Re: [privacy] NSA Database Report Draws Focus on 'Analysis'

["Brian Loe" <knobdy () gmail com>]

On 5/12/06, Drsolly <drsollyp () drsolly com> wrote:
> The rest of us find it quite funny the way that your attention is focussed
> on the right to own popguns while under your feet your government
> redefines the word "freedom", knowing that a gun-owning population is
> mostly a hazard to family members, not to government power.

I know for a fact that the rest of you don't find it funny, though
they're unfortunately quiet on the list, they're not so quiet
off-list. Further, the most fundamental right any human has is the
right to life, and that right is worthless if the means to protect it
are illegal. Therefore, my attention to "popguns" shouldn't be all
that surprising at all.

As for these "new" revelations about spying - your country is doing it
too, you just don't know about it yet (beyond those "known" spy
programs like Echelon which your government most assuredly
participates in - why wouldn't they?). Most of this new "news" is the
result of EFF's lawsuit, which I'm pretty sure came from the former
AT&T employee who decided to talk about it. Will you eat crow when an
employee of a UK-based phone company speaks out? Oh wait, Sprint does
quite a bit of business of there, and they're based in the US...hell,
they're based a few miles from where I work!

Finally, as a security professional you should already know and
understand that e-mail and phone calls are not secure communications.
The ability of the government - or anyone else - to snoop on those
communications is trivial. I don't think they should be doing it but
am powerless to do anything about it. Until a populace decides they've
had enough of their government, and is willing to resort to something
more severe than showing up at polls, that's the way it is. But, as I
said, the populace doesn't care. In other words, the government isn't
infringing on it's People's freedoms when the People (Sheople) accept
it. Rights are like muscles, if you don't flex them you lose them and
we've obviously lost many rights throughout our history - as has EVERY
civilization in the history of the world.

I find it interesting how often you like to chime in on the US'
infringements but never note anything about your own government's
willingness to deny you basic civil rights (right to life for
starters) and to spy on you (the most video taped populace IN THE
WORLD) - and inability to protect you from foreign or domestic
terrorists. But then I forget you don't believe in your right to life
so, as I said, your government isn't infringing on your rights because
you accept it.... I'm wondering what psychological issues you have
that cause you to hate the US so much?

Finally, if you have something to say and you don't want the
government to know about it, use an encryption system that CAN provide
you the secure communications you desire - they haven't yet outlawed
that...in the US anyway.
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