How do They Stop This?

They don't have to do anything like that....that's not how it works, it's a political struggle....They warn certain people and if they don't comply to the extent that officials think they should, they arrest them...make examples out of them....sometimes though, if the person is popular enough, then he becomes a martyr, they try to avoid that... Realistically it's pretty hard to stop the flow of communication nowadays, people will always find a way....but the establishment will use propaganda to discredit anybody who starts to show leadership in the opposition, and make their life very difficult in any way they can....

Word and content search of the media. They don't need no search warrant to do so. If officers of Tencent want to stay in businesses and /or not go to jail they allow the search. Most likely make Tencent use their own computers to do the search. Have the computer search for words. First on the list I would imagine would be the names of party officials and the government leader. One comes up it kicks out the content of what ever media used. It's reviewed and a decision made on whether to go kick down doors and arrest someone. there would also be a long list of words and phrases.

We live in a freer society.

There was a time when I would have said we live in a free society, but not any more.

We live in a world not unlike "1984". A quote, "Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, the Party watches him through telescreens" .

We have the NSA who records all our phone calls and God knows what else they do. Spying on you through your laptop (even in your bedroom) is commonplace.

Facebook™ is in the process of turning the microphone in your cell phone into a 24 hour spy device that can record everything you say, and much more, truth be told.

No, this is not our father's world. It is becoming a "Brave New World", at the cost of our personal freedom, and much more.

<steps off soapbox>

GA Hooker,

I'm not sure Snowden went about all this in the correct way but what he unveiled about a government run amok and wildly trampling its citizens freedoms (all for a good cause or reason of course) is alarming.

I have always liked the quote of "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." When we give up freedom because of some specific isolated event, we set an awful precedent for those in power. And since we don't have people in power, or at least very few, who are men and women of high moral character and integrity, we leave the door wide open for egregious abuses to take place. As President Abe Lincoln said, "most men can handle adversity, but if you want to test a mans character, give him power."

Samuel Adams had some great insight, "A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader." Feb. 12, 1779

I had a course in high school my senior year called Problems of Democracy. Now, this was 1967-1968, and the teacher said way back then, during the height of the Cold War, he didn't fear the Communists. He feared our insecurities would drive us to turn our republic into a Facist state to be safe. We'd give total control of our lives to the government for protection. Guess what? It's happening.

I had a similar teacher in HS. He was a retired Army officer who taught Economics and preached a similar message.

The bad thing is that "this is a plain as the nose on your face" that this is happening and since we have so many stupid, don't read dumb, voters, with such a short term, "I want it now" mentality, that they will trade away their freedoms for a cup of pottage, i.e. government handout.

We are also reaping the results of an educational system that doesn't train its students to think for themselves, but rather be stupid little robots who will work for a pittance and be satisfied. They have no vision for a brighter future so they just take what they can at the moment.

It's very easy to do. Since all internet traffic goes through gov't controlled servers the authorities simply set up filters to divert/block message traffic that they deem "harmful", instantly blocking all message access to and from those servers.

That is easier said than done especially if the communication is done via VPM. The posted information is a stationary target and easy to hit.

Snowden leaked his info right after the IRS was caught targeting conservatives and Zionists. I really can't figure why they were targeting Zionists. Jews are usually liberal. It was our government that screwed that one up. If they treated him like a whistle blower instead of a spy most of what he eventually leaked would never have been leaked. All the persons handling that affair were either grossly incompetent or were getting orders from one.

I would say that pretty much anybody who has ever been audited, thinks they were unfairly targeted....jus sayin'....

How can I argue with that?

Except in normal IRS auditing there isn't a specific pattern, group of people or a paper trail of directives/orders given.

There is also a track record of these current people to abuse their power and to be vindictive as well.

"All the persons handling that affair were either grossly incompetent or were getting orders from one."

Kinda like the White House outing the Kabul CIA station chief the other day?

I think I detect a pattern here...

You and millions of others. POTUS has not seen and end to this like most 2 term presidents, his past is catching up with him. His biggest mistake is not fixing the economy. The number of persons out of work now is about the same as in the bottom of the last recession. Having so many persons on some kind of dole and spending so little is killing the economy.

Just like he was singlehandedly responsible for the sequestration.

Tell me again, what good it did to upset millions of lives while Congress toddled along getting paid on time, with free health care while working 112 days a year.

112 days a year and they still can't accomplish SQUAT!!!

I think they're only worried about news from outside getting in. It's to their advantage to have people communicate over a medium over which the government can eavesdrop.