[ExI] good news bad news for germans

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of Anders Sandberg
Subject: Re: [ExI] good news bad news for germans

>...And conversely, TeliaSonera International Carrier is a Tier 1 internet
backbone with headquarters in Stockholm. By law the Swedish Defence Radio
Authority can warrantlessly wiretap all telephone and Internet traffic that
crosses Sweden's borders. But don't worry, they only act in the national
interest... -- Dr Anders Sandberg
_______________________________________________

It can safely be said that the framers of the US constitution did not
foresee the internet.  If they put into place restrictions on the federal
government surveillance of its people, no such restriction forbids them from
trading for the data from the German government, and providing in exchange
US surveillance of the German people.  In the internet age, there is no
hiding.  The only thing that surprises me in all this is that we saw it
coming fifteen years ago and did nothing.  We just walked right into it.  

We now have a situation where the citizen cannot hide anything, but the
governments, all of them, can hide everything.  The IRS gives the fed an
easy end-run around all our constitutional rights, for it can call any
citizen in for an audit for no reason, can deal out any punishment, fine or
sentence without having to provide evidence or justification to any
oversight commission, and if called upon to defend its actions, even by the
congress, it may invoke the fifth amendment rights and thus avoid testimony.

Orwell wrote about this in 1949, but we walked right into it.  We learned
not one goddam thing from that man's astute foresights and insights.

Note that the IRS has been caught in all this, and nothing is happening;
there are no adverse consequences for the power abusers, none.  The
offending director is on paid leave.  Now a second IRS director has invoked
the fifth; as punishment he has been given an indefinite paid vacation.  We
walked right into this.  We have no one to blame but ourselves.

spike