@cicerone imposter,
Quote:
The history of spying doesn't make it right, if one understands the word 'trust.'
Why must you spy on your wife/husband if you trust her/him? Because they may cheat on you? Forget trust, and what do you have? Nothing.
I understand you, CI, far more than you will ever believe. Some of us are more sensitive than others. With this rather new NSF technology allowing the government to spy not only on other countries but their own citizens, no, it's not right. I am one of those Americans whom this NSF feature doesn't bother because everywhere I go there are cameras. On street corners when I drive, at the ATM when I deposit or get funds; any credit card has one's Social Security, anytime you give info on Facebook or subscribe to journals, newspapers, they find out something about you. With an up-to-date computer and cross-checking one may find out practically everything about another. We just don't like the idea that Big Brother is watching, but they are, and frankly there's not too much we can do about it. We would not have known about the NSF spying if not for Snowden, and one is not too sure this NSF spying will ever be totally gotten rid of.
Senator Diane Feinstein called out the CIA for searching the Committee' computers. She accused the Agency of sabotaging the oversight efforts of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which she chairs, and thus the separation of powers; engaging in “a potential effort to intimidate this staff,” by accusing them of “hacking”; breaking its word; and breaking the law.
Now that specific act, IMO, was intensely personal and I would like to see John Brennan, the director of the C.I.A. fired. That particular scenario in my personal opinion is different from the rich metadata taken by the NSF. With the NSF they could never read the bulk of all the hundreds of million material retrieved....the NSF is looking for *patterns* of certain groups. This technology came into use under the Bush/Cheney administration who was also prominent in torturing people.
No, it's not right that Americans are spied on, but then again, there is just so much going on around us all the time and we're unaware, really, of just what our government is up to. Senator Feinstein appeared to be against Snowden for stealing NSF classified documents and absconding to keep from being apprehended by the authorities, but she sure was angry at the CIA.
I don't feel in anyway affected by the NSF but do feel highly annoyed by what happened to Senator Feinstein and commiserate with her plight.
A significant number of people feel the way you do, CI, violated in some way by the NSF. I am not one of them. The US is trying one venue to keep a step ahead of the terrorist and this is their justification for keeping track on certain groups.
You and I will continue to remain friends despite this vast difference; I value you as a poster. I also understand your outbursts which might be caused by sheer frustration. Sometimes I feel the same way and go overboard in describing people and posters I abhor.
Gotta leave now. Dinner out tonight.....something special.
