It's the American people as a group who are responsible for these things, well known at the time they were happening, for not having used their votes to bring down the Bush torture and murder club and replace it with an Administration that would prosecute them. But it's even worse than that.
There were many crimes committed by the Bushies in addition to torture and murder. Of particular note is the illegal and utterly immoral invasion of Iraw...I call it the crime of the century.
I demonstrated against it before it started and was very vocal about my opposition when the WMD lies unraveled. It wasn't the government that came after me for doing so. It was my fellow citizens.
My property was vandalized in the night. My family and particularly my young children were threatened with the most vicious forms of torture and death. And, we were forced to arm ourselves to protect our children and to adopt a level of vigilance and distrust of our neighbors that was unthinkable before Bush was President.
It is the people themselves who are rotten in this country. The government is but an extension of that rot.
And here's something else I believe. 9/11 was well-deserved.
At this point the American people and the rest of the world would probably believe the NSA was staffed with aliens from Mars if it were published. And, it's not the fault of credulity of the citizens. It's the fault of the NSA's repeated denials being shown to be lies that's at fault.
I chose Switzerland because they're not subject to the Patriot act or NSLs, because they employ high-level encryption of all my data, because they are not subject to EU laws, because they have a long-standing and well-respected tradition of providing private services internationally and because I don't like paying any U.S. service which may very well have stealthily conspired with the government to share my data.
"only the people who want to hid things...really care."
Nope. I've nothing to hide. I care deeply.
If for only the reason that I'm an adult, an accomplished citizen, an honorably discharged Vietnam era Marine infantry officer, a Ph.D., a scientist, a businessman and a doting father and I don't need supervision or looking after.
It's offensive to me that someone thinks so little of who I am and what I am to think that they have the right to pry into my private or business affairs at will.
Quawonk said, "All things are tappable, backdoorable.
Snowden said, "If they went in they'll get in."
Longfisher says, as long as I receive a subpoena or a particularized NSA I would gladly cooperate and turnover what the government needed.
The part I get upset about is the fishing expeditions.
To extend the fishing analogy, my moving my data and services overseas is not too different from a landowner becoming frustrated with the trespassing on his lake even though he posted no trespassing signs so he erects a high wire fence.
It's not impossible to still trespass and fish the farmer's lake But it's a lot harder and those who would breech a wire fence just to pull in a bass have to be highly motivated.
I think the NSA will leave my foreign-hosted data alone because I'm making it harder for them to fish it. They can much more easily just ask me for it and show particularized reasons for me turning it over to them.
There are two elements that argue in favor or moving your data.
The first is that overseas those countries would not be subject to NSLs or even subpoenas under the Patriot Act. I chose Switzerland and eliminated all my state-side online and off-site data contracts (but for a FAX service) within 60 days of learning of the NSAs spying. It was simple and cheap.
The second is that I responded to the NSAs excesses in much the same way that I responded to the excesses of the major U.S. banks. I moved my money then to punish the banks. I moved my data and online services to punish the telcoms and IT companies in the U.S.
Neither deserves my business. And, I'd feel like I were a serf or, worse yet, someone's b*tch if I didn't fight back.
Given how much a frightened America would forward the Israeli aparthied state and how much evidence exists for Israeli advanced knowledge of the attacks one must wonder if the Israelis may have influenced the NSA to keep their knowledge of the 9/11 hijacker's presence and plans secret
I received a phone call this afternoon from a lady who said she was in the Executive Offices of the President of Verizon and she said they received my below letter and thanked me for the business.
President, Verizon
140 West Street
New York, NY 10007
September 12, 2013
Sir:
Neither I nor any member of my family and none of my employees are terrorists or criminals in any way. We?re a simple, law-abiding, middle-class family and I own a simple health insurance agency. We are quite ordinary and we currently use Verizon?s phone services.
However, I am recently unsettled by disclosures of ongoing collaboration between Verizon and the NSA which opens our communications to government spying as if we were terrorists or criminals. None of those disclosures show that Verizon has fought against NSA intrusions on our privacy to the degree that those efforts would justify our continued use of your services.
Accordingly, my family is ending our phone services with Verizon as soon as our existing contracts permit (quite soon, really). Furthermore, neither members of my family nor my insurance agency will use a Verizon product or service ever again.
Sincerely,
David W. Walters, Ph.D.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by longfisher.
Re: Re: Re: We need a new song
Absolutely spot on.
It's the American people as a group who are responsible for these things, well known at the time they were happening, for not having used their votes to bring down the Bush torture and murder club and replace it with an Administration that would prosecute them. But it's even worse than that.
There were many crimes committed by the Bushies in addition to torture and murder. Of particular note is the illegal and utterly immoral invasion of Iraw...I call it the crime of the century.
I demonstrated against it before it started and was very vocal about my opposition when the WMD lies unraveled. It wasn't the government that came after me for doing so. It was my fellow citizens.
My property was vandalized in the night. My family and particularly my young children were threatened with the most vicious forms of torture and death. And, we were forced to arm ourselves to protect our children and to adopt a level of vigilance and distrust of our neighbors that was unthinkable before Bush was President.
It is the people themselves who are rotten in this country. The government is but an extension of that rot.
And here's something else I believe. 9/11 was well-deserved.
LF
Denials
At this point the American people and the rest of the world would probably believe the NSA was staffed with aliens from Mars if it were published. And, it's not the fault of credulity of the citizens. It's the fault of the NSA's repeated denials being shown to be lies that's at fault.
Truth is a fragile thing.
Trust in other Countries
I chose Switzerland because they're not subject to the Patriot act or NSLs, because they employ high-level encryption of all my data, because they are not subject to EU laws, because they have a long-standing and well-respected tradition of providing private services internationally and because I don't like paying any U.S. service which may very well have stealthily conspired with the government to share my data.
That's just too many positives to ignore.
Longfisher
Re: Anonymous Coward
"only the people who want to hid things...really care."
Nope. I've nothing to hide. I care deeply.
If for only the reason that I'm an adult, an accomplished citizen, an honorably discharged Vietnam era Marine infantry officer, a Ph.D., a scientist, a businessman and a doting father and I don't need supervision or looking after.
It's offensive to me that someone thinks so little of who I am and what I am to think that they have the right to pry into my private or business affairs at will.
And, it makes me feel less free.
LF
Difficult but not Unassailable
Quawonk said, "All things are tappable, backdoorable.
Snowden said, "If they went in they'll get in."
Longfisher says, as long as I receive a subpoena or a particularized NSA I would gladly cooperate and turnover what the government needed.
The part I get upset about is the fishing expeditions.
To extend the fishing analogy, my moving my data and services overseas is not too different from a landowner becoming frustrated with the trespassing on his lake even though he posted no trespassing signs so he erects a high wire fence.
It's not impossible to still trespass and fish the farmer's lake But it's a lot harder and those who would breech a wire fence just to pull in a bass have to be highly motivated.
I think the NSA will leave my foreign-hosted data alone because I'm making it harder for them to fish it. They can much more easily just ask me for it and show particularized reasons for me turning it over to them.
After all, I have nothing to hide.
LF
Moved already
There are two elements that argue in favor or moving your data.
The first is that overseas those countries would not be subject to NSLs or even subpoenas under the Patriot Act. I chose Switzerland and eliminated all my state-side online and off-site data contracts (but for a FAX service) within 60 days of learning of the NSAs spying. It was simple and cheap.
The second is that I responded to the NSAs excesses in much the same way that I responded to the excesses of the major U.S. banks. I moved my money then to punish the banks. I moved my data and online services to punish the telcoms and IT companies in the U.S.
Neither deserves my business. And, I'd feel like I were a serf or, worse yet, someone's b*tch if I didn't fight back.
Why?
Given how much a frightened America would forward the Israeli aparthied state and how much evidence exists for Israeli advanced knowledge of the attacks one must wonder if the Israelis may have influenced the NSA to keep their knowledge of the 9/11 hijacker's presence and plans secret
Ditching Verizon
I received a phone call this afternoon from a lady who said she was in the Executive Offices of the President of Verizon and she said they received my below letter and thanked me for the business.
President, Verizon
140 West Street
New York, NY 10007
September 12, 2013
Sir:
Neither I nor any member of my family and none of my employees are terrorists or criminals in any way. We?re a simple, law-abiding, middle-class family and I own a simple health insurance agency. We are quite ordinary and we currently use Verizon?s phone services.
However, I am recently unsettled by disclosures of ongoing collaboration between Verizon and the NSA which opens our communications to government spying as if we were terrorists or criminals. None of those disclosures show that Verizon has fought against NSA intrusions on our privacy to the degree that those efforts would justify our continued use of your services.
Accordingly, my family is ending our phone services with Verizon as soon as our existing contracts permit (quite soon, really). Furthermore, neither members of my family nor my insurance agency will use a Verizon product or service ever again.
Sincerely,
David W. Walters, Ph.D.