And if that doesn't work, the government can simply pass a law granting it and any telecommunications companies that cooperated retroactive immunity. As it did in the Room 641A case.
Of course, the government can simply refuse to prosecute any spying when it's unveiled. Lawsuits against the government can be dismissed because those bringing the lawsuits "don't have standing." The head of the agency responsible can lie to Congress about it, knowing that Congress won't act when that lie is caught.
The Pentagon Papers trial was dismissed in 1973 after evidence of government misconduct against Daniel Ellsberg, including illegal wiretapping, was introduced in court. Today the government actions that got the case thrown out of court are legal.
For the two years Ellsberg was under indictment he was free to speak to the media and at rallies and public lectures. Today Snowden would not be allowed out on bail. He would be in a prison cell, incommunicado, in total isolation conditions like Chelsea Manning was.
There are multiple sources - many credible - for such claims.
Here in Canada we had a game show for years called "This Is the Law." Panelists - often including guests from the legal profession - would be shown humorous vignettes alternating with real depictions of actual court cases. And then they had to guess what law was actually being broken.
Sometimes they were told the first law being broken, and they had to guess the second. And sometimes that second law was broken by the arresting officer.
Also, the government (and everyone else) needs to get past this idea that "liking" something on these social media platforms actually means you like or support it.
There's also the question of what happens after you endorse something.
Consider all the architects & engineers who signed a petition calling for an independent investigation of 9/11. You sign based on wanting to know what warnings the White House ignored.... and only later the claim is made that the signatures endorse the "inside job" wingnuttery.
And yet that's not the case with phones on existing satellite constellations.
Sure, the original Iridium system had low bandwidth. But that was 20 years ago. Globalstar has done better, and SpaceX has been launching Iridium NEXT satellites ten at a time.
Satellite phones tend to look like 15-year-old cell phones. No large panels or dishes needed.
Re: Sheesh. It's not the phone, it's the "criminal activity".
You constantly shake your pom-poms for every form of government corruption. Innocent people having their property stolen at badge-point despite no grounds for charges against them? You love it.
A satellite constellation loses out against mobile phones in areas with high population density.... on purely technical merits.
But they're not competing on purely technical merits. They're competing against Comcast, Verizon and the rest who have used regulatory capture to gain government enforced monopolies.
And they're competing in rural areas where the same effective monopolies offer only cellular coverage and will kick people off the service by the thousands for using 1GB in a month.
Not to mention many places where cellular coverage simply isn't available. A VERY large fraction of the world. And not just the oceans, wilderness and second and third world countries. I have property in cottage country an hour and a half outside of Ottawa - in the direction of Toronto - and there's no cellular coverage in the area.
The "rights enforcement" companies have a well-earned reputation for scamming seniors. Including one I know in an old folks home. No Wi-Fi, no-one but him using his internet connection. Doesn't know what Bittorrent is, and no trace of it on his PC. Never heard of the show he was accused of downloading. But he still received settlement demands.
IP addresses can easily be faked. A decade ago people were demonstrating how even the IP addresses of laser printers can receive a stream of copyright troll accusations. Only the most dishonest scammer would send out legal threats equating an IP address with a specific person.
P.S. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt in assuming that you're a paid troll. To insinuate that you're unpaid - or that you believe what you write - would be a grave insult to your intelligence.
I'm surprised you don't shake your pom-poms for the silencing of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the journalist who led the Panama Papers offshore tax evasion expose.
She also wrote an expose of the Maltese Economy minister and his consultant visited a brothel in Germany while on government business. Her son is also a journalist and wrote stories linking Maltese politicians to the Panama Papers.
Both have been written about here. Both faced defamation lawsuits for reporting the truth. For doing what you hate so much.
She was assassinated yesterday by a car bomb in northern Malta.
These allegations from multiple women - in addition to Trump's boasting about being entitled to walk in on dressing rooms full of naked teenage girls - which girls have confirmed that he did - plus "grab her by the pussy" etc., didn't stop Republicans from voting for him.
Throughout this thread you keep repeating your claim that the left and right are identical. Perhaps the left has nothing to be proud of. But at least when the stories about Weinstein went public, his career was over. And it was those who you call the "left" that ended his career and vilified him.
When similar stories about Trump went public, the right declared "Nope; not a problem!", continued to declare him the paragon of conservative leadership, and elected him President.
The only difference? The rights is not as hypocritically self-righteous as you lot are about it.
You actually believe that?
Bill Clinton having an affair was declared to be of vital national importance by the Republicans. They did everything but demand that he get re-blown on the Senate floor. ("We must know exactly what happened!!!) Everything had to be done in public and under oath, and every word published.
Not so with 9/11, when they investigated what warnings the President received.
The White House wanted to limit any appearance by the president to just one hour spent with two of the commissioners. Bush II did eventually meet with the Commission, but only under stringent conditions: Bush had to have Dick Cheney at his side, testifying at the same time; testimony was given in private and NOT UNDER OATH; no press coverage was allowed; and no recordings or transcripts were made of what they said.
Plus we now know that Newt Gingrich - leading the prosecution of Clinton - was himself having an affair at the time. And it didn't hurt him - or any of the other later Republican candidates known to have had affairs - when they ran for President.
If a Democrat said any one of many things Trump said on the campaign trail ("blood coming out of her wherever", attacks on the media, etc.) or in the past, Republicans would declare it the apocalypse.
I did notice your repeat attempt to put me on their side.
Yes, this would never happen among the right. That's why the Republican Party refused to support Donald Trump despite all the accusations against him. Some - like being entitled to walk in on dressing rooms full of naked teenage girls and of course "grab her by the pussy" - admitted to by Trump himself.
Yes sir. Purely a "general left" thing. Other than that vast majority of the right who had no problem with it.
Re: Re: Response to: Anonymous Coward on Oct 15th, 2017 @ 1:44pm
I had some objections about Obama. Going after whistle blowers for example. And for not prosecuting those who turned the country into a torture state, from the torturers up to the White House.
Of course prosecuting whistleblowers is something Trump and most Republican candidates demand. Most 2012 and 2016 Republican candidates - including Trump - were shaking their pom-poms for renewed torture. It's hard to find a valid complaint about Obama that doesn't also apply equally to Republicans.
But your false equivalency to Trump? That takes a special blend of dishonesty, stupidity and delusion.
On the post: Beyond ICE In Oakland: How SESTA Threatens To Chill Any Online Discussion About Immigration
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: 1st Amendment
And if that doesn't work, the government can simply pass a law granting it and any telecommunications companies that cooperated retroactive immunity. As it did in the Room 641A case.
Of course, the government can simply refuse to prosecute any spying when it's unveiled. Lawsuits against the government can be dismissed because those bringing the lawsuits "don't have standing." The head of the agency responsible can lie to Congress about it, knowing that Congress won't act when that lie is caught.
On the post: Beyond ICE In Oakland: How SESTA Threatens To Chill Any Online Discussion About Immigration
Re: Re: Re: 1st Amendment
The Pentagon Papers trial was dismissed in 1973 after evidence of government misconduct against Daniel Ellsberg, including illegal wiretapping, was introduced in court. Today the government actions that got the case thrown out of court are legal.
For the two years Ellsberg was under indictment he was free to speak to the media and at rallies and public lectures. Today Snowden would not be allowed out on bail. He would be in a prison cell, incommunicado, in total isolation conditions like Chelsea Manning was.
On the post: Beyond ICE In Oakland: How SESTA Threatens To Chill Any Online Discussion About Immigration
Re: Re: Re:
Here in Canada we had a game show for years called "This Is the Law." Panelists - often including guests from the legal profession - would be shown humorous vignettes alternating with real depictions of actual court cases. And then they had to guess what law was actually being broken.
Sometimes they were told the first law being broken, and they had to guess the second. And sometimes that second law was broken by the arresting officer.
On the post: Government Drops Its Demand For Data On 6,000 Facebook Users
Re: Likes
There's also the question of what happens after you endorse something.
Consider all the architects & engineers who signed a petition calling for an independent investigation of 9/11. You sign based on wanting to know what warnings the White House ignored.... and only later the claim is made that the signatures endorse the "inside job" wingnuttery.
This could be done with any radical cause.
On the post: Wireless Carriers Again Busted Collecting, Selling User Data Without Consent Or Opt Out Tools
Re: Another reason not to trust Windows 10
On the post: UK Gov't Considering Redefining Social Media Services As Publishers To Make It Easier To Control Them
- The Duke of Wellington, opposing early steam railroads.
The British government's lament has merely been updated for the 21st century.
On the post: AT&T Spent Hundreds Of Billions On Mergers And All It Got Was A Big Pile Of Cord Cutters
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
And yet that's not the case with phones on existing satellite constellations.
Sure, the original Iridium system had low bandwidth. But that was 20 years ago. Globalstar has done better, and SpaceX has been launching Iridium NEXT satellites ten at a time.
Satellite phones tend to look like 15-year-old cell phones. No large panels or dishes needed.
On the post: Use A Landline To Talk About Criminal Activity? The Government Can Seize The House Around It
Re: If the phone was in a hotel room...
The Department of Justice has done just that.
On the post: Use A Landline To Talk About Criminal Activity? The Government Can Seize The House Around It
Glass Half Full
Back when ICE was the INS, if you didn't give them the answers they wanted they'd ship you to Syria for torture by proxy.
If theft at badge-point is all they're doing now, it's a remarkable improvement.
So, yay?
On the post: Use A Landline To Talk About Criminal Activity? The Government Can Seize The House Around It
Re: Sheesh. It's not the phone, it's the "criminal activity".
Why is that? Personal motive, I bet.
On the post: AT&T Spent Hundreds Of Billions On Mergers And All It Got Was A Big Pile Of Cord Cutters
Re: Re: Re:
But they're not competing on purely technical merits. They're competing against Comcast, Verizon and the rest who have used regulatory capture to gain government enforced monopolies.
And they're competing in rural areas where the same effective monopolies offer only cellular coverage and will kick people off the service by the thousands for using 1GB in a month.
Not to mention many places where cellular coverage simply isn't available. A VERY large fraction of the world. And not just the oceans, wilderness and second and third world countries. I have property in cottage country an hour and a half outside of Ottawa - in the direction of Toronto - and there's no cellular coverage in the area.
On the post: New Copyright Trolling Operation Lowers The Settlement Demands And Calls Them Fines To Improve Conversion Rate
Re: It's still theft of a kind, in other words.
Paid troll is paid to miss the point.
The "rights enforcement" companies have a well-earned reputation for scamming seniors. Including one I know in an old folks home. No Wi-Fi, no-one but him using his internet connection. Doesn't know what Bittorrent is, and no trace of it on his PC. Never heard of the show he was accused of downloading. But he still received settlement demands.
IP addresses can easily be faked. A decade ago people were demonstrating how even the IP addresses of laser printers can receive a stream of copyright troll accusations. Only the most dishonest scammer would send out legal threats equating an IP address with a specific person.
P.S. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt in assuming that you're a paid troll. To insinuate that you're unpaid - or that you believe what you write - would be a grave insult to your intelligence.
On the post: Fired Cop's Attorney Argues His Client Is Being Punished Unfairly Because The Public Got To See His Misconduct
The camera footage blew the events INTO proportion. It prevented the officer's actions from being exaggerated OR diminished.
On the post: The 'Gawker Effect' Is Chilling Investigative Reporting Across The US
Re:
I'm surprised you don't shake your pom-poms for the silencing of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the journalist who led the Panama Papers offshore tax evasion expose.
She also wrote an expose of the Maltese Economy minister and his consultant visited a brothel in Germany while on government business. Her son is also a journalist and wrote stories linking Maltese politicians to the Panama Papers.
Both have been written about here. Both faced defamation lawsuits for reporting the truth. For doing what you hate so much.
She was assassinated yesterday by a car bomb in northern Malta.
On the post: Neighbor Sues For $2.5 Million After Renovation Looks Too Much Like Their Own House
Re: Re: Re: Next anti-copyright piece, please,
Which was clearly unneeded, because...
...your belief that education and intelligence are an insult tells us everything we need to know about you and your opinions.
On the post: New York Considers Barring Agreements Barring Victims From Speaking
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: It's Hollywood
In today's news:
CNN: Trump campaign subpoenaed over sexual assault allegations
These allegations from multiple women - in addition to Trump's boasting about being entitled to walk in on dressing rooms full of naked teenage girls - which girls have confirmed that he did - plus "grab her by the pussy" etc., didn't stop Republicans from voting for him.
Throughout this thread you keep repeating your claim that the left and right are identical. Perhaps the left has nothing to be proud of. But at least when the stories about Weinstein went public, his career was over. And it was those who you call the "left" that ended his career and vilified him.
When similar stories about Trump went public, the right declared "Nope; not a problem!", continued to declare him the paragon of conservative leadership, and elected him President.
On the post: New York Considers Barring Agreements Barring Victims From Speaking
Re: Re: Re: It's Hollywood
You actually believe that?
Bill Clinton having an affair was declared to be of vital national importance by the Republicans. They did everything but demand that he get re-blown on the Senate floor. ("We must know exactly what happened!!!) Everything had to be done in public and under oath, and every word published.
Not so with 9/11, when they investigated what warnings the President received.
The White House wanted to limit any appearance by the president to just one hour spent with two of the commissioners. Bush II did eventually meet with the Commission, but only under stringent conditions: Bush had to have Dick Cheney at his side, testifying at the same time; testimony was given in private and NOT UNDER OATH; no press coverage was allowed; and no recordings or transcripts were made of what they said.
Plus we now know that Newt Gingrich - leading the prosecution of Clinton - was himself having an affair at the time. And it didn't hurt him - or any of the other later Republican candidates known to have had affairs - when they ran for President.
If a Democrat said any one of many things Trump said on the campaign trail ("blood coming out of her wherever", attacks on the media, etc.) or in the past, Republicans would declare it the apocalypse.
No; you do. I just respond accordingly.
On the post: New York Considers Barring Agreements Barring Victims From Speaking
Re: It's Hollywood
Yes sir. Purely a "general left" thing. Other than that vast majority of the right who had no problem with it.
/s
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re: Re: Response to: Anonymous Coward on Oct 15th, 2017 @ 1:44pm
Of course prosecuting whistleblowers is something Trump and most Republican candidates demand. Most 2012 and 2016 Republican candidates - including Trump - were shaking their pom-poms for renewed torture. It's hard to find a valid complaint about Obama that doesn't also apply equally to Republicans.
But your false equivalency to Trump? That takes a special blend of dishonesty, stupidity and delusion.
On the post: DOJ Continues Its Push For Encryption Backdoors With Even Worse Arguments
Reporter: How long until Rod Rosenstein cites Denuvo as an example of responsible, unbreakable encryption?
Gamer: Go away.
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