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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Mar 10, 2017 - 04:25pm PT
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+1 Dingus
Could be a "white hat" type person that wants the info out so all systems can be more secure to enforce a more idealistic balance of power between any government and private entities.
Could be a person that just wants to take down the biggest kid on the block.
Could be a few brave people acting with little support or safety net, and Wikileaks is a sort of rallying point for these "lone wolf" whistle-blowers.
Could be state players
Could the CIA itself as part of a trick to underplay what their capabilities really are, a sort of lulling the enemies into a false sense of security.
Who knows?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Mar 11, 2017 - 07:48am PT
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Could also be just some pathetic soul with no life who sees this as his chance to be somebody.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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Apr 22, 2017 - 10:17am PT
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Very informative, interesting exchange between Gen M Hayden and Sam Harris on the waking up podcast this week. Eg, distinction between NSA and CIA, the necessity of espionage and intelligence, the constantly shifting, negotiated line bet privacy and security, and a bunch of other stuff (why Snowden should be prosecuted if he were captured or ever to return and the harm he's done).
https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/privacy-and-security
Is government secrecy always illegitimate?
"Shame on us for giving them the opportunity..." -Hayden
...
PS There's this actor, Kurtwood Smith, who could play General Hayden to a t I bet.
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F
climber
away from the ground
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May 19, 2017 - 10:32am PT
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Is that the chick that Cosmic doesn't like?
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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May 19, 2017 - 12:08pm PT
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Zero Hedge reports that Seth Rich, a DNC functionary, had been in contact with Wikileaks and is the likely source of the leaked DNC emails.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-16/murdered-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-shared-44000-emails-wikileaks
So far the MSM have been suppressing this story. It would invalidate their case that Russia was behind this. Also note, Julian Assange has said that it was not Russia.
Rich was murdered, shot in the back as he was walking home at night. This was officially attributed to robbery, but nothing was taken.
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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May 19, 2017 - 02:43pm PT
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Years ago, Bill Buckley and Gore Vidal debated the death penalty, with Buckley for, and Vidal against. Buckley made the point that if it deters even one murder, it's worth it. Of course, that is hard to prove one way on the other.
The same argument can be used for spying on Americans. If you gather lots of illegal data that pries into our personal lives, but then you happen to uncover a plot to blow up a huge bomb in Penn Station which would kill 200 people, then is it worth it?
Even ordinary surveillance footage in stores and malls has made it a lot easier to apprehend killers. So it is a two-edged sword.
Still, I think it is good that Assange exposed it.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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May 19, 2017 - 04:08pm PT
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Yeah, what's a few Americans' lives worth when we're talking about protecting yer texts to yer mistress?
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kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
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Sep 25, 2017 - 12:19am PT
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Nov 17, 2017 - 09:17am PT
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While the surveillance per se is an invasive thing, the really insidious part is the selective enforcement of what they find. If we all are guilty of violating some law or other, then we all live in fear of being prosecuted when it strikes the fancy of those in power. It enables powerful people to have a legal shield and arms-length deniability for engaging in personal vendettas or underhanded means of preserving and consolidating their power. It’s a way of silencing adversaries and preventing the carriage of justice on larger issues, which erodes the quality of our democracy and society.
We see evidence of it now even in the private sector, where filthy rich men pay former Mossad agents to dig up dirt on their victims to keep them quiet.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 17, 2017 - 09:28am PT
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So you would rather see airliners blown out of the sky rather than compromise your privacy fantasies?
You have no idea how many plots have been thwarted by our security people. I feel safer for it,
but I don't feel less private, especially as I am not plotting to do anything nefarious. I also have
a higher regard for the people doing this than you apparently.
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Yury
Mountain climber
T.O.
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Nov 17, 2017 - 10:36am PT
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Reilly:
So you would rather see airliners blown out of the sky rather than compromise your privacy fantasies?
You have no idea how many plots have been thwarted by our security people. Reilly, could you please provide a list of such plots?
I suspect that secret services are so shy with such disclosure because this list is really short.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 17, 2017 - 10:40am PT
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Юроч, having enjoyed a moderate level security clearance at one time I’m here to tell you there is a phrase that explains why you ‘think’ the list is short:
‘It’s on a need to know basis.’
And, FYI, you ain’t on that list.
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