tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post5393211959886953517..comments2022-12-01T02:14:10.894-08:00Comments on BAMF: Badass Marxist Feminist: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the NSAUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-1484710702505109772013-10-28T17:53:55.882-07:002013-10-28T17:53:55.882-07:00Would love to read more of this as thur the freed...Would love to read more of this as thur the freedom of information actgfkorthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12390496742998456127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-40299979451637670262013-06-14T19:12:29.566-07:002013-06-14T19:12:29.566-07:00Cool (author here).Cool (author here).J.R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06486343927258998646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-70844431208571927662013-06-14T18:18:36.634-07:002013-06-14T18:18:36.634-07:00And thanks for your comment.
If I presented anyth...And thanks for your comment.<br /><br />If I presented anything in what I wrote as an "iron law" this was a mistake. What I see is a determinate possibility. The opposition to programs like this cuts across nominal political divisions large swathes of the population see that this is not in their interest, and the support is nearly universal in the political caste. When one sees a division like this, one should throw oneself into it. Hence my enthusiasm. J.R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06486343927258998646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-70144861223956829612013-06-14T18:06:35.812-07:002013-06-14T18:06:35.812-07:00Author here,
Well, yes. For a long time the U.S. ...Author here,<br /><br />Well, yes. For a long time the U.S. government has used "private" entities to sidestep limits on what they are allowed to do, and save money. However, I wonder whether your examples do the work you want them to. The Pinkertons and Wackenhut after them were always, at least in my circles, considered unofficial extensions of the intelligence apparatus. Not only did they depend on government contracts, but often turn out to be founded by old Company men. In the tug of war between state and corporate power, the state is clearly winning in these cases. <br /><br />With the NSA contractors, the situation is even more clear cut. (If my anecdotal sources are correct.) Unlike folk like Wackenhut, they are purely creatures of state power. They are not allowed to share their data with anyone else. Their existence is purely as organs of the state. <br /><br />Finally, there seem to be a lot more of these "contractors" then before, no?J.R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06486343927258998646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-31760019221599621082013-06-14T14:14:53.363-07:002013-06-14T14:14:53.363-07:00Thanks for the red love.
Just a heads up, I had ...Thanks for the red love. <br /><br />Just a heads up, I had some domain issues, so your link back might not work. If you could fix it, we would appreciate it. Sorry for the hassle. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11201903186751873107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-60421649944642979692013-06-14T14:12:53.307-07:002013-06-14T14:12:53.307-07:00May I also mention that we object to any harm that...May I also mention that we object to any harm that comes to Snowden? I'm certain John Wolfe would agree. Our analysis is not limited to Prism and the evils of the capitalist state. We want to both point out the panoptic power of the state and be champions for Snowden.<br /><br />Again, thanks for reading. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11201903186751873107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-87107946535976871072013-06-14T14:10:31.297-07:002013-06-14T14:10:31.297-07:00Hi Gavin,
Thanks for reading and sharing your th...Hi Gavin, <br /><br />Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. Now, I have a few:<br /><br />1.) Even before Prism was revealed everyone suspected it, as you note when you refer to the "already omnipresent surveillance state." Perhaps the blurring of the distinction between Prism and your OASS is exactly the thing that makes Foucault relevant here. The apparatus has become visible; it has been confirmed. In any case, we have already been modifying our behavior, as displayed by precautions such as "Security Culture" and Guy Fawkes masks. We have been aware of the invisible eye. <br /><br />2.) I'm not sure of the intentions of Prism, but its intentions have little effect on its consequences, which I think are worth considering and discussing.<br /><br /> 3.) Oh my, if you object to this use of Foucault, I dread your reaction to my use of Fanon on Monday. :\Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11201903186751873107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-34064007000809494322013-06-14T10:01:06.548-07:002013-06-14T10:01:06.548-07:00This use of Foucault is deeply mistaken... secret ...This use of Foucault is deeply mistaken... secret programs don't work as panopticons -- panopticons are known, which is why we modify our behavior in submission to their gaze. The NSA surveillance is not meant to be a panoptic device, it has little bearing on the production of subjectivity (no more than the already-omnipresent surveillance state), and to focus on this risks drawing attention away from its likely true purposes, which most likely resemble the "old-fashioned" repression that poor Ed Snowden will soon be subject to.Gavinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-55983561638780743672013-06-14T09:31:03.775-07:002013-06-14T09:31:03.775-07:00Firstly, I value this piece for its contribution t...Firstly, I value this piece for its contribution to thinking on this issue and for seeking to go beyond the fairly simple and small selection of narratives the media has carried re: this story.<br /><br />So,here is a little comment.<br /><br />"What is most remarkable here is the ways in which corporate giants like Verizon and Google simply rolled over and acceded to the government's demands. Make no mistake, this was clearly against their individual business interests."<br /><br />The answer here would be to familiarize oneself with how dependent these corporations are on lucrative federal contracts. To not assist the US government most certainly *does* work against their business interests. The squaring of the circle is to both collaborate while maintaining an amount of distance to provide the famous 'plausible deniability'.<br /><br />Secondly, just because the state and the corporations are unifying does not, to me, lead to the conclusion that the opposing class will unite. As the author identifies as a Marxist, this consolidation is posited as something akin to an iron law, but is it? He misses out what these technologies can accomplish, and that is to completely atomize the general population, so we are reduced to watching in dumb horror as injustices take place, with none of us able to do anything to save the person the state has zeroed in on (much like prisoners in adjacent cells in a block, only able to raise a racket and shout empty threats of revenge). <br /><br />Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Ed Snowden, recipients of massive amounts of media coverage and support, but is there *anything* we can do, despite thousands/millions being behind these individuals and their causes, to deflect them from their fate?<br /><br />My final part is that this surveillance changes the nature of how law enforcement, the courts, and the media deal with mass uprisings in the West. Mass arrests recede and a drip-drip strategy emerges. We saw this with the London riots. The state just lets its cameras run, and afterwards, picks off the protagonists one at a time over whatever time period they wish, with the result that no public outcry really gathers.<br /><br />So, I think there is more to be said than that what has happened is 'good' because it presents some sort of opportunity. It may, but I am inclined to be more pessimistic, because knowing you are subject to massive government intrusion in your personal life didn't do much for the consolidation of the population of East Germany, and they were not contending with such powerful technologies of control. A paralysis can set in that is quite understandable, and that creates an even more passive background against which the slightest resistance stands out ever more prominently.<br /><br />Thanks for listening.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06368580633580971373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-30111326964296373682013-06-14T09:07:56.583-07:002013-06-14T09:07:56.583-07:00Thank you for this great piece, we are reblogging ...Thank you for this great piece, we are reblogging it with attribution, at http://economicjusticerealityreport.blogspot.com/2013/06/john-wolfe-how-i-learned-to-stop-worry.htmlESJRR Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09612709552395493103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-57092961078313291912013-06-14T08:16:02.032-07:002013-06-14T08:16:02.032-07:00Consolidation of power in the state, perhaps, exce...Consolidation of power in the state, perhaps, except that 70% of the surveillance/intelligence personnel are employees of private contractors, including those monitoring other contractors, and such "search and siezure" by corporate personnel is not subject to the same constitutional limits as direct government activity. For four decades after the civil war, various presidents used the Pinkerton agency for secret operations, but that was banned by Congress after the Homestead strike. This is electronic Blackwater.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-40896889873724496542013-06-13T10:51:12.610-07:002013-06-13T10:51:12.610-07:00Interesting connection...
Thanks for reading! Interesting connection... <br /><br />Thanks for reading! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11201903186751873107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975144224837314771.post-61716074758394773642013-06-13T06:54:53.148-07:002013-06-13T06:54:53.148-07:00Great post!
While volunteering at WMNF on Tuesday...Great post!<br /><br />While volunteering at WMNF on Tuesday another volunteer brought up that Qwest Communications was also asked to mine data post-9/11. When they refused they lost government contracts and it's speculated that was the final straw that made the SEC bring a suit against them for fraud.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/washington/16nsa.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com