"to be completely unable to detect shifts in tone."
or......
they just don't give a shit what the American public think about their domestic spying, because they're:
1. totally insulated from any and all repercussions for their unconstitutional actions by secret interpretations of US laws that trump the standard interpretations of those same laws whenever these agencies are involved.
2. completely protected by a government that refuses to rein in the activities of their spy agencies, and which in fact, desires the expansion of surveillance on US citizens due to the Wars on Druggies, Hackers and Terrorists.
3. utterly unafraid of a judicial/court system that is wide open to blackmail and coercion by the spy agencies, when its members are not openly rooting for the surveillance state.
To put this another way:
Can anyone out there give me one good reason why the Surveillance Corporation of Ameri Co. Inc should do anything but thumb their noses at all Americans and all their demands of constitutional behaviour??
No. Not a moral reason. They obviously have no morals. Otherwise they would respect American's privacy, tell the truth in court, and stop beating their spouses.
I'm asking for a reason that would compel them to stop domestic spying... you know - like punishment, repercussions, sanctions, loss of employment - that sort of thing.
That's right. There is no mechanism or process available to the American Public that can cause these agencies or their employees any grief whatsoever, no matter how heinous their actions. They are beyond all American laws.
Which pretty much makes them all non-Americans.
Why is it so difficult for the vast majority of Americans to see the writing on the wall??
Who are you people and what have you done with my America??
"If the government can't be talked out of firing flashbangs through windows or predicating drug raids on random plant matter found in someone's trash can, then it's not going to reroute investigations just because a piece of software says a few people's most private information might be exposed.
Its always nice when there is no need to post the obvious in response to an article about "responsible government".
"It's a bit disappointing that the President never really came out with a strong leadership position on..."
Its a bit disappointing that so many Americans still believe that ANY President can be an independent free thinker, capable of actually coming out as a strong leader on any position that does not benefit the billionaires that put him in office, but you really can fool all of the people most of the time and most of the people all of the time, so, while its disappointing, its really no big surprise.
I just wish it wasn't so damned pleasant watching them squirm, now they know their little online escapades with Bond-A-Bitch.com and Lolly-Diddle.org are the recorded property of the Five Eyes' International Compliance Department.
But I just can't get this shit-eating grin off my face....
Sadly, since public "representation" no longer exists in America and the public is without a voice, the only way that anything can be done about this fiasco now, is if the officials on the pay roll realize that they; just like the rest, are permanently under the microscope and that all their employer's reassurances of their immunity from surveillance, were lies.
"I think there are two sides to the problem: Officials / departments who redact way too much, and people, individuals, and organizations who use the FOIA not to obtain specific information, but rather as the basis of fishing expeditions."
Well, you see, this is America, and that means its the American Public's pond and them is the American Public's fishes, and if the American Public wants to go fishing blind, that is abso-fuckin'-lootely an activity the American Public should be allowed, expected and encouraged to do.
Are you claiming that the information held by the government of the USA, belongs to the government of the USA and that the general population of American Citizens should not be allowed to see that information, in "Whatever" way they damn well feel like seeing that information??
Do you believe that the public should also pay the government twice - huge salary plus exorbitant service charge - for that information, and that the government should be allowed to decide what is and is not suitable for public reading, even after its been shown repeatedly that these redactions do not protect national security, but are intended solely to protect criminal activity by government officials and employees and friends??
I don't think most Americans would like the America you apparently prefer, although I will admit, your side is definitely winning.
You really Can fool all of the people most of the time.
I have the utmost faith that within a half century, Americans will finally come to realize that their government no longer works for them.... or perhaps it might be better stated that the American Public will realize that they are no longer the "We" represented by the term 'We The People'.
Mind you this realization will likely come after their government and its corporate masters have destroyed the United States of America and established Ameri Co. Inc. on its corpse, but hey, nobody's perfect, especially peasants who worship wealth above all else.
It appears as though the 'elected' "Leaders Apparent" running the member nations "in the open", are beginning to comprehend the full reality behind having a secret organization like the Five Eyes running the real show from behind the scenes.
They finally begin to see that they are merely employees, and like any employees, are being kept under constant vigil by their employers... a little karmic komprehension if you will.
So, like employees anywhere, they petition their masters with their grievances, in the hopes of brokering a deal that allows them to continue watching porn during office hours secretly, while, like employers anywhere, the real rulers of these nations chairing the Five Eyes Board of Directors, will pat their charges on the head and say all the right things to sooth their brows, while secretly switching the surveillance process to their other hand and adding a few new layers of intrusion and complexity.
Its like a really bad B movie, except that it just repeats itself over and over again... like fools in a time loop.
Its just that we only see the tiniest tip of this iceberg and only occasionally, because the Truth Free Press seldom reports real events, for fear that their corporate sponsors might withdraw their monetary support. Reports like this are only examined by the lesser press - the "fringe".
But rest assured that for every event like this that rises to the surface of the chamber pot that is modern America, hundreds more go entirely unreported every day and never enter public awareness at all.
I'd love to see a transcript of FOX news' version of this event. I'd wager the lad's IQ and mental incapacity are never mentioned.
And once again, the hard-of-thinking will go to bed saying "lord be praised", knowing their heroes at the FBI saved their worthless butts from another "muzlum terrist".
Propaganda is only effective when its regularly repeated after all.
Order of the Realm: Hierarchy of The English Speaking White Guys Club
Great Britain --------------- Director United States of America - Operations Canada ---------------------- Technology Australia -------------------- Ways and Means New Zealand ---------------- Wet-work
"Here's my plan for what I will do with Wall Street when I am president:
Break up huge financial institutions in the first year of my administration."
Breaking news:
President Mason Wheeler was killed today; only days after his State of the Nation address announcement that he would be fielding legislation to break up all the huge US financial institutions, when his bulletproof limousine was crushed by Boeing 747 flight 215 out of Kansas, that literally dropped out of the sky directly on top of the president's car as he and his entourage waited for a street light on 35th avenue, in Boston. There were no survivors.
Methinks ye all might be fergettin' one very important thingie in all of this.
Even though the story - once parsed for BS by those capable of the feat - is utterly goofy and obviously just a scam to make the domestic idjits tremble, 90% of those who read this or hear about it on Fox or from others who read it or heard it on Fox, will actually believe, 100%, that the heroes at the FBI did indeed save their worthless butts from another violent and evil "muzlum terrist", praise the lord.
You might want to dismiss all of these manufactured terrorist stories, if you're smart enough to see the obvious, but you can rest assured that most Americans would not know the obvious from a truck tire, and will swallow this BS whole, without ever questioning anything, or even examining the details provided in the story, beyond the scary bits.
In that respect, all of the home made terrorist stories are doing exactly what your leaders want then to do - scare the bejezzuns outta "most Americans all of the time".
Not sure of the vernacular, but a conman needs to keep the mark off-guard via many trick diversions, so that the mark continues to follow the steps that lead to their own loss and the conman's reward.
This is, believe it or not, an entirely effective means of keeping the vast majority of Americans hiding under their beds and supporting hopeful heroes who claim they will slay the evil "terrists" for America, Mother, and Apple Pie, like the Trumpette, or Hillarious.
Intellectuals and smarty-pants who see thru the crap, like alla you folks out there in techdirt land, will be the first people executed when the "Ruler" dons his crown anyways, so don't be so smug just cuz its obviously a scam to you.
After a short perusal of your company creations, I see where you're coming from with this Good Guy corporation thing.
To try and clarify, I did not state at any time that a corporation must be "set up" as an "Evil Entity", or that all corporations are corrupt, right out of the gate.
In fact I stated on numerous occasions that any corporation or organization that deals in money will "eventually" become the property of men and women who will attempt to use it for their own nefarious purposes and that it will thereafter become more and more corrupt regardless of how benign or humane the corporation's original intent might have been.
Church and government are great examples.
To put this in a perhaps more obvious light, techdirt and its associated companies, while it does not actually "deal" in money, nonetheless may someday, if not already, make money, and once it becomes big enough to a.) make a lot of money, or b.) cause wealthy people to lose lots of money - through awesome reporting and its public-opinion-setting articles - it will become a target for take over by those who either want to use it to make money for themselves, or those who want it to stop interfering with their ability to make money.
Consider for a moment, that if you were to die, or be otherwise removed from your position of control, other people would become the leadership of the ship you built, and that their destination may be different from that which you set as your bearing, even if you have already chosen your replacement.
Thus, while you may have created a company that has a 100% benign and beneficial mandate, there is nothing preventing it from becoming corrupt, either through intervention by others more powerful than yourself, or through the loss of your guidance and control, or both.
Any benign organization that is effective, will make enemies.
The more effective, the greater the number of enemies.
If it also makes money, then it will also attract the attention of those who wish to use its good name as a facade behind which they can profitably operate nefariously.
These people will also have the willing assistance and eager support of it enemies - those who the organization was effective against.
You might also consider that the vast majority of corporate entities are NOT set up for benign purposes, and ARE set up specifically to make more money next year than this year.
All such institutions, organizations and corporations will become corrupt over time, if they did not indeed begin life as pure monetary siphons.
As an example, try Green Peace, or for that matter, any of the myriad Pro-Earth organizations - Institutions that were obviously set up for an extremely benign purpose - saving the earth.
Utterly benign on the surface - Save the Whales, Save the World - yet they are ALL fully aware that 75% of the damage to the eco-sphere - land and water and air - each year is due to the cattle industry.
These institutions do absolutely nothing to try and prevent the cattle industry from polluting the seas and air, and destroying the land, because to do so would hurt their ability to "raise funds" - because they know that the public will NOT give up their barbeque beef and going against the beef industry would lose the popular support from which their funding is derived.
They are just men and women who treasure their own incomes and the continued existence of the source of that income - their institution - over that of the earth, like the humans that compose the membership of any other such institution, eventually.
Self survival first.
Because they have chosen to ignore the problem that is actually causing all the damage, for fear of losing money, they have also chosen a path that will lead these institutions towards greater and greater corruption and eventually, they will likely end up creating fake crisis in order to "fight" those crisis, like government and church does.
The only way to prevent this natural corruption is to limit the length of time any institution can remain intact, to 15, or 20 years, after which it is automatically and irrevocably dissolved.
This will never be allowed of course.
You yourself - at age 63 - would not want the future TD Inc., to face automatic dissolution when it was making 130 million a year after taxes, even if it was nothing more than a propaganda tool of whatever repressive regime runs America at that time.
On the post: Chase Freezes Guy's Bank Account For Paying His Dogwalker For Walking Dash The Dog
Something new for you.
Breaking news!!
America's VIPs - Wall Street's Successful Capitalists, The MAFIA and the members of the United States Federal Government - already did.
Not that Fascism is actually something new - just something new to non-millionaire Americans.
---
On the post: Congressman Wants To Make Attacking A Cop A Federal 'Hate' Crime
None so blind...
Every Police State needs this sort of legislation and eventually installs some kind of police protection law.
The American Police State is no exception.
Oh wait! That's right. Americans don't believe that America can be a police state.
My bad. Never mind.
---
On the post: DOJ Steps In To Salvage The DEA's Toxic, Possibly Illegal Wiretaps
Its definitely worth a shot, since there's no repercussions if it fails.
How can the Department of Justification and the Drug Entrapment Agency NOT do their level best to push this through court?
Its a half million dollars.
That's like the equivalent of half of a new Porsche for each of the brass involved in the case plus a couple grand for each of the underlings.
No way they're gonna let a little annoyance like the Law of the Land get between them and half a million dollars.
Why, that would be downright Un-American.
Capitalists need Capital!!
---
On the post: Congressional Reps Tell NSA To Cease Sharing Unminimized Data With Domestic Law Enforcement Agencies
Eyes Wide Shut
or......
they just don't give a shit what the American public think about their domestic spying, because they're:
1. totally insulated from any and all repercussions for their unconstitutional actions by secret interpretations of US laws that trump the standard interpretations of those same laws whenever these agencies are involved.
2. completely protected by a government that refuses to rein in the activities of their spy agencies, and which in fact, desires the expansion of surveillance on US citizens due to the Wars on Druggies, Hackers and Terrorists.
3. utterly unafraid of a judicial/court system that is wide open to blackmail and coercion by the spy agencies, when its members are not openly rooting for the surveillance state.
To put this another way:
Can anyone out there give me one good reason why the Surveillance Corporation of Ameri Co. Inc should do anything but thumb their noses at all Americans and all their demands of constitutional behaviour??
No. Not a moral reason. They obviously have no morals. Otherwise they would respect American's privacy, tell the truth in court, and stop beating their spouses.
I'm asking for a reason that would compel them to stop domestic spying... you know - like punishment, repercussions, sanctions, loss of employment - that sort of thing.
That's right. There is no mechanism or process available to the American Public that can cause these agencies or their employees any grief whatsoever, no matter how heinous their actions. They are beyond all American laws.
Which pretty much makes them all non-Americans.
Why is it so difficult for the vast majority of Americans to see the writing on the wall??
Who are you people and what have you done with my America??
---
On the post: Algorithm Might Protect Non-Targets Caught In Surveillance, But Only If The Government Cares What Happens To Non-Targets
100%
Its always nice when there is no need to post the obvious in response to an article about "responsible government".
Exactly - that.
---
On the post: President Obama's State Of The Union: Praises Open Internet... Complains About Terrorists Using Open Internet
PT Barnum for POTUS!!!
Its a bit disappointing that so many Americans still believe that ANY President can be an independent free thinker, capable of actually coming out as a strong leader on any position that does not benefit the billionaires that put him in office, but you really can fool all of the people most of the time and most of the people all of the time, so, while its disappointing, its really no big surprise.
---
On the post: Game Cracking Group Predicts The End Of Cracking Because Of Better DRM
Most likely chain of events....
Behind the scenes: Denuvo Team emails (encrypted) crack data to 3DM
HEADLINE: 3DM breaks Denuvo DRM!!!
---
On the post: After Spending Time As Surveillance Subjects, Intelligence Oversight Committee Suddenly Performing Some Oversight
Re:
I just wish it wasn't so damned pleasant watching them squirm, now they know their little online escapades with Bond-A-Bitch.com and Lolly-Diddle.org are the recorded property of the Five Eyes' International Compliance Department.
But I just can't get this shit-eating grin off my face....
Sadly, since public "representation" no longer exists in America and the public is without a voice, the only way that anything can be done about this fiasco now, is if the officials on the pay roll realize that they; just like the rest, are permanently under the microscope and that all their employer's reassurances of their immunity from surveillance, were lies.
---
On the post: FBI Finally Completes FOIA Request 1,393 Days After It Was Filed; Withholds All 509 Responsive Pages
Re:
Well, you see, this is America, and that means its the American Public's pond and them is the American Public's fishes, and if the American Public wants to go fishing blind, that is abso-fuckin'-lootely an activity the American Public should be allowed, expected and encouraged to do.
Are you claiming that the information held by the government of the USA, belongs to the government of the USA and that the general population of American Citizens should not be allowed to see that information, in "Whatever" way they damn well feel like seeing that information??
Do you believe that the public should also pay the government twice - huge salary plus exorbitant service charge - for that information, and that the government should be allowed to decide what is and is not suitable for public reading, even after its been shown repeatedly that these redactions do not protect national security, but are intended solely to protect criminal activity by government officials and employees and friends??
I don't think most Americans would like the America you apparently prefer, although I will admit, your side is definitely winning.
---
On the post: FBI Finally Completes FOIA Request 1,393 Days After It Was Filed; Withholds All 509 Responsive Pages
You really Can fool all of the people most of the time.
Mind you this realization will likely come after their government and its corporate masters have destroyed the United States of America and established Ameri Co. Inc. on its corpse, but hey, nobody's perfect, especially peasants who worship wealth above all else.
---
On the post: After Spending Time As Surveillance Subjects, Intelligence Oversight Committee Suddenly Performing Some Oversight
The Worm Oroboros
They finally begin to see that they are merely employees, and like any employees, are being kept under constant vigil by their employers... a little karmic komprehension if you will.
So, like employees anywhere, they petition their masters with their grievances, in the hopes of brokering a deal that allows them to continue watching porn during office hours secretly, while, like employers anywhere, the real rulers of these nations chairing the Five Eyes Board of Directors, will pat their charges on the head and say all the right things to sooth their brows, while secretly switching the surveillance process to their other hand and adding a few new layers of intrusion and complexity.
Its like a really bad B movie, except that it just repeats itself over and over again... like fools in a time loop.
----
On the post: FBI Turns 18-Year-Old With An IQ Of 51 Into A Terrorist; Dumps Case Into Laps Of Local Prosecutors
Re: Re:
Oh, it has already gotten much, much worse.
Its just that we only see the tiniest tip of this iceberg and only occasionally, because the Truth Free Press seldom reports real events, for fear that their corporate sponsors might withdraw their monetary support. Reports like this are only examined by the lesser press - the "fringe".
But rest assured that for every event like this that rises to the surface of the chamber pot that is modern America, hundreds more go entirely unreported every day and never enter public awareness at all.
---
On the post: FBI Turns 18-Year-Old With An IQ Of 51 Into A Terrorist; Dumps Case Into Laps Of Local Prosecutors
Tell a lie often enough and it becomes history.
And once again, the hard-of-thinking will go to bed saying "lord be praised", knowing their heroes at the FBI saved their worthless butts from another "muzlum terrist".
Propaganda is only effective when its regularly repeated after all.
---
On the post: New Zealand's Raid On Investigatory Journalist Was Illegal
Re: Genuflection
Order of the Realm:
Hierarchy of The English Speaking White Guys Club
Great Britain --------------- Director
United States of America - Operations
Canada ---------------------- Technology
Australia -------------------- Ways and Means
New Zealand ---------------- Wet-work
---
On the post: New Zealand's Raid On Investigatory Journalist Was Illegal
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"Here's my plan for what I will do with Wall Street when I am president:
Break up huge financial institutions in the first year of my administration."
Breaking news:
President Mason Wheeler was killed today; only days after his State of the Nation address announcement that he would be fielding legislation to break up all the huge US financial institutions, when his bulletproof limousine was crushed by Boeing 747 flight 215 out of Kansas, that literally dropped out of the sky directly on top of the president's car as he and his entourage waited for a street light on 35th avenue, in Boston. There were no survivors.
Rooters
---
On the post: FBI Closes Out 2015 With Another Questionable Terrorism Bust
Yeah sure its phony, but hell it did the job...
Even though the story - once parsed for BS by those capable of the feat - is utterly goofy and obviously just a scam to make the domestic idjits tremble, 90% of those who read this or hear about it on Fox or from others who read it or heard it on Fox, will actually believe, 100%, that the heroes at the FBI did indeed save their worthless butts from another violent and evil "muzlum terrist", praise the lord.
You might want to dismiss all of these manufactured terrorist stories, if you're smart enough to see the obvious, but you can rest assured that most Americans would not know the obvious from a truck tire, and will swallow this BS whole, without ever questioning anything, or even examining the details provided in the story, beyond the scary bits.
In that respect, all of the home made terrorist stories are doing exactly what your leaders want then to do - scare the bejezzuns outta "most Americans all of the time".
Not sure of the vernacular, but a conman needs to keep the mark off-guard via many trick diversions, so that the mark continues to follow the steps that lead to their own loss and the conman's reward.
This is, believe it or not, an entirely effective means of keeping the vast majority of Americans hiding under their beds and supporting hopeful heroes who claim they will slay the evil "terrists" for America, Mother, and Apple Pie, like the Trumpette, or Hillarious.
Intellectuals and smarty-pants who see thru the crap, like alla you folks out there in techdirt land, will be the first people executed when the "Ruler" dons his crown anyways, so don't be so smug just cuz its obviously a scam to you.
---
On the post: How Private-Sector Innovation Can Help Those Most In Need
tl;dr
---
On the post: How Private-Sector Innovation Can Help Those Most In Need
Re: Re: Re: If it walks like a duck and quacks...
After a short perusal of your company creations, I see where you're coming from with this Good Guy corporation thing.
To try and clarify, I did not state at any time that a corporation must be "set up" as an "Evil Entity", or that all corporations are corrupt, right out of the gate.
In fact I stated on numerous occasions that any corporation or organization that deals in money will "eventually" become the property of men and women who will attempt to use it for their own nefarious purposes and that it will thereafter become more and more corrupt regardless of how benign or humane the corporation's original intent might have been.
Church and government are great examples.
To put this in a perhaps more obvious light, techdirt and its associated companies, while it does not actually "deal" in money, nonetheless may someday, if not already, make money, and once it becomes big enough to a.) make a lot of money, or b.) cause wealthy people to lose lots of money - through awesome reporting and its public-opinion-setting articles - it will become a target for take over by those who either want to use it to make money for themselves, or those who want it to stop interfering with their ability to make money.
Consider for a moment, that if you were to die, or be otherwise removed from your position of control, other people would become the leadership of the ship you built, and that their destination may be different from that which you set as your bearing, even if you have already chosen your replacement.
Thus, while you may have created a company that has a 100% benign and beneficial mandate, there is nothing preventing it from becoming corrupt, either through intervention by others more powerful than yourself, or through the loss of your guidance and control, or both.
Any benign organization that is effective, will make enemies.
The more effective, the greater the number of enemies.
If it also makes money, then it will also attract the attention of those who wish to use its good name as a facade behind which they can profitably operate nefariously.
These people will also have the willing assistance and eager support of it enemies - those who the organization was effective against.
You might also consider that the vast majority of corporate entities are NOT set up for benign purposes, and ARE set up specifically to make more money next year than this year.
All such institutions, organizations and corporations will become corrupt over time, if they did not indeed begin life as pure monetary siphons.
As an example, try Green Peace, or for that matter, any of the myriad Pro-Earth organizations - Institutions that were obviously set up for an extremely benign purpose - saving the earth.
Utterly benign on the surface - Save the Whales, Save the World - yet they are ALL fully aware that 75% of the damage to the eco-sphere - land and water and air - each year is due to the cattle industry.
These institutions do absolutely nothing to try and prevent the cattle industry from polluting the seas and air, and destroying the land, because to do so would hurt their ability to "raise funds" - because they know that the public will NOT give up their barbeque beef and going against the beef industry would lose the popular support from which their funding is derived.
They are just men and women who treasure their own incomes and the continued existence of the source of that income - their institution - over that of the earth, like the humans that compose the membership of any other such institution, eventually.
Self survival first.
Because they have chosen to ignore the problem that is actually causing all the damage, for fear of losing money, they have also chosen a path that will lead these institutions towards greater and greater corruption and eventually, they will likely end up creating fake crisis in order to "fight" those crisis, like government and church does.
The only way to prevent this natural corruption is to limit the length of time any institution can remain intact, to 15, or 20 years, after which it is automatically and irrevocably dissolved.
This will never be allowed of course.
You yourself - at age 63 - would not want the future TD Inc., to face automatic dissolution when it was making 130 million a year after taxes, even if it was nothing more than a propaganda tool of whatever repressive regime runs America at that time.
---
On the post: Judge's Opinion On Kim Dotcom Shows An Unfortunate Willingness To Ignore Context
Re: Re:
If the Guv don't get its cut of the profits, then there is no place on earth you can hide your money from their legal wrath and greedy grasp.
Result: No competition equals quality and pricing control heaven.
---
On the post: Law Enforcement Wants To Be Able To Seize The Cars And Homes Of People Convicted On Child Porn Charges
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Pariah.
Take a number. :) /s
---
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