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Both of these things can be true (and things we as Canadians have to aggressively oppose) but at the same time, it was the US that pioneered such gems as: the
by cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
Both of these things can be true (and things we as Canadians have to aggressively oppose) but at the same time, it was the US that pioneered such gems as:
the PATRIOT act, Stellar Wind, PRISM & Section 702 (FAA), Upstream Collection & AT&T Splitter Rooms (Room 641A), Bulk Telephony Metadata (Section 215, the Post-9/11 NYPD Demographics Unit, the Data Broker Loophole (Commercial Surveillance Purchase). Oh god, I could go on all day.
Or did/does things like extraordinary rendition to Guantanamo, or the illegal rendition of Canadian citizen Maher Arar to a Syrian torture facility while he was traveling through the US, or even just taking tourists phones and looking at the anti-Trump memes they've shared and detaining them.
Any "libertarian" American pointing fingers at Europe and Canada as somehow more repressive is living in an ideological echo chamber. The targets are (sometimes) different but every "western democracy" set up oppressive regimes post-9/11 that should outrage anybody.
Both "left" and "right" in the US are living in a delusional world if they think their constitution is worth jack shit as any kind of protection in the 21st century.
- Henchman21 1mo agoAs an American I can tell you absolutely people around me are entirely delusional. It’s sad to see and I know I am not immune. Near as I can tell we are, in fact, the baddies.
- abustamam 1mo agoThe best propaganda is the propaganda you dont know exists.
- Henchman21 1mo agoI guess ours has gotten pretty damned bad -- it's so incredibly obvious. I've been ashamed to be an American for a long time now. Perhaps it is finally time to cut ties & move on. Truly this feels like it must be the dumbest timeline.
- cmrdporcupine 1mo agoThere are no good guys. The foxes are in charge of the hen house in every country. E.g. Carney is using all of this as a chance to completely gut every climate change initiative possible and slash corporate taxes, shore up existing Canadian oligopolies etc. etc. The nationalism is a drug which can be used by elites in all places for their own purposes. It's just a matter of degrees I guess.
- Henchman21 1mo agoEach of us has the capacity to be good and evil. I guess the thing I am lamenting is that no one is bothered to try and hide the evil anymore. Or maybe I see it clearly now for the first time. But regardless of what others are doing, what we are doing in the United States is absolutely shameful. I hope someday humans are able to move beyond nation-states, the economics of scarcity, capitalism, greed, hate, the need some have to control. We need to deal with the power hungry and the continued ramifications of them ruling over the rest of us. I’m not sure where to even begin.
- abustamam 1mo agoJust yesterday this was trending on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49710883 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49710883 I think one of the best examples of propaganda in recent times is political figures pinning left vs right, when its really citizens vs govt. But if they can keep the common folks distracted by the outrage of the day maybe they'll forget that the government is surveillant everyone, all while billionaires line their pockets with money made from our data. A few years ago I may have met a statement like that with a raised eyebrow and a tinfoil hat, but I guess sometimes those guys are right.