These programs were never about terrorism: they’re about economic spying, social control, and diplomatic manipulation. They’re about power.
We’d do well to remember that at the end of the day, the law doesn’t defend us; we defend the law. And when it becomes contrary to our morals, we have both the right and the responsibility to rebalance it toward just ends.
Under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively are less free.
Study after study has show that human behavior changes when we know we’re being watched. Under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively *are* less free.
Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.
I wanted to fight in the Iraq war because I felt like I had an obligation as a human being to help free people from oppression.
I have been a systems engineer, systems administrator, a senior adviser for the Central Intelligence Agency, a solutions consultant and a telecommunications information systems officer.
You can’t come forward against the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies and be completely free from risk.
Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we’ve been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it.
There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny – they should be setting the example of transparency.
That’s the beauty of the Internet is that we’re no longer tied to our communities by physical connections.
I can’t in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building.
What the government wants is something they never had before. They want total awareness. The question is, is that something we should be allowing?
I have had no contact with the Chinese government. I only work with journalists.
We’re losing our way as a society. If we don’t stand up, if we don’t say what we think those rights should be, and if we don’t protect them, we will very soon find out that we do not have them.
No system of mass surveillance has existed in any society that we know of to this point that has not been abused.
I think the most important idea is to remember that there have been times throughout American history where what is right is not the same as what is legal.