When the Surveillance State Is Used to Investigate and Prosecute Whistleblowers, the Occupy Movement and Environmental Activists

Image representing Skype as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

President Obama assured us on Friday that our phone conversations are not being listened to, but that is not a credible reassurance unless the White House comes up with documents that make what is going on transparent in terms of its protocols and process. There is little “an enemy” can learn from the broad strokes of this secret program, at least as far as we can tell. When it is pretty clear that the US government has the power, and is using it, to conduct sweeping data mining of the Internet (likely including Skype and Google calls) and access phone records – and likely phone calls – what is there that full disclosure would reveal other than that the “Patriot Act” – as many predicted – is being egregiously abused.

Isn’t it pretty clear to anyone that the US government is capturing about all the information it can on anybody it wants to – and then some – so why go through the charade that some mortal wound has been done to our national security because Snowden, like Manning, showed what true patriotism is in protecting our Constitution?

via When the Surveillance State Is Used to Investigate and Prosecute Whistleblowers, the Occupy Movement and Environmental Activists.