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Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running
wildfrontiersman writes "NY Times article, Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running, quote: 'Because of the inroads the Internet and other digital network technologies have made into everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly possible to amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little Brother means. The basic components include everyday digital technologies like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems, cellphone networks, electronic toll-collection systems and credit-card payment terminals.' This is too scary. I am now ready for a little less convenience and a little more privacy. How about you?"
I wonder how many remember Poindexter and Iran/Contra? Iran/Contra was the last time the government broke the law in a "the ends justify the means" sense where they not only sold arms to Iran, which supported terrorism at the time, but used the money to support the Contras, a South American terrorist group, which they also helped sell cocaine in the US for even more terrorist money. All parts of the deal were illegal, the congress had told Reagan not to sell weapons to Iran, and not to give weapons or money to the terrorists; importing cocaine was illegal, though I think that took everyone by surprise.
I think there are few that would justify Poindexter's pro-terrorist ends in this day when we are at the unfortunate end of the terrorist gun. But, knowing that he was part of such a conspiracy tells you that he has a contempt for the law and so can expected not to follow any meagre protections that may remain in it.
Becayse the amount of things you can be screwed in court over for is increasing. And as they increase, it's getting easier and easier to become the victim of a lawsuit, incidental criminal action, etc.
Remember, when the wrong person gets your number, bad things may happen. I've been a tightly law-abiding citizen my whole life. I've also had unavoidable/semi-unavoidable run-ins with the law on a few occasions.
a) Problem with ex-girlfriend. A "good samaritan" saw "a dispute", called it in, and I landed in court. Nobody believes when a woman is the one beats you down, even if you're the one with a black-eye and split lip.
Now, I'm sure there are other things they can dredge up to make me appear guilty. Police, at least around here, have also been known to be somewhat liberal with the "truth", especially when there's no evidence against any claims they make.
Luckily, all my various incidents worked out, and I have a good job. One should realize however, how easily it is to be screwed over by those in power, and how a thourough lambasting can make one fear for fear for ones security, employability etc. Nobody wants a rap sheet, especially one that's not deserved (semi-private or not).
At risk of bringing back memories of Jon Katz and "The Hellmouth"... A lot of the postings I'm seeing is that we geeks object more to the fact that information about us can be twisted to the benefit of those in power than to the fact that it's available in the first place. I also gather that this concern is totally lost on the "average" American.
Could it be that the sorts of experiences we had as teenagers fosters these particular kinds of fears? One of the things that hurt me the most in high school was the way anything I said got twisted around as something to make fun of me for until the only way to escape was to never say anything. I've also got an enormous distrust of those in power and a persecution complex from hell, and all this is suddenly sounding very familiar now that I sit and think about it.
Of course it's not a scientific argument by any means, but I have to wonder if there's something to debate here...
--Fesh
Kill -9 'em all, let root@localhost sort 'em out.
Have you watched the movie 'Traffic'... it's all about numbers and odds. If you travel through places that carry lots of people flow, you are rather safe (you won't arrouse suspicion). For places that aren't crowded like this, you get less footprint...
Example: cross from Toronto to Detroit, you have a pretty good chance of being asked your nationality, and that's it.
Same in most european countries. Fly to Paris, and then find a car (don't make me explain how to do that)... and ride on off... Cross into slavic countries as fast as you can, and then roll on down to turkey.
Be a 'new age' tourist. Pass from a non tourist heavy location where they *don't* have computer terminals (borders are wide lines, and not many are always computerized). And ride on down to Iran.
It's not complicated. It's illusion to think that governments are all over the place... frick, the CIA hasn't been able to kill Saddam for years now because they just can't find out where he is...
It's just as easy to live in your own little country and not leave a wide footprint. It's all about being aware of different data you leave around the place, and being careful not to leave hints on how to correlate it: like your email, and your actual location, your phone # and your IP, your name and your CC#. Even your passwords are hints as to who you are...
In fact, there was an interesting concept in a book called "Writing Secure Code" (Moft PRess), on how the majority of the current passwords could be sniffed out: create a porn site... clean, free of popups. Get people to register for free (don't even ask for email), and you have a very good chance that people will choose the same password they use on most of their other accounts when they create an account for you...