The 2013 Obama Scandal omnibus thread- Benghazi, IRS, AP, EPA, Congressional cloak room

I might be in trouble, I think I googled "dropping loads" once.

 

The rest of the sentence read..."onto pregnant Japanese lactating bukkake schoolgirls" so I'm sure the computer edited it out don't worry,

 

 

 

All of this data from the NSA is being gathered right in my own backyard..

http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/20...s/the-black-box

Saw this on another forum.. someone was basically saying he didn't care if the NSA was looking at his emails and listening to his calls because he had nothing to hide. This was another persons response:

"I live in a country generally assumed to be a dictatorship. One of the Arab spring countries. I have lived through curfews and have seen the outcomes of the sort of surveillance now being revealed in the US. People here talking about curfews aren't realizing what that actually FEELS like. It isn't about having to go inside, and the practicality of that. It's about creating the feeling that everyone, everything is watching. A few points:

1) the purpose of this surveillance from the governments point of view is to control enemies of the state. Not terrorists. People who are coalescing around ideas that would destabilize the status quo. These could be religious ideas. These could be groups like anon who are too good with tech for the governments liking. It makes it very easy to know who these people are. It also makes it very simple to control these people.

Lets say you are a college student and you get in with some people who want to stop farming practices that hurt animals. So you make a plan and go to protest these practices. You get there, and wow, the protest is huge. You never expected this, you were just goofing off. Well now everyone who was there is suspect. Even though you technically had the right to protest, you're now considered a dangerous person.

With this tech in place, the government doesn't have to put you in jail. They can do something more sinister. They can just email you a sexy picture you took with a girlfriend. Or they can email you a note saying that they can prove your dad is cheating on his taxes. Or they can threaten to get your dad fired. All you have to do, the email says, is help them catch your friends in the group. You have to report back every week, or you dad might lose his job. So you do. You turn in your friends and even though they try to keep meetings off grid, you're reporting on them to protect your dad.

2) Let's say number one goes on. The country is a weird place now. Really weird. Pretty soon, a movement springs up like occupy, except its bigger this time. People are really serious, and they are saying they want a government without this power. I guess people are realizing that it is a serious deal. You see on the news that tear gas was fired. Your friend calls you, frantic. They're shooting people. Oh my god. you never signed up for this. You say, fcuk it. My dad might lose his job but I won't be responsible for anyone dying. That's going too far. You refuse to report anymore. You just stop going to meetings. You stay at home, and try not to watch the news. Three days later, police come to your door and arrest you. They confiscate your computer and phones, and they beat you up a bit. No one can help you so they all just sit quietly. They know if they say anything they're next. This happened in the country I live in. It is not a joke.

3) Its hard to say how long you were in there. What you saw was horrible. Most of the time, you only heard screams. People begging to be killed. Noises you've never heard before. You, you were lucky. You got kicked every day when they threw your moldy food at you, but no one shocked you. No one used sexual violence on you, at least that you remember. There were some times they gave you pills, and you can't say for sure what happened then. To be honest, sometimes the pills were the best part of your day, because at least then you didn't feel anything. You have scars on you from the way you were treated. You learn in prison that torture is now common. But everyone who uploads videos or pictures of this torture is labeled a leaker. Its considered a threat to national security. Pretty soon, a cut you got on your leg is looking really bad. You think it's infected. There were no doctors in prison, and it was so overcrowded, who knows what got in the cut. You go to the doctor, but he refuses to see you. He knows if he does the government can see the records that he treated you. Even you calling his office prompts a visit from the local police.

You decide to go home and see your parents. Maybe they can help. This leg is getting really bad. You get to their house. They aren't home. You can't reach them no matter how hard you try. A neighbor pulls you aside, and he quickly tells you they were arrested three weeks ago and haven't been seen since. You vaguely remember mentioning to them on the phone you were going to that protest. Even your little brother isn't there.

4) Is this even really happening? You look at the news. Sports scores. Celebrity news. It's like nothing is wrong. What the hell is going on? A stranger smirks at you reading the paper. You lose it. You shout at him "fcuk you dude what are you laughing at can't you see I've got a fcuking wound on my leg?"

"Sorry," he says. "I just didn't know anyone read the news anymore." There haven't been any real journalists for months. They're all in jail.

Everyone walking around is scared. They can't talk to anyone else because they don't know who is reporting for the government. Hell, at one time YOU were reporting for the government. Maybe they just want their kid to get through school. Maybe they want to keep their job. Maybe they're sick and want to be able to visit the doctor. It's always a simple reason. Good people always do bad things for simple reasons.

You want to protest. You want your family back. You need help for your leg. This is way beyond anything you ever wanted. It started because you just wanted to see fair treatment in farms. Now you're basically considered a terrorist, and everyone around you might be reporting on you. You definitely can't use a phone or email. You can't get a job. You can't even trust people face to face anymore. On every corner, there are people with guns. They are as scared as you are. They just don't want to lose their jobs. They don't want to be labeled as traitors.

This all happened in the country where I live.

You want to know why revolutions happen? Because little by little by little things get worse and worse. But this thing that is happening now is big. This is the key ingredient. This allows them to know everything they need to know to accomplish the above. The fact that they are doing it is proof that they are the sort of people who might use it in the way I described. In the country I live in, they also claimed it was for the safety of the people. Same in Soviet Russia. Same in East Germany. In fact, that is always the excuse that is used to surveil everyone. But it has never ONCE proven to be the reality.

Maybe Obama won't do it. Maybe the next guy won't, or the one after him. Maybe this story isn't about you. Maybe it happens 10 or 20 years from now, when a big war is happening, or after another big attack. Maybe it's about your daughter or your son. We just don't know yet. But what we do know is that right now, in this moment we have a choice. Are we okay with this, or not? Do we want this power to exist, or not?

You know for me, the reason I'm upset is that I grew up in school saying the pledge of allegiance. I was taught that the United States meant "liberty and justice for all." You get older, you learn that in this country we define that phrase based on the constitution. That's what tells us what liberty is and what justice is. Well, the government just violated that ideal. So if they aren't standing for liberty and justice anymore, what are they standing for? Safety?

Ask yourself a question. In the story I told above, does anyone sound safe?

I didn't make anything up. These things happened to people I know. We used to think it couldn't happen in America. But guess what? It's starting to happen.

I actually get really upset when people say "I don't have anything to hide. Let them read everything." People saying that have no idea what they are bringing down on their own heads. They are naive, and we need to listen to people in other countries who are clearly telling us that this is a horrible horrible sign and it is time to stand up and say no."

Saw this on another forum.. someone was basically saying he didn't care if the NSA was looking at his emails and listening to his calls because he had nothing to hide. This was another persons response:

"I live in a country generally assumed to be a dictatorship. One of the Arab spring countries. I have lived through curfews and have seen the outcomes of the sort of surveillance now being revealed in the US. People here talking about curfews aren't realizing what that actually FEELS like. It isn't about having to go inside, and the practicality of that. It's about creating the feeling that everyone, everything is watching. A few points:

1) the purpose of this surveillance from the governments point of view is to control enemies of the state. Not terrorists. People who are coalescing around ideas that would destabilize the status quo. These could be religious ideas. These could be groups like anon who are too good with tech for the governments liking. It makes it very easy to know who these people are. It also makes it very simple to control these people.

Lets say you are a college student and you get in with some people who want to stop farming practices that hurt animals. So you make a plan and go to protest these practices. You get there, and wow, the protest is huge. You never expected this, you were just goofing off. Well now everyone who was there is suspect. Even though you technically had the right to protest, you're now considered a dangerous person.

With this tech in place, the government doesn't have to put you in jail. They can do something more sinister. They can just email you a sexy picture you took with a girlfriend. Or they can email you a note saying that they can prove your dad is cheating on his taxes. Or they can threaten to get your dad fired. All you have to do, the email says, is help them catch your friends in the group. You have to report back every week, or you dad might lose his job. So you do. You turn in your friends and even though they try to keep meetings off grid, you're reporting on them to protect your dad.

2) Let's say number one goes on. The country is a weird place now. Really weird. Pretty soon, a movement springs up like occupy, except its bigger this time. People are really serious, and they are saying they want a government without this power. I guess people are realizing that it is a serious deal. You see on the news that tear gas was fired. Your friend calls you, frantic. They're shooting people. Oh my god. you never signed up for this. You say, fcuk it. My dad might lose his job but I won't be responsible for anyone dying. That's going too far. You refuse to report anymore. You just stop going to meetings. You stay at home, and try not to watch the news. Three days later, police come to your door and arrest you. They confiscate your computer and phones, and they beat you up a bit. No one can help you so they all just sit quietly. They know if they say anything they're next. This happened in the country I live in. It is not a joke.

3) Its hard to say how long you were in there. What you saw was horrible. Most of the time, you only heard screams. People begging to be killed. Noises you've never heard before. You, you were lucky. You got kicked every day when they threw your moldy food at you, but no one shocked you. No one used sexual violence on you, at least that you remember. There were some times they gave you pills, and you can't say for sure what happened then. To be honest, sometimes the pills were the best part of your day, because at least then you didn't feel anything. You have scars on you from the way you were treated. You learn in prison that torture is now common. But everyone who uploads videos or pictures of this torture is labeled a leaker. Its considered a threat to national security. Pretty soon, a cut you got on your leg is looking really bad. You think it's infected. There were no doctors in prison, and it was so overcrowded, who knows what got in the cut. You go to the doctor, but he refuses to see you. He knows if he does the government can see the records that he treated you. Even you calling his office prompts a visit from the local police.

You decide to go home and see your parents. Maybe they can help. This leg is getting really bad. You get to their house. They aren't home. You can't reach them no matter how hard you try. A neighbor pulls you aside, and he quickly tells you they were arrested three weeks ago and haven't been seen since. You vaguely remember mentioning to them on the phone you were going to that protest. Even your little brother isn't there.

4) Is this even really happening? You look at the news. Sports scores. Celebrity news. It's like nothing is wrong. What the hell is going on? A stranger smirks at you reading the paper. You lose it. You shout at him "fcuk you dude what are you laughing at can't you see I've got a fcuking wound on my leg?"

"Sorry," he says. "I just didn't know anyone read the news anymore." There haven't been any real journalists for months. They're all in jail.

Everyone walking around is scared. They can't talk to anyone else because they don't know who is reporting for the government. Hell, at one time YOU were reporting for the government. Maybe they just want their kid to get through school. Maybe they want to keep their job. Maybe they're sick and want to be able to visit the doctor. It's always a simple reason. Good people always do bad things for simple reasons.

You want to protest. You want your family back. You need help for your leg. This is way beyond anything you ever wanted. It started because you just wanted to see fair treatment in farms. Now you're basically considered a terrorist, and everyone around you might be reporting on you. You definitely can't use a phone or email. You can't get a job. You can't even trust people face to face anymore. On every corner, there are people with guns. They are as scared as you are. They just don't want to lose their jobs. They don't want to be labeled as traitors.

This all happened in the country where I live.

You want to know why revolutions happen? Because little by little by little things get worse and worse. But this thing that is happening now is big. This is the key ingredient. This allows them to know everything they need to know to accomplish the above. The fact that they are doing it is proof that they are the sort of people who might use it in the way I described. In the country I live in, they also claimed it was for the safety of the people. Same in Soviet Russia. Same in East Germany. In fact, that is always the excuse that is used to surveil everyone. But it has never ONCE proven to be the reality.

Maybe Obama won't do it. Maybe the next guy won't, or the one after him. Maybe this story isn't about you. Maybe it happens 10 or 20 years from now, when a big war is happening, or after another big attack. Maybe it's about your daughter or your son. We just don't know yet. But what we do know is that right now, in this moment we have a choice. Are we okay with this, or not? Do we want this power to exist, or not?

You know for me, the reason I'm upset is that I grew up in school saying the pledge of allegiance. I was taught that the United States meant "liberty and justice for all." You get older, you learn that in this country we define that phrase based on the constitution. That's what tells us what liberty is and what justice is. Well, the government just violated that ideal. So if they aren't standing for liberty and justice anymore, what are they standing for? Safety?

Ask yourself a question. In the story I told above, does anyone sound safe?

I didn't make anything up. These things happened to people I know. We used to think it couldn't happen in America. But guess what? It's starting to happen.

I actually get really upset when people say "I don't have anything to hide. Let them read everything." People saying that have no idea what they are bringing down on their own heads. They are naive, and we need to listen to people in other countries who are clearly telling us that this is a horrible horrible sign and it is time to stand up and say no."

 

Excellent post... But I can sum it up a lot easier... We now have a government thats so big, with so much power, and so many laws, that each of us, every day, violates DOZENS of the laws, and even though WE probably don't know it, SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE in the GOVERNMENT DOES...

 

And because of that, we are all just living on borrowed time. We are FREE only because TODAY they didn't enforce the laws they know we broke.... Basically because we haven't pissed them off... Yet... When we do, its as easy as flipping a switch. They already have all the evidence they need to destroy each and every one of us... And it's all legal.

 

"Hey I voted for Obama, Im safe." Fabulous for you.... But the skeleton of this beast will survive him... And eventually the group in charge WONT be somebody you voted for.... And then, you are just as fucked.

It's not just what the Goverment is doing that's scary, what's even more scary is what US citizens are NOT doing. They do NOTHING no matter how bad the news is. There should be riots in the streets, massive protests, etc. Instead, they pretend everything is fine , hop in their minivan and go re-elect them.

 

It won't be long till the USA you used to know ceases to exsist. Unless the people stand up and start to revolt, it will be a dictatorship before long.

I've always said it and I will say it again, privacy is one of the most valuable commodities we poses and yet majority of us are willing to give it away for free on daily basis.

 

Facebook, Twitter, etc, etc.

I've always said it and I will say it again, privacy is one of the most valuable commodities we poses and yet majority of us are willing to give it away for free on daily basis.

 

Facebook, Twitter, etc, etc.

 

Even without social media mediums, we're still prone to privacy invasion. With the simple search of municipal/state public databases like those of NYS/NYC, you can find a lot of personal information.

Even without social media mediums, we're still prone to privacy invasion. With the simple search of municipal/state public databases like those of NYS/NYC, you can find a lot of personal information.

 

Not as easy to find out what you had for breakfast this morning for that you check Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

 

Compulsory information required in order to be part of the community you select to live in I don't have any issues with but simply volunteering sensitive and very private information about yourself is simply dumb IMO.

 

 

 

Don't ask your government for your Privacy, take it back:

• Browser Privacy: HTTPS Everywhere, AdBlock Plus + EasyList, Ghostery, NoScript (FireFox), NotScript (Chrome)
• VPNs: BTGuard (Canada), ItsHidden (Africa), Ipredator (Sweden), Faceless.me (Cyprus / Netherlands)
• Internet Anonymization: Tor, Tor Browser Bundle, I2P
• Disk Encryption: TrueCrypt (Windows / OSX / Linux), File Vault (Mac).
• File/Email Encryption: GPGTools + GPGMail (Mac), Enigmail (Windows / OSX / Linux)
• IM Encryption: Pidgin + Pidgin OTR
• IM/Voice Encryption: Mumble, Jitsi
• Phone/SMS Encryption: WhisperSystems, Ostel, Spore, Silent Circle ($$$)
• Google Alternative: DuckDuckGo
• Digital P2P Currency: BitCoin
• Live Anonymous/Secure Linux: TAILS Linux

If you have any problems installing or using the above software, please contact the projects. They would love to get feedback and help you use their software.

Have no clue what Cryptography is or why you should care? Checkout theCrypto Party Handbookor the EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense Project.

Just want some simple tips? CheckoutEFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy.

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If you liked this comment, feel free to copy/paste it.

^ Awesome Post Sprite!!!

 

 

 

 

Compulsory information required in order to be part of the community you select to live in I don't have any issues with but simply volunteering sensitive and very private information about yourself is simply dumb IMO.

 

See, I think you've got that BACKWARDS....

 

If I CHOOSE to tell you where I went for vacation or what Im eating for breakfast or even what my social security number is, THAT"S ON ME.... I did it. Nobody forced me.

 

 

Its the TAKING IT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION or FORCING ME to give it up in "exchange" for being a "citizen" part that most people have a problem with.

 

If I dance naked in front of an open widow, I'm an exhibitionist. If you surreptitiously put a video camera in my shower, I'm a victim.

Not as easy to find out what you had for breakfast this morning for that you check Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

 

Compulsory information required in order to be part of the community you select to live in I don't have any issues with but simply volunteering sensitive and very private information about yourself is simply dumb IMO.

 

Deeds, mortgage contracts, liens, and other documents should not be compulsory information and should not be made public information. It's private information that should be only available to the property owner.

 

Also, when you search for all of this information, your activity is being collected.

 

http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menu...2fa24601c789a0/

 

Its the TAKING IT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION or FORCING ME to give it up in "exchange" for being a "citizen" part that most people have a problem with.

 

Well said.

I was talking about personal information for your own benefit, date of birth, name, address, medical history, etc. if I have an accident I want them to notify my family and know what blood type I require, some of you guys are extremely paranoid, not everyone is out to get you.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/0...er-surveillance

 

" Three weeks ago, Snowden made final preparations that resulted in last week's series of blockbuster news stories. At the NSA office in Hawaii where he was working, he copied the last set of documents he intended to disclose.

 

He then advised his NSA supervisor that he needed to be away from work for "a couple of weeks" in order to receive treatment for epilepsy, a condition he learned he suffers from after a series of seizures last year.

 

As he packed his bags, he told his girlfriend that he had to be away for a few weeks, though he said he was vague about the reason. "That is not an uncommon occurrence for someone who has spent the last decade working in the intelligence world."

 

On May 20, he boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he has remained ever since. He chose the city because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent", and because he believed that it was one of the few places in the world that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government."

 

 

"The greatest fear I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change. People will see in the media all of these disclosures. They will know the lengths that the government is going to grant themselves powers unilaterally to create greater control over American society and global society, but they won't be willing to take the risks necessary to fight to change things, to force their representatives to actually take a stand in their interests."

 

Edward Snowden: NSA whistleblower.

 

I don't get the Facebook bugging thing. Granted some half brained twerp pulling a duck face selfie is not just an enemy of the state but to everyone in their immediate environment but I strongly doubt that Abu Hamza will be uploading any "like this picture in 30 secs if you are looking forward to your 40 virgins" or the liking of "Kill the infidels" group page and the "Miami dolphin cheerleaders official fanpage" and that is going to gather some useful intel how?

Most of us have done stupid things when we were younger that we sort of live to regret later in life, I know there were few chicks I've entertained which now I am not too proud of the problem I see with social networking is that all that stuff is online now for posterity, today's youngsters will have plenty of things coming to bite them, that I am sure of.

 

I've heard many of my friends who are in business employing staff that checking Facebook or other social networking sites before or after job interviews are the norm, when someone calls in sick first thing they do is check their activity on social networking sites.

 

Plastering every single one of your moves online is what I consider giving a lot of your privacy away for free and in some cases it will come back to bite you.

 

Maybe I shouldn't be talking, I thought my mom how to use an iPhone few years ago and now she has a Facebook account

The thing is, you can control what you post on Facebook, if you're careful enough it's fine, I see no need to share everything I do, but it's a nice, simple way of keeping in touch with people. If you share personal or sensitive information about yourself or are the type that feels the need to tell the whole world where you are at all times and what you're doing, and that comes to bite you in the back at some point, you deserve it.

I don't get the Facebook bugging thing. Granted some half brained twerp pulling a duck face selfie is not just an enemy of the state but to everyone in their immediate environment but I strongly doubt that Abu Hamza will be uploading any "like this picture in 30 secs if you are looking forward to your 40 virgins" or the liking of "Kill the infidels" group page and the "Miami dolphin cheerleaders official fanpage" and that is going to gather some useful intel how?

I don't get that part either, but what is disturbing is the fact that the government DID IT and somehow thought is was useful

""Why should people care about surveillance?"

"Because even if you're not doing anything wrong you're being watched and recorded. The storage capability of the systems increases every year consistently by orders of magnitude where it's getting to the point you don't have to have done anything wrong. You simply have to eventually fall under suspicion by somebody - even by a wrong call. Then they can use the system to go back in time and scrutinise every decision you've ever made, every friend you've ever discussed something with and attack you on that basis to sort of derive suspision from an innocent life and paint anyone into context of a wrongdoer."

From a Q&A with Snowden:

 

Q: Washington-based foreign affairs analyst Steve Clemons said he overheard at the capital's Dulles airport four men discussing an intelligence conference they had just attended. Speaking about the leaks, one of them said, according to Clemons, that both the reporter and leaker should be "disappeared". How do you feel about that?

A: Someone responded to the story said 'real spies do not speak like that'. Well, I am a spy and that is how they talk. Whenever we had a debate in the office on how to handle crimes, they do not defend due process – they defend decisive action. They say it is better to kick someone out of a plane than let these people have a day in court. It is an authoritarian mindset in general.

 

This guy is a hero imo.

 

Full Q&A not sure it was posted.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/0...ard-snowden-why

He should have flown straight to Iceland...seems Hong Kong was a poor choice based on what I am reading. Maybe if he is smart he is already there in Iceland before the interview was aired. The govt. is going to make an example of him.

Deeds, mortgage contracts, liens, and other documents should not be compulsory information and should not be made public information. It's private information that should be only available to the property owner.

 

That info has to be public to have any confidence in the real estate markets. I'm not going to buy a house from you, just because you have the keys to it and say you own it. I want TITLE to the house, and the various rights to the land you may or may not convey to me. I want to know nobody else has SUPERIOR title to me, or that you have hawked the thing up to its ears, and all Im buying is your debt. In the converse by having it public, I can't just put a lien on your property (for no legal reason) without letting you know about it... Somebody goes to file a fake deed or lien on your property, its not valid unless its recorded and you get notified...

He should have flown straight to Iceland...seems Hong Kong was a poor choice based on what I am reading. Maybe if he is smart he is already there in Iceland before the interview was aired. The govt. is going to make an example of him.

 

Who is to say he isn't there? I wouldn't be surprised if he left a bread crumb trail till he could get there. He knows how the network operates. I'm sure he didn't make such a simple mistake. Or so we figure

Who is to say he isn't there? I wouldn't be surprised if he left a bread crumb trail till he could get there. He knows how the network operates. I'm sure he didn't make such a simple mistake. Or so we figure

Well after the Julian Assange situation - which is still going on - Snowden has got to be very stupid to still be in Hong Kong.

I don't get why he asked to be outed though.

Well after the Julian Assange situation - which is still going on - Snowden has got to be very stupid to still be in Hong Kong.

I don't get why he asked to be outed though.

 

ABC, for what it's worth, reported that he checked out of the hotel in Hong Kong and is "on the run" as of this morning. I think they may be sensationalizing this a bit.

 

So who thinks he's a traitor, and who thinks he's a hero? Or just someone standing up for what they believe in?