The problems that continue to plague Obama's presidency never seem to
fully go away. Each problem settles down for a little while, only to
resurface weeks or months later like a persistent skin disease.
A dip in the pool of Bethesda might put his problems to rest, but to my knowledge he has not done that yet.
Anyway, Christmas day brought with it the gift of a video that I'm sure Obama found unpleasant in more ways than one.
In
spite of the holidays, the video found an immediate worldwide
audience... and it was a fresh reminder of the NSA's invasive monitoring
of U.S. citizens and officials in foreign governments.
The video I'm
talking about is Edward Snowden's special Christmas message, which once
again warned the people of the world of the dangers of the growing
surveillance state.
Here is the full transcript of Snowden's message:
Hi, Merry Christmas. I'm honored to have a chance to speak with you and your family this year.
Recently
we learned that our governments, working in concert, have created a
system of worldwide mass surveillance, watching everything we do.
Great
Britian's George Orwell warned us of the danger of this kind of
information. The types of collection in the book — microphones and video
cameras, TVs that watch us — are nothing compared to what we have
available today. We have sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere
we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average
person.
A child born today will grow up with no conception of
privacy at all. They'll never know what it means to have a private
moment to themselves, an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought. And that's a
problem because privacy matters. Privacy is what allows us to determine
who we are and who we want to be.
The conversation occurring
today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the
technology that surrounds us and the government that regulates it.
Together we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance, and remind
the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is
always cheaper than spying.
For everyone out there listening, thank you and Merry Christmas.
The Death of Privacy
How
much surveillance will Americans permit before they finally say "no
more"? Just how many times will they have to show their papers, prove
their innocence, and answer unreasonable questions from police?
Unfortunately,
I doubt Americans will ever wake up. Most have swallowed the line that
we must sacrifice our personal freedoms so that the government can "make
us safer" (as if that was even possible).
I personally side with
Benjamin Franklin who said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty,
to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor
Safety."
Don't be scared. Be prepared.
-Survival Joe
http://survivaljoe.net/blog/the-video......
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