PRISM - Where are all the protests?

Sehnsucht Engel

New member
Apr 18, 2009
1,890
0
0
Kolby Jack said:
Wenseph said:
I doubt that will happen. There's not many countries that are hostile to us. The world is moving forward, and becoming more globalized, with a better understanding and communication with other countries wars are less likely to happen. Few or no one goes to war to expand their borders anymore. Some countries aren't fear mongering. <_< Some even get rid of most of their military, to spend money on more important things, like Sweden has been doing since they stopped forcing military service on the young.

Also, haha, no. Only in the way that you'll one day end. Debt. >_>

I don't care. I have no love for humans.
Right, debt. Like how for every dollar we owe, we're owed 80 cents? Or how our debt is less than a percent of our gross worth? Our debt causes us issues when it comes to our economy, but it's not what will cause us to collapse. Try again.

By the way, The US hasn't had a draft since Vietnam. We're all volunteer, and yet we still have one of the largest militaries on earth. And I already said, that's fine for Sweden, but there are still threats out there and future threats to be prepared for, and somebody is going to have to foot a lot of the bill. The US is in the best position to do it.

Whether or not your misanthropy is genuine doesn't really matter. It's a futile standpoint and there's no point in me even addressing it.
Hopefully one of your perceived "threats" will win in the end then. That's probably because soldiers seems to be celebrated as heroes in your culture. >_> Anyway, I find it meaningless to argue.
 

Headdrivehardscrew

New member
Aug 22, 2011
1,660
0
0
The only thing I find worthy of protest is that we seem to get more and more mentally ill and otherwise unstable folks in positions they should not be in.

I'm not a big fan of treason, so Snowden and Sally Manning are not quite my heroes.

If PRISM is indeed mostly used to protect us from evil, so be it. It is very naive to think that PRISM is in any way, shape or form unique. We may dream of one people one world all day long, but not many other governments, peoples, tribes and gung ho gangs share that dream. I find it important to be somewhat aware of that.

Now, with the CIA officially supporting the unsavoury 'rebels' in Syria, on the other hand, I'd like to get some more leaks and insights about that. What's the deal? Feeding the hand that will slit your throat some other day? Strikes me as being somewhat suicidal.

Captcha: live. love. internet. WTH?
 

J.McMillen

Senior Member
Sep 11, 2008
247
0
21
Wasn't the whole point of PRISM to just track who's calling who and who's emailing who? Not the actually data, just that the call or email happened. That's probably why nobody really cares. If you're not communicating with people the government is keeping an eye on, they won't be looking at you.
 

Sehnsucht Engel

New member
Apr 18, 2009
1,890
0
0
Mimsofthedawg said:
Wenseph said:
Kolby Jack said:
Wenseph said:
I doubt that will happen. There's not many countries that are hostile to us. The world is moving forward, and becoming more globalized, with a better understanding and communication with other countries wars are less likely to happen. Few or no one goes to war to expand their borders anymore. Some countries aren't fear mongering. <_< Some even get rid of most of their military, to spend money on more important things, like Sweden has been doing since they stopped forcing military service on the young.

Also, haha, no. Only in the way that you'll one day end. Debt. >_>

I don't care. I have no love for humans.
Right, debt. Like how for every dollar we owe, we're owed 80 cents? Or how our debt is less than a percent of our gross worth? Our debt causes us issues when it comes to our economy, but it's not what will cause us to collapse. Try again.

By the way, The US hasn't had a draft since Vietnam. We're all volunteer, and yet we still have one of the largest militaries on earth. And I already said, that's fine for Sweden, but there are still threats out there and future threats to be prepared for, and somebody is going to have to foot a lot of the bill. The US is in the best position to do it.

Whether or not your misanthropy is genuine doesn't really matter. It's a futile standpoint and there's no point in me even addressing it.
Hopefully one of your perceived "threats" will win in the end then. That's probably because soldiers seems to be celebrated as heroes in your culture. >_> Anyway, I find it meaningless to argue with the brainwashed.
What is unfortunately overlooked by many Europeans is that the peace you cherish so greatly was bought and secured with American blood. There is simply no way around this fact.

The globalization which has bought your security came thanks to an American initiative of the last 70 years to rework the global economy into an integrated, capitalistic whole. So while America may be the cause of much violence in the world, they are also its source of peace.

But I don't know why I'd bother arguing with someone who's so obviously controlled and lied to by their nannystate. >.>

(That last bit is a jab at you for belittling honest discussion. The guy was not rude and articulated himself well yet you dismissed him because of your own discriminatory bias. Which is ironic. In the same statement you talk about greater peace and acceptance among people from differing cultures you show that your only interest is propagating peace and acceptance among like minded individuals. In doing so, you singlehandedly become the type of person you seem to despise so much while also proving why the world is not as peaceful as those who are blessed with security want to believe.)
lol. Sounds more like a description of an american. I don't watch the news or keep up much with the politics of my nation. So, they don't really have a chance to do that, and I don't think they would much either way.

Also, I wasn't propagating peace or acceptance. I don't care. I don't despise any single type of person. I hate everyone equally.
 

DrunkOnEstus

In the name of Harman...
May 11, 2012
1,712
0
0
There's a lot of factors at play here.

For one, with the massive adoption of GPS cellphones and other devices practically designed to mine information and track people, people have been complacently pressing "agree" to previously unheard of levels of what is essentially privacy invasion or living your life like an open book. Even without these devices or GPS technology, people more than ever willingly post very private details about their lives on Facebook or Twitter knowing that there's nothing private about those systems. Many of us have come to accept transparency and lack of privacy as a caveat in order to have new toys and enjoy social media.

We have more distractions now than during the mass levels of protest the US experienced in the 60's and 70's as well. Back then, they didn't have a cell phone ringing or texting every minute, and they didn't have an MMO to get back to as soon as work was over. I imagine more people did their conversations and meetings in person and in groups far more often than we do today, where something like this NSA thing would spark a fire and mob mentality would make more people feel comfortable about "doing something about it".

Since 2001, many Americans have been trained to fear terrorism by the media, and tend to accept things like the NSA scandal as a necessary evil if it means stopping or preventing terrorism at home or abroad. I very frequently see an "I don't do anything wrong, so it's okay as long as people who do wrong are discovered" sentiment or attitude these days, which is very dangerous thinking that opens a lot of doors because of pure apathy.

I also think people who do care are more afraid to "do something about it" in the form of protest or organized revolt. In America there's a very real threat of being labeled a domestic terrorist or enemy of the state, which are not terms or concepts that should even be considered in a truly free democracy, but it's how it is anymore.

There's also the issue of realizing that the people you would protest against are simply figureheads and the underlying people or issues that led to the problem wouldn't be taken care of, you would just replace it with a different face. Successfully impeaching Obama for example would do little to nothing in regards to punishing the NSA or stopping spying programs now and in the future. Maybe it would send a message to those truly at fault that they should fear the people and that the people are taking control of their government like they should in a free democracy, and it's something that I admire when I see it in countries like Sweden or France. Those countries may have larger government control from a socialist standpoint, but they sure fear people gathering in the streets and demanding what's right. For the most part, it appears from where I stand that the government fears and answers to the people far more in those countries compared to America, and we could learn a thing or two by observing successful changes made in those countries through peaceful protest.

Hopefully that wasn't a giant incoherent mess.
 

Tanakh

New member
Jul 8, 2011
1,512
0
0
elthingo said:
America is basically the only nation in the world that considers freedom a huge part of its national identity, so much so that they've named themselves "the land of the free".
Realize I am late to the party OP, just wanted to point out this sentence contains so much nonsense that had to intervene:

- Where the fuck you get USA is the only nation in the world that considers freedom a part of it's national identity? Most modern states that were recently colonies or were governed by non democratic regimes do that; I would say it's pretty freaking clear given the contemporary events that countries like Egypt, Nicaragua or Czechoslovakia care way more for freedom than USA given than in the last fifty years they have fought harder and bleed more for it.

- You do realize that, again, most republics that were recently colonies have a line where they call themselves land of the free or of liberty or saying they will defend their land and shit to the last man, right? See the Republic of Cyprus hymn or the Mexican hymn as examples. USA just have had better PR last century.

In conclusion, that sentence seem to be BS and to be based on Hollywood movies to judge the character of nations. Not sure how wise that is, I would recommend social sciences and in specific history over that.

As the rest of the post is dependent on the veracity of those lines, and I think have proven them to be crap, I digress.
 

VanTesla

New member
Apr 19, 2011
481
0
0
Wenseph said:
Kolby Jack said:
Wenseph said:
I doubt that will happen. There's not many countries that are hostile to us. The world is moving forward, and becoming more globalized, with a better understanding and communication with other countries wars are less likely to happen. Few or no one goes to war to expand their borders anymore. Some countries aren't fear mongering. <_< Some even get rid of most of their military, to spend money on more important things, like Sweden has been doing since they stopped forcing military service on the young.

Also, haha, no. Only in the way that you'll one day end. Debt. >_>

I don't care. I have no love for humans.
Right, debt. Like how for every dollar we owe, we're owed 80 cents? Or how our debt is less than a percent of our gross worth? Our debt causes us issues when it comes to our economy, but it's not what will cause us to collapse. Try again.

By the way, The US hasn't had a draft since Vietnam. We're all volunteer, and yet we still have one of the largest militaries on earth. And I already said, that's fine for Sweden, but there are still threats out there and future threats to be prepared for, and somebody is going to have to foot a lot of the bill. The US is in the best position to do it.

Whether or not your misanthropy is genuine doesn't really matter. It's a futile standpoint and there's no point in me even addressing it.
Hopefully one of your perceived "threats" will win in the end then. That's probably because soldiers seems to be celebrated as heroes in your culture. >_> Anyway, I find it meaningless to argue.
I don't wish any Country to fall and the people to suffer for it, but would like said Country to correct it's mistakes and horribe acts for the citizens and abroad. Don't think that if USA fell it would not effect Sweden drastically when it comes to economic trade, jobs, deveolpment, and etc. We are all connected so much so that even though the Chinese Gov't and USA Govt would like to see each other fail that would mean more worse repercussions to both societies. Also having a high opinion of ones Country as if they have not their fare share of skeletons in the closet is just plain ignorant. Some Gov't are better at hiding secrets and others are less vile abroad to be sure, but each have a hand in continued violence across the world in one form or another. I don't care for my government and even when they do something good I am sceptical on the said reasons of helping out. You can't denie the fact though be it for pure or political reasons that the USA is the biggest contributor to global aid in food, resources, damage control, and etc... My government is responsible for some of the most horrible acts in recent history and yet we have also done a lot of good at the same time and people always seem to forget the good that our Country has done and the advancements we have achieved and shared across the world.

I feel the government in the USA is like a human diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia in that they do much damage, but give a lot of aid at the same time... Shit our Goverment is projected to be spending as much as 700 million in aid to refugees in and out of Syria, even though we don't have that kind of money to spend on our own poor that have lost their homes from corrupt banks and stupid financial decisions... That aid is not counting the arming of the resistence mind you and i'm mixed on that whole issue since anytime in the past we fuck up in helping the wrong sides or just make things worse in the longterm be if the intentions where pure or not.
 

Sehnsucht Engel

New member
Apr 18, 2009
1,890
0
0
VanTesla said:
Wenseph said:
Kolby Jack said:
Wenseph said:
I doubt that will happen. There's not many countries that are hostile to us. The world is moving forward, and becoming more globalized, with a better understanding and communication with other countries wars are less likely to happen. Few or no one goes to war to expand their borders anymore. Some countries aren't fear mongering. <_< Some even get rid of most of their military, to spend money on more important things, like Sweden has been doing since they stopped forcing military service on the young.

Also, haha, no. Only in the way that you'll one day end. Debt. >_>

I don't care. I have no love for humans.
Right, debt. Like how for every dollar we owe, we're owed 80 cents? Or how our debt is less than a percent of our gross worth? Our debt causes us issues when it comes to our economy, but it's not what will cause us to collapse. Try again.

By the way, The US hasn't had a draft since Vietnam. We're all volunteer, and yet we still have one of the largest militaries on earth. And I already said, that's fine for Sweden, but there are still threats out there and future threats to be prepared for, and somebody is going to have to foot a lot of the bill. The US is in the best position to do it.

Whether or not your misanthropy is genuine doesn't really matter. It's a futile standpoint and there's no point in me even addressing it.
Hopefully one of your perceived "threats" will win in the end then. That's probably because soldiers seems to be celebrated as heroes in your culture. >_> Anyway, I find it meaningless to argue.
I don't wish any Country to fall and the people to suffer for it, but would like said Country to correct it's mistakes and horribe acts for the citizens and abroad. Don't think that if USA fell it would not effect Sweden drastically when it comes to economic trade, jobs, deveolpment, and etc. We are all connected so much so that even though the Chinese Gov't and USA Govt would like to see each other fail that would mean more worse repercussions to both societies. Also having a high opinion of ones Country as if they have not their fare share of skeletons in the closet is just plain ignorant. Some Gov't are better at hiding secrets and others are less vile abroad to be sure, but each have a hand in continued violence across the world in one form or another. I don't care for my government and even when they do something good I am sceptical on the said reasons of helping out. You can't denie the fact though be it for pure or political reasons that the USA is the biggest contributor to global aid in food, resources, damage control, and etc... My government is responsible for some of the most horrible acts in recent history and yet we have also done a lot of good at the same time and people always seem to forget the good that our Country has done and the advancements we have achieved and shared across the world.

I feel the government in the USA is like a human diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia in that they do much damage, but give a lot of aid at the same time... Shit our Goverment is projected to be spending as much as 700 million in aid to refugees in and out of Syria, even though we don't have that kind of money to spend on our own poor that have lost their homes from corrupt banks and stupid financial decisions... That aid is not counting the arming of the resistence mind you and i'm mixed on that whole issue since anytime in the past we fuck up in helping the wrong sides or just make things worse in the longterm be if the intentions where pure or not.
Oh, I don't have high thoughts about my government. I've listened to more than one documentary to know some of the shit they've done. Compared to some they're not that bad though, and compared to others they could be much better.

The good and bad kind of take themselves out, don't they... I think the bipolar and schizophrenia was a good comparison by the way...
 

VanTesla

New member
Apr 19, 2011
481
0
0
elthingo said:
I am honestly completely taken aback by this. America is basically the only nation in the world that considers freedom a huge part of its national identity, so much so that they've named themselves "the land of the free".

And then PRISM happened. A secret police secretly spying on probably hundreds of millions of people from the US, its allies and the rest of the world under a president who made freedom, privacy and transparency a huge point of his campaign and on top of that, the FREAKING DIRECTOR of the NSA lies right in the face of congress UNDER OATH and walks away without any punishment whatsoever.

The American reaction to this? A freaking petition to the white house. No protests, no significant calls for Obama to step down and call for early elections, nothing. Not even any major rallies in defense of the guy who gave up a life of wealth and safety to warn the American people, risking his life and going up against the biggest superpower in the world in the process. There were literally bigger rallies in Hong Kong. Yes. China did more to support a guy who did nothing for them than the Americans, for whom he sacrificed almost everything.

I mean, Sweden, "The land of the midnight sun", not "The land of the free" had massive protests outside the Riskdag (our version of congress, basically) when the government considered doing an incredibly light version of this, and in that case they actually told us beforehand. So, what's going on here?
This has been going on for much longer than has even been mentioned in our Country and many of the people already knew or pretended not to know this was happening. The government has even violated the 4th amendment of the Constitution openly with the wire tappings and so on, but still no one loses a posistion or goes to jail. I believe if evidence ever comes out showing citizens being detained or imprisoned with this information gathering, then maybe there will be more protest, but sadly I have little faith in that. I don't think our Government will go completely dictator yet though for if it did happen we are the most armed civilian country in the world and the death toll would likely rival China's unification way back... I don't care for guns, but in many ways it keeps the government from going to far. I know that the military would still win for the superior power there is no denial, but as said the bloodshed once over would mean the end of the Country nomatter who the victor is.
 

VanTesla

New member
Apr 19, 2011
481
0
0
Wenseph said:
VanTesla said:
Wenseph said:
Kolby Jack said:
Wenseph said:
I doubt that will happen. There's not many countries that are hostile to us. The world is moving forward, and becoming more globalized, with a better understanding and communication with other countries wars are less likely to happen. Few or no one goes to war to expand their borders anymore. Some countries aren't fear mongering. <_< Some even get rid of most of their military, to spend money on more important things, like Sweden has been doing since they stopped forcing military service on the young.

Also, haha, no. Only in the way that you'll one day end. Debt. >_>

I don't care. I have no love for humans.
Right, debt. Like how for every dollar we owe, we're owed 80 cents? Or how our debt is less than a percent of our gross worth? Our debt causes us issues when it comes to our economy, but it's not what will cause us to collapse. Try again.

By the way, The US hasn't had a draft since Vietnam. We're all volunteer, and yet we still have one of the largest militaries on earth. And I already said, that's fine for Sweden, but there are still threats out there and future threats to be prepared for, and somebody is going to have to foot a lot of the bill. The US is in the best position to do it.

Whether or not your misanthropy is genuine doesn't really matter. It's a futile standpoint and there's no point in me even addressing it.
Hopefully one of your perceived "threats" will win in the end then. That's probably because soldiers seems to be celebrated as heroes in your culture. >_> Anyway, I find it meaningless to argue.
I don't wish any Country to fall and the people to suffer for it, but would like said Country to correct it's mistakes and horribe acts for the citizens and abroad. Don't think that if USA fell it would not effect Sweden drastically when it comes to economic trade, jobs, deveolpment, and etc. We are all connected so much so that even though the Chinese Gov't and USA Govt would like to see each other fail that would mean more worse repercussions to both societies. Also having a high opinion of ones Country as if they have not their fare share of skeletons in the closet is just plain ignorant. Some Gov't are better at hiding secrets and others are less vile abroad to be sure, but each have a hand in continued violence across the world in one form or another. I don't care for my government and even when they do something good I am sceptical on the said reasons of helping out. You can't denie the fact though be it for pure or political reasons that the USA is the biggest contributor to global aid in food, resources, damage control, and etc... My government is responsible for some of the most horrible acts in recent history and yet we have also done a lot of good at the same time and people always seem to forget the good that our Country has done and the advancements we have achieved and shared across the world.

I feel the government in the USA is like a human diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia in that they do much damage, but give a lot of aid at the same time... Shit our Goverment is projected to be spending as much as 700 million in aid to refugees in and out of Syria, even though we don't have that kind of money to spend on our own poor that have lost their homes from corrupt banks and stupid financial decisions... That aid is not counting the arming of the resistence mind you and i'm mixed on that whole issue since anytime in the past we fuck up in helping the wrong sides or just make things worse in the longterm be if the intentions where pure or not.
Oh, I don't have high thoughts about my government. I've listened to more than one documentary to know some of the shit they've done. Compared to some they're not that bad though, and compared to others they could be much better.

The good and bad kind of take themselves out, don't they... I think the bipolar and schizophrenia was a good comparison by the way...
If I had the money Sweden would be one of the Countries I would not have no problem moving to and I agree that Sweden is nowhere bad in history compared to even our young Country. I admire many things about your Country that I wish ours would emulate, but our size makes that much more difficult to do and of course increases the chance of corruption with the more people you have and the bigger the government makes knowing who is guilty of what much harder. Also the whole bipolar and schizophrenia makes even more sense when our Country has the highest medicated per person compared to any other first world nation... Not saying that medication is bad, but our nation overuse it way to much and the shit we put in our food and drinking supply don't help in the slightest.
 

Fox12

AccursedT- see you space cowboy
Jun 6, 2013
4,828
0
0
elthingo said:
I am honestly completely taken aback by this. America is basically the only nation in the world that considers freedom a huge part of its national identity, so much so that they've named themselves "the land of the free".

And then PRISM happened. A secret police secretly spying on probably hundreds of millions of people from the US, its allies and the rest of the world under a president who made freedom, privacy and transparency a huge point of his campaign and on top of that, the FREAKING DIRECTOR of the NSA lies right in the face of congress UNDER OATH and walks away without any punishment whatsoever.

The American reaction to this? A freaking petition to the white house. No protests, no significant calls for Obama to step down and call for early elections, nothing. Not even any major rallies in defense of the guy who gave up a life of wealth and safety to warn the American people, risking his life and going up against the biggest superpower in the world in the process. There were literally bigger rallies in Hong Kong. Yes. China did more to support a guy who did nothing for them than the Americans, for whom he sacrificed almost everything.

I mean, Sweden, "The land of the midnight sun", not "The land of the free" had massive protests outside the Riskdag (our version of congress, basically) when the government considered doing an incredibly light version of this, and in that case they actually told us beforehand. So, what's going on here?
America is a country of contradictions. We call ourselves the land of the free, yet we prop up dictatorships in other countries. Americans are, unfortunately, very happy to give up their freedoms in return for the "safety" the government promises. The problem is that both parties support these policies. Obama and McCain are very similar people. Most American don't realize this. Every once in a while someone great, like Ron Paul, will burst on to the scene and shake things up, but for the most part things stay static. I'd recommend reading "Revolution: a manifesto,"or "Liberty Defined," also by Ron Paul. Those two books break down the issues that are threatening American freedom in todays world, and gives a realist look at today's politics, minus all the B.S. and propaganda. He's happy to go for the throat of anyone who threatens freedom, regardless of party affiliation.
 

Sehnsucht Engel

New member
Apr 18, 2009
1,890
0
0
VanTesla said:
Wenseph said:
VanTesla said:
Wenseph said:
Kolby Jack said:
Wenseph said:
I doubt that will happen. There's not many countries that are hostile to us. The world is moving forward, and becoming more globalized, with a better understanding and communication with other countries wars are less likely to happen. Few or no one goes to war to expand their borders anymore. Some countries aren't fear mongering. <_< Some even get rid of most of their military, to spend money on more important things, like Sweden has been doing since they stopped forcing military service on the young.

Also, haha, no. Only in the way that you'll one day end. Debt. >_>

I don't care. I have no love for humans.
Right, debt. Like how for every dollar we owe, we're owed 80 cents? Or how our debt is less than a percent of our gross worth? Our debt causes us issues when it comes to our economy, but it's not what will cause us to collapse. Try again.

By the way, The US hasn't had a draft since Vietnam. We're all volunteer, and yet we still have one of the largest militaries on earth. And I already said, that's fine for Sweden, but there are still threats out there and future threats to be prepared for, and somebody is going to have to foot a lot of the bill. The US is in the best position to do it.

Whether or not your misanthropy is genuine doesn't really matter. It's a futile standpoint and there's no point in me even addressing it.
Hopefully one of your perceived "threats" will win in the end then. That's probably because soldiers seems to be celebrated as heroes in your culture. >_> Anyway, I find it meaningless to argue.
I don't wish any Country to fall and the people to suffer for it, but would like said Country to correct it's mistakes and horribe acts for the citizens and abroad. Don't think that if USA fell it would not effect Sweden drastically when it comes to economic trade, jobs, deveolpment, and etc. We are all connected so much so that even though the Chinese Gov't and USA Govt would like to see each other fail that would mean more worse repercussions to both societies. Also having a high opinion of ones Country as if they have not their fare share of skeletons in the closet is just plain ignorant. Some Gov't are better at hiding secrets and others are less vile abroad to be sure, but each have a hand in continued violence across the world in one form or another. I don't care for my government and even when they do something good I am sceptical on the said reasons of helping out. You can't denie the fact though be it for pure or political reasons that the USA is the biggest contributor to global aid in food, resources, damage control, and etc... My government is responsible for some of the most horrible acts in recent history and yet we have also done a lot of good at the same time and people always seem to forget the good that our Country has done and the advancements we have achieved and shared across the world.

I feel the government in the USA is like a human diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia in that they do much damage, but give a lot of aid at the same time... Shit our Goverment is projected to be spending as much as 700 million in aid to refugees in and out of Syria, even though we don't have that kind of money to spend on our own poor that have lost their homes from corrupt banks and stupid financial decisions... That aid is not counting the arming of the resistence mind you and i'm mixed on that whole issue since anytime in the past we fuck up in helping the wrong sides or just make things worse in the longterm be if the intentions where pure or not.
Oh, I don't have high thoughts about my government. I've listened to more than one documentary to know some of the shit they've done. Compared to some they're not that bad though, and compared to others they could be much better.

The good and bad kind of take themselves out, don't they... I think the bipolar and schizophrenia was a good comparison by the way...
If I had the money Sweden would be one of the Countries I would not have no problem moving to and I agree that Sweden is nowhere bad in history compared to even our young Country. I admire many things about your Country that I wish ours would emulate, but our size makes that much more difficult to do and of course increases the chance of corruption with the more people you have and the bigger the government makes knowing who is guilty of what much harder. Also the whole bipolar and schizophrenia makes even more sense when our Country has the highest medicated per person compared to any other first world nation... Not saying that medication is bad, but our nation overuse it way to much and the shit we put in our food and drinking supply don't help in the slightest.
You might want to go with a country further south. XD It's fucking dark here too much time of the year. Also, we have done some bloody and bad things too. We had the vikings, and used to be a superpower at one point, warring with our neighbours. Although, that was several hundred of years ago. We've gotten better though.
 

Greni

New member
Jun 19, 2011
286
0
0
Since mankind's dawn, a handful of oppressors have accepted the responsibility over our lives that we should have accepted for ourselves. By doing so, they took our power. By doing nothing, we gave it away. We've seen where their way leads, through camps and wars, towards the slaughterhouse.
The plan is working, nobody cares anymore. Not really. We wear Hugo Boss sweaters, H&M trousers, buy cheap plastic things made in China and Coca Cola by the bottleloads, and brush off the obvious cruelty these companies employ to make production cheaper. Capitalism, fuck yeah.

In this age of information we either keep ourselves willfully ignorant or throw a few papers of your currency of choice at some charities to ease the conscience. We trust our companies to be honest and our political parties to be truthful. Neither is the case and the consequences to offending parties are minimal, again mostly they get out by throwing money at the problem.
The result is that rich companies continue to be dishonest and rich politicians continue to be deceitful. Lobbyists are aplenty in both corners cutting deals behind the scenes left and right, owning most of the big media corps so no need for them to go snooping around.

The FBI/CIA have a rich and colourful history of spying on people, civilians and otherwise. Ever read about the death of Ernest Hemingway, and what lead to it?
Everybody knew, at the back of their minds, that the emperor was wearing no clothes, but refused to speak out out of fear of the guards, and ridicule from the public who would be trying to keep the facade.
Now that the emperor has been called out, everybody seems to have gotten used to the trotting naked man and don't want to see him leave.

Now we shall wait for the surveillance vans. It could be implemented into google: "Google Street and Sound".

London has a bunch of CCTV cameras, at least four, yet crime rate seems to be at a steady pace.
Why do neo-police states always think Orwellian surveillance will keep the baddies from being bad?

Let the wishes of the few outweigh the needs of many -
In this land where money talks we have little chance if any.
Bring the nation back to basics -
Lionize Dickensian dreams,
Hide a heart that's grey and cold behind an image squeaky-clean.
 

sXeth

Elite Member
Legacy
Nov 15, 2012
3,301
675
118
Keep in my mind, US citizens voted in the Patriot Act, which makes all this legal (and concurrently, does make Snowden a criminal in the US). Thats the same majority you're expecting to up and protest against the measures they supported. Granted, it could be possible for a mood shift in the timeframe, but maybe not.

There's also a certain level of indifference in the "people the government pays to spy on people are spying on people, and probably got some bits of my life, but they haven't come busting down my door to steal my pot or cut off my porn yet".

And topping it off is that there's just too many people in the US for anything short of a major catastrophic event to trigger a noticeable reaction. Heck, if I remember right, Obama didn't even win a majority (barely outgunning the Republicans, with a small margin of independents). Something like 150 million (for comparison sake, thats the combined population of the UK, France and Canada) odd people are living in a country under government they voted against and it doesn't spark civil unrest somehow.
 

Sarah Frazier

New member
Dec 7, 2010
386
0
0
I think part of the reason there aren't many protests over PRISM is because of how quickly law enforcement will go to extremes to break up said protests, even if the protest had all the permits and wasn't causing harm to the area. Can you blame people for staying home when other protesters have been put through hell or even killed for standing up for their rights? Not only that, but the Powers That Be will keep doing what they do and completely ignore the protesters until they get bored or dispersed by police in riot gear.

Petitions with enough signatures make their way to the White House, but that means nothing when the Powers That Be (not the President who's just the face everyone sees) will only ignore it or use the petition as a way to push forward with whatever their corporate backers want while phrasing it in a way that looks like they're doing what the people want.