The issue here is, it would undermine not just this one case, but all the FBI "created terrorist" cases. It would show the FBI in a bad light, and they do not want another agency under the spotlight. NSA, IRS, etc ...
Cameras can not help you stop crime, they allow you to determine what occurred at a later time. You need actionable information before hand to stop any sort of event, and surveillance through cameras or the NSA's spying doesn't give you that, everyone knows its there. All it does is wastes resources and gives the illusion of safety.
Ask a mathematician about this, the more data you collect, the more false positives and false negatives you can expect. You end up flagging a ton of people who shouldn't be flagged, and investigating them and wasting resources. Plus you miss more of the people that are about to do no good. In the end this sort of surveillance makes us less safe.
"Almost no one is arguing that the government should never have secrets. "
I am. How do you think we got into this mess in the first place?
It starts with a single secret, then a lie to cover it, then another secret and another lie. It gets to the point where every secret causes more secrets.
Perhaps a little demonization and anger is what is necessary. We have a secret court that is reminiscent of the star chamber, where misdeeds and illegalities are hidden from public view, one that uses the threat of incarceration to maintain its secrecy. Our politicians are sworn to uphold the constitution and the law of the land, yet they do neither. Their refusal to do their jobs and hold people accountable for criminal actions they witness is appalling. And in a political system that has no consequences for misdeeds, and most often the exact opposite, they will continue to run roughshod over the constitution and the laws of this nation.
So what should I have said, these people don't see the distinction between right and wrong, they are vicious, vindictive, vengeful to anyone who upsets the apple cart, and conforming to accepted standards of morality is something they are incapable of.
oh wait that translates as ... evil, nevermind.
e·vil
1. profoundly immoral and malevolent.
im·mor·al
1.not conforming to accepted standards of morality.
mo·ral·i·ty
1. principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
ma·lev·o·lent
1.having or showing a wish to do evil to others
synonyms - baleful, vicious, vindictive, vengeful
They probably are running huge drive arrays that do not have NTFS on them. Hence the lack of logging. Or maybe snowden had access to the backup system. Which would give him full access to pretty much anything.
Or this being the government, they probably forgot to enable Auditing.
Truth be told if he had access to the password files ... he could have pretended to be anyone after about a week of number crunching, faster if CUDA'd it.
On the post: Desperate To Sew Up TPP Negotiations At Any Cost, Politicians Agree All Future Meetings Will Be Completely Secret
On the post: Best Response To A Copyright Threat Ever? Lawyers Explain Why ABA Is Full Of S**t In Claiming Copyright On Routing Numbers
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Glaring misspelling...
On the post: Court Says You Can Be Liable For Merely Sending A Text Message To Someone Who's Driving
I read that as, we have a serious problem because the public always seems to have more common sense that the judiciary.
On the post: Court Says Feds Don't Have To Reveal Secret Evidence It Gathered Against 'Terror' Suspect Using FISA
Re: Thank you double standard
On the post: Mayor Bloomberg Loves Security Cameras Everywhere... Until His Police Are Ordered To Wear Them
On the post: Latest Snowden Leaks Detail The 'Black Budget' And How Much The Gov't Wastes On Useless Surveillance
Re: Re:
On the post: New Zealand Sort Of Bans Software Patents After Years Of Back And Forth
Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
Get over it and stop feeding the troll.
On the post: New Zealand Sort Of Bans Software Patents After Years Of Back And Forth
Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum
On the post: Former White House IP Czar Immediately Jumps Ship To Microsoft-Driven Anti-Piracy Lobbying Group BSA
Re: Proper Paperwork
On the post: The NSA Is Dianne Feinstein's And Mike Rogers' Abusive, Cheating Spouse
if (NSA_said == "they said this bold faced lie")
{
release = "this to embarrass them";
}
or do they have so much information that anything the NSA says can be refuted immediately.
On the post: Once Again, Media Jumps On Violent Video Games Before Knowing The Facts
This from people whose parents though Elvis grinding his hips would do the same thing to them. Maybe stupid is inherited.
On the post: The Deeper Meaning Of Miranda's Detention And The Destruction Of The Guardian's Hard Drives
Re: The best way around both.
On the post: Congress Asks Eric Holder To Explain Why NSA Supplies DEA Info Which It Then Launders To Go After Americans
Re: Re:
On the post: 1,000 Sys Admins Can Copy Any NSA Document Without Anyone Knowing About It; Think Only Snowden Did?
Re:
On the post: Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Says Anti-Terror Laws Should Be Used To Stop Investigative Journalism
I am. How do you think we got into this mess in the first place?
It starts with a single secret, then a lie to cover it, then another secret and another lie. It gets to the point where every secret causes more secrets.
On the post: Why NSA Boss Believes His Agency Is All Good: Intentions vs. Actions
Re: Re:
Perhaps a little demonization and anger is what is necessary. We have a secret court that is reminiscent of the star chamber, where misdeeds and illegalities are hidden from public view, one that uses the threat of incarceration to maintain its secrecy. Our politicians are sworn to uphold the constitution and the law of the land, yet they do neither. Their refusal to do their jobs and hold people accountable for criminal actions they witness is appalling. And in a political system that has no consequences for misdeeds, and most often the exact opposite, they will continue to run roughshod over the constitution and the laws of this nation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Chamber
On the post: Why NSA Boss Believes His Agency Is All Good: Intentions vs. Actions
Re: Re:
oh wait that translates as ... evil, nevermind.
e·vil
1. profoundly immoral and malevolent.
im·mor·al
1.not conforming to accepted standards of morality.
mo·ral·i·ty
1. principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
ma·lev·o·lent
1.having or showing a wish to do evil to others
synonyms - baleful, vicious, vindictive, vengeful
On the post: Why NSA Boss Believes His Agency Is All Good: Intentions vs. Actions
Re:
On the post: Why NSA Boss Believes His Agency Is All Good: Intentions vs. Actions
I have an alternate theory ...
they are just plain evil
On the post: Ed Snowden Covered His Tracks Well; How Many Other NSA Staffers Did The Same?
Or this being the government, they probably forgot to enable Auditing.
Truth be told if he had access to the password files ... he could have pretended to be anyone after about a week of number crunching, faster if CUDA'd it.
Next >>