UN Report Finds NSA Mass Surveillance Likely Violated Human Rights 261
An anonymous reader writes A top United Nations human rights official released a report Wednesday that blasts the United States' mass surveillance programs for potentially violating human rights on a worldwide scale. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay also praised whistleblower Edward Snowden and condemned U.S. efforts to prosecute him. "Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected," she said. "We need them."
In particular, the surveillance programs violate Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
So now that the UN said it, (Score:5, Interesting)
Ah, yes--the UN Declaration of Human Rights (Score:0, Interesting)
This is the group that has declared paid time off to be a basic human right.
Human rights are things like freedom of religion, and the right to not be imprisoned for your political beliefs.
Sure, the things Snowden has accused the NSA of doing are violations of our civil rights, our constitutional rights. But not our human rights.
Re:No (Score:5, Interesting)
The founding fathers weren't exactly the pillars of individual freedom you seem to think they were. They were an American centric elite and plutocracy trying to displace a Britsh centric elite and plutocracy, mostly so they could have a bigger cut of America's growing wealth.
You can tell because most of those constitutional protections and the Bill of Rights didn't apply to people who weren't affluent(i.e. who didn't own land), women, native American's, blacks/slaves and indentured whites. They applied mostly to white men who had wealth (at least enough to own land).
They actively prevented people who were not white, male and affluent from voting or holding office. They were mostly slave owners themselves, and they were for the most part very affluent and owners of very large real estate holdings. They were all 1%'ers.
The Declaration of Independence and Constitution were carefully designed to inspire support from enough people in the colonies for their Revolution to succeed, and to create the illusion of freedom, but they had no intention of relinquishing their power and control over the levers of government when it their Revolution did succeed. That plutocracy has never relinquished that control in the more than 200 years since.
The NSA along with the DHS, FBI, ATF and IRS are means for maintaining that control.
The Internet let a genie out of a bottle and created dangerous potentential for the rest of us to organize and try to win some of that power and control back.
When faced with the twin crises, and excuses, that were 9/11 and the 2008 crash it was nearly inevitable that The Powers That Be in the U.S. and U.K. would exploit every tool at their disposal, mainly computers and networks, to try to put a lid back on their control of their increasingly restless and networked homelands and to try to maintain their domination of the world as a whole in the face of increasing challenges.
The 2008 crash in particular resulted in widespread global disillusionment with the fact economies and governments are rigged to benefit the ruling elite and screw everyone else. When ruling elites start feeling that heat they trot out their police states, always have, always will.
Re:Hypocrites (Score:0, Interesting)
This morning we learn a UN operated school has been used to conceal Hamas missiles in Gaza. [timesofisrael.com]
"We're SOOOOOOO sorry ............... We didn't know!!!"
"We'll ``investigate`` that right away!"
.... and cover up all the other cases we find.
The UN is the single most effective tyranny enabler on Earth. Millions of victims live under third world dictators and theocrats propped up by the UN.
The highly selective criticism of the US by the UN has no credibility with me.
Re:So now that the UN said it, (Score:5, Interesting)
wrong. the US now does not care about anything but itself.
rights belong to the highest bidder or power holder.
that means: not you or me and certainly not some powerless speech-giving org.
the US is out of control. we all know this now and we all see it.
the question is: who has enough power to control the current top-dog and put him back in his dog-house?
THAT is the question. the US is not going to give in willingly.
I guess its at last a tiny half-step - having the ROW realize that the US is out of control and is violating the rights of, pretty much, anyone who dares try have a private thought or conversation.
Re:No (Score:4, Interesting)
Try reading Zinn's A People's History of the United States [amazon.com]. It will disillusion you of the comic book U.S. History taught in U.S. school where the founding fathers are all saints and geniuses.
They were mostly self serving and profiteering. Its fitting Andrew Jackson is on the $20 dollar bill because he was infamous for profiteering off the battles he won, mostly by seizing the lands he took and splitting it up between himself and his friends.