Who are these lucky "rest of us" fellows who have both advanced technical infrastructure and no government spying? They don't live in the EU, Russia, and I guess most of Asia.
The idea that Five Eyes is unique in its pursuits and "any Western country besides the u.s." isn't monitoring everything that is technically possible is so naïve that I'm amazed you worked for PGP. I don't normally go after people for being anti-American, but I'll make an exception here because your ideology is making you look comical.
You're a foreign national with an interest in cryptography living in Switzerland. Of all the people in the world who shouldn't be so absolutely clueless, it's you. They're on you like stink on shit, and suggesting otherwise is laughably stupid. What do you think, Switzerland became a discreet financial haven out of a measure of luck, while Swiss intelligence sat around being good, decent, idle people?
For all of my extensive problems with U.S. intelligence, they at least made an effort to uphold the law. They failed, yes, but so many pivotal decisions were around the legal framework. I wonder how such a conversation goes in Ukrainian intelligence, or German, or Mexican. "We have a lead on El Chapo but we can't follow up because it's illegal to wiretap." Yeah, okay.
Well, how about the French government passing a law to make legal the very SIGINT practices French intelligence had been doing for years with no legal supervision?
Or the German intelligence collaborating with the NSA? I won't even mention the British GCHQ, because they almost make the NSA look good.
And that's just Western Europe. Let's not talk about the way Chinese citizens can enjoy frank exchanges of views on the Internet without fear of repercussions.
So just to be clear, here, you claim to have worked for PGP, so you've been in the security industry at least a day or two, and yet you consider the opinion that the United States cannot possibly be the only bad actor rhetoric? I'm disputing your claim that other Western governments aren't as bad as the United States. Nobody knows that, everybody with half a clue assumes otherwise, and the irony of you going after my lack of substance in doing so is palpable.
I'm going to reiterate, because I can't believe I'm having this conversation: you said, nearly verbatim, the other Western governments do not spy like the United States. And you consider that a sane opinion in the wake of these disclosures, and call me a shill for disputing it.
The retroactive immunity to which you refer is one disclosure we know about. What I was speaking to was President Bush's PSP, which they made a significant effort to satisfy legality on. Everyone is in accord on that: them, Poitras, Snowden. They were wrong, particularly Gonzales, but they still tried to base it in the law until they lost the Justice Department. Even the FISA court is an attempt at legality. I'm not saying I agree, I'm saying the government made a conscious choice to try to play by the rules, even though their rule book was absolutely bananas. I'm making the case that in other governments, that same zeal might not apply, and there are probably governments wherein rights are more freely trampled upon.
Again, that you think I'm a shill for presenting the completely normal security industry philosophy of don't trust anyone is just hilarious. I've been charged with multiple felonies by the United States justice system for CFAA-related offenses and convicted of one. I have the most stake in criticizing the way we do things. You're laying down smoke to cover your own opinions going after my "shill" status, and I want you to know that it's entirely transparent.
Sometimes I think Hacker News is just trolls trolling trolls.
Tomorrow, after your meds, read what you wrote and you will see that you are arguing against yourself. I'm only responding to you so that others here can see how insane you are.
Tomorrow if you wish to continue this debate we can do so in person with Roberts rules of debate, the loser with their head between their knees.
