“Because the same legal standards that apply to phone calls also apply to e-mail messages, text messages, and instant messages, Nadler’s disclosure indicates the NSA analysts could also access the contents of Internet communications without going before a court and seeking approval”

Though the  vast majority of us are not criminals and certainly not terrorists our government, you know the government of the people, by the people and for the people, feels that they can listen, tape, record, read any of our communications.  This is really sinister stuff.  And don’t give me that “if you aren’t doing anything wrong crap you have nothing to worry about” crap.  I don’t do anything wrong and yet I don’t want Obama being able to read my text to my kids or reading my emails…he can certainly read my blog.  Here are some more quotes from the article and some of the comments from readers:

“The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls…If the NSA wants “to listen to the phone,” an analyst’s decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required.”

For all of you liberals who may be enjoying this, you won’t always be in charge and it won’t feel so good when the shoe is on the other foot.

“Edward Snowden, a former NSA infrastructure analyst who leaked classified documents to the Guardian. Snowden said in a video interview that, while not all NSA analysts had this ability, he could from Hawaii “wiretap anyone from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president.”

 Too bad Snowden couldn’t find Obama’s real birth certificate, his school records, and who paid for his education.

“The Washington Post disclosed Saturday that the existence of a top-secret NSA program called NUCLEON, which “intercepts telephone calls and routes the spoken words” to a database. Top intelligence officials in the Obama administration, the Post said, “have resolutely refused to offer an estimate of the number of Americans whose calls or e-mails have thus made their way into content databases such as ­NUCLEON.”

“Documents that came to light in an EFF lawsuit provide some insight into how the spy agency vacuums up data from telecommunications companies. Mark Klein, who worked as an AT&T technician for over 22 years, disclosed in 2006 (PDF) that he witnessed domestic voice and Internet traffic being surreptitiously “diverted” through a “splitter cabinet” to secure room 641A in one of the company’s San Francisco facilities. The room was accessible only to NSA-cleared technicians.  AT&T and other telecommunications companies that allow the NSA to tap into their fiber links receive absolute immunity from civil liability or criminal prosecution, thanks to a law that Congress enacted in 2008 and renewed in 2012.”

One has to wonder why the Republicrats are going along with this.  Do they also benefit or does Big Bro Obama know a little something about them?

Creepy, creepy, creepy stuff here.

]]> http://www.framingthedialogue.com/archives/the-only-thing-orwell-had-wrong-was-the-year/feed/ 0 http://www.framingthedialogue.com/archives/a-few-thoughts-from-einstein/ http://www.framingthedialogue.com/archives/a-few-thoughts-from-einstein/#comments Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:13:19 +0000 Greg http://www.framingthedialogue.com/?p=11290 Albert Einstein Quotes

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”

“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.”

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

“The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.”

“Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.”

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”

“Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.”

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.”

“As punishment for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.”

“The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it.  Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.”

“No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.”

“The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.”

“The most beautiful thing [that] we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”

“The only reason for Time is so [that] everything doesn’t happen at once.”

“Never do anything against conscience – even if the state demands it.”

“Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.”

“Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value.”

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything learned in school.”

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” {blog 7/2012}

“If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, [then] you don’t understand it yourself.”

“Logics will get you from A to B, imagination will take you everywhere.”

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

“In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity.”

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

The following are two of my favorites that are attributed to Mr. Einstein, but I am not sure they are his…

“I do not memorize things that I can easily look up”

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result”

It is an interesting use of history as the backdrop for one of the story lines. There is plenty of action as Malone is joined by Sam Collins a discredited Secret Service employee who reminds Malone of himself at that age. The two characters complement each other and I have to wonder whether this will become a new partnership in future works. I found The Paris Vendetta and interesting and engaging novel with enough action to be riveting at times, but not so much as to detract from the story.

1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart Every hour of every day.
2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!
3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.
4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target +Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.
5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people, is the world’s largest private employer, and most speak English.
6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world.
7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger and Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only fifteen years.
8. During this same period, 31 big supermarket chains sought bankruptcy.
9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.
10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had five years ago.
11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur at Wal-Mart stores. (Earth’s population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)
12. 90% of all Americans live within fifteen miles of a Wal-Mart.

Some may think that this is a complaint, but it is really laying the ground work for suggesting that MAYBE we should hire the guys who run Wal-Mart to fix the economy.

To President Obama and all 535 voting members of the Legislature it is now official that the majority of you are corrupt morons:

1. The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775. You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.
2. Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.
3. Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.
4. War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to “the poor” and they only want more.
5. Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.
6. Freddie Mac was established in 1970. You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.
7. The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before. You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

You have FAILED in every “government service” you have shoved down our throats while overspending our tax dollars.

AND YOU WANT AMERICANS TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM??

Someone please tell me what the HELL’s wrong with all the people that run this country!!!!!!

We’re “broke” & can’t help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc.,???????????

In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti , Chile , and Turkey..And now Pakistan ……..previous home of bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!!!

Our retired seniors living on a ‘fixed income’ receive no aid nor do they get any breaks�

AMERICA: a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed hungry, elderly going without ‘needed’ meds, and mentally ill without treatment -etc,etc.

Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave ‘US’ the same support they give to other countries. Sad isn’t it?

“No problem, just let me in,” says the man.

“Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.”

“Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,” says the senator.

“I’m sorry, but we have our rules.”

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises…

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

“Now it’s time to visit heaven.”

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

“Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.”

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: “Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.”

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

“I don’t understand,” stammers the senator. “Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?”

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, “Yesterday we were campaigning.. Today you voted.”

Author Lyndsay Faye provided a compelling tale using a historic backdrop that drew me in to the novel.  Based on comments from others she seems to have accurately captured the details of the era.  I have read several novels where detective work did not rely on fancy gadgets and hi-tech instruments.  As with them, Faye’s hero has to rely on his instincts to pursue the offender.  As with them I found The Gods of Gotham an interesting book.  The only fault is with the ending and I found it a little disappointing.  I cannot say more without ruining the novel and it is worth not spoiling the ending.

The author seems to have created a group of characters that can have many more adventures.  I hope so.