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ACLU: Snowden Proved NSA Internet Spying Harms Americans

TheDemSocialist

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BALTIMORE — The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups sued the National Security Agency and the Justice Department on Tuesday, challenging the government's practice of collecting personal information from vast amounts of data harvested directly from the Internet's infrastructure.
The suit filed in federal court in Maryland accuses the NSA of harvesting virtually everything sent via the Internet between Americans and people outside the United States, and then using search terms or identifiers to identify and monitor foreign intelligence targets.

A similar challenge was turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court, which said the plaintiffs couldn't prove they'd been harmed. This lawsuit says that's changed since the government confirmed the surveillance after its scope and details were leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden in 2013.


The suit's other plaintiffs include The Wikimedia Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the Rutherford Institute, PEN American Center, The Nation magazine, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Global Fund for Women and Washington Office on Latin America.


Read More @: ACLU: Snowden Proved NSA Internet Spying Harms Americans



Interesting angle to attack it on. I do hope that they will win, and someday these unwarranted, vast intelligence operation(s) are shut down.
 
If this works out in favor of freedom, I'll finally be willing to post the top 25% most inappropriate things that pop into my mind, instead of holding back like I've been doing since I got here!
 
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If this works out in favor of freedom, I'll finally be willing to post the top 25% most inappropriate things that pop into my mind, instead of holding back like I've been doing since I got here!

Is your inner revolutionary itching to come out too?
 
Is your inner revolutionary itching to come out too?

In my time here, I have discussed my real or imagined affliction of, involvement in, or interest in:

  • tentacle porn
  • a hypothetical STD involving purple, spiky growths
  • masturbating with IcyHot. Twice.
  • the sex act known as "rosebudding" (google it, I dare you)
  • necrophilia
  • having sex with Superfly's avatar
  • crossdressing
  • raping and murdering various random people/things/ideas, not necessarily in that order
  • masturbating to other people's posts (ask sangha)

And that stuff is all tame compared to what I hold back. Some of the people who would've really been freaked out by my first post in her are banned now, like Muhammad, ChrisL, and Telekat, but plenty more are still around to be horrified by the dire implications of it.
 
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Of course it hurts Americans, as it does every time the government steps on civil liberties.
 
In my time here, I have discussed my real or imagined affliction of, involvement in, or interest in:

  • tentacle porn
  • a hypothetical STD involving purple, spiky growths
  • masturbating with IcyHot. Twice.
  • the sex act known as "rosebudding" (google it, I dare you)
  • necrophilia
  • having sex with Superfly's avatar
  • crossdressing
  • raping and murdering various random people/things/ideas, not necessarily in that order
  • masturbating to other people's posts (ask sangha)

And that stuff is all tame compared to what I hold back. Some of the people who would've really been freaked out by my first post in her are banned now, like Muhammad, ChrisL, and Telekat, but plenty more are still around to be horrified by the dire implications of it.

Ouch. :lol:
 
Torture will always be a relevant issue, whether you choose to deny it or not. Same with mass surveillance. Maybe you can accept these things, but most people can't.

Did you vote for Obama?
 
Of course it hurts Americans, as it does every time the government steps on civil liberties.

True, but more importantly, it hurts the rule of law. It violates the spirit and letter of the US Constitution.
 
True, but more importantly, it hurts the rule of law. It violates the spirit and letter of the US Constitution.

You get no disagreement from me on that.
 
I think the issue has been settled, unless Obama is still torturing people.

Maybe, and they definitely aren't prosecuting those who did torture. It's sickening, as it the willingness of the most base and vile among us to simply forget about these things.
 
Maybe, and they definitely aren't prosecuting those who did torture. It's sickening, as it the willingness of the most base and vile among us to simply forget about these things.

Your personal attack was unnecessary.
 
Read More @: ACLU: Snowden Proved NSA Internet Spying Harms Americans[/FONT][/COLOR]


Interesting angle to attack it on. I do hope that they will win, and someday these unwarranted, vast intelligence operation(s) are shut down.

2 things here.

1: Considering the names listed there SCOTUS might actually not turn this away. Those are not some minor league names there. And frankly, I hope to hell they win.

2: I always hated the fact that you have to prove personal harm in order to have a case brought before SCOTUS. There are lots of laws out there that probably wouldn't exists if that were not the case. But if the government can in any way shape or form make a law that can be extremely difficult to prove "harm" on they will do it. Because then it never gets taken before SCOTUS.
 
Compared to nuking a city torture is utterly insignificant. What's your point?

That's not true. Both are crimes agains humanity. Whereas of privacy is a whiny little first world problem.
 
That's not true. Both are crimes agains humanity. Whereas of privacy is a whiny little first world problem.

In that case, since you seem to think that individual privacy is "whiny" and as such obviously not worth preserving I'm sure that you won't mind if we put cameras with mic's in every single room in your house. Bedroom. Bathroom. etc etc. Along with all that I'm quite sure that you won't mind me getting a hold of all of your private information such as your birth date, social security number, bank account numbers etc etc.

Seriously, as a supposed libertarian I'm quite surprised at you.
 
In that case, since you seem to think that individual privacy is "whiny" and as such obviously not worth preserving I'm sure that you won't mind if we put cameras with mic's in every single room in your house. Bedroom. Bathroom. etc etc. Along with all that I'm quite sure that you won't mind me getting a hold of all of your private information such as your birth date, social security number, bank account numbers etc etc.

Seriously, as a supposed libertarian I'm quite surprised at you.

Priorities. I have them in order, you clearly do not. As evidenced by the fact that you care more about somebody peeking in your bedroom than about torture.

As a libertarian I understand the fundamental fact of scarcity.
 
Priorities. I have them in order, you clearly do not. As evidenced by the fact that you care more about somebody peeking in your bedroom than about torture.

As a libertarian I understand the fundamental fact of scarcity.

The torture that took place during the Bush administration is hugely problematic. And unfortunately, there hasn't been near enough accountability for it. But the domestic spying is a very big problem, and it's not new, and it's a very big libertarian issue!
 
The torture that took place during the Bush administration is hugely problematic. And unfortunately, there hasn't been near enough accountability for it. But the domestic spying is a very big problem, and it's not new, and it's a very big libertarian issue!

No, domestic spying is a very minor libertarian issue. The fact that the government is declining to prosecute torturers is a very big libertarian issue.
 
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