John Oliver: The Patriot Act, John Snowden, and D**k Pics

[NecCat]

Actually, it's more like patrolling a neighborhood, looking at everyone's houses, and then going into the ones that have a sign in the front yard that make claims of terrorism or terrorist affiliation, etc.

So the only correspondence that is monitored originates from people who publicly claim terrorist affiliation before attempting to send the private messages? I though they were using algorithms to monitor all messages that passed over the American border between any people.

[Greenday]

So the only correspondence that is monitored originates from people who publicly claim terrorist affiliation before attempting to send the private messages? I though they were using algorithms to monitor all messages that passed over the American border between any people.

Yea, and unless terrorism is discussed, it's not investigated.

[Aragarthiel]

There's really no good analogy for this. The closest you can get is a company looking in people's windows until they see evidence of terrorism, then they go on in and look around. But even that's flawed, since computers don't have window blinds.

[s_stabeler]

Yea, and unless terrorism is discussed, it's not investigated.

They claim, And these are the same people who used to claim they weren't doing it at all. You'll understand me for being less than convinced.

[Greenday]

They claim, And these are the same people who used to claim they weren't doing it at all. You'll understand me for being less than convinced.

You mean they don't regularly tip off terrorists the ways we use to track them? This is shocking to me. If they are dumb enough to discuss terrorism over open lines, there is no reason we should teach them how to better hide their activities.

[s_stabeler]

My POINT is that we only have their word that they only investigate terrorists using this.

second, by that same argument, search warrants should be unnecessary no matter what- because they reveal how the police inverstigate crime. oh no, now we're teaching criminals how to get away with it!!! the government should be able to do whatever they want!!! screw the Constitution!!!

not to mention you don't need a detailed warrant- All I'm saying is that the government should need to prove why they need the power to spy on people's internet traffic.

[Greenday]

My POINT is that we only have their word that they only investigate terrorists using this.

second, by that same argument, search warrants should be unnecessary no matter what- because they reveal how the police inverstigate crime. oh no, now we're teaching criminals how to get away with it!!! the government should be able to do whatever they want!!! screw the Constitution!!!

not to mention you don't need a detailed warrant- All I'm saying is that the government should need to prove why they need the power to spy on people's internet traffic.

I can list every terrorist incident that's occurred if you'd like. We've stopped countless terrorist attacks from happening as a result. We've stopped tons of jidhadis from flying to Turkey so they could join ISIS.

[wolfie]

I can list every terrorist incident that's occurred if you'd like.

By which definition of "Terrorist"? To George III, the Founding Fathers of the U.S. would be terrorists. To the occupation government in France during the early 1940s, De Gaulle and the Resistance would be terrorists. To the black population of Ferguson MO, the police department are terrorists.

[s_stabeler]

I can list every terrorist incident that's occurred if you'd like. We've stopped countless terrorist attacks from happening as a result. We've stopped tons of jidhadis from flying to Turkey so they could join ISIS.

a) a successful terrorist incident is not proof that the government needs carte blance to do whatever it wants.
b) what I mean is that the government needs to explain tow main things- 1) how the new power will improve anti-terrorist efforts. 2) what protections are in place to stop the powers being used against people it isn't intended for. (to give an example, in the UK, anti-terrorist legislation has been used to spy on people who leave their rubbish out on the wrong day.)

again, I am not suggesting that the powers be abolished- just that the government should need to justify, in public, why it actually needs those powers.