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Police State / Drug War thread (1 Viewer)

'Two Deep said:
Talk about wasting money on a war we can't win.
Don't wimp out now, we have almost got drugs whipped. Give us 40 more years and another trillion dollars, that is all we need now.
 
Stay classy government agents. Mentally impaired people unknowingly being used as pawns in government sting operations.

http://propub.ca/18wYdEO
Hardly the first time. It's amazing how far we have allowed this "war" to go as a society. Pretty much gutless. The founders must be wondering why they bothered about now.
The reports of setting up sting operations near schools and giving kids drugs to earn their trust in order to bust them by asking them to bring in drugs or weapons are almost surreal. What the #### is wrong with people? There is so much wrong with the mentality of this country that at any point people think this is a good idea or is the proper duty of law enforcement. The people that should be jailed for this aren't the kids or the mentally impaired adults, that I am sure of.

 
The nation’s mobile phone carriers received more than 9,000 requests last year for cell-tower dumps, which identify every mobile phone at a particular location and time, often by the thousands.

The revelation, revealed in a congressional inquiry, underscores that domestic authorities, from the FBI to the local police, are performing a massive amount of surveillance on Americans on domestic soil, sometimes without probable-cause warrants.

Figures provided by the nation’s largest carriers, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T, and smaller companies, like C-Spire and Cricket, show that the carriers overall got as many as 1.1 million requests for customer cellular data last year. They’ve earned tens of millions of dollars processing the data, the records show.

The governments requests, most of which were honored, include data for, among other things, the geo-location of a device, call detail records, texts message contents, voicemail, cell tower dumps, wiretapping, subscriber information, and websites visited.

But the most startling figures show that the authorities are obtaining information on the whereabouts of perhaps thousands of people at once, often by a judge’s signature based on assurances from the authorities that the data is relevant to an investigation.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/12/massive-domestic-monitorning/

 
Rich Conway astutely points out that this is only an Obama problem. It didn't exist under Bush. It won't exist under future presidents.

 
Rich Conway astutely points out that this is only an Obama problem. It didn't exist under Bush. It won't exist under future presidents.
Odd, I don't remember making any of those claims.
Odd, I don't remember you mentioning anyone but Obama.

Once the government began grabbing the power to do this and that after 9/11 there was no stopping it. As it goes along each president is going to be equally convinced it has to continue and grow, and now it's been made into big business that's profitable for big corporations. This is going to continue regardless of who's president.

But "Obama".........

 
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Rich Conway astutely points out that this is only an Obama problem. It didn't exist under Bush. It won't exist under future presidents.
Odd, I don't remember making any of those claims.
Odd, I don't remember you mentioning anyone but Obama.

Once the government began grabbing the power to do this and that after 9/11 there was no stopping it. As it goes along each president is going to be equally convinced it has to continue and grow, and now it's been made into big business that's profitable for big corporations. This is going to continue regardless of who's president.

But "Obama".........
:shrug: I've noted in many other threads that this has been an issue with multiple administrations for decades.

 
Let's get this back on track, guys.
There's not a lot to get back on track. The government does a bunch of horrible things in the name of stopping crime. They parade around a few guys with cornrows and gold teeth and everyone feels like it was justified and goes back to their daily lives.

 
Let's get this back on track, guys.
There's not a lot to get back on track. The government does a bunch of horrible things in the name of stopping crime. They parade around a few guys with cornrows and gold teeth and everyone feels like it was justified and goes back to their daily lives.
A lot of the things aren't even in the name of stopping crime, which is a more serious issue. Much of what they do is simply an exercise in increasing government's power and/or outright thievery to pay government's bills.

 
Let's get this back on track, guys.
There's not a lot to get back on track. The government does a bunch of horrible things in the name of stopping crime. They parade around a few guys with cornrows and gold teeth and everyone feels like it was justified and goes back to their daily lives.
A lot of the things aren't even in the name of stopping crime, which is a more serious issue. Much of what they do is simply an exercise in increasing government's power and/or outright thievery to pay government's bills.
And now it's ingrained enough that its an ongoing business --- diverting increasing amounts of tax money each year to private corporations to do the government's spying for them, which in turn takes money away from other things the government ought to be doing.

edited to add: I listen to a DC news station on the ride to work each morning, and a large % of commercials are from defense contractors and "cyber-security" contractors, asking people to lobby their representatives for this or that program. It's big business.

 
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Let's get this back on track, guys.
There's not a lot to get back on track. The government does a bunch of horrible things in the name of stopping crime. They parade around a few guys with cornrows and gold teeth and everyone feels like it was justified and goes back to their daily lives.
A lot of the things aren't even in the name of stopping crime, which is a more serious issue. Much of what they do is simply an exercise in increasing government's power and/or outright thievery to pay government's bills.
And now it's ingrained enough that its an ongoing business --- diverting increasing amounts of tax money each year to private corporations to do the government's spying for them, which in turn takes money away from other things the government ought to be doing.
Yeah, not so much stopping crime as a slick advertising campaign to make people think the money has to go to preventing crime/terrorism.

 
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Let's get this back on track, guys.
There's not a lot to get back on track. The government does a bunch of horrible things in the name of stopping crime. They parade around a few guys with cornrows and gold teeth and everyone feels like it was justified and goes back to their daily lives.
A lot of the things aren't even in the name of stopping crime, which is a more serious issue. Much of what they do is simply an exercise in increasing government's power and/or outright thievery to pay government's bills.
The government will always demand greater powers over the people in the name of security, without ever justifying if these measures actually increase it. We're at the point where the federal government has the ability (and probably is) to track every movement, conversation, and connection each of its citizens have.

Thankfully, local governments aren't there yet.....but their federal partners in the DHS can help get whatever they need.

I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.

 
Let's get this back on track, guys.
There's not a lot to get back on track. The government does a bunch of horrible things in the name of stopping crime. They parade around a few guys with cornrows and gold teeth and everyone feels like it was justified and goes back to their daily lives.
A lot of the things aren't even in the name of stopping crime, which is a more serious issue. Much of what they do is simply an exercise in increasing government's power and/or outright thievery to pay government's bills.
The government will always demand greater powers over the people in the name of security, without ever justifying if these measures actually increase it. We're at the point where the federal government has the ability (and probably is) to track every movement, conversation, and connection each of its citizens have.

Thankfully, local governments aren't there yet.....but their federal partners in the DHS can help get whatever they need.

I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
If you turn the heat up slowly the meal never notices they are soup until it is far too late.

 
The government will always demand greater powers over the people in the name of security, without ever justifying if these measures actually increase it. We're at the point where the federal government has the ability (and probably is) to track every movement, conversation, and connection each of its citizens have.Thankfully, local governments aren't there yet.....but their federal partners in the DHS can help get whatever they need.

I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
That's kind of the point of the article I linked --- that local governments are getting the massive tower dumps of cellphone calls now. It's not just the feds.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/12/massive-domestic-monitorning/

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:

1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:

1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
3 leads to 2 and/or 1 for some people as well. Back when I used to care, it would frustrate me to no end and I'd be way worse off for it. Now I just don't care or I don't want to know. I'm much happier for it. With some of this stuff, you play the odds that none of it will ever affect you.

 
The government will always demand greater powers over the people in the name of security, without ever justifying if these measures actually increase it. We're at the point where the federal government has the ability (and probably is) to track every movement, conversation, and connection each of its citizens have.

Thankfully, local governments aren't there yet.....but their federal partners in the DHS can help get whatever they need.

I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
That's kind of the point of the article I linked --- that local governments are getting the massive tower dumps of cellphone calls now. It's not just the feds.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/12/massive-domestic-monitorning/
The Feds don't need the dump, they are tracking in real time.

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:

1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
3 leads to 2 and/or 1 for some people as well. Back when I used to care, it would frustrate me to no end and I'd be way worse off for it. Now I just don't care or I don't want to know. I'm much happier for it. With some of this stuff, you play the odds that none of it will ever affect you.
Losing game. The further is goes the more it intrudes. And it will eventually affect everyone if not directly then indirectly. We used to take to the streets over stuff like this. We launched a revolution over a relatively small tax increase. And yet we sit by while the freedom we have is slowly stripped away so we can pretend we are safer. It's a sad statement.

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
I have to think that #1 is the main issue here. So the answer, IMO, is for those that realize what is happening to try their best to educate people and build awareness. Donate to organizations that do so.

It is doubtful that these messages will be able to penetrate a media which is controled by corporations and their government tools, but it is the only choice.

That is all assuming this stuff could be stopped even if we elected people who wanted to. There is an awful lot of money to be made here and money always trumps the will of the people: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/nov/28/war-on-democracy-corporations-spy-profit-activism

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
3 leads to 2 and/or 1 for some people as well. Back when I used to care, it would frustrate me to no end and I'd be way worse off for it. Now I just don't care or I don't want to know. I'm much happier for it. With some of this stuff, you play the odds that none of it will ever affect you.
I don't see how tracking every electronic communication you make doesn't affect you. It most certainly does.

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:

1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
3 leads to 2 and/or 1 for some people as well. Back when I used to care, it would frustrate me to no end and I'd be way worse off for it. Now I just don't care or I don't want to know. I'm much happier for it. With some of this stuff, you play the odds that none of it will ever affect you.
Losing game. The further is goes the more it intrudes. And it will eventually affect everyone if not directly then indirectly. We used to take to the streets over stuff like this. We launched a revolution over a relatively small tax increase. And yet we sit by while the freedom we have is slowly stripped away so we can pretend we are safer. It's a sad statement.
Depends what you mean by affect? If you're a privacy extremist, you could argue that its affecting everyone now. I'm actually surprised we're still in an age where I can download a large amount of pirated content or order illegal stuff through the mail. Even if you're correct which you very well might be, what's the action plan? Become informed about this and vent by having discussions/arguments over the internet. If all that knowledge, doesn't affect your quality of life, then I envy the thickness of your skin.

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:

1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
To that I would add:

4. More and more people are making a living off it, in both government and the private sector. That's the cement that holds the expanding surveillance programs in place.

 
I don't see how tracking every electronic communication you make doesn't affect you. It most certainly does.
We have a different definition of affect. The fact is that the government doing that hasn't altered my life in any way than it would have taken place had it not been tracking. That could always change of course, but I believe those odds are rather high. I have much more pressing things to worry my mind.

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:

1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
3 leads to 2 and/or 1 for some people as well. Back when I used to care, it would frustrate me to no end and I'd be way worse off for it. Now I just don't care or I don't want to know. I'm much happier for it. With some of this stuff, you play the odds that none of it will ever affect you.
Losing game. The further is goes the more it intrudes. And it will eventually affect everyone if not directly then indirectly. We used to take to the streets over stuff like this. We launched a revolution over a relatively small tax increase. And yet we sit by while the freedom we have is slowly stripped away so we can pretend we are safer. It's a sad statement.
Depends what you mean by affect? If you're a privacy extremist, you could argue that its affecting everyone now. I'm actually surprised we're still in an age where I can download a large amount of pirated content or order illegal stuff through the mail. Even if you're correct which you very well might be, what's the action plan? Become informed about this and vent by having discussions/arguments over the internet. If all that knowledge, doesn't affect your quality of life, then I envy the thickness of your skin.
That is the first step. And yeah I am not the Kochs or whatever the liberal equivalent would be but I can seek out candidates who are as appalled by it as I am and support them when and how I can. I can seek to support groups that do the same. I do do those things. And maybe I won't accomplish jack. But maybe if enough people decide to try, just a little, the whole bunch of us could accomplish something.

As to thick skin it's all about compartmentalization and I am a past master of that.

 
I wonder if this is an issue where most people don't care that Big Brother is always watching, or they don't really grasp that fact.
I'm pretty sure it's:

1) Most people don't grasp that it's happening. Look no further than this forum for confirmation. Even a smart person like timschochet has a hard time believing that government is actually doing this.

2) Many of those that do know don't care.

3) Many of those that both know and care feel that it's inevitable and impossible to stop, so why bother trying to stop it. For the average citizen, this mindset is certainly understandable, and very likely correct.

The last is really the important question. What can the average citizen do to stop government's overreach?
3 leads to 2 and/or 1 for some people as well. Back when I used to care, it would frustrate me to no end and I'd be way worse off for it. Now I just don't care or I don't want to know. I'm much happier for it. With some of this stuff, you play the odds that none of it will ever affect you.
Losing game. The further is goes the more it intrudes. And it will eventually affect everyone if not directly then indirectly. We used to take to the streets over stuff like this. We launched a revolution over a relatively small tax increase. And yet we sit by while the freedom we have is slowly stripped away so we can pretend we are safer. It's a sad statement.
Depends what you mean by affect? If you're a privacy extremist, you could argue that its affecting everyone now. I'm actually surprised we're still in an age where I can download a large amount of pirated content or order illegal stuff through the mail. Even if you're correct which you very well might be, what's the action plan? Become informed about this and vent by having discussions/arguments over the internet. If all that knowledge, doesn't affect your quality of life, then I envy the thickness of your skin.
That is the first step. And yeah I am not the Kochs or whatever the liberal equivalent would be but I can seek out candidates who are as appalled by it as I am and support them when and how I can. I can seek to support groups that do the same. I do do those things. And maybe I won't accomplish jack. But maybe if enough people decide to try, just a little, the whole bunch of us could accomplish something.

As to thick skin it's all about compartmentalization and I am a past master of that.
I applaud your approach. Maybe when the kids are moved on, I'll have the mental bandwidth to follow in that path. At this stage in my life, all the compartments are taken.

 
I don't see how tracking every electronic communication you make doesn't affect you. It most certainly does.
We have a different definition of affect. The fact is that the government doing that hasn't altered my life in any way than it would have taken place had it not been tracking. That could always change of course, but I believe those odds are rather high. I have much more pressing things to worry my mind.
[SIZE=10.5pt]I would contend that, even if it is unconscious, the knowledge that everything you do is tracked does tend to change your behavior and associations. [/SIZE]

 
I was listening to Rage Against the Machine the other day. Hadn't listened to them in awhile. While they may be communist and supremely radical, they were spot on about many things.

Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library
Line up to tha mind cemetary now
What we don't know keeps tha contracts alive an movin'
They don't gotta burn tha books they just remove 'em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as tha cells
Rally round tha family, pockets full of shells
Tha Dow Jones skyin'
Tha cell block live stock
Tha bodies they buyin'
Old south order
New northern horizon

Yo, yo, check tha high tech terror
Of tha new order athletes
Peering into tha eyes of tha child already on trial
These armies rippin' families apart
Get 'em on file
Convictions fit tha stock profile
All tha while films of dogs
Ripping through homes
Ripping skin from bones
Yes tha new millennium homes
Privatizing through private eyes
 
NutterButter said:
Slapdash said:
I don't see how tracking every electronic communication you make doesn't affect you. It most certainly does.
We have a different definition of affect. The fact is that the government doing that hasn't altered my life in any way than it would have taken place had it not been tracking. That could always change of course, but I believe those odds are rather high. I have much more pressing things to worry my mind.
I think that is selfish and myopic. Now, I am just posting on a message board and not doing much to really change this. So, ultimately, I am having about as much impact on the issue as you are. Still, I think you should see a bigger picture in the fact that we are spying on each other (what does that say about our mentality as a country? what does that say about what Americans think of each other?) I also see bigger problem in the lengths we consider acceptable to put people in prison. There are places where mentally ######ed people are being set-up with drugs or weapons and then busted in stings. Same thing with kids, we are talking about law enforcement using sex and drugs to lure kids in so they can arrest other people with guns and drugs. That is what we are doing. We are responsible for this. Obama, Bush, you, me. It's our country, our elected government, and the sins committed rest on all our shoulders.

 
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NutterButter said:
Slapdash said:
I don't see how tracking every electronic communication you make doesn't affect you. It most certainly does.
We have a different definition of affect. The fact is that the government doing that hasn't altered my life in any way than it would have taken place had it not been tracking. That could always change of course, but I believe those odds are rather high. I have much more pressing things to worry my mind.
I think that is selfish and myopic. Now, I am just posting on a message board and not doing much to really change this. So, ultimately, I am having about as much impact on the issue as you are. Still, I think you should see a bigger picture in the fact that we are spying on each other (what does that say about our mentality as a country? what does that say about what Americans think of each other?) I also see bigger problem in the lengths we consider acceptable to put people in prison. There are places where mentally ######ed people are being set-up with drugs or weapons and then busted in stings. Same thing with kids, we are talking about law enforcement using sex and drugs to lure kids in so they can arrest other people with guns and drugs. That is what we are doing. We are responsible for this. Obama, Bush, you, me. It's our country, our elected government, and the sins committed rest on all our shoulders.
I agree that all of what you've listed is terrible and this is selfish, but I refuse to devote vast sums of my time learning things that make me less happy while only making me slightly more empowered. There are a lot of things that I've learned that I wish that I could unlearn. Things that bring me nothing but sadness when for instance a related story triggers these recollections. I have little desire to add to this type of knowledge.

 
Kind of a random thought, but I was watching "Pretty in Pink" today and was taken back by kids smoking in school. I graduated in 2000 and I can even remember being allowed to smoke outside the school. I know of older teachers that have been teaching for 30-35 years that talk about how there used to be a smoking section in the school for faculty and students. I remember in school, I got into a fist fight in the cafeteria. It was a private school and the result was a meeting with the Dean. He said if I got caught screwing up again, I would get a detention. Now, I work in a public school and it seems incredibly punitive in comparison. If you are found with a pack of cigarettes (regardless of age), it is a 4 day suspension for possession of drugs. Light up a smoke across the street as you leave school? 4 days for drug use. Get into a fight in cafeteria? 5 day suspension regardless whether you instigated or defended yourself. We have cameras with microphones everywhere but the class room and bath room. The drug dogs come 3-4x a year to sweep the building for drugs (rarely every find any). This is not a ghetto school. Its middle class, kids are generally well behaved, no gang problems, pretty typical kids.

It seems in some ways the police state/war on drugs starts in our local public schools.

 

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