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The Executive Order That Redefines Data Collection
sandbagger writes: " ...it is often the case that one can be led astray by relying on the generic or commonly understood definition of a particular word." That quote apparently applies to words offering constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure. TechDirt looks at the redefinition of the term "collection" as redefined by Executive Order 12333 to allow basically every information dragnet, provided no-one looks at it. "Collection" is now defined as "collection plus action." According to this document, it still isn't collected, even if it has been gathered, packaged and sent to a "supervisory authority." No collection happens until examination. It's Schrodinger's data, neither collected nor uncollected until the "box" has been opened. This leads to the question of aging off collected data/communications: if certain (non) collections haven't been examined at the end of the 5-year storage limit, are they allowed to be retained simply because they haven't officially been collected yet? Does the timer start when the "box" is opened or when the "box" is filled?
So if I download lots of copyrighted music and films, but never listen to them -- then I'm apparently okay right?
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The recursive expansion will keep it tied up in court forever.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
>This leads to the question of aging off collected data/communications: if certain (non) collections haven't been examined at the end of the 5-year storage limit, are they allowed to be retained simply because they haven't officially been collected yet? Does the timer start when the "box" is opened or when the "box" is filled?
Doesn't matter, US Govt. will do as it pleases regardless of perceived or actual legality.
I really feel for the poor Americans. What a totalitarian nightmare America has become, with its clapped out economy, militaristic police, authoritarian military/commercial state with effective single party governance, its huge prison population, its high murder rate, and the presence of personal armaments everywhere, simmering racial tensions, lack of personal rights and freedoms, a state that kidnaps and tortures people.
Couple that with extreme military spending, severe paranoia, and a 'national security' doctrine that comes straight from the nazi playbook, making explicit that America will bomb and murder whoever it wants, as long as it is in 'American national interests', and you have the worst kind of rogue state of all.
The conditions look ripe for instability, and chaos.
Convenient, isn't it?
Well this is moot since they ARE examined. They are run against a query for a subset of data which excludes that data from the subset. Sure the result of the query doesn't return your data, but it returns the fact that your data didn't match the query!
e.g. Terrorist is defined someone who reads 4chan AND sites ending .PK. Your data is searched, you don't match, so you don't come up in the results set, but nevertheless your data was searched for the negative.
The data clearly *is* collected, an executive order from 1981 when the data could *not* be collected in a searchable form back in 1981 clearly does not apply to data collected in searchable form today!
Lawyers pretending words mean other things, is a lawyers trick that has to be constantly pushed back against.
Can't change the law, or don't want to? Just redefine the words.
In the introductory class on law I took ages ago, they already told us that "one can be led astray by relying on the generic or commonly understood definition of a particular word.", and advised to always examine the meaning of words like "accused", "summons", etc, as they have a specific legal definition that often differs from the commonly understood meaning. Now I know why...
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Seems there was a purpose in letting public education degenerate into nothing more than obedience conditioning.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
The voters don't give a damn. The TV still works, what's the big deal?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
I really feel for the poor Americans.
So do I, they seem to have completely forgotten their old drive for capitalism. Here they are storing everyone's personal phone calls, electronic documents, photos etc. and nobody in the US government has thought of marketing this as the ultimate solution to everyone's backup problem.
"Does the timer start when the "box" is opened or when the "box" is filled?"
Neither. The timer simply determines how long the government has to ship the data off to a non-US jurisdiction then deny that they ever collected it.
Never in my life have I read a "collection" of words that more succinctly summarized the level of corruption within our government than in the summary we've read here.
I don't even know why it ended in a question when the answer will be whatever the fuck they want it will be. They've mad that abundantly clear with the manipulation of wordplay to dismantle every Right you read about in the "collection" of books we use to educate our youth.
Want to ban more books in school? Might as well start with the US Constitution. You'll find it accurately filed under fictional humor because it's a joke.
the term "collection" as redefined by Executive Order 12333 to allow basically every information dragnet, provided no-one looks at it. "Collection" is now defined as "collection plus action." ... This leads to the question of aging off collected data/communications:
No it does not. Do not go gentle into that good night. There is no reason whatsoever for us to accept the giant leap into unconstitutional territory and debate the fine points left to us, settling for scraps of liberty from dictators who have derived no just power from the consent of the governed. Rage against this machine until you die or it does.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
In reality the Feds have overwhelmed every constitutional principle that they've found irritating, and the armed uprising has never happened. But it's a nice fantasy that keeps a few people quiet - because they KNOW they can do something about it when... at which point they will just be mown down in a hail of bullets.
Que the "See Reagan did this, so Obama is still my hope and change." BS.
...and "Bush was so much worse."
While we're bickering about "my team" vs "your team", the constitution erodes further....
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www.fairtax.org
Executive orders are issued by the president; our current "constitutional expert" in the White House could change this any time he wants to with the stroke of a pen, like he promised during his campaign. The fact that these policies remain in place is solely the responsibility of the president.