Decius wrote:
I'm really getting sick of the rationalizations of the surveillance state.

...

The people who do need to take responsibility for the fact that a public discussion of these issues didn't come about through a proper process in the first place. The attempt to focus attention on Snowden's flaws is an attempt to divert attention away from that fact.

And on the other hand you have "the people" willingly using shit like this:

Why is the Facebook app requesting permission to access features on my Android?

Read your text messages (SMS or MMS) - If you add a phone number to your account, this allows us to confirm your phone number automatically by finding the confirmation code that we send via text message.

Download files without notification - This allows us to improve the app experience by pre-loading News Feed content.

Read/write your contacts - These permissions allow you to import your phone’s contacts to Facebook and sync your Facebook contacts to your phone.

Add or modify calendar events and send email to guests without owners’ knowledge - This allows you to see your Facebook events in your phone’s calendar.

Read calendar events plus confidential information - This allows the app to show your calendar availability (based on your phone’s calendar) when you’re viewing an event on Facebook.

Most of the self absorbed glowing gadget fondling generation could not care less about real privacy, arm flailing criticism of NSA spying not withstanding. If they did, they wouldn't be handing their phone over to Facebook in exchange for the dribbling stream of Pavlovian hits of electronic social interaction.

I'm all for complete domestic spying by the NSA, CIA, FBI, and whatever other stupid scary three letter acronym they can come up with if they would do this one simple thing: Run signals intelligence and tracking of people using their goddamn cell phones they can't put down for 5 minutes while they are piloting a 2000+ pound steel projectile at 80 mph, veering into my lane and causing me to have to turn every day's commute into a real life video game of "dodge the encroaching Range Rover." Use that data to kill the phones of people who are within 100 yards of me while I'm driving. I don't want to play an ADD fueled game of chicken with my life, thanks.

RE: Edward Snowden NSA Snow Job - POLITICO Magazine