U.S. Government spying on entire U.S., to nobody's surprise

[OrganicBuds]

This isn't a secret, just the media that is in this admin's pocket wont report on it. Google is how they mine the info, and this is the brain. Or Skynet to put it in perspective.

But remember, everything is getting better in the US. Obama told us during the last election so it must be true. Nothing is coming along the horizon, just go back to your regular scheduled programs.

Edit: not sure if the article says this, I already know about this program so I didn't read all of the post above.

This facility cost $2,000,000,000. It must be important to the powers that be.

 

[dddaver]

Hmmm..What happened 12 years ago? Let's see. In 2001. Oh, yeah September 11, 2001. Then WE (and everybody) thought we better let the security agencies have more power to get them damn terrorists. But the fact was that the US already jailed a higher percentage of it's citizens than any other country in the world. So give the already corrupt even more power? The government is us, like it or not, that's the fact. Too many people like to think it's THEM. Nope, it's you and me.

Thomas Jefferson? (DOH!, it has been pointed out (twice) that FRANKLIN said that, Thanks) said it best when he said anybody willing to give up some freedom for more security deserves neither. WE did exactly that. But we can change it back. It's going to be a tough row to hoe though.

And please just be aware, Verizon is only the tip of the iceberg. OP is right (or at least closer to the truth anyway).

I also want to point out, this is NOT politically motivated. He named just Dems, but this all started long ago and in 2001 the Reps were in charge of both the executive and legislative branches.

Let's be careful not throw out the baby with the bathwater though. But maybe a start would be to disband, or at least clean-up the NSA.

 

[Hydrosun]

people need to better understand constitutional protection.
the government has not compelled these companies to share information. you are not protected from what a company you choose to do business with chooses to do with your information.
the constitution does not protect you from verizon or google.

True, however the constitution does protect citizens from the government's agents. The government may not sub contract unconstitutional activity and convert it to legal activity.

Constitutional law and analysis is pointless in a nation that practices arbitrary facism

 

[Hydrosun]

I dunno if this is so bad though... sure, we are cannabis lovers and since cannabis is unreasonably prohibited, we worry about our safety for doing no crime at all; but child pornographers, actual terrorists, etc... do indeed need to be monitored.

You and I, all of us ARE actual terrorists. These systems are set up to monitor the 99.9% NOT the .1% that might fuck a kid (or join the CIA and attack civilians).

 

[pearlemae]

If anyone truly believes that they are protected from the Government by the Constitution need to get their head out the sand.. The only Constitutional safeguards we have are the ones the Government allows us to have. They can and will steal the rest of your safeguards the first chance they get, cause in the name of National Security we have to suspend the Constitution.

 

[SpasticGramps]

Surprise! New Boss same as the Old Boss. What color suit the master wears is irrelevant.

 

[SpasticGramps]

The Constitution has been rendered irrelevant via the last 100 years of subversion by the financial oligarch class and their bought and paid for political puppets.

 

[CannaBunkerMan]

Hmmm.... so, Holder's media scandal happens, then the media starts focusing on something that's been going on for years. Sounds like a classic case of biting the hand that feeds you.

 

[resinryder]

. They can and will steal the rest of your safeguards the first chance they get, cause in the name of National Security we have to suspend the Constitution.

All ready done that. There is a "Constitution Free Zone" within a 100 mile boundary of our borders. That's how they were able to kick people out there home at gun point while searching for the bombers in Massachusetts month or so ago. You have no rights.

 

[HempKat]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/nsa-whistleblowers_n_3398618.html

What will it take to convince the sleepwalking MORONS in this country that our government is thoroughly, irreparably corrupt? Do we have to build ovens and incinerate a few million people before people realize the country has been taken over by NAZIs?

Summary of what we have learned today: for 12+ years the government has been intercepting phone calls and communications of EVERYBODY IN THE UNITED STATES. Not just criminals, or terrorists, or foreigners. EVERYONE.

The following criminal organizations have conspired with the NSA/FBI to give them direct access to their computer servers and data for the purpose of illegal monitoring:

* Microsoft
* Google (and Youtube)
* Facebook
* Skype
* Yahoo
* Dropbox

among others.

ALL major telephone and communications companies are complicit. Verizon is the big one in the news, but AT&T and others are equally guilty.

The CREDIT CARD companies are complicit.

This rabbit hole goes deep.

The following people--along with ANY other politician who has the nerve to publicly defend these ILLEGAL and IMMORAL actions-- deserve to be tried, convicted, and HUNG FROM THE NECK UNTIL DEAD as TRAITORS to this formerly great nation:

* Barack Obama
* Eric Holder
* Bloomberg
* Dianne Feinstein
* Harry Reid

I'm surprised at the list of people you feel should be punished given that as you say this has been going on for 12+ years and yet only 2 names on your list have been in power long enough to be able to accurately blame for 12+ years of this spying. Seems to me there are a lot of critical republican names missing from your list.

 

[OrganicBuds]

Really, nobody else has commented on this? This is one of the biggest stories of my lifetime, I would think more people would be interested. The government is also now admitting they have wire tapped or read e-mails of over 14 million Americans. Worst part is, all our posts on the internet are now being stored in this facility, so watch what you say.

 

[Sir_Syzurp]

If this type of invasion of privacy, and the ignoring the citizens constitutional rights isn't grounds for an impeachment I don't know what is.... This is almost Watergate, but right in front of our faces (so no lies about having no idea) and no theft (no need to break in to steal the documents) they are just offered freely.

 

[bombadil.360]

You and I, all of us ARE actual terrorists. These systems are set up to monitor the 99.9% NOT the .1% that might fuck a kid (or join the CIA and attack civilians).

hello man,

I'm not sure I follow when you claim we are all actual terrorists.

what do you mean?

that in the eyes of the unreasonable and unjust prohibition of cannabis, that anyone who sees cannabis in the positive, helpful light in which it actually belongs, is a terrorist?

or do you mean that according to the category of 1% and 99%, that the 99% are terrorists regardless of their relationship to cannabis?

to play a little devil's advocate, I'd like to point out that there are indeed organized and well funded groups of people, from all walks of life (read: financial power), that partake in actual real and very serious crimes, such as real terrorism for example. the psychological manipulation of people to make them blow themselves up is a very real phenomena; and trying to gain insight into said things through monitoring communications can be said to be a good thing.

if the info gained through such monitoring is used to screw with innocent people, then sure, that's very messed up.

but thinking there are no reasons and or justifications for such data mining is a bit naive imo. these data mining systems have been developed for the purpose of catching real bad guys, which do exist, sadly.

 

[Stoner4Life]

today Obama claimed "They're not looking at individuals & they're not looking at content."

then what in the fuck could they be looking at???

 

[resinryder]

today Obama claimed "They're not looking at individuals & they're not looking at content."

then what in the fuck could they be looking at???

Ah man, they're from the gubment. And they are here to help!!
On a side note, I wish that fucker Lindsey Graham, who really should finally come out the gay closet, would die a slow miserable death. He basically said "if ya aren't doing anything wrong why would he care if they look at his phone record." Typical old school republican mindset.
My question is why the fuck are they looking to see if I'm doing anything wrong if my activity isn't indicating any wrong doing?
Fuckem. Fuckem all.

 

[resinryder]

Been saying this since they announced they were going to build this place. If they didn;t intend to spy on Americans why would they need so much data storage space. Not enough terrorist in the world to warrant this kind of facility.

 

[frito bandito]

In best Alec Baldwin voice:" patriot act patriot act"...
Frito I'm sure your list of politicians should be longer and could prob include some from the side of the aisle more avid to trounce our rights..and more responsible for what we talking about today....just say in...

You are correct sir...I did not mean to make it a partisan list. There are plenty of Republicans who need to be hung too. Those are just the first names that came to mind. Feel free to add to the shitlist.

 

[frito bandito]

On many web sites I see the usual government shills plus other deluded souls now saying "OK this is bad but, let's just vote them out!" Ha! And how do you propose to vote out the ENTIRE GOVERNMENT? Especially when the vote is totally rigged? Wake up America....your chains have already been forged. Their clanking can be heard on the plains of Boston.

 

[frito bandito]

today Obama claimed "They're not looking at individuals & they're not looking at content."

then what in the fuck could they be looking at???

The new line is, they are "just" looking at "metadata"! And what is metadata? Well that would be your location, the duration of your calls, the numbers you called, and basically everything you could possibly want to know about the caller/callee OTHER THAN a direct transcript. With supercomputers all this data can be crunched and computed to figure out who knows who, who supports what political campaigns, who believes in what causes, who is a closet homosexual/adulterer/criminal/etc and can thus be blackmailed, etc. Yeah, sounds totally harmless!

 

[vta]

Been saying this since they announced they were going to build this place. If they didn;t intend to spy on Americans why would they need so much data storage space. Not enough terrorist in the world to warrant this kind of facility.

I read that this place can hold 100 years of data (phone, txt, fax, email, documents, social media....everything electronic) on every American.

Bottom line...every American has a file and it contains everything they do electronically and if you have a smart phone....everywhere you go and how long you were there.