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A comment on Judge dismisses Wikimedia case against NSA over Upstream surveillance. Parent comment

Re:Judge dismisses Wikimedia case against NSA over Upstream ... by coliveira on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @05:44PM (#21830257)
The result of Citizens United was the death blow on American democracy. First, companies can put as much money as they want on elections, second, rich people control companies, and third, foreign countries also control companies. Put this together and the USA has no functioning democracy anymore, it is at the whims of billionaires and/or foreign powers.
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Re:Judge dismisses Wikimedia case against NSA over Upstream ... by posterboy on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @05:53PM (#21830312)
There are many things more important than money, so either money doesn't break the system, or if it does, it's at least countable and potentially to be held accountable. It just makes sense to make that explicit.
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Re:Judge dismisses Wikimedia case against NSA over Upstream ... by refurb on Thursday December 19, 2019 @12:05AM (#21832106)
If money is so powerful, why is Michael Bloomberg not going to get the democratic nomination?
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Re:Judge dismisses Wikimedia case against NSA over Upstream ... by Nasrudith on Thursday December 19, 2019 @12:03PM (#21836741)
Really influence is a commodity which can and is bought and sold (see enorsements) and money may be used to purchase it but the two aren't identical. You can't just compare budgets and pick a winner unless both have comparable strategies and influence.

It brings to mind a quixotic approach of trying to value influence quantitatively. Like trying to figure out how much value could be extracted from a celebrity endorsement.

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Re:Judge dismisses Wikimedia case against NSA over Upstream ... by rplst8 on Thursday December 19, 2019 @12:50AM (#21832295)
Money, and the threat of money are both factors. There are bigger fish than Bloomberg.
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Re:Judge dismisses Wikimedia case against NSA over Upstream ... by coliveira on Thursday December 19, 2019 @01:42PM (#21837824)
Because Bloomberg is not the only one with a lot of money trying to get the presidency.
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