for the NSA spying on everyone including you or you oppose the NSA spying.
Here's hoping their outrage isn't short lived and instead turns into a swell of political opposition to NSA spying.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
Wait, we're being spying on by NBA Cheerleaders? I might have to re-evaluate my position on this issue.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
And what exactly was the acts that were treason?
As far as I know, neither Hillary or the republicans have done much more than break laws and possibly violate the constitution and lie. None of that is treason.
Aren't you actually happy to know what kind of back room deals the politicians are making and who's interests they are really serving?
These people always say, why worry, if you have nothing to hide.
So, my question is what does this guy have to hide?
He's a politician. Probably a lot. Bad example...
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
The vast majority of politicians don't give two shits about something unless it affects them personally, or else they're bribed to care. How did this make it into the news pile?
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
privacy as violated as they have violated the privacy of the public.