Did You Know? - Edward Snowden Explains the Facts About 'Project PRISM'

What did Edward Snowden reveal to the world in June 2013? The first document he released to the public exposed a secret program of the National Security Agency (NSA) called "PRISM", which allowed the NSA to collect private communications, without targeted warrants as required by the US Constitution, from the world's largest Internet companies, the largest at the time being Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, and Skype. But more than that, it was revealed the the NSA intended not only to collect information on everyone, everywhere, and at all times (to the extent technology would permit), but they intended to use new technological capabilities in "Big Data" to store everything, and to use artificial intelligence (AI) to mine these massive databanks for the purpose of targeting anyone they decided to. It was an abuse of power on an unprecedented scale ... and absolutely unconstitutional.

In May 2014, the NSA completed the construction of a super-secret, $1.5 billion, one-million-square-foot data center in Bluffdale, Utah. It was built for data mining and code-breaking, designed to house information beyond current limits on digital storage, "including the complete contents of private emails, cellphone call records, Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails — parking receipts, bookstore purchases, and other digital 'pocket litter.' "

These NSA surveillance programs were not even new when we learned of them, from Edward Snowden, in 2013. In fact, it is just a renaming of the Bush era plan for Total Information Awareness. That program was quashed because the public (and Congress) were outraged by the idea of it.

These people (the NSA) have every intention of spying on every aspect of Americans' lives, every communication, relationship, and financial transaction. They feel they have the right to violate your privacy in any way they choose and toward that intention, they've taken the action of building mega-centers for unprecedented, unrestricted spying on American citizens. To control and to dominate others.

These people cannot be trusted — neither their intentions nor their actions. And one's desire to trust authority, and one's need to submit to authority does not constitute reason to trust these men. Anyone's need to obey does not elevate these authority figures to positions of trust; it does not sanctify their intentions or their actions, particularly not at a time of rampant amorality in every aspect of society. Absolute trust in authority is always foolhardy.

This whole thing would have seemed like a dystopian fiction 12 years ago, but the unbelievable has been achieved by using fear, continuous fear, to sell five lies that many people have willingly accepted during that time:

1. If you've done nothing wrong; you have no reason to fear the State.

2. A person who's done nothing wrong has no reason to desire privacy.

3. Those who object to a security state must be presumed to have something to hide.

4. We must all be prepared to sacrifice as much liberty as necessary to secure our safety.

5. Finally, we must always trust our government officials to always do what is absolutely best for us, questioning nothing. (sorry, that's "mommy and daddy")

These are all falsehoods; they have all been propagated with fear.
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(reader submission)
Charles

Note: This is the reason why I never joined any social media site and never will. They are nothing but a data gathering pool so you should stay out. Mr.Ed :)

PS. Edward Snowden is a good guy in case the liars @ MSM have you confused. He is on the side of the people. :)
So embrace him as a brother.