AT&T logo improvement
AT&T took an active role in helping the NSA break the law by wiretapping the whole Internet, without a warrant, particularized suspicion, or moral compunction. Here's a suggested logo-revision from an anonymous reader -- remember, November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day: Wiretapping, Treason and Plot! JPEG Link
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The Red V on AT&T logo looks like verizon is trying to stab might At&T
I don't see it - the link ends at craphound front page?
Absolutely brilliant.
It seems like just yesterday Bloom County was outing it as the Death Star...
/sigh
Corporate bad = non-corp good!
Go after the electicity companies.
I am probably the ONLY pro-WTF guy here,
awesome! one of these might go well with that...
You know what I hate about the illegal spying AT&T and the other telecoms are doing?
It's that they can keep all that information, and much more, and if anyone should sue to learn about it, or stop it, they have "national security" protection. And they can then use that information for their commercial purposes.
Example: my brother got a phone call from Comcast trying to get him to use their VOIP (this, when Vonage was on the ropes, which he uses). It was clear they knew he used Vonage ("You use Vonage? What are you going to do when they go bankrupt?"). And so it is clear they're recording all the websites he visits, and all the packets his computer sends.
True, "AT&T took an active role in helping the NSA break the law by wiretapping the whole Internet..." but this post and the linked story should have added "to, for better or worse, help root out people trying to kill you." I am not thrilled with what they did but that does give a little perspective to the post.
"AT&T took an active role in helping the NSA break the law by wiretapping the whole Internet...to, for better or worse, help root out people trying to kill you."
Well, so long as they were trying to keep me safe.
I wonder how far down on the list of great plans they've hatched to protect me from people who want to kill me "Don't mettle in the constitutionally-protected rights of a nation's citizens simply because you've been promised a huge government contract" is?
this post and the linked story should have added "to, for better or worse, help root out people trying to kill you."
Well if you want to be all "fair and balanced" about it, then that suggestion isn't accurate either. We have no idea what the NSA is monitoring, or what their intentions are, because there's no transparency in their process. All we know is that the NSA themselves have claimed they're monitoring only terror suspects for the express purpose of fighting terrorism.
So perhaps a better NVOP statement would be "AT&T took an active role in helping the NSA break the law by wiretapping the whole Internet in order to conduct a secret spy program which the NSA claims is targeted only at terror suspects and intended only to prevent terrorism."
PeterOliver:
No, they did not. They started this program in January of 2001, long before the 9/11 attacks, and it's a seriously ineffectual way to watch for terrorists.It is, however, good for illegally collecting information from people you want to get the dirt on.
V for Vendetta/cell phone zen moment: The phone from the movie was built for Verizon and Sprint networks. The model number is even EV-K100.
So how long until Boing Boing is defending some dude for spraypainting his local AT&T storefront in this manner? Because it's, you know, so edgy and provocative and sends such a strong message.
hrrmm...clicking on that link results in a blank white image with "horns" at the very top.
Talk about your lightning quick C&Ds...
What will the Discussion comments be on the following BoingBoing post, dated March 23, 2009:
"Terrorist Plan to Detonate Nuclear Bomb in San Francisco Thwarted at Last Minute Thanks to Intercepted E-Mail"
PeterOliver: You're answer would be, "So, they just had this nefarous plan. But they didn't have any nuclear material, bomb components, cash, anything? Wow. The NSA sure did save the day!"
Peter Oliver: There will be no Discussion comments without DHS certified anti-terrorism approval by 2009. Thanks for enabling our corporate/fascist (redundant, I know) overlords. Faith is the answer, eh?
PeterOliver, if anything even vaguely like that ever happens as a result of NSA wiretaps, I'll personally arrange to have comely young ladies descend on your desk at work and sing your praises. In four-part harmony. While throwing flower petals. (Fresh, not dried.)
Until then, I'll think you're a chump.
Dear Teresa Nielsen Hayden,
Should moderators be name callers?
All I am doing is reminding people the reason the taps occur. That seems to get lost in the hysteria. Do I like it? No. Do I support it? Hell yeah, sort of.
If you and your ilk weren’t so concerned that you’d be caught illegally downloading Rage Against The Machine MP3s….or watchlisted by the authorities for hanging around subversive sites such as BoingBoing then you might feel differently.
Love,
Chump
Ilks are cooler than Ents anyway.
I just noticed that AT&T has a big ad running on BoingBoing.
No comment.
peter o...what you need to realize is that your liberty (guaranteed by the constitution) is far more valuable than your personal safety (not guaranteed by anyone). maybe a little reading on the revolutionary war is in order for you...if you're still allowed.
basically, what freedom boils down to (as horrid as it sounds) is the freedom to commit crime. social responsibility is the thing that's supposed to stop us from doing that. when freedoms are removed, say with millions of crazy laws and a populace that is monitored to the point of being totally unable to commit any crime whatsoever, then not only are those in power free to change the laws to whatever they want, but also the whole concept of 'social responsibilty' disintegrates...and society collapses.
i'd rather have terrorist attacks every day than domestic spying. and if you don't think i don't understand the danger to personal safety that that entails, i should inform you i spent the morning of 9/11 dodging behind the #7 building as the first tower collapsed (on rollerblades no less) and the afternoon distributing respirators to the firefighters about a block further north. only to watch said firefighters put on those masks, walk down the street, and get killed in the collapse of the #7 building. from here on out, i live to ensure those men did not die in vain.
and btw, the ONLY cure for terrorism is an ethical foreign policy.
Sexyrobot,
And what YOU need to realize is that a bunch of random thoughts about how you are a modern-day Mother Theresa on rollerblades do not make for a compelling argument against the need to keep an eye on the bad guys and possibly give up some liberties in the process.
You give up liberties everyday. Are you allowed to rollerblade down the sidewalk? Hell no! You could kill someone.
Peter O.
WWBFS?
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
With that logo, it wouldn't hurt if Reptilian alien invaders ate a few fascist executives, either. :)
If they could be lunch as a consequence, the secret police thing might be less appealing. :)
@#23 hear hear! we need some more ben franklins in this world...
and p.o., if u think pulling together with the community to help those in need makes me like mother teresa, then i'm flattered by the comparison, but its what we were all doing that day.
...except for you, i guess, cowering in fear of 'bad guys' for your own worthless, chumpy, trolling flesh.
and btw, i wear my blades wherever i damn well please and no one has been in danger of being jostled, let alone 'killed' (an unlikely prospect in any scenario)...i got mad skills and don't you forget it.
;)
Yeah, that’s what I was doing “cowering in fear of 'bad guys' for your own worthless, chumpy, trolling flesh”. You have no idea and if you knew you would be ashamed of yourself.
I'm out. I'm through getting crapped on here. All you knee-jerks can continue on in your little circle jerk here.
You have no idea and if you knew you would be ashamed of yourself.
that's certainly easy to say while running away.
just like sitting idly by as your human rights get swapped for cash by multinationals.
what exactly were u up to that would cause me so much shame?
btw, am i the only one seeing at&satan's whoring of personal data to the nsa and recent attempts at ending net neutrality as being an obvious 'trade'?
It's funny how PeterOliver thinks he's a patriot. He thinks that by supporting the president, right or wrong, he's making us stronger.
He can't see that he's weakening what it meant to be an American. Used to be you could be proud of being in a country that didn't run secret torture facilities. Know what I mean?
It's retards like him. (Sorry Theresa, but it has to be said.) who are getting us into losing wars and wasting the country's entire economic footing to do so. War may need to be fought every now and then, but not against the wrong people for fabricated reasons.
People like PeterOliver who come in here, be they trolls or actual morons, are directly trying to support a warmongering fascist government intent on destroying the USA. The fact that these criminals are 'elected' changes nothing - so was Hitler.
Bush is FUCKING MURDERING PEOPLE in our names. My tax dollars are going to KILL PEOPLE! Cry Godwin if you will, but it's time we realized what's going on.
Iraqi Casualties are over a million. We condemned the Turks as genocidal over 1.5 million. Do we plan to stop at 1.48? Or is it better because there are more Iraqis to murder than there were Armenians? Like the life of a Chinese or Indian person doesn't matter because "there are so many, how could they ever keep track, ha ha."
Saddam Hussein was a fascist dictator who used terror, torture, and illegal war. The USA (Yay freedom!) went into his country and killed him, to bring justice to the world.
We should be able to bring the military home and mop up here, maybe impose democracy before the 2008 elections.
...
Have any of you ever had the discussion: "Didn't anyone recognize what Hitler was doing? Why didn't they stop him?"
Maybe they were talking about it but PeterOliver's grandfather ratted them out to the Nazi SS to patriotically support the leader...
We need to recognize that these people are criminals or we'll wake up one day working at the Zyklon B factory.
Well now. My friend who has been monitoring your comments here---no, she does not work for BoingBoing advertiser AT&T---told me it’s getting pretty ugly and that I should have a final look.
Good god, people. This all started when I suggested that the original poster of the AT&T piece should have add a little key background to the piece by indicating, for better of worse, that the taps were ordered to root out terrorists. I went on to say that although I did not like the fact that this was done, I supported it because right now there are people who really and truly hate all Americans and want to kill all of us.
(Besides, you don’t think they’re trolling for that data anyway, with or without AT&T’s help? Come on.)
And then, because people hate corporations and people hate the current administration (me included, by the way) and people hate their cell phone reception, or whatever, it quickly dissolves into a name-calling free for all where even my grandfather’s patriotism is called into question.
Nice.
I am truly out now. You all can continue on your little assault here.
Gee, aren’t you all so enlightened.
This is clearly not a forum for any sort of rational discussion. I wish the moderator had been doing her job.
heh. i'm reminded of the 'friend' who 'might have an STD' from many a health class instructional video...ie, there's no 'friend', friend. but that's probably due to your personality, as the 'name-calling free-for-all', in my case at least, started with YOU, and your snarky little 'mother theresa' comment. (BTW, we still haven't heard exactly what u were up to on the 9/11 that would cause me so much shame. i'd LOVE to know. did you put a magnet on your car? do you need a medal for that pint of blood you donated? once. seriously, fill me in.)
as for that 'vital' piece of data that this was done to root out the terrorist boogey monsters who want to 'kill us all' (an unlikely prospect considering the size of our military), i should remind you that this program was set up in JANUARY of 2001. well before anyone could argue that any terror threat justified the wholesale spying on the american people, as it had been almost 50 YEARS since the last attack on american soil.
as for the nsa doing this without at&t's help, sure, they might be able to tap a few lines on 'the last mile', but to do it on this scale they need the switchers and those are all on at&t property. more info here, and much more here.
as for at&t advertising here, i think it's HI-larious...it's obviously a google ad-word cock-up based on the fact they get mentioned here so often...as soon as they figure out the nature of these mentions, i'm sure it will stop. but yeah, guys, it is dirty money. maybe it could be cleaned up by putting it towards a good cause? a response from the site on this would be appreciated...
as for wn's comment on your grandfather's patriotism...yeah, that was a cheap shot. but i'm going to back it up, as it's obvious the old man did very little to instill a sense of what american values really mean in you.
If only corporate malfeasance like this could elicit more than a sigh. Even people who might normally respond by ditching AT&T take one look at their iPhones and take the low road.