Big brother watching you

[tiny_tove]

The latest NSA scandal makes me think we should devote a thread to real conspiracy (no zog/illuminati mumbo-jumbo), spy oriented subjects, etc.

Nothing against Americans in the forum (I like both you and your land) and I know most of you guys hate Obama and friends (and even more Bush) more than we do since you have to live with them, but this thing, if proved, is definitely a bit too much too handle even for most prio-nato liberals.


NSA spying row: bugging friends is unacceptable, warn Germans
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/nsa-spying-allegations-germany-us-france

I am quite sure this will solve with nothing as it already happened in the past (coward Italians probably will thanks the States for being kept safe).

[Bloated Slutbag]

Nothing is as it seems. Except this one time.

[HongKongGoolagong]

Here's a fun FinSpy promo video - this tool disguises itself as other software on a target's computer, very widely used by law enforcement - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc8i7C659FU

[tiny_tove]

I remember when CARNIVORE was released and it was a major subject in security/hack related sites.

[tiny_tove]

Here's a fun FinSpy promo video - this tool disguises itself as other software on a target's computer, very widely used by law enforcement - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc8i7C659FU

http://threatpost.com/mozilla-fights-back-after-finspy-found-masquerading-as-firefox/

I didn't know that, an in depth article on the subject.

[bitewerksMTB]

What I find interesting is this is all happening with a Progressive, Liberal Democratic  who is the First African American president who has the most transparent administration in history.

Anyone who trusts government needs their head examined.

When Americans are forced to sign up for health insurance in October, which is only available within the state they reside in, all of their information goes through 7 different federal agencies. I find that worse than NSA logging phone numbers.

There is no escaping Government...

[RG]

What I find interesting is this is all happening with a Progressive, Liberal Democratic  who is the First African American president who has the most transparent administration in history.

Don't forget that this stuff was all brought into action during Bush's administration. Anyone who blames Obama for this is an ignorant fool. You can't really blame Bush either. It doesn't matter who the president is/was, this kind of stuff was going to happen anyway. We have embraced living in culture of surveillance and this is an inevitable result of that. What's surprising to me is that people are just now realizing this is possible... People detail every aspect of their lives on Facebook and carry out public conversations, everyone's cell phone records are stored on a server somewhere, and everybody has a smartphone with a camera sitting in their pocket. You don't think the authorities will want to use that to their advantage? All that data is useful to more than just advertisers. We're gleefully doing the government's monitoring work for them, they just have to check the data that's already there.

Again, very interesting that the general public is just now catching on to this, but better late than never I suppose.

[bitewerksMTB]

It's not who started it, it's who finishes it especially when they're sold as something completely different. Which is why it's good advice to distrust EVERYONE involved in politics & government.

[HongKongGoolagong]

I have mentioned Barrett Brown before here and that the USA is shooting itself in the foot over this guy - USA already looks like China or Russia rather than a land of the free and home of the brave the way it's dealing with him. I was following his work and increasingly rabid and furiously anti-authoritarian tone online before his arrest. Here is a recent article about him, I agree with the Hunter S Thompson comparison:  http://www.thenation.com/article/174851/strange-case-barrett-brown

[RG]

distrust EVERYONE involved in politics & government.

Agreed.

There are people who get into politics/government because they have a genuine desire to help make the country/world a better place but the percentage is very small and they usually don't last very long (unless they're some kind of hell-bent masochist with a messianic complex). They get elected with bright eyes and big ideas but once they get sucked into the govt machine and really get to see how the sausage is made, they either turn to the dark side when $$$ is flashed in front of them or they quit the whole scene in disgust.

[online prowler]

Props for thread. Interesting subject.

[bitewerksMTB]

One of the interesting things about some of the people complaining about the spying are people who think the government knows best about everything else: education, healthcare, welfare, the weather, etc.. So, if they know best about all of those then they know what is best for your privacy, too. Right?

[tiny_tove]

VERY interesting


How algorithms rule the world

The NSA revelations highlight the role sophisticated algorithms play in sifting through masses of data. But more surprising is their widespread use in our everyday lives. So should we be more wary of their power?


http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jul/01/how-algorithms-rule-world-nsa

[andy vomit]

Anyone who trusts government needs their head examined.

When Americans are forced to sign up for health insurance in October, which is only available within the state they reside in, all of their information goes through 7 different federal agencies. I find that worse than NSA logging phone numbers.

There is no escaping Government...

truth.  it's an interesting, albeit pretty fucking frightening time to be an american. 

the thing i find rather amusing is that years and years ago, even before bush got this whole thing rolling, the people who would spout off "the government is spying on us" rhetoric were almost exclusively labeled as crazy conspiracy theorists.  now, even the most far-left liberals are right there with them (or, "us", i should say) ... and all us "crazy conspiracy theorists" are left saying "this isn't new, you shoulda fucking listened 20 years ago..."

i am, however, quite pleased at the amount of people who are upset about the NSA and CIA and all that shit.  i read some polls a couple weeks ago, and over half the country is "displeased" in one way or another with their government spying on them.  there was, however, a rather large percentage of people who said they either didn't mind or they thought it was necessary, which i found a bit unnerving.  but yeah, people are pissed, and that's a good thing.  honestly, i hope things keep getting worse.  it's the only way we're ever gonna get anything to change.  it may be wishful thinking, and i'm likely giving the american people too much credit, but i'd hope that things will get to a point where the majority of americans say "alright, enough is enough" and fucking DO something about it.  standing outside buildings with bullhorns and signs only gets you so far...

[bitewerksMTB]

Not sure who said it on what but someone said that the NSA, etc. has to cast such a wide net because they're not allowed to just log numbers of people who actually may do something. They can't focus on people who hang out in mosques because that's profiling based on race and religion so they have to throw you into the mix.

I think it may have been Greg Gutfeld (sp? name?) on Red Eye...?

There's no big changes coming any time soon. Just keep your head down & try to stay out of sight.