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If the NSA is all knowing as everybody seems to think, why aren't all criminals in jail by now?
by clef 12y ago
If the NSA is all knowing as everybody seems to think, why aren't all criminals in jail by now?
- jeremyjh 12y agoBecause so many of them work at the NSA.
- drcube 12y agoBecause they're not the police. And the jails are already full.
- mikeash 12y agoAlso the criminal justice system doesn't accommodate evidence obtained through the NSA's methods.
- dllthomas 12y agoUntil they lie about how they got it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_construction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_construction
- mikeash 12y agoEven then, that's way too much effort to go through to convict a car thief or other similarly small stuff.
- dllthomas 12y agoUnless there's some other reason they want to nail that car thief, probably, yeah.
- mikeash 12y agoThat's an interesting thought. Some terrorist is in the US and planning something, but they don't want to give away their intel. So do a bit of parallel construction and tip off the local cops to some relatively small crime he's committed in the course of everything.... Or substitute "whistleblower" or "inconvenient politician" for "terrorist" if you prefer.
- dllthomas 12y agoOr even "ex-" or "rival".
- clef 12y agoOh wow thanks HN, being down voted to oblivion for asking a question, nice one thanks!
- dllthomas 12y agoI didn't downvote you, but I expect those who did aren't reading it as "a question" as in "a request for information" - which I would think should rarely be downvoted - but as "a rhetorical question" whose purpose was to serve as a point of argument. Interpreted that way it seems to be attacking a strawman, poorly - such a comment would be deservedly downvoted.
- dllthomas 12y agoOf course they're not "all knowing", but this is a poor argument - if they were all knowing, would we expect them to put "all criminals in jail"?