So, big surprise, looks like NSA lied...

[uebermann]

[eynon81]

[Indy]

I always thought that privacy was one of our most inalienable rights.

And while I understand that online (like here) = everyone in the world can see it, Jesus, our phone calls? Private emails?

Here's another thing to chew on: remember how, in the aftermath of 9/11, many in the intelligence community (rightly) blamed our fetish with "technology" driven intel suited for the Cold War and how our HUMINT had gone to hell?

Um, hello?

And IIRC Osama bin Laden's crib didn't HAVE an internet connection or phones because he, as I'm guessing all of them, knew we could track all that stuff.

So here we are again fixated on the electronic surveillance, except now we just point it at... everybody.

Oh and to complete the cul-de-sac, if we do capture somebody suspected of "terror," we have the reliable tactic of torturing them. Because that usually works well.

We're moving backwards...

[NAB]

Gathering intel from the comfort of your cubicle is the standard. That way you can still play solitaire and check your forum posts in between reading other people's email and texts.

[eynon81]

[Medius]

[Indy]

Perhaps they should take away all our beds. You know, to make sure that Zawahiri isn't hiding under one of them.

Speaking of which: where is THAT guy?

[eynon81]

[eynon81]

[Indy]

Wait what? I saw that and don't remember anything about Zawahiri.

Wouldn't we be talking that up to everyone if we zapped him, like we did with OBL? Because he's always been considered the real brains (and I use the term relatively) of that operation.