Government snooping, backdoors and #necessaryhashtags

[ewmayer]

June Fifth: “Edward Snowden Day” Except Not. Yet.

Good stuff on the ResetTheNet initiative.

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

.

Here's another outrageous example of an out-of-control government
abusing its authority. It's too long to summarize, but the behavior of
the mayor, police, judges, and DA should have all of us screaming.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...p-in-his-face/

[tServo]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

Here's another outrageous example of an out-of-control government
abusing its authority.

Absolutely appalling.
Glad to see the Illinois ACLU is suing all involved, although the
poor guy's life is in tatters due to his being fired and one of the searches
found pot ( Oh, no ! He's A drug fiend to boot ! )

[ewmayer]

Broader than just the NSA domestic spying issue:

Peter Van Buren: Taking Down the First Amendment in Post-Constitutional America

One key factor remains missing in such a version of post-9/11 events in America: the people. Even today, 45% of Americans, when polled on the subject, agree that torture is “sometimes necessary and acceptable to gain information that may protect the public.” Americans as a group seem unsure about whether the NSA’s global and domestic surveillance is justified, and many remain convinced that Edward Snowden and the journalists who published his material are criminals. The most common meme related to whistleblowers is still “patriot or traitor?” and toward the war on terror, “security or freedom?”

It’s not that Americans are incorrect to be fearful and feel in need of protection. The main thing we need to protect ourselves against, however, is not the modest domestic threat from terrorists, but a new king, a unitary executive that has taken the law for its own, aided and abetted by the courts, supported by a powerful national security state, and unopposed by a riven and weakened Congress. Without a strong Bill of Rights to protect us — indeed, secure us — from the dangers of our own government, we will have gone full-circle to a Post-Constitutional America that shares much in common with the pre-constitutional British colonies.

Yet there is no widespread, mainstream movement of opposition to what the government has been doing. It seems, in fact, that many Americans are willing to accept, perhaps even welcome out of fear, the death of the Bill of Rights, one amendment at a time.

We are the first to see, in however shadowy form, the outlines of what a Post-Constitutional America might look like. We could be the last who might be able to stop it.

[paulunderwood]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27887639

This is a free-for-all excuse! How far up our arses do they need to go?

[Xyzzy]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...-spying-below/

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...-spying-below/

That is awesome* and hilarious! It's a fantastic photo-op setup, created by someone really inspired.

* a word I very rarely use because it has been so pervasively over-used.

[xilman]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-28182494

[Xyzzy]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...-card-numbers/

[kladner]

www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/23/1316195/-Intercept-The-Secret-Gov-t-Rulebook-For-Labeling-You-a-Terrorist?

We're all potential terrorists, now! [NOTE: NO! REALLY? ]

If you didn't give two sh*tsTM about our country's surveillance state, you may just change your mind after reading The Intercept's latest piece, just published over the past few hours.

Guilty until proven innocent: "irrefutable facts" and "concrete evidence" are no longer required to place U.S. citizens on a terrorist watch list under the new guidelines of the administration's early-2013 expansion of our surveillance state. (And, good luck getting yourself removed from it once you're on it!)

[xilman]

Originally Posted by kladner

www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/23/1316195/-Intercept-The-Secret-Gov-t-Rulebook-For-Labeling-You-a-Terrorist?

You think you've got problems? Here in the UK posting certain facts and opinions are de facto criminal offences.



http://twitter.com/rj_gallagher/stat...629696/photo/1