> I believe that's pretty central here. I don't see how we can ever be able again to trust an organism such as the NSA - or even the government.
We won't. This cancer is a one-way street. It will kill the organism and kill itself with it. And they know it. That's why they buy billions of ammunition rounds and dispatch lightweight tanks throught the states borders. They know that history repeat itself and they don't want another fourth of July to be celebrated in 500 years now (this time US 2.0 that bunch of clever people used GIT to form a better government). NSA systems are not in place to save you and your family from terrorist -- terrorism needs to be wisely guided; some need to leak through so that you and your family keep being scared, submit to the State and pay more taxes for more "safety". Terrorism is not on their agenda. Had they not let shoe bomber and Boston bombers do what they did, me and you would protest against more surveillance (with Boston bombers officials were inconveniently kept notified by russian government) because we would have been felt safe.
> Transparency is the only solution here. Will we get it?
We won't and we can't. They will oppose it saying that if we tell you what we do, bad guys will use it. Nothing will change this approach. Manning did a huge leak of gov docs and military officials said many lives will be lost as a result; other than Arab spring that did not happen on US soil, nothing happened at all. It was a bluff that they will continue using.
> If we don't, the only other solution would be to cut budgets so drastically that such an enterprise will simply not be possible financially, anymore.
Its not that simple. Even President of United State does not know how many black-ops agencies exist within the goverment. Some entities of the gov sponsor themselves God only knows doing what. If you cut their air supply, they will go to CIA and say: "here are the tapes when you and other officials are negotiating deals with drug cartels in Afganistan, here is a conversation where smuggling is being organized to move tons of heroine into US on a military aircraft, sponsor our venture or we will leak the info". And there you have it. Most likely dirty branches of gov do not need public money but of course they will take it anyways.
> That's why they buy billions of ammunition rounds and dispatch lightweight tanks throught the states borders.
I didn't know this, but I was thinking along the same lines when I read about the "anti-missile blimps" being deployed over DC. I mean it's as if they "prepared for what's coming".
So you seem to think that there is actually no real solution apart from letting things fall apart and then "start from scratch"?
I'd be really interested to hear what other people see as potential solutions for all this.
We won't. This cancer is a one-way street. It will kill the organism and kill itself with it. And they know it. That's why they buy billions of ammunition rounds and dispatch lightweight tanks throught the states borders. They know that history repeat itself and they don't want another fourth of July to be celebrated in 500 years now (this time US 2.0 that bunch of clever people used GIT to form a better government). NSA systems are not in place to save you and your family from terrorist -- terrorism needs to be wisely guided; some need to leak through so that you and your family keep being scared, submit to the State and pay more taxes for more "safety". Terrorism is not on their agenda. Had they not let shoe bomber and Boston bombers do what they did, me and you would protest against more surveillance (with Boston bombers officials were inconveniently kept notified by russian government) because we would have been felt safe.
> Transparency is the only solution here. Will we get it?
We won't and we can't. They will oppose it saying that if we tell you what we do, bad guys will use it. Nothing will change this approach. Manning did a huge leak of gov docs and military officials said many lives will be lost as a result; other than Arab spring that did not happen on US soil, nothing happened at all. It was a bluff that they will continue using.
> If we don't, the only other solution would be to cut budgets so drastically that such an enterprise will simply not be possible financially, anymore.
Its not that simple. Even President of United State does not know how many black-ops agencies exist within the goverment. Some entities of the gov sponsor themselves God only knows doing what. If you cut their air supply, they will go to CIA and say: "here are the tapes when you and other officials are negotiating deals with drug cartels in Afganistan, here is a conversation where smuggling is being organized to move tons of heroine into US on a military aircraft, sponsor our venture or we will leak the info". And there you have it. Most likely dirty branches of gov do not need public money but of course they will take it anyways.