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| From Album4 |
Like Adrastos, I’ve got mixed emotions about the spying scandal. Like any sane person, I’m not at all thrilled that the NSA or any government entity is, was, or will be combing through pretty much every and any bit (or byte) of non-encrypted communication.On the other hand, I guess my attitude is…why is anyone surprised? Most communication protocols are not designed for privacy (though if you ARE concerned, you can make your own communications difficult to intercept…oh, and the terrorists already know that), previous monitoring particularly of liberal/left/progressive groups is a matter of public record…and clowns like Sean Hannity had no problem sacrificing their liberty for security when Shrub was prancing around in a flight suit (and Dick was securely undisclosed).
Like it or not, we live in a modern national security state, we have for some time, and we might as well get used to it. True, it is disappointing that Obama hasn’t at least made a statement, say, along the lines of shutting it down like Guantanamo, but even if he did, there’s no way they actually WOULD shut it all down. It’s too easy to collect the data…and too easy to persuade a Congress with people like Lindsay Graham to provide the funds…
In the meantime — is it just me, or DOES Snowden bear at least a passing resemblence to Jay Carney?
Wow. It’s just apathy all the way down, isn’t it?
Whether you are surprised or not is irrelevant to the fact that such programs are inefficient, intrusive, unethical and anathema to Americans.
Simply asking “Why is anyone shocked” is tantamount to saying “I have given up. Why are you still yammering about rights I have already given away?”
Intrusive, unethical, and anathema, yes…inefficient? I don’t know about that — sure, it’s inefficient to analyze that much data, but collecting it is a pretty simple matter. Internet and cellular communication protocols are either wide open or easy to crack.
Https, anonymous proxy, and/or active use of encryption software can be effective, but the former requires setup on the server side, and how many people routinely configure anonymous proxy or encrypt all email?
I guess my point wasn’t so much “I give up” as it was to note that electronic communication is super easy to intercept. Combine that with a nation that already has a history of intruding, and I doubt even a law or series of laws will stop routine data collection. Now if/when someone comes up with a way to easily encrypt ALL packets being routed, then things could get interesting. But that hasn’t happened yet, and if/when it does, we’ll also have to see how much effort is required from ourselves, and whether we think it’s worth that effort…speaking just for myself, I don’t encrypt or use a proxy server…I also presume anything I post could in theory be collected, but I’m a pretty small fish in a vast ocean…
Neither the U.S. government nor its shareholders will do jack shit for you if they aren’t forced to.
P.S. – I presume that your data gets stored in redundant fashions and is in the hands of more than simply U.S.-friendly concerns.
P.S.S. – the new ads on flickr suck.