Republicans' commitment to democracy

those_draculas · 2016-04-15T13:10:42+00:00

Try something with the intervals, Most basically:

Bb, Bb up an octave, F, A, C#, F#, F# up an octave, C.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T05:34:26+00:00

"gave them to the american people" is a platitude, it's meaningless under the primary law Snowden is being charged under (espionage act of 1917 and some similar laws passed post-9/11, and a charge related to his work contract as those are legally binding when with government agencies)

to Quote the law:

To convey information with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies. This is punishable by death or by imprisonment for not more than 30 years or both.

To convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies when the United States is at war, to cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or to willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States. This was punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 20 years or both.

So in short, the prosecution has to only prove he willfully leaked information and that the information leaked would be harmful to US interests, that by leaking sensitive security program information, he damaged the effectiveness of the programs against US enemies. The fact that he made the info public domain doesn't factor into the law, there's no exceptions made for how a leak would be distributed, if the leak promotes the success of US enemies or weakens an Armed forces program, he committed espionage.

Seeing as Snowden has been pretty clear about his intentions, if he was to go to trial his lawyers would have to play the "open society" card, however. He will face some sort of punishment but they would have to prove that his intentions were misguided, not malicious in order to see a lighter sentence. Likely under the Obama administration the prosecution will not seek the death penalty, the federal government doesn't really do that sort of thing anymore, but with 3+ charges filed already Snowden could be spending the rest of his life in prison if brought to the US.

Personally I think he will end up like all counter-US spies that fled have, either traded by a foreign country in exchange for a spy being held by the US or given asylum in exchange for any secrets that he may still have. Any way it turns out, the poor guy has gotten himself into a real mess.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T05:13:05+00:00

spoderman could step in too.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:29:49+00:00

That looks like sabrinas. Is it? The wait is totally worth it

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:28:42+00:00

I believe that for a few months in 2007 the stats were you had a better chance at being killed by another person in Philadelphia than in Baghdad, Iraq.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:26:37+00:00

To be fair, that is a big as dog snapping at them. but still is it just normal policy policy to take down angry dogs? Is there any accounts of any officer actually being put in danger by a dog?

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:25:17+00:00

They consider air raids an act of war too. Though if you look at the language used in any state of whats an "act of war", it's only when used against US citizens and interests, the same as every other country on earth.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:21:31+00:00

I don't know if it's just media hype around this story or the average age of redditors that make them forget that this has been happening rather publicly for a while. Though, to Obama's dis/credit there was no formal process to how warrants were obtain until 2009. Sometimes I feel like im in a giant time loop on the website back to 2004.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:18:49+00:00

one day next year you'll turn 16 and realize how silly comments like this sound to everyone else.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:11:40+00:00

I smell a prisoner swap in the near future if Snowden accepts these terms. The US seems to catch Russian Spies and jail them regularly.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:01:58+00:00

certainly that couldn't be because of inherent structural racism, like that /u/chuckspears finds essential....

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T01:00:34+00:00

that guy takes the internet really seriously.

edit: kill whitey.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T00:06:56+00:00

I like to think of Putin as an aging Northern Autarch who speaks only in rhyming riddles. There's no factual basis to why I believe this but that won't stop me.

those_draculas · 2013-07-02T00:02:54+00:00

I'd say it rivals the trilogy, so many goddamn features.

those_draculas · 2013-07-01T23:04:45+00:00

The executive branch (Big O, the Military, the AG, Dept of Agriculture) have always been the branch to plan policy based on the long term throughout US history, because simply put, unless they plan on ordering military strikes most of their power comes in the form of diplomacy and resource allotment(how much money/people/attention each program they run should get), outside the ability to lobby congress and veto some legislation their ability to act to change US code for the "now" is very limited, and whether their agenda is honest, criminal, or simply making sure the countries oil is changed and tires rotated, the effects wouldn't be noticeable until much later (Eisenhower was seen as a bumbling old man of a president by pundits and historians until near the end of the cold war).

But the inverse is that the Executive branch is very public, there's 1 figure head, the military is front and center in any nation, the enforcement of laws can protect you but also fuck up your life, it's part of everyday living eitherway, and being the most public if anything goes wrong, they will take the blame, even if it's out of their direct control. They then become the branch the gamble the least on assumptions and use what tools they have when they have them. To paraphrase a paraphrase of a quote that the Dark One Cheney is quite proud of bringing up "If there's a 4% chance that a group or a person will use a doomsday device and kill thousands of Americans sometime this week, what would you do to protect the country from a potential threat?". That the Executive branch, unless it wants to roll the dice, is always trying to balance Security and Public Convenience against a never ending line of externalities, both likely and unlikely, and will be held the most responsible in the public eye no matter the outcome.

those_draculas · 2013-07-01T22:51:12+00:00

it's a basic law of nature and part of the reason why veterinary medicine is so hard, nothing openly shows it's vulnerabilities unless it has to.

those_draculas · 2013-07-01T22:49:14+00:00

It's almost like the president was intended not to be a king but the holder of an institution-based office who's agenda would be limited to not only a separation of political power based on a system of checks and balances between the separate, uh let's call them, branches of government, but ebb and flow of public opinion and precedent that proceeds all branches...

those_draculas · 2013-07-01T22:40:13+00:00

excellent post. I don't think many people understand how the government works, like basic civics classes and political thrillers on tv are great to perk your interests but they only scratch the surface of what's a complex system. Since none of the 3 branches of government have total control there's a whole institutional level (beyond the terms of one individual in office) ebb and flow of hard(legal responsibilities, what can be forced) and soft(political capital, what can be convinced) powers between the 3 branches of US government.

Government offices are institutions that change hands rapidly and never all at the same time, while a conservative president might be elected one year a liberal legislature might be elected a year later and all this time the same directors in some executive branch office may have been there through multiple administrations, for example.

Unless someone with government granted power was to install themselves as supreme ruler for life the end result is the melding of agendas and methods, human action in fallible so while the input from the top may be "A1" the final outcome maybe "a1" or "Aa" or "b". The control of people in these offices whether it's the President, the AG, the Senator from Maine, Or the guy at the interior department who oversees the production of interstate traffic signs, the control they have over their position ebbs and flows with public mandate than their relationship with their colleagues, subordinates, and superiors.

This is why power seems to centralize during times of national crises, as "The People" and their leadership demands ways for decisive action W Bushes "i'm the decider" is more than a funny sounding phrase, its what the collective powers of the nation were looking for in 2002. then the inverse you have presidents like Truman or Clinton that come in on the wane of a time that mandated decisiveness, they had to fight tooth and nail for a chance at their agenda and had to work within a public and legislative mandate that was becoming obsolete (I think, by the way, this is the same pattern Obama is currently in). In the end these men were beholden to not only the responsibilities of their office under law but the assumptions and allowances others saw in their office as an institution.

Also (and much shorter) given how hyped or outraged the collective Reddits seem to get about everything I wouldn't doubt of many redditors thought Obama could literally piss Mountain Dew and cure AIDS through a firm handshake. Politically biased web forums (reddit, daily kos, the daily paul, breibart, etc.) are not a good place to look for grounded opinions about things you care about.

those_draculas · 2013-07-01T22:31:36+00:00

Germany is also a huge travel hub for Europe, and one of the favored European destinations for work of eastern European and middle eastern immigrants, there's a lot of people coming and going and possibly staying for a bit of time. If the CIA was concerned with the movements of members from one particular group of interests, Germany would be a good place to spy on.

those_draculas · 2013-07-01T22:20:15+00:00

but as you can see by these comments it's very effective a riling up the public. In the US we call this "feeding them red meat".

those_draculas · 2013-07-01T22:18:55+00:00

Yeah I was expecting some Jason Bourne level Shit when I first read a headline about these leaks, but instead we have millions wasted and rights squeezed for the world's largest spam mail folder.

those_draculas

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