URI:
   DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Even Greener Pastures
  HTML https://evengreener.createaforum.com
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       *****************************************************
   DIR Return to: World Current Events, Politics and News
       *****************************************************
       #Post#: 5471--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: NealC Date: August 24, 2018, 6:23 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       With itchy and scratchy as the theme music.
       #Post#: 5472--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: the lost minion Date: August 24, 2018, 6:36 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Truman Overby link=topic=415.msg5455#msg5455
       date=1535116001]
       When you play on that level - federal government - you have to
       expect that everything that you've ever said will be used
       against you. That's the way the game has always been played. The
       stakes are high. Everything is under scrutiny.
       [/quote]
       The problem is the panoptical society. We've got most of our
       communication going on online - and most of us already know it
       is not private. So what happens to a man who knows he's
       constantly watched? This is a panopticum. You know you are
       watched, you don't know when, you can't see those who watch -
       but you'll always uncertain. You're always the weak one. And all
       that is human in you, all that is normal, can be dragged out on
       a display and used against you. This is not a problem with
       people leaking secret data, this is just a snippet of
       information that is a problem of each and every one of us.
       #Post#: 5473--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: the lost minion Date: August 24, 2018, 6:41 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=SHL link=topic=415.msg5461#msg5461
       date=1535133724]
       So, these remarks were likely made to the press after sentencing
       just as a propaganda ploy. You can see what a barbaric sentence
       she got as it is.
       [/quote]
       It was pulled out of the court records, according to other
       articles. And this one cites it in a context of prosecutors
       preventing her release on bond - so I wouldn't be so sure (agree
       that it is unclear here though).
       #Post#: 5474--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: the lost minion Date: August 24, 2018, 6:47 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Neal, the Office is a beautiful series. And Dwight is a
       beautiful character. I'm touched.
  HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-9NezvDV2w
       #Post#: 5476--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: SHL Date: August 24, 2018, 6:53 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Frog Lady
       Who knows? On a bond motion a prosecutor could say anything.
       That`s just how these guys operate. Without the actual trial
       transcript you’re not going to know what a jury heard. A judge
       might have heard it in an in camera hearing or something, but
       she wasn’t being tried for hating America or facebook postings.
       Half the country would have to be in prison if that were all
       this were about. No, she had a security clearance and breached
       it. It’s reminds me a little of the Snowden case. It´s really
       not a big news story.
       But apart from all that, are you willing to be my sponsor when I
       write the Polish PM asking for asylum? I need letters of
       recommendation. I`ve only got you and Pasha to rely on.  ???
       #Post#: 5477--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: the lost minion Date: August 24, 2018, 7:09 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=SHL link=topic=415.msg5476#msg5476
       date=1535154788]
       Frog Lady
       but she wasn’t being tried for hating America or facebook
       postings.
       [/quote]
       I know that. That's not the point.
       You don't need to trial people for what they think to see how
       this is dangerous. If you can surveil them, the moment you need
       something on them, you've got it.
       [quote]
       But apart from all that, are you willing to be my sponsor when I
       write the Polish PM asking for asylum? I need letters of
       recommendation. I`ve only got you and Pasha to rely on.  ???\
       [/quote]
       Oh give me a break. Just come here and start teaching English.
       Most of those so-called native teachers know nothing about
       anything. The only qualification you need is English as your
       native language and an IQ of a well-developed monkey. Start from
       there and in a few years you're a European. Or that's what I
       believe.
       #Post#: 5478--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: NealC Date: August 24, 2018, 7:16 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       No problem Froggy, it's perfectenschlaage
       #Post#: 5483--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: SHL Date: August 24, 2018, 8:06 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Froggy,
       You’re like a breath of fresh air. What a relief. You mean all I
       have to do is teach English? That’s easy. But, I`ll have to
       start studying what a gerund is in English (I slept though
       English class in high school when I was 17 and I think I got a
       mediocre grade) and a Phrasal verb or noun, or whatever they
       are, and what else? Oh splitting infinitives. I don’t know what
       that is, but someone on Italki said they had checked my posts to
       see if I was splitting infinitives (God forbid) and they didn’t
       see any. I didn’t even know they were talking about. All that is
       just gibberish to me. But, hey, if it will get me in someplace
       in Europe, I`ll learn it. Get out of this stupid law business,
       which I hate. And you know there`s no problem with my IQ.
       #Post#: 5484--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: SHL Date: August 24, 2018, 8:31 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Government surveillance of everyone is an old thing that’s been
       going on forever. In 1982, long before social media and the
       internet, Gore Vidal said we were the most spied upon people by
       our own government than any in the world, that even the Soviet
       Union didn`t spy as much on its population as the US does on
       its. It’s an old story. And yeah, that was Snowden`s message
       that got him in hot water. It was only by some miracle that he
       wound up in Moscow. Now, he’s been there for 5 years and is
       eligible for Russian citizenship. He actually likes the US (God
       only knows why) and wants to come back but can`t because they’ll
       throw him in the slammer.
       I always wondered what his day is like in Moscow. He must speak
       Russian by now, or maybe he’s on Italki. And I’m sure the
       Russians aren’t giving him any money. I think he makes money on
       his skype speaking fees or something. Even if the guy got
       Russian citizenship, that would only allow him to travel, but I
       don’t think he’d be able to go anywhere without fear of getting
       grabbed up by the US Government. Sad really.
       #Post#: 5485--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Anything you say
       By: SHL Date: August 24, 2018, 9:35 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Actually, Frog lady did raise any interesting legal question.
       Could hatred of the US been behind this ladies`violating of her
       security clearance? It’s sort of one of those law school
       questions you might go around the room and debate. On the one
       hand, it`s clearly a non-sequiter. Just because you hate America
       doesn’t mean you’re going to violate the law. In fact, most
       Americans who hate America never violate the law. I`m not going
       to run a red light just because I hate America. That doesn’t
       make any sense. Why? What’s that going to do? On the other hand,
       I can see the prosecutors in this case trying to make case out
       that this lady with a security clearance violated it because she
       hated America. They would say that was her motive. But, it still
       leaves me scratching my head thinking, „Ok, but why? What’s she
       gaining by putting her neck on the chopping block?“
       The defense would have had a hard case because the elements of
       the crime are so easy to prove. The elements of the crime have
       got nothing to do with loving or hating America. Snowden loved
       America, but violated his security clearance out of moral
       principles. It’s like the old war crimes argument, „I was only
       following orders.“ It didn’t work for others in the past and
       Snowden I suppose wasn’t going to fall in line on it. He’s one
       of the rare ones in this respect. He didn’t follow orders
       because it violated his conscious.
       Frog Lady makes a good point about social media opening one up
       to all sorts of problems, and like in this case, gave
       prosecutors an argument of motive. But, its a little lame to
       blame social media. Social media didn`t sink Snowden`s ship. In
       the woman's case a private investigator could have easily
       interviewed a few of the ladies´ friends and found out the same
       thing. Her friends could have easily just said, „Oh yeah, she
       hates American, etc.“ But the problem with that argument is that
       motive is not an element of the crime. It doesn’t matter. They
       would have convicted her even if she were a super-Patriot. Being
       a patriot was clearly no defense. So, I could see many judges
       not allowing evidence in as to her politics because it´s simply
       irrelevant to the crime she was charged with. It has no
       probative value to it and is highly prejudicial.  It doesn’t
       prove anything one way or the other. I`d be curious to know if
       anyone ever postulated a motive. It doesn’t matter, but I would
       be interested to hear from her about it. Now, the most obvious
       motive would be money. I wouldn’t be surprised if it weren’t the
       most common motive in these crimes. Did a foreign government pay
       her off for some information she had IT thought was important?
       That I can understand as a motive, but all the others, like
       hating America are just VERY VERY weak.
       What makes the story even more bizarre is the fact that people
       who hate American NEVER get security clearances. EVER. Can you
       imagine the kind of psychological screening, the background
       checks, all the investigation that goes into giving someone a
       security clearance? It would be unbelievable. They’d want to
       know every thought that ever entered your head before giving you
       a security clearance. Every dream you ever had and the details.
       Social media? I`m sure they’d check that too, but that would
       just be a tiny piece of the decision making.
       Could you ever imagine me getting a security clearance? Like
       never. They`d say „We’ll, SHL, you just keep going to your PSL
       meetings in San Francisco, and voting for their candidates and
       reading The Militant, and that`s fine with us.“ And as far as
       America-hating Americans go, no one cares. No one pays any
       attention to you. About all they’d say is „Oh, well if you hate
       America, the airport`s over there pal, have a nice flight.“ The
       only problem is there’s no where to go unless you are a rich
       capitalist, like NealC, or have some family ties, or marry
       someone from another country. Most countries in the world would
       give you the boot back to the US after 3 months.
       
       *****************************************************
   DIR Next Page