Keep in mind that Snowden (NOT an NSA employee) managed to acquire his document stash unbeknownst to the NSA until he released it. If he could, so can a bunch of others with far less benign intentions. Considering Clapper's opinion of his own workers, I expect a whole lot of revelations to occur shortly. Popcorn, anyone?
The answer is obvious. Lots of people are making lots of money in support of the anti-piracy industry. Exactly the same as anti-drug or for that matter, anti-anything. Someone is ALWAYS willing to pay someone else to fight their battles for them. And the fighters are doing a great job of conning the payers into paying. Never mind that most of it is nowhere near the truth (you listening anti-terrorist industry?). Truth might interfere with profits.
.
What this government and Congress needs to do is step WAY back and compare this "War On Drugs" fiasco with the effect of Prohibition. There's little effective difference between the drug cartels and Al Capone, except a little more violence. The answer is exactly the same - Legalize it. Collect taxes, regulate purity, AND STOP THIS BEDAMNED FARCE. We didn't need it then and we don't need it now. Has Congress learned NOTHING in 80 years? Apparently being able to stand on a soapbox and rail against drugs is more important than kid's lives. You're never going to stop the use of drugs by declaring it illegal. That only raises the profits for the cartels and ruins lives needlessly.
Fine. Then they need to get into musical instrument and electronic equipment sales, and quit whining about how they're being cheated out of their entitled profits.
.
I sort of hope the US government is stupid enough to try a capture or killing in Russia. They will likely get caught in the attempt (the ex-KGB guys are a whole lot sharper than ours). Russia will have a field day with the ensuing trials. In addition, the Russians would be perfectly justified in declaring the attempts as acts of war. Good luck, folks.
Why is everyone so surprised at Bloomberg's shenanigans? He's only emulating his heroes in the Federal Gummint, and thinks New York should act like DC. No mystery there.
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We go back to the basic question of why the courts allow these shenanigans to proceed. We all know that any court in the land would issue a bench warrant if one of us failed to appear as ordered. Why do they get away with it?
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Mike: one thing has always bothered me. Why do people like Prenda, Righthaven, and these guys get away with the crap they pull for so long (years even)? I'm sure you'll agree that, if we common citizens tried this stuff in court, even once, we wouldn't see daylight for years. We'd get slapped with contempt charges and jail time till Hell froze over. Why do they get away with it?
OK, I agree the carpet could have been perhaps a little more sedate, I mean REALLY! However you have to admit those costumes are absolutely spectacular and blend in pretty well.
Let's see. Snowden is in Russia. The Russians may or may not be aware of the NSA methods and procedures. Snowden certainly is aware of them. Will The Russians get the info from Snowden? We'll see.
What bothers me, a lot, is not that the Russians might get the whole cache of documents. As was stated above, they probably already had them before Snowden sent them out. And, I firmly believe Snowden in that he no longer has access to them.
No, what bothers me is his knowledge of the NSA system and it's procedures. If our ex-KGB friends don't already have that knowledge, Snowden could be an excellent source.
.
In order for an elected or appointed public official to violate the Constitution, it is first necessary for him to violate his oath of office - which in itself is punishable. So, he violates his oath, and gets fired for cause. If he has also violated the Constitution in the process, he gets jailed and fined the total of his profits plus 50%.
.
That's one (more) small step toward a police state. By the time these kids get out of college, if they go, the battle will be essentially over. Orwell was right, just a few years early.
This situation bears all the earmarks of the cold-war era weapons programs. Somebody wants a bunch of money and convinces the Government to fund them on a development program. After a few successful demos, they get a contract for Billions.
Now someone wants a bunch of cash and convinces the Government we need to spy on everyone in the world. So they do a little research, devise a plan, and get the government to fund it. After a few successful demos, they get a contract for Billions to build many high-tech facilities. Problem is, eventually contracts get completed, the money tap turns off, and people start wanting another go at the trough. SO, they come up with ever more complicated and improbable scenarios to justify the spending that they have caused to happen by paying off the congresscritters that vote for it.
It may take a while, but eventually, perhaps with the assistance of folks like Snowden, the general public WILL wake up and put a stop to it. In the mean time, several corporations have raked in hundreds of billions building facilities and supplying equipment, which will, of course, become obsolete and need replacement - not to mention maintenance and personnel.
Who are these companies? How much have they taken in so far? How much have they paid out in "campaign contributions" and to whom? All of this should be public knowledge. Why are we not seeing the records? Answer these questions and we can start to get to the bottom of all of these boondoggles.
The only reason I can see for the lying and cheating is that too many people are making too much money to even think about stopping. Inquiring minds want to know.
.
The Fun's about to start
Keep in mind that Snowden (NOT an NSA employee) managed to acquire his document stash unbeknownst to the NSA until he released it. If he could, so can a bunch of others with far less benign intentions. Considering Clapper's opinion of his own workers, I expect a whole lot of revelations to occur shortly. Popcorn, anyone?
Washington's Farewell Address
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you.
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Vested Interests
The answer is obvious. Lots of people are making lots of money in support of the anti-piracy industry. Exactly the same as anti-drug or for that matter, anti-anything. Someone is ALWAYS willing to pay someone else to fight their battles for them. And the fighters are doing a great job of conning the payers into paying. Never mind that most of it is nowhere near the truth (you listening anti-terrorist industry?). Truth might interfere with profits.
.
Legalize it!
What this government and Congress needs to do is step WAY back and compare this "War On Drugs" fiasco with the effect of Prohibition. There's little effective difference between the drug cartels and Al Capone, except a little more violence. The answer is exactly the same - Legalize it. Collect taxes, regulate purity, AND STOP THIS BEDAMNED FARCE. We didn't need it then and we don't need it now. Has Congress learned NOTHING in 80 years? Apparently being able to stand on a soapbox and rail against drugs is more important than kid's lives. You're never going to stop the use of drugs by declaring it illegal. That only raises the profits for the cartels and ruins lives needlessly.
Totally brilliant, TAC, keep up the great work. Now if we can just get those idiots in DC to read and heed. Wouldn't that be something??
.
Re: Re: Re: Copyright maximalsit
Fine. Then they need to get into musical instrument and electronic equipment sales, and quit whining about how they're being cheated out of their entitled profits.
.
I sort of hope the US government is stupid enough to try a capture or killing in Russia. They will likely get caught in the attempt (the ex-KGB guys are a whole lot sharper than ours). Russia will have a field day with the ensuing trials. In addition, the Russians would be perfectly justified in declaring the attempts as acts of war. Good luck, folks.
Why is everyone so surprised at Bloomberg's shenanigans? He's only emulating his heroes in the Federal Gummint, and thinks New York should act like DC. No mystery there.
.
How does I gets in on a scam like that???
Hang 'Em
We go back to the basic question of why the courts allow these shenanigans to proceed. We all know that any court in the land would issue a bench warrant if one of us failed to appear as ordered. Why do they get away with it?
.
Every time I read about the judges response to one of these cases, I can just hear Aunt Bea in the background:
"Now, Boys, play nice!"
.
Whence Trolls?
Mike: one thing has always bothered me. Why do people like Prenda, Righthaven, and these guys get away with the crap they pull for so long (years even)? I'm sure you'll agree that, if we common citizens tried this stuff in court, even once, we wouldn't see daylight for years. We'd get slapped with contempt charges and jail time till Hell froze over. Why do they get away with it?
OK, I agree the carpet could have been perhaps a little more sedate, I mean REALLY! However you have to admit those costumes are absolutely spectacular and blend in pretty well.
Methods Leak
Let's see. Snowden is in Russia. The Russians may or may not be aware of the NSA methods and procedures. Snowden certainly is aware of them. Will The Russians get the info from Snowden? We'll see.
What bothers me, a lot, is not that the Russians might get the whole cache of documents. As was stated above, they probably already had them before Snowden sent them out. And, I firmly believe Snowden in that he no longer has access to them.
No, what bothers me is his knowledge of the NSA system and it's procedures. If our ex-KGB friends don't already have that knowledge, Snowden could be an excellent source.
.
Re:
{in a buzzy monotone} "As you command".
In order for an elected or appointed public official to violate the Constitution, it is first necessary for him to violate his oath of office - which in itself is punishable. So, he violates his oath, and gets fired for cause. If he has also violated the Constitution in the process, he gets jailed and fined the total of his profits plus 50%.
.
One step closer
That's one (more) small step toward a police state. By the time these kids get out of college, if they go, the battle will be essentially over. Orwell was right, just a few years early.
Follow the Money
This situation bears all the earmarks of the cold-war era weapons programs. Somebody wants a bunch of money and convinces the Government to fund them on a development program. After a few successful demos, they get a contract for Billions.
Now someone wants a bunch of cash and convinces the Government we need to spy on everyone in the world. So they do a little research, devise a plan, and get the government to fund it. After a few successful demos, they get a contract for Billions to build many high-tech facilities. Problem is, eventually contracts get completed, the money tap turns off, and people start wanting another go at the trough. SO, they come up with ever more complicated and improbable scenarios to justify the spending that they have caused to happen by paying off the congresscritters that vote for it.
It may take a while, but eventually, perhaps with the assistance of folks like Snowden, the general public WILL wake up and put a stop to it. In the mean time, several corporations have raked in hundreds of billions building facilities and supplying equipment, which will, of course, become obsolete and need replacement - not to mention maintenance and personnel.
Who are these companies? How much have they taken in so far? How much have they paid out in "campaign contributions" and to whom? All of this should be public knowledge. Why are we not seeing the records? Answer these questions and we can start to get to the bottom of all of these boondoggles.
The only reason I can see for the lying and cheating is that too many people are making too much money to even think about stopping. Inquiring minds want to know.
.