Tom 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (137)

• On the post: How The US Gov't Destroyed The Lives Of A Muslim American Man's Entire Family After He Refused To Become An Informant

  

  Tom ( profile ), 07 May, 2014 @ 07:55am

  It's us.

  We're the bad guys. We're the ones the world must get rid of, if it is to survive.

• On the post: New NSA Boss' Understatement Of The Year: NSA 'Has Lost A Measure Of Trust' From The Public

  

  Tom ( profile ), 06 May, 2014 @ 02:27pm

  Not only has the NSA lost the trust of the US public...

  ... but the world has also lost their trust of the US.
  
  Good. Bloody good. Every contracted export sector, they deserve. Every aborted weapons sale, and satellite deal, they deserve. They deserve every lost job, and every lost billion in profits.

• On the post: Snowden Asks Putin Live On TV If Russia Carries Out Mass Surveillance; But Why?

  

  Tom ( profile ), 17 Apr, 2014 @ 12:03pm

  ...

  US government figures like Mike Rogers have repeatedly condemned Snowden as a possible Russian spy. Maybe Snowden decided to act the part to spite them.

• On the post: Would You Trust The NSA's Advice On How To Deal With Heartbleed?

  

  Tom ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2014 @ 06:31am

  Trust the NSA?

  Why would anyone do that? Chances are their recommended "fix" would be just another backdoor.

• On the post: Hollywood Has Been Pressuring Australian Attorney General To Pressure ISPs Into Being Copyright Cops

  

  Tom ( profile ), 14 Apr, 2014 @ 11:06am

  This Brandis...

  He's been very pro-NSA and anti-Snowden as well. A typical right-wing crown licker.

• On the post: Latest Leak From Senate's CIA Torture Report: CIA Tortured Many More People, Hid Details From Everyone

  

  Tom ( profile ), 12 Apr, 2014 @ 11:03am

  Hey, a thought.

  Americans sure love supporting their troops. The soldier, the CIA agent, the "operator" is viewed as a total badass and complete hero. Many Americans love soldiers to the point of becoming star-struck when seeing them.
  
  Next time you go ga-ga over a dude in uniform, keep one thing in mind: there's a chance that person tortured human beings to death. This taints the entire US military and intelligence population - we'll never know who it was meting out the torture specifically, but it could be anyone. Few in the US mil/intel community spoke out against this torture. Most worked to keep it under wraps. All are complicit.

• On the post: Supreme Court May Take A Shot At Defining The Point At Which Protected Speech Becomes An Unprotectable 'Threat'

  

  Tom ( profile ), 12 Apr, 2014 @ 08:53am

  So hey, I feel...

  ... that NSA data centers should be burned down. Note, please, that I'm not threatening to do it myself. I just think it'd be really neat if every building owned by the NSA spontaneously caught fire. Who's with me?

• On the post: USTR Warns That EU-Only Cloud To Avoid NSA Surveillance May Violate Trade Agreements

  

  Tom ( profile ), 10 Apr, 2014 @ 05:08am

  I bet they already know...

  ... that this trade deal will fall apart (thanks to the NSA spying on everyone taking part in the deal, of course.) They're trying to manage the reason *why* it fell apart - trying to blame it on the reaction to the NSA spy scandal, rather than the scandal itself.
  
  Sorry Americans, you thieving, spying scum - the Balkanization of the internet will continue apace, and the faster you're routed around like a malicious network node, the better. Bye bye! Maybe we'll welcome you back online when you stop craving "information dominance" so madly.

• On the post: Snowden Says NSA Is Lying When It Claims He Didn't Raise Concerns Through The Proper Channels

  

  Tom ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2014 @ 02:02pm

  For some reason...

  ... It's a lot easier to believe Snowden, than the NSA.
  
  Maybe he just has a trustworthy face.
  
  Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that he hasn't lied yet, while the NSA and USGov can't seem to stop.

• On the post: Former NSA/CIA Boss' Anger Issues: Claims Senate Staffers Are 'Sissies' And Wyden Isn't 'Acting Like A Man'

  

  Tom ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2014 @ 10:20am

  One has to wonder...

  Is Hayden's behavior a sign of early dementia, or is there some method behind the madness? Maybe there's an NSA think-tank somewhere, carefully coordinating the figureheads' public behavior to be as macho and authoritarian as possible, sending a tacit message to other such creatures in law and government that the system has their backs...
  
  Am I paranoid for suspecting the NSA has a playbook for everything? ;)

• On the post: Mike Rogers Still Pushing His 'Snowden Is A Russian Spy' Delusion, Citing Every Single 'Counterintelligence Official' In Support

  

  Tom ( profile ), 07 Apr, 2014 @ 11:07am

  Re:

  Say, who else lived by that mantra?
  
  "But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success."
  
  Oh yeah, that was Hitler in Mein Kampf.

• On the post: 'Bay Of Tweets Invasion' Legitimizes Nearly Every Crackpot Anti-US Claim From Dictators Around The Globe

  

  Tom ( profile ), 07 Apr, 2014 @ 09:26am

  Re: Greenwald's

  Pando and "proof" are two words rarely seen together in sentences that aren't humorous.

• On the post: US, Apparently With No Sense Of Irony, Preaching 'Openness' And 'Transparency' To Chinese

  

  Tom ( profile ), 07 Apr, 2014 @ 12:04pm

  Yeees, China... be more transparent...

  ... so we can see in more clearly.

• On the post: Former CIA, NSA Boss Says Senator Feinstein Is Too Emotional To Judge CIA Torture Fairly

  

  Tom ( profile ), 07 Apr, 2014 @ 07:33am

  I'll just leave this here.

  http://www.salon.com/2009/06/30/accountability_7/
  
  I think an emotional response is apropos when finding out one's nation tortured over a hundred people to death. Perhaps the correct question to ask is, why didn't Hayden have one?

• On the post: Senator McCain Says Snowden Is Working For Putin Based On 'Timing' Of News Reports Snowden Has Nothing To Do With

  

  Tom ( profile ), 27 Mar, 2014 @ 02:52pm

  Hey senator?

  You don't have to be working for the Russians just because you're working against America. Working against America has recently become a fun and ethical hobby for pretty much the whole planet. This is because you're the bad guys.

• On the post: Exile: Sarah Harrison On Paying The Price For Helping Edward Snowden

  

  Tom ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2014 @ 04:35am

  It's sad...

  ... to realize that our own governments are our biggest enemies and threats.

• On the post: How The FBI Has Been Working Hard To Deport Friends Of Guy They Killed During Interview About Boston Bombing

  

  Tom ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2014 @ 04:38pm

  Very suspicious

  It seems like they're trying to silence anyone who might know anything about the Boston bombing.