Sen. Brownback Doesn't Like Spying Unless It Is American Made?
Earlier, Kansas Watch posted the video of Kansas U.S. Senator Sam Brownback blasting China for alleged plans to spy on Americans and others who visit China for the Olympics.But American blogger The Only Redhead in Taiwan basically calls Brownback a hypocrite in a post called “Mr. Brownback, the kettle called…”
Just a gentle reminder. Kansas junior Senator voted last year to enacat the Protect America Act, which allows for the federal government to engage in what one commentator says is a “…massive, untargeted collection of international communications without court order or meaningful oversight…” Oh, and Sam also voted for FISA as well.
So, Sam doesn’t mind it if Americans spy on Americans and others, just not if the Chinese do it too. Sam’s more of a “Buy American” kind of guy.
An excerpt from the Redhead dude:
Just something to make you go “hmmm.”I want to say that there is something intrinsically different in how US surveillance on suspected threats works, but I have no reason to do so other than the fact that I have faith that the US is freer than the PRC (when, after all, is a Chinese director going to put a biopic out on a sitting PRC chairman?). I’d be interested in hearing from someone as to why it’s different when the US does this sort of thing and when the Chinese do it.
If, as I presume, there is no difference – or very little – then the idea that Sen. Brownback of all people is the one to lead the crusade for justice in the PRC is indeed “laughable.” Let’s not forget that some of the suspected “terrorists” spied on in the US were peace activists and poverty relief advocates. Some of those jailed at Guantanamo Bay were picked based on hearsay from vengeful relatives, later found to have no merit.
That’s a hell of a track record.
Let me reiterate, I think what China is doing is horrible, but I find little difference in what we see our own government doing. This sort of conduct leaves a bitter taste in my mouth wherever it takes place.
Photo: The Only Redhead in China says Brownback is like kettle calling Red Chinese pot black.(Geez, so many colors to keep track of!)
Technorati Tags: Sam Brownback, China, domestic spying, The Only Redhead in Taiwan
Todd D. Epp
in Bloggers, China, Civil Rights, Domestic Spying, Humor, Sam Brownback
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While certain people likely enjoy reading assertions Sen. Brownback is a hypocrite, ostensibly (and allegedly) because there isn't any difference between American spying and Chinese spying, it wouldn't take much effort or research to discover - and realize - there is a world of difference between the two.
For the sake of argument, let's say that a half-dozen American intelligence agents devote their time to studying information gathered on a particular group or on a single U.S. citizen. And let's give the Redhead from Taiwan (and his apparent sidekick, Mr. Todd Epp) the benefit of the doubt and assume the intelligence gathering on this group or on this U.S. citizen is not only unauthorized, but it is also wholly unwarranted. So they gather several boxes full of stuff, jammed to the gills with every detail imaginable on our hapless victim(s).
Now, what do you suppose is going to happen to those boxes of files? Mmmm. Maybe, and probably, the same thing that seems to always happens to boxes of intelligence actually gathered by U.S. agents on U.S. citizens - they get sealed up and filed away somewhere, probably never to be seen or read again, or for at least another hundred years.
If we're really "lucky" (I mean, the Redhead and Mr. Epp need a break here, for they obviously don't like Americans - or even possible terror suspects - being spied upon by U.S. intelligence agents) the boxes of data might very well get uncovered by "the Times" in twenty or thirty years due to an FOIA filing, very likely heavily redacted and not a lot of fun to read, let alone understand. There would be the usual repercussions, repercussions which rarely, if ever, result in the contents ever being read by anyone who could do anything with it, either to benefit them or to harm the victim. But someone (in intelligence) will get yelled at by a congressman on a panel or committee at a hearing, and that most definitely will be that.
If we really push it, and try our best to imagine the worst thing which could ever happen, someone would write a book based on some of the material, which would be labeled fiction of course, to keep out of any remotely hot water.
Gosh, doesn't sound too terribly bad, does it? Those nasty U.S. agents, who have retired or died of old age, long ago forgot 99.9% of anything they ever saw in the files. As far as they were concerned, it was a fat waste of their valuable time. That’s the worst case scenario. We’ve seen it before, rare though it is. If the “suspect” has their lives “ruined” by it, which is highly unlikely but does happen, then the feds usually cough up a few million bucks in damages, as just happened this past June (27) in the Anthrax murder case.
That's about it when it comes to Americans spying on Americans, unless the American is a crook - obviously.
In China, though, it is a vastly different story.
The data doesn't get "filed" and fully forgotten. Quite the opposite. The exact opposite, in fact. It gets "strained," first by several, then by several dozen, then by several hundred and eventually by several thousand "security" personnel who ensure every last drop of data, every single detail, every subtle nuance of information is thoroughly and completely broken down into its smallest conceivable component parts, then fully and completely dispersed throughout every imaginable beneficiary. These include the Chinese equivalent of every layer of capitalist and industry captain, every branch of the military and at every level, every area of academia which expresses the slightest interest, every statistician, analyst, researcher, author, psychologist, strategic planner, tactical manager, buyers, sellers, marketers, makers, etc., etc., etc.
The Chinese are the equivalent of army ants or sea fleas when it comes to this, and in effect, every citizen is either a spy, an analyst or a beneficiary, and all are "security."
When they get a subject, and that will include anyone and everyone from visiting foreign athletes to hard-drives stolen from U.S. national labs, not a single binary code goes unnoticed, unchecked, unstripped, and “undisseminated,” much like army ants will strip to the bone a hapless mammal, or sea fleas who will strip to the shell a trapped lobster, leaving not a trace of flesh behind.
The entire country will do everything it can to benefit from every drop of data stolen or collected.
The Chinese are devoting between 550,000 to 600,000 "security" personnel to just the Olympics. That's right. A half-million spies to be sure and squeeze every last drop of data from the thousands going to China to enjoy the games. This also includes the teams and athletes competing against the Chinese. They will gather anything they can, by whatever means they can, to - in effect - destroy the competition.
How much would you like to bet that t-h-i-s Olympics will result in more gold medals going to the host country than has EVER occurred in the history of the modern Olympics?
That's not even close, not even in the same "continent," to what American "spies" might do, will do, or in the Redhead's or Mr. Epp's worst nightmare - are doing.
Senator Brownback is right to protest. So should every human being from every country competing there. So should every journalist, every blogger and everyone else who gives a crap about freedom, in whatever form that freedom is. The Chinese are nothing less than classless, dishonorable, despicable and disgusting animals for the way they treat the rest of the world. As it is, they frequently threaten their own people if their families have someone in another country who isn’t providing the "data" they think they should be providing, making every Chinese visitor to our country a potential spy, whether willing or not.
Calling Sen. Brownback a "hypocrite" when these differences are so completely - "different" - so totally counter to not just the "American Way" but even counter the worst imagined by the Redhead and his band of followers, is not a particularly intelligent thing to do. Actually, it's pretty stupid. It is especially stupid when we realize the Redhead, et. al., votes Democrat in most, if not in all, elections. It is the Democrats who strip rights away from people. We see it all the time in the U.S. They strive to make every enjoyable activity illegal and every enjoyable past time outlawed, or at least heavily regulated. So if I am right that Redhead and Epp vote Democrat, then I'd say they are the real hypocrites. If Redhead is paying any attention to Taiwan while there, he should be able to see better than most what a horrific threat the PRC is to freedom. Why he doesn't is extremely bizarre, to say the least.