4 ms·

Do you think most branches of the US military aren't involved in domestic spying?

bassman9000 8y ago
The US-China attempt to moral equivalence is getting tiring. Far from perfect, the US still has a vast superior Rule of Law, human/natural rights protection, open internet, and it's not imprisoning a million people in "reeducation camps".
- intuitionist 8y ago
  No, it's imprisoning two million people in prisons.
  - chrisco255 8y ago
    Yeah for actual crimes not for talking shit about the Communist party or being Muslim or whatever the Chinese government is up to these days. In the U.S. you can talk all the shit you want about Trump, you're not gonna suffer legal consequences for it. Good luck protesting Xi Jinping in Shanghai.
    - jammygit 8y ago
      Actual crimes like possession of marijuana?
      - Wowfunhappy 8y ago
        And yet, use of Marijuana is becoming legal in more and more states because people the US have the right to protest and attempt to change laws they think are unnecessary or unjust. Try having that conversation in China.
  - bassman9000 8y ago
    You just made political or religious dissidence equivalent to murder, thieving, or tax evasion.
    - intuitionist 8y ago
      About a quarter of the people in US correctional institutions at any given time haven't been convicted of anything --- they're awaiting trial and can't pay bail. Another quarter or so are locked up for drug or public order offenses, not violent or property crimes. I'm glad that America has strong protections for political and religious freedom. I wish China had such protections as well. But we still imprison two or three times as many people per capita for bad reasons as China does.
- antoniuschan99 8y ago
  There's a term for this its called Whataboutism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
comex 8y ago
As you probably know, the intelligence community (which is partly military) is not supposed to target U.S. citizens, but there is a fair argument that so-called “incidental collection” of communications between a foreign target and someone in the US still amounts to “domestic spying”. However, for things like a spy drone where there’s no ambiguity in which jurisdiction is being targeted, I do think that no branch of the US military subject to the Posse Comitatus Act (all but the Coast Guard and, when called in, the National Guard) does or will use them on US soil. That said, civilian law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Border Patrol, DEA, and state police may do so. They all already use normal drones for various purposes.

The US-China attempt to moral equivalence is getting tiring. Far from perfect, the US still has a vast superior Rule of Law, human/natural rights protection, open internet, and it's not imprisoning a million people in "reeducation camps".

intuitionist 8y ago
No, it's imprisoning two million people in prisons.
- chrisco255 8y ago
  Yeah for actual crimes not for talking shit about the Communist party or being Muslim or whatever the Chinese government is up to these days. In the U.S. you can talk all the shit you want about Trump, you're not gonna suffer legal consequences for it. Good luck protesting Xi Jinping in Shanghai.
  - jammygit 8y ago
    Actual crimes like possession of marijuana?
    - Wowfunhappy 8y ago
      And yet, use of Marijuana is becoming legal in more and more states because people the US have the right to protest and attempt to change laws they think are unnecessary or unjust. Try having that conversation in China.
- bassman9000 8y ago
  You just made political or religious dissidence equivalent to murder, thieving, or tax evasion.
  - intuitionist 8y ago
    About a quarter of the people in US correctional institutions at any given time haven't been convicted of anything --- they're awaiting trial and can't pay bail. Another quarter or so are locked up for drug or public order offenses, not violent or property crimes. I'm glad that America has strong protections for political and religious freedom. I wish China had such protections as well. But we still imprison two or three times as many people per capita for bad reasons as China does.
antoniuschan99 8y ago
There's a term for this its called Whataboutism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

comex 8y ago

As you probably know, the intelligence community (which is partly military) is not supposed to target U.S. citizens, but there is a fair argument that so-called “incidental collection” of communications between a foreign target and someone in the US still amounts to “domestic spying”. However, for things like a spy drone where there’s no ambiguity in which jurisdiction is being targeted, I do think that no branch of the US military subject to the Posse Comitatus Act (all but the Coast Guard and, when called in, the National Guard) does or will use them on US soil. That said, civilian law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Border Patrol, DEA, and state police may do so. They all already use normal drones for various purposes.