thought of the day

[dilletante]

i suspect that when the administration says that leaks about nsa surveillance have harmed national security, what they mean is that the leaks have endangered the functioning of the programs leaked about; and that by endangering the programs leaked about, what they mean is not so much "now terrorists might take countermeasures" as "now congress

Comments

[twoeleven]

i would have said "the courts" rather than "congress", but yup, got it in one.

[catness]

Pfffft. Congress might make them stop? Which Congress is that?

[imperator_mei]

I'm with you 50/50 on this. Yes, it's a patently illegal eavesdropping machine ("We're going to place cameras inside your house but only use them if we think you're a nogoodnik"); but also, there's someone at the NSA who has the job of, for example, Chinese counter-espionage and that person is currently sitting at their desk saying, "Oh. Fuck. Oh fuckity fuck."

It's worth noting that while I think the data dragnet is totally illegal and more than a few NSA types deserve some vigorous prosecuting, I'm also not on the side of anyone who makes it easier for the Chinese to hack our shit any more than they already have. I mean, for all the people who are saying, "Well duh, of course the government surveils us," I'm dead certain that the Chinese government not only has the meta-data of my stuff but all the content as well. Not to mention how my power grid works and my health systems and my sewer systems and I really want someone in my government to be seriously engaged with that stuff and that's…well, the NSA, actually

[imperator_mei]

And yes, I'm aware that I'm typing this on a Russian system and that the only reason that Russia isn't hacking us as much as the Chinese isn't because they wish us well, but rather because they aren't as good or industrious at it.

Hi Russians! Stop sending us spam, please.

[comrade_cat]

So it's Congress who are harming national security.

Can they be arrested for that yet?

(Actually, knowing politicians, it's rather alarming to think of the NSA possessing all that likely blackmail material.)