A lot of NSA concern is Overblown

[cthulu2016]

We fret about what could happen... what if blackmailers or political operatives had access to x,y or z?

But the NSA deserves an assumption of reliability, not just some speculation about what could happen if some bad eggs did gain access to certain information.

The NSA only entrusts secrets to solid, reliable people who stick to protocols, follow the law, and who know how to keep secrets secret.

You know... people like Edward Snowden.

[1-Old-Man]

1. None of the NSA concern is overblown, only underestimated.

[Peacetrain]

2. You get a rec and kick from me on that

They did hire Snowden.. and let him have access to information.. how reliable is that.. a GOOD question..

[Maximumnegro]

3. But then this ends up contradcitory

as the problem with Snowden is that he was hired through private enterprise. No one is talking about the privatization aspect in all this. Maybe because it is in direct conflict with the meme of authoritarian total control.

That's the joke. Part of this whole debacle is Bush era outsourcing of gov't activities to private companies and we all know how that goes. But instead the conversation has been tailored to create the specter of a US government that wants total control over you. That's contradictory. The Snowden debacle is proof of that. The more privatized these activities are the LESS control the government has.

The surveillance issue is important but the whole authoritarian angle is just stupid. If it's authoritarian then it's the sloppiest, most counter intuitive attempt at state control of private citizens ever.

[Peacetrain]

9. absolutely.. we hired this stuff out to private contractors..

its a two edged sword that has to be dealt with.. both sides.. the need for the goverment to be able to find out what is going on.. (I remember that big brouhaha about that after 9/11 how we were not following up on leads.. or having our people in areas that could monitor things like al qaeda.. language difficulties.. you name it) and the rights to a private thought or privacy period that the United States is supposed to represent.

Better minds than mine are having a terrible time trying to balance this out.. No one has the complete answer.. and we have to do the best we can..

The one thing that bothers me no end.. is that private corporations have so much access to every move we make.. walking down the street..what we are looking at in stores.. and they are storing that.. and to think the goverment would not try and link into that information probably is not dealing with reality.

Good grief..they were searching through our library records 10 years ago..

And I will not lie to you Maxim.. this has me doing a 180 day to day..

[cthulu2016]

19. I agree. That's why I went with "NSA only entrusts secrets to"

Getting into the byzantine contracting aspect would have detracted from the efficiency of the joke, but though the NSA did not hire Snowden they are ultimately responsible for entrusting him with secrets.

[treestar]

22. Yes, and OP is presuming Snowden to be the norm.

There will be rogue agents even if they are all government employees.

[disidoro01]

4. AND

don't forget, they have proven their reliability when they prevented the tragedy in Boston.

[Fumesucker]

5. To be entirely fair, they had a good deal of help from foreign intelligence services on Boston n/t

[99th_Monkey]

6. Unconstitutional snooping on citizens is NOT a negotiable issue

at least not in my playbook.

I don't give a rats ass how "reliable" the NSA is, what they are doing is CRIMINAL.

[1-Old-Man]

8. Here is one response that dam sure got it right.

[Mojorabbit]

26. + a gazillion. nt

[reusrename]

7. The penny has yet to drop for you, that's what the disagreements are about.

There have been many doctoral thesis written on this subject of metadata, together with many doctoral thesis on the mapping of social networks, together with many doctoral thesis on how social network analysis can be used to stifle public dissent.

Here's a link to an OP that goes into it a lot deeper:

The metadata is the greater danger to liberty and freedom.

Your understanding of the subject matter is very superficial at best, and that's the reason some folks are responding so negatively to your contribution.

Keep learning as much as you can about this stuff. It has become the most important issue of our time. We can never solve issues like global warming until we completely understand how this stuff works.

[cthulu2016]

13. (read past the headline)

[reusrename]

18. I get it now. The strawman is sarcasm.

It fit's the pattern so perfectly. We are witnessing the death of satire. Reminds me of Tina Fey's sendup of Palin where she just quoted her own words.

[Maximumnegro]

29. more important than me being able to

vote and walk down the street without being shot next to my gf who's vagina is on lease.

i don't think so.

[reusrename]

31. Fascism is a holistic problem. It affects every corner of out lives.

Some of us don't think it's possible to change anything without first altering our march toward fascism.

[Jamaal510]

32. +1

[cali]

10. I take it you're employing sarcasm to make your point here. n/t

[cthulu2016]

15. Not sarcasm so much as parody

Just pushing a "nothing to see here" argument to the breaking point, and enjoying the irony that the people demonizing Snowden the most are also those encouraging trust in the NSA.

A snake swallowing its own tail.

[cali]

17. funny, I was just thinking the exact same thing "A snake swallowing its own tail".

[Bake]

11. You had me going there for a minute ...

Until your last line.

Well done!



Bake

[Rex]

12. You have me going there!

[cthulu2016]

20. Jokes (like pictures) can be very efficient containers

[KittyWampus]

14. My main beef is the money. A gigantic black hole into which untold millions (billions?) are poured.

Then there is the whole "they could have built safeguards into the systems but deliberately chose not to" thing… sort of like Black Box Voting.

[BlueCheese]

16. Read to the end, everyone.

[treestar]

21. Most of them don't do what Snowden did

In local news, the University of Delaware had its computers hacked, losing information, including social security numbers, about its employees, past and present. Now they're all scared regarding ID theft. Realistically, that type of problem is much more of a likely threat to an ordinary person.

[steve2470]

23. It's all legal. Therefore, I'm totally at ease. I completely trust my government, as we all should.

If Dick Cheney can personally go down to the CIA and pressure them for a "better report" on Iraq, I can easily foresee a scenario in the future where someone powerful goes to the NSA in person and digs up what they wish.

Before that report in 2003, I was naive enough to believe that a sitting Vice President would NEVER do something like that. Of course, it will never ever happen again in the history of this republic.

(yea I'm being sarcastic)

[kentuck]

24. If NSA concern is overblown...

..then so is concern over Edward Snowden.

Then so is the intelligence that Snowden supposedly has on his laptops.

[magical thyme]

25. I agree, but only in the sense that

I expect global climate change and peak oil to eclipse anything any mere government could do at this point. The good ship "cut energy and invest in green renewables" sailed decades ago ago, right around when St. Ronnie pronounced 'mourning in America.' The rest is and will be history.

[MotherPetrie]

27. K&R

[L0oniX]

28. They do need to work on eliminating those with a constitutional conscience from their work force.

[gulliver]

30. Which is why his travel arrangements hopefully include...

...a long stay in prison. Throw away the key and we'll see who wants to be the next Snowden.

What if your doctor's secretary decided to post info about you on a blog? What if a Verizon employee decided to query your metadata and call your spouse? This is why we need serious teeth in confidentiality rules and laws.