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Pentagon Soft-Pedals Total Information Awareness
PizzaFace writes "Congress was concerned that the Pentagon's 'Total Information Awareness' program would invade citizens' privacy, so it gave the program the red light until the Pentagon addressed Congress's privacy concerns. DARPA, the Pentagon technology agency that brought us the Internet in more innocent times, showed its Total Marketing Awareness by renaming the TIA program, 'Terrorism Information Awareness.' The gist of its report seems to be that data may be collected from everyone, but it will only be used against evildoers. You can read DARPA's report and a background story from the Washington Post."
What more innocent times were these, exactly?
Darpa-"Hey were going to collect all your data so we can know everything about you" :-(
Congress-"Hmm that sounds like it could invade peoples privacy"
Darpa"Ok - well err hmm its for terrorism"
Congress-"Well why didnt you say so , do whatever you want"
i wonder if the riaa will try this to get their anti piracy laws through- they probly already are
Slashdot - The one stop shop for procrastination
Changing that T to Terrorism was brilliant. I'd forgotten for a minute that they were about to totally invade privacy. Cuz we gotta fight terrorism right, and anyone who opposes is probably a terrorist and all. They could do better though, and change it to Patriot Information Awareness, or Patriot Act II. That has a nice ring doesn't it.
-Look lively. LOOK LIVELY!!! --Mr. Shmallow
An editorial in today's NY Times notes that one of the ways the TIA will track people is by their walk. Observantly, Dowd parallels this to Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks. Apparently, this method of detection can be overridden by wearing a long coat.
I feel safer already.
"it's the State who will define who an "evildoer""
No need. The State can define a new term 'Potnetial Terrorist' and we'd all be included - in effect it becomes Total Info Awareness. Sometime back I posted a series of definitions that could be used:
Potential Terrorist - All of us.
Kinetic terrorist - Mobile phone users.
Intellectual terrorists - Reverse-engineers
Organised potential terrorists - Linux User Groups
e-terrorists - internet users
and so on... No need to be bashful before ordering surveillance on all and sundry.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
like civil forfeiture will only be used against those evil drug dealers. Sure, sounds like a great idea. Where do I sign up?
Yeah, what kind of country would store masses of weapons and threaten foreign nations with violence while imposing a police-state style military control on its own citizens?
Lucky we're nothing like those bastard Iraqis.
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"A witch! A witch! We've found a witch!"
"We have found a witch. May we burn her?"
"Burn her! Buuuuuurn her!"
"How do you know she is a witch?"
"She looks like one!"
If the info is only going to be used against evildoers, then I have no problem with it.
Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
> renaming the TIA program, 'Terrorism Information Awareness.'
I will also be using this strategy.
I will be robbing banks under the "Terrorist Defunding Program."
I will be growing and selling drugs under the "Terrorist Mellowing Program."
I will no longer be paying any tax under the "Emergency Funds Caching Against Terrorist Activity Program".
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
You're only 20 years late, but that's only double-plus ungood.
Feh.
-SS "Teach the ignorant, care for the dumb, and punish the stupid."
"Get off the cross - we need the wood" - Tori Amos
...Did you hear that click?
Whom did they intend to use it against if congress hadn't stopped them?
Runaway Texas Democratic legistators
Bowling for Americans.
Filmed from outside the USA of course