

Ten things we've learnt about the surveillance state - prawn
http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/08/27/ten-things-weve-learnt-about-the-surveillance-state/

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dwd
The problem with Mark Dreyfus is; as Attorney General his Ministerial
portfolio includes managing ASIO and responsibility for leading legislation on
Human Rights. Quite a conflict of interest and as the Government's chief legal
officer he's the last person to defend the peoples' rights against Government.

EDIT: grammar

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SilliMon
But the rule of law is only for the media and whistleblowers, not for
governments.

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ihsw
The rule of law is absolute, however its application is tentative and
selective.

The plea bargain -- admissions of guilt where defendants are under threat of
death and lifetime prison sentences -- has prevented 95% Federal court cases
from proceeding, and it inches higher year-over-year.

Enron's disgraced and final CEO has had his prison sentence reduced
significantly under an agreement to stop the legal ballet of refuting
prosecution and wilfully forfeiting $42M for distribution to Enron fraud
victims, effectively buying his way out of prison. "Too big to jail" indeed.

The US Government, at the behest of AT&T, Verizon, et al, unilaterally denied
Samsung's lawful and justified victory in a patent dispute with Apple. Lesson
learned? Don't bother with a healthy and useful patent portfolio, and do stay
in the good graces of the US Government for there are benefits to signing into
PRISM-like programs.

You will not have a hard time finding pro-state shills that happily declare
that the state can do no wrong -- indeed, the law simply doesn't apply to
government employees acting in the "nation's best interest."

