NSA, Snowden, etc., etc..

They have urged the United Nations to create an international bill of digital rights that would enshrine the protection of civil rights in the internet age.
:')
 
Last edited:
... while allowing themselves to do the same thing.
When you use, say, Facebook, you assume that the company has access to everything you post and write. That's different from having to assume that no matter what you do on the internet, the NSA is watching.
 
When you use, say, Facebook, you assume that the company has access to everything you post and write.
Indeed. But I like to point out: The named companies have zero interest in user privacy. They have a vested interest in Internet users' trust that online communication is not compromised, regardless of whether it actually is. Because reading and analyzing their users' (not customers!) communication is their business model.
 
Federal judge rules against NSA spying

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled in a lawsuit brought by conservative activist Larry Klayman that the legal challenge to the massive surveillance program ? disclosed in full earlier this year by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden ? would likely succeed.

Leon, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, issued a preliminary injunction against the program but suspended the order to allow an appeal by the Justice Department, which said it was reviewing the decision.

The ruling is the first of several that are likely in the coming months as federal judges from New York to California review complaints from liberals and conservatives alike about the scope of the NSA's snooping. Leon's acknowledgment that the case is sure to be appealed is an indication that those appeals might wind up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
 
^and now a White House panel, consisting of people hand-picked by Obama have given 46 recommendations to change the program etc

They have confirmed that despite claims from others, this program did not stop a single terrorist attack
 
I don't know if my gut-feeling is correct but it seems to me that now even the pro-NSA politicians in America have become a bit terrified about the monster they created... I wonder how long it takes for the USA to officially recognize, that Snowden might have broken the law but in the long run has done them a big favour. And I wonder if they'll have the nobility to forgive him.

After all, if Russian president Putin can set his arch enemy Khodorkovsky free in an obvious attempt to gain more sympathy in the world, why can't Obama? It's kind of amusing and ironic, that at the moment Putin - who isn't exactly known as a fan of democracy, freedom of press or demureness - is obviously lauching a well-planned PR campaign for him and his country, while the oh so free and democratic USA are struggling about whether to limt the un-democratic tendencies inside their borders or not.

Obviously Russia is still valueing its image in the world, while the USA often raises doubts about really caring anymore what others think of them. If this goes on, soon you will see polls, where Putin gets higher sympathy here rankings than Obama...
 
I don't know if my gut-feeling is correct but it seems to me that now even the pro-NSA politicians in America have become a bit terrified about the monster they created... I wonder how long it takes for the USA to officially recognize, that Snowden might have broken the law but in the long run has done them a big favour. And I wonder if they'll have the nobility to forgive him.

After all, if Russian president Putin can set his arch enemy Khodorkovsky free in an obvious attempt to gain more sympathy in the world, why can't Obama? It's kind of amusing and ironic, that at the moment Putin - who isn't exactly known as a fan of democracy, freedom of press or demureness - is obviously lauching a well-planned PR campaign for him and his country, while the oh so free and democratic USA are struggling about whether to limt the un-democratic tendencies inside their borders or not.

Obviously Russia is still valueing its image in the world, while the USA often raises doubts about really caring anymore what others think of them. If this goes on, soon you will see polls, where Putin gets higher sympathy here rankings than Obama...


Snowden is not the only one. There is one in Australia, and another has been convicted in the USA.

Obama will pardon at least Snowden on his way out, maybe the others too.
 

- - - Updated - - -

Obama will pardon at least Snowden on his way out, maybe the others too.

A pardon implies an arrest, indictment, and conviction. Even if all that were sure to happen, I wouldn't bet on it happening within a lame duck president's timeframe. And really, a pardon would do fuck-all for PR at that point.
 
Last edited:
I can watch Glenn Greenwald debate others all day. This is from this evening, but there are numerous clips online of him that are worth watching (on this subject)

 
11686351495
 
Rand Paul Is Filing a Class-Action Lawsuit Against the NSA

He's been threatening to do it for months, but it looks like Rand Paul is finally ready to sue the Obama administration for the NSA's mass surveillance programs.

Paul will announce on Fox News Friday evening that he plans to file a class-action lawsuit against Barack Obama and National Intelligence Director James Clapper over the NSA's bulk metadata collection, making good on his promise to take the president to court over revelations of the spy agency's expansive domestic snooping. Although no court documents have been filed in the case yet, Paul's advisers told Daily Intelligencer that the senator's legal team is currently drafting a complaint claiming that the searches violate Americans' Fourth Amendment rights, and plans to file the suit "soon," likely in D.C. District Court.

It's a brazen move by Paul, a likely 2016 presidential contender who delights in antagonizing national security hawks in the Chris Christie wing of the GOP. Although Senate rules prohibit Paul from using his title in the suit, the Kentucky Republican will act as the lead plaintiff in the case against the spy agency, representing between 250,000 and 300,000 people who voluntarily signed on to the class-action suit via his Paul's RANDPAC website.

Paul will also be getting an assist from Ken Cuccinelli, the failed 2013 Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate who will be out of his job as state attorney general next week. Sources say that Cuccinelli plans to join Paul's team as a legal advisor for the NSA suit, reprising his role as the Tea Party's most litigious firebrand.

So far though, the details of Paul's lawsuit are murky. A legal counsel for Paul told Daily Intelligencer Friday that he expects the case will be similar to another NSA suit filed by birther provocateur Larry Klayman. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon agreed with Klayman's arguments last month, ruling that the NSA's metadata collection violates the Fourth Amendment. The Paul advisor said that lawyers are now studying Leon's ruling to formulate arguments for their class-action case.

Of course, other federal courts have found the NSA's surveillance programs to be within bounds of the Constitution. And Paul's lawyers will also need to prove that their suit has standing as a class-action case ? a tall order given the conflicting legal precedents on domestic drone surveillance.

In the end, the lawsuit is simply foreplay, both for the Supreme Court and for Paul's anticipated 2016 White House run. And regardless of the legal outcome, compiling a list of 300,000 devoted civil libertarians isn't a bad way to kick off a campaign.
 
Top