Government spying is actively taking place. Certain keywords are used by The Department of Homeland Security to monitor the internet for potential threats against the United States. The government agency was forced to release the list of keywords and phrases from a Freedom of Information Act request. The DHS uses some pretty seemingly innocuous words, such as "cloud," "team," "cops," "screening," "illegal immigrants," "flu," and "wave," and "hail," to monitor for threats against the United States or the government.
Are government analysts actually using this list to monitor people's internet activity? Yes, according to an article in the Daily Mail. The article explains that the list is "used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify 'media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities'." There are so many things wrong with this picture. Why is it okay for the government to monitor online activity? Who wrote the list and what criteria were used? Is this how Americans want their tax money spent?
The request for the list was made by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy watchdog group. According to the article, "analysts monitor social networks and media organisations for comments that 'reflect adversely' on the government." What does that mean? The stunning breach of privacy needs to be addressed immediately. Americans should not passively allow this violation into their lives. If this type of activity is allowed and is seemingly fully accepted in the DHS, what is next? The level of intrusiveness is astounding.
How does this activity reconcile with the NSA Data Center being created in Utah?
Currently, "a massive data complex that can hold "five state capitals," consisting of 240 acres and about a million square feet of space is being built in Utah, where all United State citizens' web searches, online receipts, emails, audio recordings of phone calls, will be compiled. The server space is so humongous that it is difficult to comprehend. The cost of the project will be anywhere from $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion." Government spying is no longer a thing of novels and movies, but is happening daily and will only get worse.
Unfortunately, there is a level of apathy with the American people. There is a distressing belief by some that as long as there is "nothing to hide," there won't be any problems. This is a dangerous attitude, as the slope is slippery. Taxpayer money should not be spent on monitoring Americans. Surveillance drones have gotten the go ahead by congress and one watchdog group estimates that "30,000 drones could be in the nation's skies by 2020."
In another recent disturbing development, the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 was added to the NDAA act. Introduced by Congressmen Thornberry and Smith, the law removes the requirement for government propaganda to only be allowed on foreign land. In other words, the "act will give the government the capability to produce or influence media content inside the U.S." The originators of the act say that "the amendment isn't being pushed to allow for the domestic distribution of propaganda," but it could be used that way.
Consider the thoughts of some American Leaders from the past:
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
— Thomas Jefferson
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
— Benjamin Franklin
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
— James Madison
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Comments: 40 ( 1 removed by Renee Nal )
This is from 08, they go back as far as 04.....
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/dhs_risk_lexicon.pdf
Algorithms that identify inane words are the least of our problems.
"Sorry, Maks, I misunderstood your point above. "Algorithms that identify inane words are the least of our problems." exactly!"
I'm not sure if we agree or disagree.
"While Mrs. Clinton's email makes her opposition to President Bush's targeted surveilliance program clear, she does not explain why her husband, while president, authorized the NSA and FBI to conduct much wider surveillance on American citizens under secret programs like Echelon and Carnivore, which randomly captured and screened millions of phone calls and emails daily."
"I laugh at it now as I did at it then. We may have the computational power to capture these words but we're a long way from being able to process it in real time, in such a manner that is even remotely effective."
Well, that would depend on the effect desired, no? If the effect desired is to stifle anti-government discussion and the communication of information and understandings that the high ups do not want shared, then the very existence of the programs may have a considerable effect. And, if the desire is even more sinister (which I am convinced it is), then it is not necessary to accomplish much more than identifying "dissidents" that are having some significant success, and attacking them in various ways.
I believe the intent is to generate a widespread fear to speak and act and organize freely, so as to cripple any potential resistance to a "totalitarian" Government (Big Brother, metaphorically speaking). I believe this has been going on through the mass media for decades, and what we are seeing now is a reaction to an unforeseen or at least underestimated "break out" from the mass media generated fake reality, which the Internet has spawned/facilitated.
This very discussion we are having is a good example of what I believe the powers that be wish to stifle. A passive, easily manipulated and controlled populace is the ultimate goal, and there is zero concern for preserving any sort of freedom of the mind or rights of any kind for us pleabs, I don't believe. Zero.
I am afraid that we all live in a world that demands us to be vigilant at all times and the use of the internet to monitor key words that we write to one another is just another tool to fight world terrorism.
The operative word of course is terrorism, if it’s just used for that purpose all well and good. However, we all know that once Governments start to use a tool like this it soon becomes a tool to spy on everyone and that's the problem Governments when bringing in laws to let them do this type of thing never legislate for it to be just used for that sole purpose. And that's the danger of it all.
You see I am in favour under some circumstances to monitor by camera and Emails the bad boys. I don't know if I have told you but in the 70s I actually worked in a branch of our Armed forces call 14 Det at the time monitoring the bad boys in Northern Ireland and I wish sometimes that we had the same monitoring equipment that they now have. It would have saved many lives both of citizens and of Military personnel and would have made our jobs far safer and far easier.
As an example a couple of years ago, our security forces monitored a car that was on its way from the centre of England that was being driven on the M6 motorway by two Muslim extremists who were intent on bombing a target somewhere. They knew that an atrocity was going to happen but did not know where. In my day, we would have had to tail them in a vehicle keeping them in sight at all times, we would have had to have more than one vehicle following which makes it easier for them to spot as each vehicle would be have been full of operatives ready to take them out at any given time. However, into day’s age with all the Cameras that we have in cities, towns and on the motorways, they could and did follow at least six miles back with updates as to where they were giving no chance of them being spotted, it was then deducted after passing the last city in England that they would be hitting a target in Scotland, when they passed the turn of for Edinburgh it was then deduced that the only other big city that they could hit for maximum publicity would be Glasgow and they were apprehended on a quiet road where no would be hurt if they exploded the bomb. And it was all down to first coded Emails that were intercepted and then surveillance by cameras on rout on the roads.
However as I have said in the above it gets abused, actually by people who think they are above the law and everyone gets sucked into it the bad and the good. I am afraid it’s the price that we all have to pay into day’s age. And the sad fact of the matter is that once the Genie is out of the bottle there is no way to put that Genie back.
If you want to see how we are, being watched just come to the Olympics in London this year, because no one will be able to move without being watched especially in areas of London. Good or bad? Well it’s a good thing if it stops an atrocity but a bad thing that once it’s all over they carry it on.
And by the way, you won’t hear a thing about the real threats that have been neutralised there will be a blanket ban on any reporting, you will only hear of the ones that got through. As one terrorists once said. You have to be lucky every time we only have to be lucky once.
No court in the UK is going to give a court order for just suspicion and rightly so as anyone who did not like someone could just go to the authorities voice their warped suspicion and waste time and money on something that in their mind is just to get revenge on someone who has either upset them or they just do not like because of their Nationality.
You first have to get some sort of proof and then act up on it. That is where this sort of thing comes in handy. The person is then monitored in my country it would be given to our security forces stationed at Cheltenham at what is called GCHQ they then would be tracking his Emails looking for any suspicions chatter with a computer program that picks out certain words. Once they pick up a pattern things will start to fall into place and then and only then will then will the get a court order to monitor the person more closely.
Now let us say that someone does not like me and has gone to the authorities and told them that I was up to no good. With a court order I could be watched very closely indeed, all my post could be monitored, every telephone call that I made or received could be monitored, every post that I sent to Facebook or to Gather or any other network could be monitored, and I could be stopped from leaving my own country or stopped from entering the USA on any holiday or business trip. All this would happen without my knowledge the first I would know something was wrong was when I was put back on a flight back to the UK.
Now I have in this comment given enough suspicion for any security service in my country to monitor me more closely with the words Syria, Terror, UK, America, Cheltenham, and GCHQ. They can now vet me even more closely they will pull my records that the security forces have on me that will show what I have done in the past for my country and they will see that I pose no threat at all. No need for a court order that will be obtrusive to say the least.
Do you see where I am coming from Renée?
Oh and by the way, everyone would be surprised at how much intelligence any Government in the world especially the UK and the USA Government has on every citizen that resides in these countries believe me they know everything about us from the moment we are born to the moment we die and they always will do.
We will build a data complex rivalling China, but never invade your privacy.
We'll amend the NDAA so we can detain or kill American citizens without trial or counsel, but we'll never use that provision.
Bullshit,bullshit,bullshit.
Check out the MORONS saying they're cool with this.
They don't even need to take your rights away. You beg them to do it and applaud them when they do. Your bootlicking might make you the last to go, but you'll go too.
No weapon made has never been used.
Especially by the fascists you MORONS stand on your tippytoes to kiss ass. You have less chance of being hit by lightning than being killed by a terrorist and you're willing to let fascists burn your only guarantee your government protects your life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness rather than assaults it for the shitty odds you'll be .0001% safer. You're pathetic, you deserve this but a lot of good people didn't. Enjoy your candy. Heil the master.
MORONS.
On the NDAA, Obama stated that "I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens." The disturbing thing is that now, he CAN. He is not saying that detaining American citizens is illegal, he is just saying that he will not do it.