Slashdot Mirror
Senate Wants Database Dragnet
Doc Ruby writes "Wired reports that the "Senate could pass a bill as early as Wednesday evening that would let government counter-terrorist investigators instantly query a massive system of interconnected commercial and government databases that hold billions of records on Americans".
The internet.
How is this any different from any of the other huge connected databases and total knowledge projects?
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Guilty of cimethink anyone?
I've resisted wearing my tinfoil hat, now I'm wearing one, and putting one around all my personal information as well.
would let government counter-terrorist investigators instantly query a massive system of interconnected commercial and government databases that hold billions of records on Americans
OMG! They gave the government access to google!
I for one welcomerqs$$%#@[no carrier]
#define CLUE 0
too late bush has already ordered a brain machine interface to connect his brain (of lack there of) to the BUTTON!
"Vote Kerry in 2004! Get your civil rights back!"
Is Kerry opposed to this? Remember that Bush was the one who was opposed to a separate office of Homeland Security. Kerry was for it prior to Bush.
The Senate will likely have its final vote on the bill, sponsored by Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), Wednesday night.
As I said before, don't trust any of the major parties to safeguard your privacy. This may, however, close the lack of information sharing between the agencies leading up to 9/11 that people bitched about.
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
I doubt it. I think Kerry is an idiot too.
But at least he's not Bush!
Isn't it a little late to be reporting this? How are we supposed to Slashdot Congress at this late hour?
Many have trouble accurately querying databases within the same company. If these government agencies have the brain power (internal or contracted) to pull this off then they can have my information.
Michalangelo Progr
"Cor! What about a citizen's right to privacy, flatfoot!"
"Congress and the Justice Department have given us our mandate. Your with us or your against us, ma'am."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I hear that they are going to save money by hosting the entire database in a couple of GMail accounts.
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
Fuck the police! Vote Kerry in 2004! Get your civil rights back!
If you RTFA, you would've noticed that Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are sponsors of this bill.
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
This one? Or did he change his mind? He scores less than 50% on the ACLU's test.
Uh, I'm not like a Bush supporter or anything, but I have to ask "what are you smoking?" Both sides want to tell you how to live, and democrats have supported some of the most intrusive legislation we've seen (anyone remember the DMCA? Gore's "clipper chip?" Need I go on?)
If you really care about keeping the gov the hell out of your personal life there's really only one party to vote for - and it starts with neither "r" nor "d."
Oh wait, they have to find some "October surprise" dirt on the challenger before the November election!
Now it makes sense.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
"A lot of (task force members) were very uncomfortable about data sharing," Farber said. "But all of us at the end felt confident that if the recommendations were followed, it was as good as it was going to get relative to privacy protections."
As good as it's going to get is exactly how good again?
I'm pretty certain there are millions of records of personnal information on us foreigners in those many many databases, too. Nice to see how highly we're regarded by the current US Administration :( Especially when we have no say in how these informations can be (mis)handled.
Maybe we deserve this world ?
"To prevent abuses of the system, the Markle task force recommended anonymized technology, graduated levels of permission-based access and automated auditing software constantly hunting for abuses."
Who is going to audit the auditing software? Who gets to assign permissions? How can this be anonymized? Why are these just recommendations?
"The proposed network would not look for patterns in data warehouses to attempt to detect terrorist activities, Dempsey said. Instead, an investigator would start with a name and the system would try to see what information is known about that person."
Ok, so it's not a "dragnet," but a "dossier net" that just keeps a file on everybody synthesized from government and commercial data. I fail to see how this could possibly detect someone using a false name, who does not want to be found and probably doesn't use credit cards.
"The next Mohammed Atta is not going to be found in commercial databases," Griffin said, referring to the tactical leader of the 9/11 attacks. "We are going to stop him running a red light somewhere, and we are going to run relationships associations with this guy and we are going to say, gee, you have things in common with guys on watch lists. That's how you are going to find the guy -- not because he has bad credit.""
Riiiight. How many people would match up to these arbitrary watch lists? How many more middle eastern folks are gonna be pulled over again and again and questioned again and again just because their activities look something similar to someone's idea of a potential terrorist?
Is it worth it?
I've heard of something like this already, I think Al Gore created it...It's called the Internet.
Does it start with an "L"?
And it will be powerd by... MS Excel!
Oooooo, ooo, ooo! Wait! Let me guess- I love these kind of games. I think I can pick the letter... How about "t"? That's my first guess, and my second guess is "m!"
The IRS lacks staff and adequate software and hardware. The BIA has totally hosed the accounting of the trust fund money. The Justice Department says that complying with a large FOIA data request would crash their servers. The current, tiny No Fly list contained the name of a prominent Senator. I should worry about this, why?
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
-- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
Ah, so it has struck US politicians that threats to the nation may (at least in theory) come from people who are not forreign nationals. Not that I envy those of you who live there, regardless of nationality. Freedom used to be cherished, and covernment control and distrust of own citisens in the former eastern block used to be scorned. Bring that point of view back! Your fears are scores for your enemies. _ /Bjorn.
I always said that Carnivore / Echelon / TIA probably resembles Google. That's what I would do if I were the government. Then it doesn't matter what format the information is in, web enable it, publish it and spider it. *poof* your database on everything law enforcement knows about everyone, without having to worry about integrating disparate systems across government (local and federal) agencies.
Didn't http://www.google-watch.org/ say that one of Google's top people came from the Department of Defense?
Please enumerate the occasions on which Kerry voted against any of the post-9/11 bills that have enabled the current administration to suspend our civil rights.
Thanks,
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I would imagine this scenario would be analgous to the large bridges of the world that are endlessly painted - get to the other end, start again.
// todo: code to search databases
Thus there is no end condition. A simple model whould be:
while(1){
}
Imagine, though if they implemented recursive routines, with a buggy stop condition. It's be years till the mistake reared itself.
In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.
Of course we also need to figure out how to fill the database with so many fake "flags" that it becomes useless.
now where is that silver hat i usually wear?
The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
What's wrong with this picture?
When all else fails, run.
"If someone transfers your credit report or medical history, you have no way of knowing," Tien said. "The natural feedback we expect in the physical world just doesn't work in the area of information. You have to be careful."
Imagine if some poor smuck walks by, and they OCR his face and pull his file(s) from the choicepoint db, and after they see these red letters across: Bad Credit.
You see the FBI agent: "Call VISA, we got him!".
That would just be hilarious.
Yah, That Lieberman, he's really wacky, he wanted to make the sale of violent video games illegal, I'm sure he supported the PMRC too. Silly man.
Hello Kettle,
You, my friend are as black as pitch.
With love, Pot.
Who is going to audit the auditing software? Who gets to assign permissions? How can this be anonymized? Why are these just recommendations?
I hope they do a better job than IRS did with their database. I heard that when the IRS database was initally deployed, it did not have permissions set and the IRS employees where able to take a look at their neighbors' tax returns.
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
I'm sure he supported the PMRC too. Silly man. It can't happen, cause the DMCA made that illegal, too. Those legislators think of everything. ;-)
:^P
If he sends himself to jail, he can at least say he did something useful in Senate.
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
"We are going to stop him running a red light somewhere, and we are going to run relationships associations with this guy and we are going to say, gee, you have things in common with guys on watch lists. That's how you are going to find the guy -- not because he has bad credit.""
So are they going to lock him up for having things in common with guys on watch lists? Or put him under surveillance for having things in common with guys on watch lists? When all he's actually done wrong is run a red light? What happened to due process?
What we need is very strict laws controlling our governmental leaders and very harsh penalties for government managers who break these laws.
Again, our legal system is set up to control us proles, but we need an legal system to control the governmental leaders, managers, etc.
After we set up controls for them, then we can let them have access to this information. And they will act ethically if they know they could face life in prison or even the death penalty if they do things wrong.
eat shiat and bark at the moon
Please explain why the effort to blend in--which would include convincing thousands if not millions of people to conform--is not better spent just making the government honest.
americans werent the problem
are they actually admitting that america too has carried out acts of terrorism?
back in the day we didnt have no old school
When signing up for loyalty card with grocers and drugstores use fake names...
Ted Nugent
Harry S Truman
John Cocktosen
If a company isinists on an SSN give them this... #078-05-1120
It's a specimen number from the Eisenhower era. Works most of the time. Happy evasions!
I for one hope that they're running a good mission critical OS like Windows ME. Can you say "exploit"?
All your Sybase are belong to us.
Now the dangerous likes of Ted Kennedy and Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens won't be able to do anything!
1) Drive or take the bus, don't fly.
2) Pay cash for as much as possible, and don't use any "loyalty card"
3) Don't speed.
Le voila, The only info on you is your tax return, voter registration, mortgage, and utility bills, which look just like everyone else's.
Why not just query the Microsoft Registration Database? Everyone uses it and it won't cost the senate a thing! Well except for the minor license fees they place on every profile...
yup. (it's worth it)
You have total freedom in one hand. You've got security in the other hand. Which do you choose? I'd choose freedom.
Let's decide if this is a good thing.
Q:Whom is this database going to be accessible by?
A: Government counter-terrorist investigators.
Q: Who are these government counter-terrorist investigators exactly? Can there simply be someone who works for the government, or do they have to have some kind of clearance?
Q: What kind of information will they have access to? Will they be able to pull up my voting history? (Washingtonians, check out RCW 29A.08.720) Will they be able to go as far as to see which classes I took in a public school?
When we choose security over freedom, we're giving up our right to privacy. There is nothing simpler than that, in my opinion.
And wasn't it JFK who said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself?
KRUSTY BLEW UP COURTESY!
1) Muslims invade Asia, Africa, and Europe
2) Christians kick Muslims out of Europe.
3) Muslims move back in.
4) Christians, tired of this, launch Crusades.
5) Tit for tat.
6) Muslims believe Infidels are idiots and have no valuable knowledge.
7) Christians build all kinds of cool things like guns, ocean worthy vessels, quasi-democratic governments, advanced medicine, etc. Muslims think all this is crap at first and mere toys.
8) Muslims get ass kicked on all fronts.
9) Muslims decide they should go ahead and allow some Muslims to travel to schools in "West" to learn about the Infidels technology.
10) #9 backfires as many Muslim western students come back home with radical and dangerous ideas like abolition of slaves, equal rights for women, etc.
11) Muslim societies remain in basic sophistication level of 14th century and blame west for:
a) Hampering their progress
b) Corrupting their people
c) Taking their land back
12) Due to their mistaken placing of blame on the west in 11b, Islamic beliefs currently hold that Islam can only be safe if everyone is Muslim.
What part of
"Article [IV.]
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. "
don't they understand? You already can, with a warrant. The only reason a government would want these powers with this little cause is to spy on its citizens. They've already got sneak-and-peek warrants!
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
"The next Mohammed Atta is not going to be found in commercial databases," Griffin said, referring to the tactical leader of the 9/11 attacks. "We are going to stop him running a red light somewhere, and we are going to run relationships associations with this guy and we are going to say, gee, you have things in common with guys on watch lists. That's how you are going to find the guy -- not because he has bad credit.""
Anyone else reminded of the overreaction to the Columbine High School shootings, where anyone who fit a "goth" or "geek" profile, or had anything judged remotely in common with Harris and Klebold, got the dangerous criminal treatment for months afterward?
Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
Seriously. Start a new brain drain out of USA.
For the paranoid, I guess one could always hide their money under their bed in a fireproof box. Also, never buying anything using a card, whether credit, debit, or other. Simply go to a grocery store. Another way to stay out of the system is not to register for anything. Like voter registration information seems to be shared, or at least in my state.
I believe the Canadian (or at least local BC provincial) government has already ratified acts to keep our personal information out of US databases...
I'd expect that if such a database were made, it would include who you make contact with, financial records etc etc.
How are they going to keep the information on just US citizens, no doubt they'll be interacting with Canadian persons/companies at various times.
sponsored by Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut)
I never understand why Lieberman has people cut off the bottom part of the R when they show his political affiliation.
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume
Yes, yes, I know I spelled inaccurately inaccurately, and bolded it, no less. DOH!!!
The senator also said he "wouldn't advise anyone to visit Capitol Hill who wasn't required to do so between now and the election," adding that he would not bring his two sons there, either.
no need to worry! the terrorists are winning everyday! our senate is running far away as possible from the Capitol because they fear what they will do next! this is a dark day in the US.
i'm left leaning and both bush and kerry support the 9-11 commissions recommendations(aka patriot act 2). Third party choices are the only way to go now if you want your civil liberties protected. Such a sad state the US is in.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
Because it only takes one mistake. And everybody makes mistakes.
Suppose the guy you're looking for has a bank account under a fake name - all you know is the bank account number, and nothing at all about the holder. Suppose further that you have access to all TCP/IP headers on the planet.
Hey - look at that. The bank's logs show that our guy logged on to the bank from aa.bb.cc.dd. It was a kiosk in the middle of an airport.
And someone accessed Slashdot from IP address aa.bb.cc.dd only 30 seconds later.
And the security cameras at the airport show only one person used that kiosk for the entire hour.
So we can now look at his Slashdot user info and posting history we can learn a lot more about him than we knew previously. Maybe enough to guess his real identity.
The saying "every criminal leaves something at the crime scene, and every criminal takes something home from the crime scene" applies to more than just criminals, and to more than just crime scenes. Information may not want to be free, but it sure wants to leak.
... because such a system does not exist at the present moment....
I suggest you read Slashdot
Mother, should I trust the government?
"'Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue."
The people running this one can arrest you, take all your stuff and deport you to a country where you can be tortured.
Other than that nothing much else is different.
The primary requirement to have a police state is to have too many Police. What scares me are the politicians who say that we are 'losing our civil liberties' in Washington and then say that we need more 'boots on the street' in their home districts. The current administration has not been asking for any large increase in law enforcement personnel.
The government must establish justice and provide for the common defense. It can do this by having more people in law enforcement and/or by having better information for law enforcement. In all the spy TV series (Alias, The Agency, etc.), the same small cast of agents with perfect access to information can stop terrorists and save the world every week. This should be our target. Having better access to information is good for civil liberties if we use it to reduce the total number of law enforcement personnel. Less cops with more information is better for our civil liberties than having more cops with less information. It is much easier to control the number of cops, they cannot hire more without taking more money away from you to pay them. It is much harder to prevent a large police force from gaining access to more information. It should be easy enough to make sure that we don't have too many cops with access to good information that the information gets abused significantly. And better information means more jobs for geeks, more cops means more jobs for jocks. Slashdot geeks should like this.
The use of better access to information is that terrorists act in networks, not alone. Once we have a suspect, we should open the book on the suspect to either find the links to the rest of the network or quietly determine their innocence if there are no links. It looks like there is proper concern and safeguards for accountably to make sure that the information does not get abused.
Why not just use the Do-Not-Call registry? Sure...sign up for something with the government that is too good to be true.
instantly query a massive system of interconnected commercial and government databases that hold billions of records on Americans.
... databases". This'll take years just to chart out and decades to implement.
What Db software are they using on what hardware platform to get instant results on billions of records?
I can't imagine even BEGINNING to normalize "a massive system of interconnected
In other news, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax can do this already.
I thought one of the side notes about Sen. Mark Dayton closing his office because of 'threats' was considered no big deal because all of the senators were out campaigning? If they aren't in town, they can't vote.
I've been saying that for years!
The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the corrections officer in me says, 'I love to make a grown man piss himself.'
Orwellian
Anyone seen my jagged little pill?
This project is a reality people! I saw some sorce code the other day from it...
s SS1 on SS1.Uid = SS.SSn + SS.Lastname
--TIA script v0.9 by john f.
--Notes: Runs a little slow, maybe some additional indexes on DBs?
SELECT ss.lastname,ss.firstname,*
FROM SocialSecurity SS
INNER JOIN FBIFiles FF ON SS.CurrentSSN = FF.SSN and SS.DateOfBirth = FF.DOB
INNER JOIN Langleyprime..CIASuspects CS ON CS.Aliases = FF.names
INNER JOIN NSA_security_Risks NSA ON NSA.First = SS.FirstName and NSA.last = SS.LastName and NSA.middle like ss.middleormaidenname
INNER JOIN DOT..StateDMV_trafficviolations DOT ON NSA.First = DOT.First and NSA.last = DOT.last
INNER JOIN OPENDATASOURCE('SQLOLEDB','Data Source=Secretservice1;User ID=Goodguys;Password=tokeabowl').enemies.dbo.name
inner join StatetrooperReports1..Suspects ST ON st.First = DOT.First and st.last = DOT.last
inner join countypolice..bookings CP ON cp.First = DOT.First and cp.last = DOT.last
INNER JOIN OPENDATASOURCE('SQLOLEDB','Data Source=ATF_serv;User ID=goodcop;Password=badcop').suspects.dbo.info ATF on ATF.First = DOT.First and ATF.last = DOT.last
--WHERE PoliticalAffilitation 'republican' --pulled this, loonies using it as loophole
WHERE (Religion = 'Shia Mooslim' OR Religion = 'Sunny Mooslim' or Religion = 'presbeteryan')
AND (Alingment like '%evil%' or (Alingment = 'neutral' and PoliticalAffilitation = 'communinst')
AND status = 'not yet dead'
Order by ss.lastname, ss.firstname
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
Congress won't be back in session until after the elections. The only reason they will come back now is if the House and Senate Leadership come to an agreement on the Intelligence Bill.
I think we're okay for this Congressional Session... but next year its a whole new bag. And with Democrats trying to show they are as patriotic as the next guy, I don't know who privacy rights people can turn to anymore.
-Niles
Only 120 characters... who can summarize their entire world understanding in 120 characters?!
It's not the jobs. Trusting safeguards- set by this government? I have some real estate in Florida for you.
A) Keep any information you don't want public out of anyone's database but yours. B) You have no privacy -- get over it. C) It's a war -- let's fight to win.
Saying that Lieberman is a democrat is like, well, saying that Zell Miller is a democrat...
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
You're right, this is no different than all the other public records out there. Police can look up your records. Hell, they can find out what they want about you just from a license plate number.
Just another "Big Brother" paranoid Slashdot article.
...when the Democrats suddenly revealed the DUI records at the last minute?
there is no way this is 19th century. blimps, hot air ballons and so on were in no way able to go 70000 feet, so lets say late 20th century. Yah....geeez people get your technology straight
We, as Americans want business as usual. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. I'm NOT about to be held hostage by my own government for some supposed "safety." If you want to be wary of foreign nationals, be my guest, but do NOT turn MY country into Israel.
The Patriot Act should be declared unconstitutional. If you want to place the term foreign national in place of person then please do. But I was born here. My family was born here. My grandfather fought in WWII. My dad was in the Army. I pay my taxes and am (most of the time) proud to be an American; however, I rufuse to let my country be overrun with totalitarian tactics in the name of security.
We haven't sacrificed youn men in the name of freedom only to take it away from it's citizens.
Fight the power people, know your rights and educate yourselves. VOTE!
P utting A mericans
T hrough
R idiculously
I nvasive
O bscene
T orture
Peace
sept 11th was executed with box cutters
box cutters people
no amount of technological edge can defeat a few determined a**holes and a simple idea
we can spend 10 trillion on all sorts of technological doodads to fight terror
i just wonder what the next simple box cutters-level work around exploit will be
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
The IRS lacks staff and adequate software and hardware. The BIA has totally hosed the accounting of the trust fund money. The Justice Department says that complying with a large FOIA data request would crash their servers. The current, tiny No Fly list contained the name of a prominent Senator. I should worry about this, why?
Because this can't be used to single out ANYBODY. It can only be used to find excuses to detain people you already have decided to detain FOR OTHER REASONS. And you thought it was bad when the IRS was used for political revenge? You ain't seen nothin yet.
Do we need a database to figure this stuff out? I think the Four horsemen of the apocalypse just want a database so it can be abused. Just wait until the IRS gets it's hooks into it or vice versa. Just wait until it gets hacked and information gets leaked. We all know how good Congress is at securing (sic) their top secret campaign strategies.
This is a waste of money that will lead to massive abuse, false positives, and turn the government (literally) into Big Brother. It's 1984 about 20 years late.
To extend the system to its logical conclusion: cameras and RFID sensors will be installed everywhere then everyone will be injected with RFID tags. This will allow anyone to be found instantly (or at least the last known location) for their own safety of course. This would be a great plot line for those whacko's that made the "Left Behind" series. I wonder if they could get Mr. T to say, "Don't even think of implanting that thing in me fool!"
Actually, I am not too worried since this project will be farmed out to a loser company packed with overpaid consultants that can never pull all the data together. After investing 20 trillion dollars the project will be scrapped only after hundreds of innocent 80 year old ladies have had their doors kicked in by the Department of Homeland security and been hauled off to secret FBI detention centers (accidentally of course). Oh the fun that awaits the American citizen after this system gets funding approved.
Those who are willing to sacrifice sound quality for harddrive space deserve neither.
Who thinks that they should have done this to some extent a LONG time ago? Wouldn't it have saved millions (billions?) to have one big database between inteligence agencies since the get go? Redundancy isn't always a great thing.
AHA! It must be the Communist Party! ... Wha...?!
You don't value your privacy, then you lose it. Half of America voted for the pinheads making this a reality, you have no one to blame but yourselves.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
A search warrant should be required to perform any such search. At least give judicial oversight to the use of this information.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
The database will be housed in the warehouse from the end of the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" next to the ark of the covenent.
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
Uhhh... instead of BWYRAG (Believing what you read as Gospel) you might want to check www.senate.gov and you will see that the Senate has adjourned. Nothing so much as gas is gonna be passed in the Senate till after the election... so this "Wednesday" crap is ...well.... just that... crap.
If I knew what FDR was talking about, I wouldn't have had American public schooling. But my guess is that we need not fear over things we cannot control.
I don't want to get too far off topic of "Senate Wants Database Dragnet", so if you could keep the FDR quote relevant to it, that might help me.
This is a good quote to hear from time to time as it helps to remind you, as you say, that there is no point in fearing that which you do not control.
As far as the big database dragnet goes, I'm not sure that it would have helped 9/11 - policing those whose visas had expired would have likely done more good. This database dragnet might do more good in stopping things like the Oklahoma City bombing where a couple of rednecks (who didn't farm) bought enough chemicals and fuel to run a farm and made a big bomb out of them.
I also think that the Senate saying "let it be done" and it actually being something that could be done in a meaningful way are two different things.
Please excuse me while I get my bid ready to go. I think that I'll be asking for (insert Dr. Evil voice) 1 trillion dollars...
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
Even as far as private standards go, alot of that data was gathered in a really slimey way. Doubt me? Remember Ad.Doubleclick.net? They were/?are? basically "cyberstalking" internet users across websites. In the face of uproar, their "solution" was to grant users who didn't like [being spied upon] the option of opting out. {opt-in would have been the only ethical way of doing their thing}.
So now you're telling me that some members of Congress want to commendeer that data, rather than having it destroyed, and banning the practice? It smacks of a police state. Why would any decent human pursue data trolling? Remember J Edgar Hoover.
Such entities should be compelled to destroy their data, and desist from further cyberstalking.
If the present attempt/trend [of government net widening] succeeds, we may live to see a second american revolution.
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." -Jesus Christ The Lord's Prayer
what you think about this one.
http://www.senate.gov
then click on your state.
--- Asking inconvenient questions for over 30 years...
More PHB and bad data queries.
Actually, what's really scary is that this will allow them to cull data more efficiently, so they can come after people like ME who within a few minutes of reading a headline can see into or past or around some of their expensive, pork-barrel, back-scratching bullshit projects.
Read some of my other comments that despise US policy. Once they collate enough comments of mine and of those like me, who dare to publicly voice our dissent, you won't NEED concentrtion camps. They'll just radar our homes and cause us a rapid onset of cancer. Or, they'll time a hit and run for us. Or something.
This total-awareness program is borne out of the fact that bush and his little power games with rove and the others around the world are going to get a lot more people killed before any prevailing divinity or diety steps in to clean up the mess.
I sure as hell would not want to serve under, for, or alongside a god that allows this cretin, and all the attendent bullshit from other leaders to continue.
--Starving people
--cold people
--oppressed people
--vile maldistribution of nutrition
--maldistribution of wealth
--squalor and squander
There are so many military projects going on that boondogle taxpayers AND their kids' taxes that it ought to be downright criminal and worthy of execution for people to in the REAL-WORLD keep producing destruction devices rather than just elminate the numerous power-holders who are truly obstructing CHANGE. Change that rids us of greed, pestilence, indifference, broken souls.
Consumerism and mass-consumption are NOT the answer. Nor is allwing mad assholes to run the world.
Databasing all sorts of inconsequential or somewhat unnerving bits of informtion on people and then using it is not new. Using it for ever-widening political dragnets IS very DANGEROUS. Soon, speech would be squelched like never before, and then what?
If Crime decreases dramatically, will it lead to a candy-assed world like Star Trek (minus the US-centric hollywood)? Would police be so reduced in number that we'll find reasons to wip out their early retirement and huge pensions by conjuring up some need for a thought control machine?
Some of the biggest problems not acknowledged are:
--organized religion
--manifest destiny
--imperialism
--conquest
--mass genocide
--racism
--indifference
--onerous tax burdens
--massive benefits for ranking elected officials while the masses fend for themselves or get reamed by corporate health and medical czars
Yeh, my beloved government. Database the pile of self-loathing, indignation, self-pity, and general incompetence and ineptitude of your offices and clean YOUR shit up instead of trying to run the world.
David Syes
THESE are the
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Wouldn't it be hard for them to pass something when they won't be in session again till after the election? http://www.senate.gov
I think the editors have been hoaxed.
"AP: Report Finds Lavish Spending at TSA"& u=/ap/ 20041014/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/tsa_pricey_party&cid=54 2&ncid=716
y &cid=564&u=/n m/20041013/ts_nm/iraq_blix_dc&printer=1
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story
"Blix Says Iraq War Stimulated World Terrorism:"
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor
Well, as Popeye would say, "Well, BLOW me DOWN!"
I guess we should start docking the pay of our SEE-lected officials for cocking-up all that money of ours. No WOnDER they wanted the gallows, hanging, and lynching outlawed-- except when THEY want to use it.
Total Information Awareness COULD be used to squelch investigations into THEIR screwing off.
It must be the cheese. Is it the Kalifornia cheese? Mad Cow must've spongified their brains, because this collective insanity is the most profound threat Earth has organically endured.
I've got a postulation or a saying:
-Bush will get us bushwhacked
-Cheney will get us chainsawed
-Wolfowitz is the American Werewolf in Baghdad
-Powell will get us COLONized
-Rumsfeld will get us into war drunk on his rum
-Rove will get us rolled-over
-Rice will plant her rice bugs in more embassies and offices of the UN, France, Germany, and other places
I'm surprised the REST of the world has not more vociferously trounced and resoundly DENOUNCED our asses. Too bad "the global economy" (far worse than in the past...) has such deep and long tentacles. It's hard for nations to take out retribution without being hurt.
Truth indeed IS stranger than fiction
Don't count on improvements anytime soon.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
That the government would limit it's databases to criminals, and not to law-abiding citizens. Are we going to create a "Minority Report" now? Try to predict who might be a terrorist/criminal for pre-emptive justice?
xyzzy - operation overload.
How do you think Nazi Germany rounded up and murdered 6 million Jews in a few years?
Remember Thomas J. Watson's assertion that only 6 computers would be require worldwide? Well, IBM supplied at least one to the Nazis.
Still don't think it could happen in America?
I'd have thought it was obvious that your democracy isn't working well enough to take these kinds of risks.
Any information stored on computer about you can be used to discriminate against you. The more organised and freely available that information is, the more easily you can be persecuted.
Yeah, it's the path of every government: Scare everyone into obedience, offer 'protection', kill anyone who gets in the way, then crash, blame it on anarchy, and start over. Ours is showing the final signs as it's now recklessly throwing out laws, imprisoning anyone in sight, going on killing sprees it can't cover up, etc. Saddam and Hitler didn't get away with it; I doubt the dumbasses in our office can.
e nt_memo.html
On an interesting note, the government is anticipating a 9/11ish terrorist attack to take place just around - oh gee - election time http://www.boingboing.net/2004/10/12/law_enforcem
The reps sure called that one, didn't they? Bush said something really bad would happen unless he's reelected. I guess the administration is following through on that promise.
I am NOT a number! I am a - oh wait, I'm number 761710. Look! 761710!
I guess it just sucks to be American
Fear being infectious, oh ya, that's for sure. Our stock market is imaginary. Our stock market today reflects the mood of the people. No wonder why it fell after September 11th.
In regards to that database story, I have this to say...
1. Do not give up any civil liberties, such as any mentioned in historical documents.
2. Do not say, "oh, it's okay, as long it's for our own good". People really need to at least question what the government does, rather than simply accepting it.
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
The next thing that wouldn't surprise me, is that Walton Simons gets the head position at FEMA, some guy called Bob Page breaks through with Nano Tech, and the UN launches an Anti-terrorist coalition named UNATCO (which conveniently has their HQ on Liberty Island).
When thinking of it, it isn't that fictitious after all...
This is why the second ammendment exists; to protect you against the powers of an overreaching government.
Get out and do what is necessary to prevent your rights from being eroded. That is the only way to protect yourself in the long term.
Go ahead and pay up. You may donate the $1000 to the GOP if you prefer not to pay an individual.
The President cannot nullify a Consitutional Amendment by executive order.
Have you ever lived anywhere else than in the US? Are you a Black Floridian? Or one of the thousands of US troops in Iraq backdoor-drafted by a "stop-loss" order beyond your expected tour of duty?
--
make install -not war
You have imaginary terms in one hand. You've got a false exclusion in the other. Press them against your head in an impression of Mvnch's existential painting _The Scream_, because you've contrived a pretend dilemma. Freedom IS security. Neither is perfect, or even desirably close, in our material lives.
--
make install -not war
Now I'm not a bible thumper, nor do I attend church, BUT, isn't Rev. 13:16-18 applicable here? (note that the mark is different from the number). For an interesting read, pick up Format C: ISBN:0914153021
Now I'll comment that most of the tech stuff is horse exhaust, but the ideas that it presents are rather sobering.
Of course, we always have the Orwellian references.
Our "leaders" understand that in this new information society, the best and easiest way to control a population is through information. Our own leaders are waging psychological warfare on the world, especially Americans. Their tactics are straight from Hitler's Propaganda Minister. For example see this .
This is just another example of a government attaining the infrastructure it needs to exert more power. It makes perfect sense.