I'm torn on what's worse - Facebook/Google/Apple/etc. knowingly collecting and selling your information or the feds taking your information for "security" reasons without your knowledge. I'm not sure how much people are surprised, either. My feeling is that most people assume that the government is/has been collecting that information anyway, at least that's how I feel. My biggest gripe is the carte blanche that the feds have with this information. Apparently, their only "filter" for this information is to have a 51% certainty that you are foreign, after that, everything collected on you is fair game for surveillance. Google can read my email and pull out directions, relevant local events, deals, but you're telling me that federal NSA algorithms can't do any better than collecting an unfiltered lump of data with only 51% certainty that I might not be American?

I expected it, but it definitely deserves the media attention it has been getting. It is a breach of our fundamental civil rights, but I have no doubts that it will continue.

I expected it and I assume most have suspected it, though it doesn't mean I like it. The fact that Obama defended it by saying "Congress is going to be regulating it carefully" probably didn't help.

Just continue to pledge allegiance to the flag, I'm sure everything will turn out alright.

/sarcasm off

In this particular case, I'm not sure it's fair to blame the tech companies. If the Feds approach them with court orders for data, there isn't much they can do.

I'm still waiting to get a clearer picture myself; I've been hearing a lot of conflicting reports, which I suppose is to be expected.

I don't think the government should be getting involved in people's lives period.

In situations like this I like to ask myself what Calvin Coolidge would do.

Yeah, they've been reading your mails. But don't worry "this does not apply to US citizens, and it does not apply to people living in the United States,"

Oh, that's okay then, said the rest of the world.

Orwell.

Enough said.

Ok...I'll say more (heh heh...)

Nobody should be surprised by this. The government/NSA has had monitoring systems in place to the extent of their ability for a lonnnnng tie. Google "Carnivor" for example. But basically, the concept of the government spying on its own people is ancient - the only thing that has changed is the technology, which allows them to do it on such a massive scale that essentially the entire nation is under surveillance.

The ironic thing is that when such monitoring plays to the peoples advantage -- such as catching the Boston bombing suspects so quickly with all the video that was collected -- everyone thinks it's great. we have camera *everywhere* spying on people in public, from traffic cams, to banks, store survelience, etc...and the government can look at it all without anyone batting an eye and we all think that's great.

Out financial information is bought and sold daily, we are targetted with advertising based upon our purchases, Kroger (my grocery store) sends me specifically targetted cou0pns ( which I use) based on my buying habits...and we love it all and go about our lives thinking no harm no foul.


So now they are collected an uber-shitload of phone data, which can give them some numerical indication of patterns....big deal. You can't stop the beast. In truth, the story is overblown old news. it's not like some pervy little geek is listening to your phone calls. It's computers monitoring data streams for patterns that are deemed a threat, and when found, they will start looking deeper, pulling records, listening in, etc.

It really doesn't matter if you don't like it anymore....it will never go away.

end of story.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/8/4409874/director-of-national-intelligence-issues-fact-sheet-on-prism

Rand Paul 2016

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/7/the-national-security-agencys-collection-of-phone-/

It just keeps getting worse.

Where is Putin33? I want to see him defend Obama.

Not possible.

The Supreme Court also nullified any potential cases against the NSA by people calling it unconstitutional as well.

Obama? Try the whole government since October 2001, if these allegations are true. Obama's just especially heinous since he's been such a rank hypocrite about it all. At least Bush never claimed to be a civil libertarian.

And the Supreme Court refused to hear the case since the plaintiffs couldn't show they had actually been spied on. Doesn't look like that'll be an issue anymore. I bet dozens of lawsuits have already been filed.

Is that it? That's a bit better. It's as if the Supreme Court (excl. Scalia and Thomas) is the last part of government I actually trust.

"it's not like some pervy little geek is listening to your phone calls. It's computers monitoring data streams for patterns that are deemed a threat, and when found, they will start looking deeper, pulling records, listening in, etc."

The problem is that the "pervy little geek" at Fort Meade has to take orders from people who might decide, say, Tea Party organizers are "threats" that need a "deeper look". Or antiwar activists. Or Ron Paul voters (Ron Paul supporters, of course have been frequently declared to be "potential terrorists" by law enforcement "threat assessment" reports, along with constitutionalists and home schoolers). Or congressmen who won't support the President's latest war. Or that pesky holdout supreme court justice who just won't get with the program on the government's latest power grab. Information is power - he who has Total Information Awareness (as one particular NSA program of the early Oughts was ominously called) has total power. Maybe I'm just a crazy anti-government conspiracy-theorizing kook, but I do not want to live in any society where nameless faceless government bureaucrats have total information/power.

Tolstoy - trust me, I think it sucks. I think the Constitution is dead. I'm also realistic enough to realize that there is little we can do about it. How are you going to stop the government from this? BOTH parties kew it was happening but noone does anything. Whas the answer? Revolution? lol Won't/can't happen. So I'm just tired of getting twised up about the excessive goverhment abues. I hate it....but it's here to stay.

i don't see you offering any solutions.