General Discussion

Jerry442

(1,265 posts)

19. "Snowden and his allies cannot point to a single instance...

Tue Aug 13, 2013, 10:33 PM

Aug 2013

"...in which the NSA spying has hurt an innocent person."

But how could they? The surveillance is secret. The use of the information gathered is secret. If the surveillance turns up something on a person which gets publicly released, then that person wasn't innocent anyway, right? (Think Eliot Spitzer or Scott Ridder).

In the meantime, anyone who might ever think about speaking out publicly against the government has to mull over what the spooks will find when they go over decades of their life with a microscope.

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Former Stasi Reaction to NSA “You know, for us, this would have been a dream come true” [View all] kpete Aug 2013 OP

The Stasi WERE the terrorists. JaneyVee Aug 2013 #1

Yes. That's the point. nt delrem Aug 2013 #9

The STASI were a state organization KarKar Aug 2013 #37

I'll trust his opinion, and appreciate his honesty . orpupilofnature57 Aug 2013 #2

And the defenders get butthurt when the NSA's compared to the Stasi... backscatter712 Aug 2013 #3

+ 1000 - The Pot Calling The Kettle Black - Hurts When The Game Is Over And The Cheer Leading Ends cantbeserious Aug 2013 #4

No, intelligent people get offended because it's hyperbole. Just Saying Aug 2013 #8

So substituting computers for human operatives makes it peachy keen eridani Aug 2013 #14

I don't know how anyone can have knowledge of what the Stasi was and did Just Saying Aug 2013 #15

I'll bet that Stasi didn't start out big eridani Aug 2013 #16

Now it's the Holocaust? Just Saying Aug 2013 #21

You are right about it not being tolerated. Exactly why do you think so many eridani Aug 2013 #25

The NSA has tech the Stasi did not. They don't NEED 1 in 7 narking tkmorris Aug 2013 #17

The NSA has no authority to spy on citizens Just Saying Aug 2013 #22

Do you REALLY believe that? DissidentVoice Aug 2013 #27

I agree the Patriot Act never should have passed or continued. Just Saying Aug 2013 #49

Without saying too much DissidentVoice Aug 2013 #50

Of course the technology is better than it was 20-50 years ago. Just Saying Aug 2013 #54

To paraphrase Governor Tarkin from "Star Wars"... DissidentVoice Aug 2013 #65

Actually there is and has been some blowback on journalists eilen Aug 2013 #55

Who, when and how? Just Saying Aug 2013 #57

And just look at these replies. Do you have any doubt what these people would do under Egalitarian Thug Aug 2013 #34

Like we haven't figured out we can replace people with computers... dkf Aug 2013 #53

"Snowden and his allies cannot point to a single instance... Jerry442 Aug 2013 #19

I'm just not that conspiratorial. Just Saying Aug 2013 #24

Thats interesting. quakerboy Aug 2013 #29

Like others on this thread, you're comparing the NSA Just Saying Aug 2013 #48

Actually, Im not comparing anything except those two numbers, which I found coincidentally similar quakerboy Aug 2013 #62

Actually, the Stasi were gentle by comparison in many respects, at least toward the end. David__77 Aug 2013 #32

First off, you're comparing how we are dealing with prisoners of war Just Saying Aug 2013 #47

I'm aware of the Stasi techniques. David__77 Aug 2013 #59

Rather than 1 out of 73 - we've got 100% surveillance and a ONE PARTY SURVEILLANCE STATE. chimpymustgo Aug 2013 #39

The final nail in that coffin was the Patriot Act DissidentVoice Aug 2013 #41

You're completely exaggerating the situation. Just Saying Aug 2013 #46

Funny how they won't even tell us "what is actually happening." And they LIE when they do chimpymustgo Aug 2013 #61

Worth a read...two cool heads are included at the end BeyondGeography Aug 2013 #5

k and r nashville_brook Aug 2013 #6

For THEM it's incomprehensible. DevonRex Aug 2013 #7

Exactly. It really makes DU look bad, which I believe is the point. tridim Aug 2013 #11

What is this "makes 'DU' look bad" stuff? David__77 Aug 2013 #33

This forum has never been about praising Russia as a beacon of freedom. tridim Aug 2013 #36

Who exactly is "praising Russia as a beacon of freedom?" DissidentVoice Aug 2013 #43

No one is. It is a BS statement. nt Mojorabbit Aug 2013 #64

Umm.. J Edgar Hoover had official Washington terrified of his dossiers on them Fumesucker Aug 2013 #12

Convenient lapses of memory and comprehension seem to plague a certain group here. Egalitarian Thug Aug 2013 #35

I find their naiveté shocking and depressing both. nt stillwaiting Aug 2013 #45

The point is that it could end up that way. blackspade Aug 2013 #20

"The U.S. was never that way." Waiting For Everyman Aug 2013 #30

How original. A "good German" reference. DevonRex Aug 2013 #31

Don't you have a short memory KarKar Aug 2013 #38

US foreign policy is pretty sick KarKar Aug 2013 #40

K&R DissidentVoice Aug 2013 #42

I always scoffed at the RW claim that "liberals hate America". JoePhilly Aug 2013 #51

+1 Just Saying Aug 2013 #52

Yes. DevonRex Aug 2013 #60

Yep. KNR. DirkGently Aug 2013 #10

but, but, "it can't/won't happen here!!!" the apologists would say stupidicus Aug 2013 #13

last year it was "he's loved abroad where his FP is conducted, not like you soft ingrates" MisterP Aug 2013 #56

lol stupidicus Aug 2013 #63

Yeah, but his girlfriend is probably a pole dancer. closeupready Aug 2013 #18

And this is *not* the only comparison coming out of Germany, woo me with science Aug 2013 #23

Too bad you're past retirement age, Colonel. The US is looking for capable men these days.. kenny blankenship Aug 2013 #26

Imagine that gopiscrap Aug 2013 #28

'height of naivete to think that once collected this information won’t be used' markiv Aug 2013 #44

That is exactly the point the defenders fail to get. hobbit709 Aug 2013 #58