This is from a friend of mine in America and fellow Bass Player.

[M0BSW]

hey Paul,how's it going,I need a rant.

So this has been all over the news for
the last month: Government spying.
I'm going to go on a real rant
today, so get ready lol...

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By the way, if you'd rather learn some
guitar stuff than listen to my rant,
then by all means:

Check out today's lesson where Johnny Mac
shows us some groovy jazz stuff in the
style of Joe Pass, one of the all time
guitar greats:

GUITAR LESSON OF THE DAY

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Ok, so if you haven't heard yet,
the U.S. government has been
snooping on your emails and storing
everything you do online, even
if you're NOT a U.S. citizen...
And recording all your phone calls too.

What do you think about that?

I think if you're not outraged,
you're not paying enough attention!

Even IF you believed that mass spying
was necessary to stop terrorists
(and I don't)...

Now that Snowden let the cat out
of the bag (thank you Mr. Snowden),
there's no need to continue the
spying because all but the stupidest
"bad guys" are going to use encrypted
communications anyway.

So much for "striking a balance"
between safety and liberty as
the media would like us to believe.
 
I mean, how dumb do they think we are?
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! lol...

Here's the bigger picture:

The reason that government injustices
continue, is that most people are
not well informed (because the media
is controlled by the same elite interests).

And if there's one thing that the statists,
tyrants, bureaucrats, and corrupted
politicians fear, its a well-informed populace.

That's why I don't weep for humanity today.

Mankind has marched steadily toward freedom
over the centuries, and with today's technology,
that trend will only accelerate, despite the
obvious counter-efforts. 

Things may get worse before they get better.

But in the end, freedom and prosperity should
prevail.

In the meantime, if you don't want big brother
to spy on your internet activities, there's
readily available tools you can use to get
around that.  For example, the TOR browser.
Look it up

Perhaps the most important thing is never
let them steal your peace of mind.

Embrace the concept of "living free in an unfree world".

And enjoy yourself.

That's just another reason to play guitar.
I'll send you some samples soon of my
new course: "Supercharged Soloing Made Simple".

Claude Johnson

P.S. In the meantime, please check out my original
lead guitar course:

[PeterG]

So if the NSA is monitoring everything we do i probably should not mention my Chemical, Biological and Nuclear weapon stockpile i have in my garden shed? 

Seriously the USA Gov has been spying on everyone who uses the internet for many years. I don't see why people are getting all upset over it now. Most governments Spy/Monitor electronic communication in one form or another.

I don't see why the average person would be concerned about this issue.

[Psi]

In the meantime, if you don't want big brother
to spy on your internet activities, there's
readily available tools you can use to get
around that.  For example, the TOR browser.

actually, half of tor sites are already compromised, including TORMail, with tracking cookies/javascript written by the FBI for use in the search for pedophiles. (It was on slashdot today).
So using tor probably results in more of your communications being monitored, or at least more interest by the govt in what your doing.

I wouldn't worry too much, these sort of things fix themselves over time. It either gets better or it gets worse until people make it get better.

[c4757p]

Seriously the USA Gov has been spying on everyone who uses the internet for many years. I don't see why people are getting all upset over it now. Most governments Spy/Monitor electronic communication in one form or another.

I don't see why the average person would be concerned about this issue.

Because for many people before, it was more of a cynical suspicion.  "Yeah, the damn gubmint's probably listening in on every word I say... *half-sad chuckle*" Even if your suspicions are strong, it can still be startling to have them suddenly confirmed.

Even crazy spouses usually wait for "proof" of cheating before they poison the coffee...

[SeanB]

Not with some women I have known, though thankfully I was not going out with them, just knew them.........