The Morning Roar: NSA Impersonates Facebook, Cops Seize Millions in Traffic Stops, and the Secret Obamacare Excemption

NSA Impersonates Facebook To Install MalwareNew revelations from the Edward Snowden leaks seem to come out almost daily now that Glenn Greenwald has his own platform at the Intercept. The latest report details how the NSA has plans to install malware on potentially millions of computers worldwide. Their master plan? Pretend to be Facebook!The report details how the NSA has designed a program which will mimic Facebook for the users in order to get them to download the malware on their computers:

In some cases the NSA has masqueraded as a fake Facebook server, using the social media site as a launching pad to infect a target’s computer and exfiltrate files from a hard drive. In others, it has sent out spam emails laced with the malware, which can be tailored to covertly record audio from a computer’s microphone and take snapshots with its webcam. The hacking systems have also enabled the NSA to launch cyberattacks by corrupting and disrupting file downloads or denying access to websites.

When reached for comment, a representative of MySpace merely said "What are we, chopped liver?"The full report detailing the expansive methods the NSA has been devising to "Own the Net" can be found at The Intercept. Cops Use Traffic Stops to Seize Money From Drivers Without ChargeWherever you have unchecked, monopolistic power, you likely won't need to look too hard to find some instances of abuse.  A recent Forbes article revealed how police officers all over the country are using "civil forfeiture" to steal cash from drivers during traffic stops, often without even dishing out so much as a ticket!  Civil forfeiture laws allow police officers to seize property in the course of an investigation without having to prove guilt of any kind.Tan Nguyen learned about civil forfeiture the hard way when leaving Las Vegas after a big win at the casino:

Last September, Tan Nguyen was pulled over for driving three miles over the speed limit, according to a suit he filed.  Deputy Lee Dove asked to search the car but Nguyen said he declined.  Dove claimed he smelled marijuana but couldn’t find any drugs.  The deputy then searched the car and found a briefcase containing $50,000 in cash and cashier’s checks, which he promptly seized.  According to the Associated Press, Nguyen said he won that cash at a casino.Nguyen was not arrested or charged with a crime—not even a traffic citation.  In the suit, Dove threatened to seize and tow Nguyen’s car unless he “got in his car and drove off and forgot this ever happened.”  That would have left Nguyen stranded in the Nevada desert.

If one is a police officer in the business of stealing cash from unsuspecting drivers, I can't imagine there's a more fertile pond to fish in than Las Vegas.The only thing that differentiates what happened to Ngyuyen from robbery or extortion is the fact that the man committing the act upon him was wearing a badge from the State. If I stop a man on the road and demand his cash and threaten to take his car and strand him in the dessert while holding a gun, I've clearly committed highway robbery. Slap on a Nevada State Deputy's outfit, call it "civil forfeiture", and all is well!Thankfully there are now numerous lawsuits from people across the country attempting to regain their stolen booty, so hopefully some form of justice will be served. But as we often see in cases involving State actors, what might seem like common sense, open-and-shut cases often come up lacking in the justice department (bad pun really, really not intended, I swear).Secret Exemption to the Obamacare MandateLast week, with hardly any public notice or media discussion, an edict was issued that essentially allows just about anyone to opt out of the individual mandate to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act through 2016. The Wall Street Journal reports how a rule that was originally created to afford a special type of coverage to those with certain provable hardships has now been altered to allow just about anyone to opt out of the mandate completely.

Now all you need to do is fill out a form attesting that your plan was cancelled and that you "believe that the plan options available in the [ObamaCare] Marketplace in your area are more expensive than your cancelled health insurance policy" or "you consider other available policies unaffordable."This lax standard—no formula or hard test beyond a person's belief—at least ostensibly requires proof such as an insurer termination notice. But people can also qualify for hardships for the unspecified non-reason that "you experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance," which only requires "documentation if possible." And yet another waiver is available to those who say they are merely unable to afford coverage, regardless of their prior insurance. In a word, these shifting legal benchmarks offer an exemption to everyone who conceivably wants one.

So essentially....if you think your new plan is more expensive than your cancelled plan, you're good to go. OR, if you never even had a plan, but hey, you're prettaaaay prettaaaaaaay sure obtaining health insurance is a "hardship" (and if you've ever applied for it, that's not an unfair assessment), well you can opt out too.It's quite ironic. One of the biggest outrages over Obamacare was that it essentially taxes individuasl for the mere act of living and breathing, forcing them to purchase specially tailored corporatist insurance plans deemed appropriate for them. But now it seems, at least for another two years, that merely living and breathing is enough to opt out as well.Follow The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!