Slashdot Mirror
Crashing the Wiretapper's Ball
An anonymous reader writes "Wired is running an article with some great investigative journalism. Writer Thomas Green snuck into the ISS World Conference, a trade show featuring communications-tapping equipment and normally a press-free event. There, he got some very interesting quotes from the attendees." From the article: "You really need to educate yourself ... Do you think this stuff doesn't happen in the West? Let me tell you something. I sell this equipment all over the world, especially in the Middle East. I deal with buyers from Qatar, and I get more concern about proper legal procedure from them than I get in the USA."
When was the last time a major newspaper did real investingation? I mean, I always read about the world they want us to hear about and they never go into details on how our civil liberaties and the constution are essentially being used a toliet house by the people in Washington. It's shocking and disturbing to see how far our nation has fallen in the last couple of years.
This signature was left intentionally blank.
personaly i feel that we need a new law here in the US .. if you pass a law that is found to violate the bill of rights and/or the constitution - you should be found guilty of treason (and that would go for anyone that put there name on the bill) - that would make them thing twice.. well atleast mabey thing once ?
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
In a lot of states, only one side of a phone conversation needs to agree to a recording for it to be legal. If you call me and I agree that I can record our conversation, it is legal.
Before anyone jumps in and stirs the political pot, remember it is not only governmental use of "wiretapping" that you are subject to. Companies do too, and some of them are nice enough to tell you "This call may be recorded for training and quality assurance purposes"
Big bad big brother is watching, but not always from D.C.
The restrictions on civilians attending the law enforcement agency sessions were, I gather, a cheap marketing gesture to justify their $6,500-per-head entrance fee with suggestions of secret information that the average network-savvy geek wouldn't have known.
Money is usually the simplest explanation.
Help kill corporate productivity!
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Interesting and insightful article as much for it's lack of relevations as for it's anecdotes. No insight into new spy capability or new, deceptive uses outside of casual observations of the skin color and accents of the attendees.
Of course, that's what one expects from semi-public conferences - lots of voyeurs, vague references, and (mostly) marketing crap. Real spook conferences will be classified and there's no way in hell reporters can get in there.
They probably keep out the press more to preserve their image of secrecy and semi-legitimacy than because they're actually concerned about privacy. After all, who wouldn't want to attend a 'secret' conference where the press if forbidden to attend. Wow! That's sounds cool and I don't even care what they're selling.
That's the decoy conference.
Bilderberg think-tank conference in Ottawa this June is where the real stuff happens.
I have no idea who is attending and what goes on in there... which is precisely why it worries me.
If the government is permitted to know our every thought, word, phone call, and whereabouts then we should be able to do the same to them. After all, we are the employers and they are the employees. In fact, it's more critical for us to know their every action and movement because they are such lazy, rotten, unscrupulous, and sometimes just plain evil buggers. If we can't and don't keep an exact eye on them, they'll certainly get up to no good.
How refreshing it would be to clean house and build a political culture like that expressed by the Dutch policeman in the article: transparency makes governance easier.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
"You're not listening," he said. "The NSA is using this stuff. The DEA, the Secret Service, the CIA. Are you kidding me? They don't answer to you. They do whatever the hell they want with it.
EGOTIST, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.
The Constitution defines treason specifically as making open war against the United States, or else giving aid and comfort to its enemies. This was done specifically so that you couldn't charge any random dissenter with treason. However, I think we should pass a few laws to a) disbar all lawyers complicit in the filing of frivolous claims in court, b) eject automatically the sponsors of bills passed and found constitutional, and c) make taking campaign contributions equivalent to bribery. We have very stiff laws that punish people who threaten the health of our young people by selling them alcohol, tobacco, or pornography; why shouldn't we try as hard to protect their civic health as well?
"The government should live in constant fear of the populace, not the other way around."
They do. That's exactly why the government pulls crap like this. They are motivated out of fear, and nothing else.
Our society is based on co-operation, and nothing else. This is a tenuous relationship. If the masses decide to support some other system en massse, then these people are out of jobs, power, and influence.
There are not enough soldiers, guns, or bombs to kill people into submission. If you do decide to utilize violence to maintain power, you have to utilize a lot of finesse to make yourself look legitimate. If you are clumsy, it will easily backfire, because nobody wants to live under tyranny.
Our government currently exists by providing a basic level of service and protection from harm, but also by propaganda extolling its vitures and proclaiming alternatives as some form of insanity.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
I don't disagree with your point, just your presentation of it and the dangers that presentation poses.
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)