RadikalFlash

Judge Orders NSA To Stop Destroying Government Surveillance Evidence — For The Third Time

A federal judge has ordered the government to stop destroying National Security Agency surveillance records that could be used to challenge the legality of its spying programs in court.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White’s ruling came at the request of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is in the midst of a case challenging NSA’s ability to surveil foreign citizen’s U.S.-based email and social media accounts.

According to the EFF, the signals intelligence agency and the Department of Justice were knowingly destroying key evidence in the case by purposefully misinterpreting earlier preservation orders by multiple courts, multiple times.

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This is where we are. The CIA can join twitter and will be warmly received. People will be excited and ‘tee hee’ and giggle about it. The US Dept of Defense will tweet “jokingly” to the CIA and people will love it.

Now oblivious white people who aren’t the target of systemic oppression and violence loving this is one thing. They’re existing in a different reality, and I don’t expect them to get it by default, or to contextualize anything outside of their existence. Black and brown people joining in on the fun however is downright bizarre. These groups of mass murderers can make a cheeky tweet or two and people will get excited about it. The DoD tweet about running in the same circles is really gross, especially when you take the time to consider what they are actually “joking” about.

Now I’m not surprised by people finding these tweets funny, but I am disappointed by some who are joining in the celebration of this macabre exhibition of humor. Especially those who claim to be about social justice. I have seen people who a mere week ago were posting about black sites and drone bases, extrajudicial killings and even the CIA’s fake vaccination campaign in Pakistan join in on the celebration of the CIA’s first tweet.

Someone who fancies themselves to be about justice posted this on facebook - “The CIA made a big splash with their first tweet. Looking forward to more from them.” Looking forward to more from the CIA? They’re talking about the CIA making a splash like a rapper dropping a mixtape to critical acclaim. This person can apparently put aside their indignation for all the injustice and crimes perpetrated by the CIA and DoD to celebrate their tweets. The fact that they are organizations made up of criminals (that’s exactly what they are) who operate above the law, kill at will and are the proxy of US global imperialism is momentarily on hold because their tweets are funny. I found that really curious. How can you be disarmed by tweets? What would have to be going through your mind to find the humor in any of this if you know even just a tiny bit of what the CIA and DoD do everyday and if you know their history? What kind of detachment mentality do people like this have? I guess everything flies out the window when you make a silly tweet or two.

Social media can neuter even the most dastardly. That’s the real danger, and I fear a populace who warmly embraces organizations like the CIA. People like them are dangerous and they frighten me. Why? Because they can see evil and laugh with it, when the proper response should be them rebuking it. This is why the CIA and DoD can operate with impunity. Sure, the CIA just leased a blacksite in Djibouti for 20 years for their secret prison where they will torture and kill black and brown people without charging them with anything. The site also operates as hub for drone strikes, but wasn’t the CIA’s first tweet hilarious? The CIA is so funny!

I guess I don’t have a sense of humor.

Pac-Man Joins Super Smash Bros. Cast for Wii U & Nintendo 3DS

[Press release] Four of the greatest icons in video game history are coming together for the first time in one incredible game. At the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles, Nintendo revealed that Pac-Man would be joining the cast of the upcoming Super Smash Bros. games for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems. The addition of the Namco Bandai icon brings together video game legends Mario, Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man in one game for the first time. The foursome joins dozens of other characters in the game, which will launch for Nintendo 3DS on Oct. 3, and on Wii U during the 2014 holiday season.