The more I read about Snowden, the more I think of my brother in law.

[onehandle]

GED Certificate.

Short military time and some sort of Intelligence work.

Went to work for a private military contractor, where he is seemingly overpaid for his duties and skills.

Libertarian.

Likes women with 'issues' so that he can dominate them.

He's about ten years older than Snowden, and has been divorced twice, because eventually the women figure it out.


My brother in law is a self important dick, who believes his every action sets a standard for his fellow man. He views this as 'generosity.'


That's all I got.

[boston bean]

1. The NSA is probably looking him up as we speak!

[onehandle]

2. Dear NSA overlords, He has guns. Be vewy vewy careful. Love, onehandle. nt

[graham4anything]

3. I have 4 brother in laws

The above is true in three of the four cases

LOL

(and those 3 were all, coincidentally divorced.
the 4th is happily married and not like the other three, also the youngest of the 5 kids.)

[BlueStreak]

4. Why are you attacking him?

Why don't you talk about the important issue instead? There is no question that the information he divulged is true and vitally important. Character assassination serves no purpose. It doesn't matter who he is or what flaws he might have.

[onehandle]

5. I think I'm attacking my brother in law.

He would probably want to kick the shit out of Snowden.

[cascadiance]

6. Yeah, that's like focusing on rumors of Al Gore groping massage therapists instead of global warming

... issues that he's helped get so many people aware of and get a movement to try and solve.

Don't let those that want to use all of this information they've gathered on people through programs like this to manipulate the discussion on this win! I'm not saying Snowden should be a hero, unlike perhaps some do. But I do think we should be looking strongly at what he's talking about, and think about how as a human being we might be doing the same thing he's doing in his place if we had ethics.

I have a lot of strong disagreements with libertarians on many things, but civil liberties is where I have a lot of common grounds with them, and I think they have had a lot to contribute to our national discussions there. I've often said in the past that a smart Democratic leader might put someone like Ron Paul in charge of one of our intelligence agencies, or at least a watchdog agency that is monitoring them, to leverage him where his views are strongest and coincide with ours and not an area where perhaps libertarian philosophy would hurt our government.

[BlueStreak]

7. Exactly. It is intentional, and exposes the true agenda of many people here.

It is about civil liberties.

It is also about corporate profiteering.

It is also about wasteful government spending.

And it is about efficacy. like Reagan's "Star Wars" project that never passed a single test.

And if that puts me in agreement with Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders at the same time on this issue, I see no problem with that.

And if Obama doesn't want to get on board, then he will suffer the consequences.

The one thing it is NOT about is Snowden.

[backscatter712]

30. Exactly. They don't want us talking about Google for Tyrants...

So instead, these slimebags play this disgusting game of character assassination.

[BlueStreak]

33. "Google for Tyrants" :)

It is a serious concern. Every year we see a greater commingling of the private and government, and nowhere is this incestuous relationship more evident than in the creation of this massive national dossier we are discussing presently.

I don't know exactly what Google may be doing in this regard. I do know that Google has the absolute maximum expertise in the largest searchable databases making them an attractive partner to the CIA and NSA. And I know that Google's business plan requires them to have all sorts of favors from the government to help them deal with the difficult markets like China. So I am simply not willing to assume that there is no collaboration going on here and none planned.

It is not sufficient to reflect nostalgically on the days when Google had as its corporate motto, "Don't be evil." That is as much a distant part of our history as is the Fourth Amendment.

"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." (Benito Mussolini)

[randome]

13. Snowden made the ludicrous claim that he can spy on anyone in the world at any time.

But offered no evidence of this.

Greenwald says the NSA has 'direct access' to all the Internet companies. They all deny this and are biting at the bit to give more information about the warrants they have received.

Snowden's other reveals are that phone records are scooped up (which the courts have held is legal) and Internet data is scooped up (which, so far as I know, has not been ruled on.)

Instead of giving us this information and letting us have an informed discussion, he chose to do this in the most melodramatic way possible.

From Hong Kong, he said "I am not here to hide from justice."

So why would we believe his and Greenwald's main claims of 'spy on anyone' and 'direct access'. So far, neither of them is credible. IMO.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[George Gently]

15. The Guardian quietly walks back their PRISM overreach without correcting previous reporting

"It’s worth noting the Guardian’s new take on the program broadly meshes with how Google has described their FISA court order compliance:"

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/42121_The_Guardian_quietly_walks_back_their_PRISM_overreach_without_correcting_previous_reporting

[BeyondGeography]

29. Illuminating

Thanks for the link.

[BlueStreak]

16. So what? What does that have to do with anything?

His central claim has proven to be accurate, and extensive. When you persist on ad hominem attacks on Snowden, this makes it look like you are just throwing out red herrings to try to distract people from the central issue.

Are you afraid to discuss the real issues?

[randome]

18. His central claim, to me, is that any NSA employee can spy on anyone in the world.

He's offered no evidence of this.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[BlueStreak]

23. OK, then focus on that. The man is irrelevant.

If there is no evidence, then the claim should not be accepted. Just like if there is no evidence of any actual difference in the handling of the 501(c)(4) applications from Tea Party and liberal groups, then that claim should not be accepted. It doesn't matter who raised the question, and mud slung at the person who raised the question does not change the truth of the question.

Stop attacking the man. Discuss the issues.

[treestar]

24. There is plenty of question about the value of the information

and whether or not it should be revealed. But no one has discussed that for the past few days. Those who decided without further thought that he is a "hero" immediately upon hearing of him are not interested in any such discussion.

[BlueStreak]

31. Nor are those who want to paint the man as a villain. The man is irrelevant.

[treestar]

34. I don't think there is anyone trying to paint him as a villain

Just a natural curiosity of the oddity of some of his proceedings.

[Floyd_Gondolli]

8. I heard he's going to be in the reboot of The Swan on Fox

[Romulus Quirinus]

9. I bet he has a droid phone, too. nt

[sibelian]

12. I hear he has this weird facial tic.

Also, he smells faintly of dead things.

[Romulus Quirinus]

20. No, that's bacon.

that's ok. That other stuff is right out, though!

[11 Bravo]

22. His father, on the other hand, smells of elderberries.

[cali]

10. So what? you have issues with your brother-in-law.

you don't have much.

[backscatter712]

11. All you've got is petty smears on a man you've never met.

Disgusting.

[treestar]

25. What about the lavish praise of a man people never met?

[Catherina]

14. And all you'll ever have. Pathetic n/t

[Puzzledtraveller]

17. I've quit more things than I have completed

I was a easily forgettable C average student. Never finished college. Have had more relationships than I have fingers to count them. Been fired from jobs. Speeding tickets, expired registration(numerous times) and a DUI when I was 20.(I was still hired by PD with that on my record btw) Divorced, no kids. I have always been poor at managing my finances and do not know what my exact salary is at the moment.

I also am a veteran of the USAF and have been A fire fighter, in USAF and civilian. A corrections officer. A police officer. A EMT. A CNA. I am quiet. I keep to myself. I pretty much stay home once I get home from work as a caseworker in social services.

[randome]

19. Dude. You should be working at the NSA.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[treestar]

26. lol

Someone with a DUI could never get a job as police officer where I live. The competition may not be as great in the other poster's area, though.

Sounds a bit like another well known poster - experience in very many things, including fires and EMT. Ought to become a journalist.

[eissa]

21. Your BIL sounds like a teabagger I recently I argued with

regarding this topic. When I told him that corporations have more information on you than the government does, that anytime you search anything you'll magically see ads/get coupons in the mail for said items, his response was: no, I don't, I have AdBlocker. Yes, because if you can't see them, they can't see you

[HangOnKids]

27. But does your BIL quote Steve Scum Bag Jobs?

And this sentence from you describes Stevie Scum himself:

"My brother in law is a self important dick, who believes his every action sets a standard for his fellow man. He views this as 'generosity.'

[Dreamer Tatum]

28. Sounds like you don't know shit about either of them. nt

[avaistheone1]

32. +10

[DCKit]

35. I think he's gay. Way too well groomed.

The rest fits, though.

[former9thward]

36. I guess the Smear Machine has new talking points.

I wonder what they will be tomorrow.

[moondust]

37. Ron Paul fanboy.

The "architecture of oppression" sounds like something right out of the Ron Paul lexicon.