US and UK struck secret deal to allow NSA to 'unmask' Britons' personal data
At least in the Uk, there seems no democratic lever to adjust to change this. I don't know of a single national party that wants to roll back the surveillance.<p>Following Russel Brand's interview about why there's no point in voting:<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/05/russell-brand-democratic-system-newsnight" rel="nofollow">http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/05/russell...</a><p>... all parts of the establishment rallied around, saying how people had fought for years for the right, and how important it was in a democracy:<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ignore-russell-brand-vote-and-make-mps-notice-you-says-think-tank-8930949.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ignore-russell...</a><p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/05/opinion/liu-not-voting-for-suckers/" rel="nofollow">http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/05/opinion/liu-not-voting-for...</a><p><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/10/russell-brand-robert-webb-choosing-vote-most-british-kind-revolution-there" rel="nofollow">http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/10/russell-brand-robert-web...</a><p>... but really, what's the point? I know there are big differences between the parties, and that voting will make a difference. But so many of the places where their policies are identical are the ones I care about.<p>I wish this post wasn't coming from a place of deep frustration, but the only way I can imagine this working is as described by Daniel Ellsberg, where learning top secret knowledge changes people:<p>"... it will have become very hard for you to learn from anybody who doesn't have these clearances. Because you'll be thinking as you listen to them: 'What would this man be telling me if he knew what I know? Would he be giving me the same advice, or would it totally change his predictions and recommendations?' And that mental exercise is so torturous that after a while you give it up and just stop listening. I've seen this with my superiors, my colleagues....and with myself.<p>"You will deal with a person who doesn't have those clearances only from the point of view of what you want him to believe and what impression you want him to go away with, since you'll have to lie carefully to him about what you know. In effect, you will have to manipulate him. You'll give up trying to assess what he has to say. The danger is, you'll become something like a moron. You'll become incapable of learning from most people in the world, no matter how much experience they may have in their particular areas that may be much greater than yours."<p><a href="http://m.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsberg-limitations-knowledge" rel="nofollow">http://m.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsberg-...</a><p>But if politicians always believe they know better on this subject, what does that say about democracy? And how does this line up with the same people happily admitting they don't understand modern technology?