alexqgb

69 ms·

541.
Why “we only spy on foreigners” doesn’t work any more for the NSA(washingtonpost.com)
8 points by alexqgb 13y ago|0 comments
542.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Excessive advertising is the best sign that you're going to get shafted in whatever ways they need to shaft you in order to cover the costs of signing up more people to shaft to pay the costs of signing up more people to shaft... You s
543.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Indeed. That's exactly why the system has gotten so far out of kilter. Muting or disabling the normal feedback loops has set the stage for the escalation of abuse that we've been witnessing ever since the banksters that cratered t
544.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Google, damnit. I mean, this isn't some obscure detail you're "curious" about. It's the founding event in US history.
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Update: Apparently Jagger's jab drew boos. I suspect there were a lot of people in the room who are deeply invested in the politics that were being mocked from the stage.
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by alexqgb 13y ago
I'm routinely hostile to people who use the "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear" apology. Few positions encapsulate a more dangerous concept of proper relations between the state and its citizens. And yet, w
547.
by alexqgb 13y ago
It's already started. Tonight, on stage at the Verizon center in DC, Mick Jagger said "I'm not sure if President Obama is here tonight, but I'm sure he's listening in." Maybe it's just me, but this comes a
548.
by alexqgb 13y ago
You were wrong in saying I was making misleading and / or false statements about Snowden's lack of protection and you're wrong in your belief that the law you cited offers protection to whistleblowers. The Whistleblower Prote
549.
by alexqgb 13y ago
No @eli, you've just got your facts wrong. What you're referring to is not the same thing as the Whistleblower Protection Act. Critically, the Act to which you refer isn't concerned with protection at all. It simply designate
550.
by alexqgb 13y ago
No, of course I'm not. Moreover, reframing the dynamic that exists between a particular plaintiff and a particular defendant in a particular case by turning it into a blanket assumption as general as that is either stupid, dishonest, o
551.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Why do you think the charges were filed in Eastern Virginia (home of the security establishment) and not Hawaii, whi h is the home of Snowden and the scene of the alleged crime?
552.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Worth remembering: The Whistleblower Protection Act covers Federal employees only, not private contractors. Moreover, efforts to expand the law to protect contractors as well have been repeatedly rebuffed in Congress.
553.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Manning isn't the only example of vindictive prosecutors run amok. Aaron Swartz was facing a deck stacked so heavily that he was risking 35 years in prison for excercising his basic right to a trial by jury. And if you doubt that the s
554.
by alexqgb 13y ago
"I thought it was a city made map." Probably because you didn't actually read the post.
555.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Judging from the exchanges in his blog's comments, he's a guy who knows his copyright, and has been careful about using the MTA's logo only in situations where Fair Use allows it to appear, and not using in situations where i
556.
by alexqgb 13y ago
"The author is basically directly attacking some poor bastard who works at Naughty Dog." No. Decisions about IP are never "just one person". They involve layers of approvals and sign-offs, some creative, some financial,
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by alexqgb 13y ago
If true, "honest mistake" is an acceptable answer. But it's not one you bring up with the person whose work you appropriated. It's one you bring up with your insurance company when they're following up on the errors
558.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Actually, it's not hypocritical at all - which is the problem in a nutshell. We've gotten so used arbitrary enforcement of our own laws (e.g. Clapper) that we're shocked when others take the rule of law seriously. Or at least
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Not anymore.
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Iceland's fine. It's going via Moscow that's the problem, at least in terms of the surrounding debate. It'll give a lot more ammunition to the "he betrayed his country" people, which won't be good for the
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Seems like this is where his carefully considered plan gets much more improvisational. Bad optics, just the same - even if he is on his way to Iceland.
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by alexqgb 13y ago
It's entirely possible. And the USS Jimmy Carter - a sub with smaller subs inside - was designed to do exactly that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Jimmy_Carter_(SSN-23)
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Fair enough. Sorry about the ton of bricks.
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Wait, what? You don't honestly believe that no laws were broken in the inflation and collapse of the housing bubble, do you? You're just trolling, right? I'm sorry, you were being serious? Oh boy, where to begin... Try http:
565.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Not a single major bankster thrown in jail and now we're lecturing other countries about the Rule of Law? Hilarious.
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by alexqgb 13y ago
There's also a big difference between new law - which can be batshit insane - and settled law, which has both passed constitutional muster and become widely accepted. Trying to reconcile "consent of the governed" with "s
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Simply electing leaders isn't enough in systems with winner-take-all dynamics. Brazil, Turkey, and Egypt all encapsulate this basic truth. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/21/the_tyranny
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by alexqgb 13y ago
Again, no. And as your own links demonstrate, this is not simply what I personally believe. It's also what the ACLU believes. Seriously, did you even read what you posted? For instance, the one about medical records is discussing warra
569.
by alexqgb 13y ago
Um, no. A world in which there was truly no privacy is one in which anyone on the planet could log into your bank account, and get an itemized list of every transaction you've run through it. Obviously, that's not the case. Just a
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by alexqgb 13y ago
In his notorious guide to ruling, Machiavelli advised Princes with bad news to deliver it all at once, noting that no matter how bad it is, people will adjust and move on if they feel that's the end of it. Good news, on the other hand,

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