Keeping An Eye On Total Information Awareness

mesozoic writes "Wired is running a story about hackers publishing John Poindexter's personal information (like satellite photos of his home) to protest the proposed Total Information Awareness system. This is just too funny, and it may even raise a few more eyebrows among the national media."

Comments

Short memory?

[Platinum Dragon]

John Poindexter hasn't broken any laws

Sure he has, he just can't be tried and convicted for his criminal acts because Congress handed him immunity.

Supplying weapons to terrorists not a crime?

[hughk]

Last I heard, he was directly implicated in the supply of weapons to terrorists. Ok, he got immunity from a friendly regime, but Poindexter broke laws that any other person would spend a long time in prison for.

An Impossible Dream

[leek]

TIA: An Impossible Socialist Dream

Re:Interesting-- the "re-education" of America?

[paganizer]

Perhaps not so slowly.
My kids are continually getting lectures on what proper citizens do; this of course bears very little resemblance to what they see at home. My first inkling of how bad it was getting was when my daughter, who I've taken shooting before, asked why it was OK for us to have guns when her teachers all say they are bad.
Grrrrr.

Re:White van?

[batemanm]

Indeed they did. It had a red stripe as well. Here is a photo gallery of the said van.

Government press releases

[Anonymous Coward]

Here is an article from the American Forces Press Service in response to the TIA arguments. There are links to other articles that will represent the government's perspective and response to the media.

Partial Quote Below

At issue among reporters was the potential of the federal government to access the everyday transactions of ordinary citizens -- passport, visa and drivers license applications, airline ticket or rental car reservations, medical data, and even credit and debit card purchases, for instance.

Again, Aldridge defended the project. He said data put into the system would be subject to the same Privacy Act restrictions that govern law enforcement and government actions today. Officials would not be scrutinizing everyday transactions by ordinary citizens. The system would only look closely at transactions or combinations of transactions that officials know are possible indicators of terrorist actions.

For instance, if the system sees evidence of an individual buying large amounts of chemicals that can be used to make explosives then renting a van near a major metropolitan area, the system might throw up a red flag. To further investigate the individual, law enforcement agents would have to go through the same legal proceedings that are necessary today to protect individual rights, Aldridge explained.

He stressed this system is a tool for law enforcement agencies that is merely being studied by the Defense Department, not a way for the government to spy on the American public.

"It is absurd to think that DARPA is somehow trying to become another police agency," he said.

Re:This shit sucks

[trinitishwar]

Well, considering that the man in charge of this project IS a criminal who got off on a retarded technicality and served no time whatsoever. For selling weapons and lying to congress about it, no less. His past actions show that he considers himself above the law, is that really that the sort person that we would want in connected with a database like this in any way, shape or form?

Re:a neat idea.

[nickos]

That's a different issue. I was trying to point out that the American Democratic party is centre-right (and definitely not socialist!) and that the Republican party is to the right of what the rest of the developed world has for its popular right-wing parties.

Re:Funny, but kinda tangential to the point

[Jeremy Erwin]

John Poindexter broke many laws, as head of the NSC during the Reagan administration. Does the "Iran Contra scandal" ring a bell? He was tried, and convicted for lying to Congress, although the conviction was later overturned on the grounds that he was granted immunity.

You might want to check this out.

[Proteus Child]

There is a petition posted on Petition Online to have the Homeland Security bill amended to be less invasive of personal privacy, viz, disallowing the TIA initiative. Take a look at it.