A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. – Edward Snowden
This is about par for the course for Christmas week; I’m glad we had so many seasonal ones. The first video is of Edward Snowden’s “alternative Christmas message” on the UK’s Channel 4 (in case you didn’t get to see it); everything above it was provided by Jesse Walker. The second video is from Mike Siegel, and the links between the two were contributed by Paul Murray, Cop Block, Radley Balko, Aspasia, Chris Hall and Rick Horowitz (last two), in that order.
- School calls the cops on Santa Claus.
- The FBI file on It’s a Wonderful Life.
- Salvador Dali’s Christmas cards.
- Presidential drugs of choice.
- Your police state at work.
- Never call the cops for any reason whatsoever.
- The regulations are carefully designed to protect you.
- Wisconsin defrosts icy roads by spreading cheese on them.
- Atheists save Christmas for woman rejected by Christian charity.
- Judge rules it’s OK to arrest people for learning foreign languages.
- Don’t take your children anywhere near Boston Children’s Hospital.
From the Archives
- The police state, Mr. Bingle, missing planets, Christopher Lee and the non-end of the world.
- My previous columns for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
- The US Senate asks someone else to be a “responsible global citizen”.
- The resemblance between decriminalization of drugs and prostitution.
- “Trafficking” witch hunt victims acquitted due to total lack of evidence.
- How can one pass screening without giving incriminating information?
- This is why most whores in legalization regimes refuse to register.
- How can one find a good escort if one only has Backpage to use?
- Montreal jury acquits special-effects artist of “corrupting morals”.
- I’ll bet those pearl-clutching Welsh academics didn’t expect this.
- Bollywood figures are beginning to support decriminalization.
- How does a couple go about finding a reputable sex worker?
- A new and revolting twist on “revenge porn” extortion sites.
- A deconstruction of the ridiculous claims of social scientists.
- Cops arrest people on Christmas Day, for their own good.
- New York forces private corporations to do its dirty work.
- Teaching someone to keep herself safe is now a “crime”.
- It looks like prohibitionists are getting more desperate.
- Even the ignorant are beginning to distrust Kristof.
- When the US sounds like a third-world militocracy.
- Misogynistic Labour-party puritans are at it again.
- A Treasury of Great Recipes and lots of candy.
- The Roman festival in honor of a courtesan.
- Google breaks its “Don’t be evil” motto.
- Support your local thought police.
- The original “Presents” column.
- My favorite Christmas things.
- Tracy Elise is arrested again.
- He sure does get around!
Regarding the girl who died for lack of an EpiPen;
“Police and the pharmacy regulatory body, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, have launched a whitewash of the girl’s death.”
Fixed.
Regarding Boston Children’s Hospital; One of the problems with the current system of malpractice law is that you can only sue for money. Not for, oh, 15 minutes alone with the doctor and a pipe-wrench.
Perhaps it’s because it’s been rather quiet here with regards to discussion here of late due to the holidays, and perhaps I’m a glutton for punishment because I’m sure there’s an angle I’m not seeing and someone will probably explain to me, but I find myself skeptical about the claim Mr. Snowden makes that is your epigram today, Maggie.
Please don’t misunderstand, I think Mr. Snowden has done something amazing and has incredible strength of conviction to follow it through as he has. However, while he is correct that we carry ‘sensors’ in our pockets and webcams are ubiquitous, would I be incorrect to say that the devices in our homes can still be turned off, unplugged, and deactivated (by force if need be) if we wish to have a quiet private moment?
Should we have to expend that much effort? No. Am I arguing for complacency until we reach the point where devices no longer have an ‘off’ setting or the government mandates devices be left on indefinitely? Of course not. But too many people already think Mr. Snowden is some sort of ‘traitor’ and I doubt that claims such as children will never know the meaning of privacy will gain him any traction. Perhaps I’m giving the American people too much credit, because I’m actually taking the time to try think about this. I know people at large are given to swallowing hyperbolic claims, but at this moment, I don’t think Mr. Snowden’s is the sort of hyperbolic claim they are swallowing.
There’s more than enough that’s been done already that needs to be accounted for, and if that accounting takes place, then one would hope that future wouldn’t even need to be contemplated.
Emma Sloan died of an allergic shock, despite the obvious fact that pharmacies should simply hand out shots of adrenaline to whomever fronts up at the counter wheezing and with a convincing story.
Absolutely not to blame are Emma’s parents or Emma herself for not being careful to carry medication (which she depends on to survive) with them at all times.
She was young, pretty, and most of all female. That makes this a tragedy and is sufficient grounds for changing the laws. I propose that in future, anyone named Emma be able to get whatever drugs they want – no matter how dangerous or prone to abuse – simply by asking.
Oh, and grandmothers should be exempt from the law once they turn 87.
Edward Snowden, more honest than Obama, Edwin Edwards, Marc Morial, Sarah Palin, Ted Stevens, and David Vitter combined.
Pray tell – what has Sarah Palin ever lied about?
Snowden is NOT a hero. I can excuse him for breaking the law – why should he abide by it when no President in my lifetime has abided by it? However – that doesn ‘t make him a hero – especially since none of his revelations are particularly new.
No – they’re not new. We knew the Bush administration was running circles around FISA years ago. We knew he lied about the extent of it.
We didn’t care then … and we (Americans) don’t care now.
I mean – I care, many care – but not most. What’s the point of the Snowden revelations? They aren’t new, we’ve all hashed through them before and collectively we’ve decided to go back to watching American Idol and the Kardashians.
Additionally – what’s the point of “revealing” the information about spying on foreign allies? Who the fuck was shocked by that? I love how the fainting couches came out when it was revealed that the NSA tapped the German PM’s phone calls. Really? Y’all didn’t think we did stuff like that? Hey you guys in Ireland – want to be self-righteous about this and tell me that YOUR government doesn’t do the same to the U.S.? Really? LMFAO!!
Snowden’s claims to heroism are blunted by the shear scope of the material he’s continuing to release. It’s not targeted at privacy for Americans (WHICH IS THE ONLY PRIVACY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH) … Snowden is releasing information that is damaging us all.
So yeah – about 10% of the material he’s released is relevant and I’m glad to see it in the public domain – but lets not kid ourselves into believing that Americans will do a damn thing about it …
The other 90% is shit that every government does and the only point to releasing it is to damage the U.S. more.
So sorry – but I’ll skip the hero worship on this one.
I’m guessing your reply was partly directed at mine questioning Mr. Snowden’s claim in his video. Looking at my initial response, it does sound like hero-worship. Honestly, I was trying to head off a condescending response that accuses me of not ‘seeing the big picture’ or something. I prefer to start with a positive before diving into the negative.
But I think you and I are on something approaching the same wavelength when I suggested I’m giving the American public too much credit when it come to thinking about this.
No I wasn’t targeting you at all – I haven’t even read the comments in this thread. I’m basically responding to the general hero-worship I’ve heard from many Americans – and that “worship” comes from both the left and the right.
We are definitely on the correct wavelength when it comes to what Americans will do about this … they will do … NOTHING. Obama will make some kind of announcement that he’s fixed all the problems and most of the people screaming now will sit down and shut up – they won’t even question a man they’ve caught repeatedly lying to them because they want to believe the problem will be solved.
If Snowden were a hero – he’d have stayed here. He’d have said … “Hey you fucks … I’m going to jail. I’m going to jail because I’m showing you something you don’t want to see – but I know you NEED to see. I know you won’t do fuck about it. I know I’ll rot in jail – but somewhere down the line after your children’s children’s children have been freed from the slavery you’re selling them into – MY name will be counted as one of those who tried to do something about the shit while YOURS will be counted as one of the sheep that allowed all this to happen.”
I also wasn’t targeting Ireland – I pulled that nation out at random,
Shit – trying to type with four fingers on my right hand sucks – I keep hitting the comma key when I really mean to hit the period.
I also wasn’t targeting Ireland
Somehow I don’t imagine we have such capabilities 🙂
Also – Snowden is wrong in the epigram.
The human spirit is, at it’s a base, barbaric – free – and independent.
Only so much privacy can be taken. At a tipping point – a bloody revolution will occur to reverse the process.
Okay, here’s where I think you and I are going to part company just a bit. I agree, if Snowden were a hero, he’d be in the United States, but he’d be fighting tooth and nail to remain out of jail. I would wager that people and organizations that are now, for better or worse, engaging in hero worship would pony up the cash to get him good lawyers.
Thus Snowden would drag out any trial for years, all the while he continues to trumpet the 10% of what he had that really needed to be trumpeted. Because once he’s in jail, that it. He’s silenced, and people will, as you say, sit down and shut up and forget about him.
And if he were a true hero, he would have anticipated the inevitable reaction to his actions (all he had to do was look at what happened to Bradley Manning) and decide he’d better come up with something better than “look at me! look at all these secrets I’m revealing! You’re welcome!”
Oh I agree he’d try to remain out of jail – I’m not saying he should just surrender.
And there is nothing stopping further release of documents even if he were in an American jail. There’s plenty of methods for that.
Were it me, I’d have isolated all the docs that were truly dangerous to American privacy and pushed those forward. Who gives a shit if Obama listens to Merkel’s phone calls? The issue is American privacy and why dilute the purpose of my little “crusade” for the rights of Americans by releasing superfluous shit?
Now the whole issue of Americans being spied upon by their own government is clouded with the issues of legitimate, though embarrassing, international spy tactics.
Snowden would like you to believe he thought this all out.
He did not.
Bullshit. What you described is a martyr; a hero stays free to fight the enemy, he doesn’t go like a lamb to the slaughter.
Sorry but YOU are bullshit. A hero doesn’t run into the arms of an enemy much worse than the one he claims to be fighting,
Goddamn commas again.
Wrong. A hero does whatever he has to do to defeat HIS enemy, not yours.
Also – he’ll be in an American jail soon enough – or he’ll accept amnesty in return for not releasing any more docs.