Warning: " the surveillance state is effectively abolishing your right to be a critical thinker."

[kpete]

The Premise of Digital Surveillance Precludes Scholarship
Friday, 08 March 2013 00:00
By R. Lila Steinberg, Truthout | Op-Ed


Since 9/11, sweeping and indiscriminate digital surveillance of all computer and telecommunications users has been conducted, and more recently, systems have been developed to store every byte of that information forever. This means that if actors within some government agency decide to target you, they can immediately access every telecommunication: email, phone call, etcetera, that you have made or sent for years, as well as every web site you have visited.



By claiming falsely that reviewing materials, for example, about creationism, makes one necessarily a creationist, or reviewing materials about jihad makes one a jihadist, or that reviewing materials about anarchism makes one necessarily an anarchist, and, further, that reviewing anything or even claiming these titles is the same as actually committing any crime, the surveillance state is effectively abolishing your right to be a critical thinker.

the rest:
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/14839-the-premise-of-digital-surveillance-precludes-scholarship#i

[leveymg]

1. Studying without authorization - a capital offense. Just don't think about that, or you too may

go on a list.

[cantbeserious]

3. George Carlin - The Owners Of America And Education

[tpsbmam]

35. Damn, I so wish I could rec this!

Hadn't seen that particular Carlin. Man, Do I miss him! But I'm sharing that one far and wide -- there are some people around here who need to spend a few minutes listening to this. I've tried to educate them but maybe they'll hear it differently coming from him. Who knows! Thanks for posting it.

[DhhD]

15. Agreed. This fear is why a lot of young people that are unemployed and those who have be

jilted by the American Dream, were afraid to assemble (our 1st Amendment Right). OWS was lacking all that are effected. The American people know why they did not occupy and in my opinion have a much greater support of OWS than most realize. It is like, we support our troops even though we cannot occupy with them. It is a true Mind-Meld.

[NYC_SKP]

2. I feel so much safer knowing this.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

4. For anyone in the Obama Administration monitoring our posts or other Internet usage,

I just want to let you know that I think that you're doing a great job.

Maybe we can all be like the super-supporters without a need to be critical thinkers.

[Octafish]

6. That goes DOUBLE for me!!!1!

Deep down, and I think I can speak for everyone on DU, we look forward to the continuing expansion of government by the people, of the people, and for the people; as well as more freedom, equality, civil rights, transparency, economic prosperity and peace in the coming years. I've felt that way ever since the vile gangster and war criminal Don Siegelman was returned to prison.

PS: Do I get a pony now?

[L0oniX]

11. I gladly give up my freedom for security!

[xtraxritical]

20. Paranoia runs deep. They can listen in but not abbrogate the first amendment.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

31. They can't "abbrogate the first amendment"? Who's paying the salaries of these guys?

[xtraxritical]

33. "those guys" were guilty in court...

[AnotherMcIntosh]

34. Do you have a link to support that?

Here's some of the reporting which does not indicate that:

Occupy Wall Street November 17: Journalists Arrested, Beaten By Police

As thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters took to the streets on Thursday, journalists once again found themselves a target of police violence and arrests.

Reporters took to Twitter and, in some cases, to television to spread the word of the heavy hand police were using against them. It appeared to be a repeat of a similar scene two days earlier, when journalists were roughed up and arrested as the NYPD forcibly cleared the Occupy Wall Street encampment in lower Manhattan.

Lucy Kafanov, a reporter for the RT television network, said she was hit with a police baton while trying to film the protests. She told another reporter for her network that she had her press credentials clearly visible, but was still struck. She also said that she witnessed another reporter from the IndyMedia network being "slammed against the wall" and arrested.
...
The Daily Caller also said that two of its reporters were "assaulted" with batons.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/occupy-wall-street-nov-17-journalists-arrested-beaten_n_1099661.html

[Comrade_McKenzie]

5. Someone knowing what I have access to is not abolishing my right to have access to it.

With the rise in right-wing extremist groups... I'm glad we have this type of surveillance.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

10. You're "glad" that "we have this type of surveillance"? Is this sarcasm? Or is this one of those

we-had-to-destroy-the-village-in-order-to-save-it things?

So there are "right-wing extremist groups". What is more right-wing that adopting a surveillance state that goes beyond anything that existed in Russia or East Germany?

[L0oniX]

12. Trolls can survive for a while but hopefully eventually they will get the TS. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Lookie, Whoopie Ding!

Them loony DUers Welcome the Socialist Nazi Commie Security State!

Quick--Help me gotta get the word out!

You post to FR while I see if I can get Fox interested.

Breitbart will love it!

[judesedit]

7. Check out "The Dumbing Down of America" This brainwashing has been going on for years. Wake up

[judesedit]

9. How do you think the TeaParty came into being? This is not new. If they had too little info in the

past...they have too much now. And in the end, they do what they want with us. It's their word against ours. Who's word is going to be listened to....ours or the cops, Congresspeople, President, wealthy lobbyists? You guessed it. Whistleblowers have been being killed forever. They just make it look like suicide or a major accident. You can't be that naive. Can you? It's all about the money. The ones with the most $$$$$ run everything. And care about one thing only....to be able to continue raking it in at the rate they are now. While we suffer, they prosper.

[xtraxritical]

21. They're on to you now, better hit the road and don't bring your cell phone, they can track it.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

8. Every now and then I like to type

Jihad, Jihad, Jihad, anarchy, anarchy, anarchy. I like to think I'm wasting some cyberspook's time.

[L0oniX]

13. Bomb bombs bomber bombing bombers bombmitty...

Quote: bomb bomb bomb ...bomb bomb Iran

[UnrepentantLiberal]

14. Now you done it!

[chervilant]

26. Yellow cake, aluminum tubes,

Uranium, plutonium!

"Mama, why are these words so nasty? "

[Trillo]

16. kinda puts a crimp in the governments assertion & compulsion, "we want people educated" NT

[Politicub]

18. Sounds like something you would see on the Above top Secret conspiracy message forum

While technically possible is it feasible? Probably not. It's why we have laws. Despotic governments have used crude tech to spy on citizens, and it worked at the time. It's not what the US has done. There was more potential for control when everyone just got two or three tv channels. Didn't happen, though TV has been highly influential.

Yes, the FBI and CIA spy on limited numbers of people, and privacy laws should be strengthened, IMHO.

But limiting critical thinking ability? Seriously?

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. you seem to have proved the point, actually.

[wet_to_activate]

19. DHS's Favorite List

Last edited Sun Mar 10, 2013, 03:04 AM - Edit history (1)

This Should Get "Their" Attention:


DHS & Other Agencies

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Coast Guard (USCG)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Border Patrol
PU
Secret Service (USSS)
National Operations Center (NOC)
Homeland Defense
Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Agent
Task Force
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Fusion Center
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
Secure Border Initiative (SBI)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)
Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Air Marshal
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
National Guard
Red Cross
United Nations (UN)
Domestic Security

Assassination
Attack
Domestic security
Drill
Exercise
Cops
Law enforcement
Authorities
Disaster assistance
Disaster management
DNDO (Domestic Nuclear Detection Office)
National preparedness
Mitigation
Prevention
Response
Recovery
Dirty Bomb
Domestic nuclear detection
Emergency management
Emergency response
First responder
Homeland security
Maritime domain awareness (MDA)
National preparedness initiative
Militia
Shooting
Shots fired
Evacuation
Deaths
Hostage
Explosion (explosive)
Police
Disaster medical assistance team (DMAT)
Organized crime
Gangs
National security
State of emergency
Security
Breach
Threat
Standoff
SWAT
Screening
Lockdown
Bomb (squad or threat)
Crash
Looting
Riot
Emergency Landing
Pipe bomb
Incident
Facility
HAZMAT & Nuclear

Hazmat
Nuclear
Chemical Spill
Suspicious package/device
Toxic
National laboratory
Nuclear facility
Nuclear threat
Cloud
Plume
Radiation
Radioactive
Leak
Biological infection (or event)
Chemical
Chemical burn
Biological
Epidemic
Hazardous
Hazardous material incident
Industrial spill
Infection
Powder (white)
Gas
Nuke
Spillover
Anthrax
Blister agent
Exposure
Burn
Nerve agent
Ricin
Sarin
North Korea
Health Concern + H1N1

Outbreak
Contamination
Exposure
Virus
Evacuation
Bacteria
Recall
Ebola
Food Poisoning
Foot and Mouth (FMD)
H5N1
Avian
Flu
Salmonella
Small Pox
Plague
Human to human
Human to ANIMAL
Influenza
Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Drug Administration (FDA)
Public Health
Toxic
Agro Terror
Tuberculosis (TB)
Agriculture
Listeria
Symptoms
Mutation
Resistant
Antiviral
Wave
Pandemic
Infection
Water/air borne
Sick
Swine
Pork
Strain
Quarantine
H1N1
Vaccine
Tamiflu
Norvo Virus
Epidemic
World Health Organization (WHO and components)
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
E. Coli
Infrastructure Security

Infrastructure security
Airport
CIKR (Critical Infrastructure & Key Resources)
AMTRAK
Collapse
Computer infrastructure
Communications infrastructure
Telecommunications
Critical infrastructure
National infrastructure
Metro
WMATA
Airplane (and derivatives)
Chemical fire
Subway
BART
MARTA
Port Authority
NBIC (National Biosurveillance Integration Center)
Transportation security
Grid
Power
Smart
Body scanner
Electric
Failure or outage
Black out
Brown out
Port
Dock
Bridge
Canceled
Delays
Service disruption
Power lines
Southwest Border Violence

Drug cartel
Violence
Gang
Drug
Narcotics
Cocaine
Marijuana
Heroin
Border
Mexico
Cartel
Southwest
Juarez
Sinaloa
Tijuana
Torreon
Yuma
Tucson
Decapitated
U.S. Consulate
Consular
El Paso
Fort Hancock
San Diego
Ciudad Juarez
Nogales
Sonora
Colombia
Mara salvatrucha
MS13 or MS-13
Drug war
Mexican army
Methamphetamine
Cartel de Golfo
Gulf Cartel
La Familia
Reynose
Nuevo Leon
Narcos
Narco banners (Spanish equivalents)
Los Zetas
Shootout
Execution
Gunfight
Trafficking
Kidnap
Calderon
Reyosa
Bust
Tamaulipas
Meth Lab
Drug trade
Illegal immigrants
Smuggling (smugglers)
Matamoros
Michoacana
Guzman
Arellano-Felix
Beltran-Leyva
Barrio Azteca
Artistics Assassins
Mexicles
New Federation
Terrorism

Terrorism
Al Queda (all spellings)
Terror
Attack
Iraq
Afghanistan
Iran
Pakistan
Agro
Environmental terrorist
Eco terrorism
Conventional weapon
Target
Weapons grade
Dirty bomb
Enriched
Nuclear
Chemical weapon
Biological weapon
Ammonium nitrate
Improvised explosive device
IED (Improvised Explosive Device)
Abu Sayyaf
Hamas
FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces Colombia)
IRA (Irish Republican Army)
ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna)
Basque Separatists
Hezbollah
Tamil Tiger
PLF (Palestine Liberation Front)
PLO (Palestine Libration Organization)
Car bomb
Jihad
Taliban
Weapons cache
Suicide bomber
Suicide attack
Suspicious substance
AQAP (Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula)
AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb)
TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan)
Yemen
Pirates
Extremism
Somalia
Nigeria
Radicals
Al-Shabaab
Home grown
Plot
Nationalist
Recruitment
Fundamentalism
Islamist
Weather/Disaster/Emergency

Emergency
Hurricane
Tornado
Twister
Tsunami
Earthquake
Tremor
Flood
Storm
Crest
Temblor
Extreme weather
Forest fire
Brush fire
Ice
Stranded/Stuck
Help
Hail
Wildfire
Tsunami Warning Center
Magnitude
Avalanche
Typhoon
Shelter-in-place
Disaster
Snow
Blizzard
Sleet
Mud slide or Mudslide
Erosion
Power outage
Brown out
Warning
Watch
Lightening
Aid
Relief
Closure
Interstate
Burst
Emergency Broadcast System
Cyber Security

Cyber security
Botnet
DDOS (dedicated denial of service)
Denial of service
Malware
Virus
Trojan
Keylogger
Cyber Command
2600
Spammer
Phishing
Rootkit
Phreaking
Cain and abel
Brute forcing
Mysql injection
Cyber attack
Cyber terror
Hacker
China
Conficker
Worm
Scammers
Social media

Reference Link:
http://www.geekosystem.com/dhs-list-of-buzzwords

From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subj: TSILKOM SEKRETNE (TOP SECRET - Ukraine)

L'honorable Claude Bisson, O.C., commissaire du Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications (CST) canadien, told North Korea Reconnaissance Bureau about Agde (Hérault) frenchelon station : a top secret agent sent BRGE (french Brigade de Renseignement et de Guerre Electronique)`s anarchists and terrorists nym servers logs to Grupo de Resistencia Anti-Fascista Premero de Octubre (GRAPO) !

Ask 634th Military Intelligence`s contact of Merrill Lynch & Co. colonization & slavish globalization Dpt via http://www.nro.gov/ for Ref. USCOI, CID, BOP, FINCEN, FLETC, NIJ, ACC, AFSPC, BMDOSASSTIXS, NAVWAN, NRL, RL.

Echelon Spookwords Generator (roll your own!)
http://www.bugbrother.com/echelon/spookwordsgenerator.html

[AnotherMcIntosh]

22. "Fourth Amendment" is not on the list? How did they miss that?

[chervilant]

27. You forgot plutonium ... n/t

[MotherPetrie]

24. The Obama Administration is the biggest disappointment of my lifetime

[caseymoz]

25. You know, maybe the Internet was a mistake?

I know that's heresy, but it's possible that it's better to do without it.

[AzDar]

28. K & R

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

29. They're protecting us from tyranny....the irony is wasted on them.

[NNN0LHI]

32. I assumed it has been like this since the early 1970's

[MineralMan]

36. Respectfully, I doubt that any of us on DU is all that

interesting to the federal government or to any government. We can research whatever we wish, talk about anything that doesn't break the TOS of DU, and anyone looking for subversives will simply ignore whatever we do on DU.

While it may be technologically feasible to have a computer look at everything posted here and on all the other sites on the Internet, it is unfeasible for human beings to follow up on all of those discussions where some keyword appears. The human power needed to do that does not exist. I imagine that those computers sifting through all of the messaging and what-all circulating on the Internet are looking for more than just words in posts on discussion forums. In fact, there is almost certainly a Boolean equivalent of IF messagesource = democraticunderground.com Then Ignore.

The thing is that DUers are not dangerous people. They aren't plotting the overthrow of anything other than overthrowing their garbage out and missing the trashcan, with a vanishingly small number of possible exceptions. So, we're simply not of interest to anyone looking for dangerous subversives.

With all of the truly nasty websites out there posting truly seditious stuff, we're not even seeing any government action on even the people posting that crap. It's not happening, and is unlikely to happen, simply because there aren't enough human beings to investigate more than a tiny fraction of seditious postings on the Internet.

Overestimating the capabilities of government intelligence operations is almost as bad as underestimating them. Where there is no material risk of evildoing, there is no interest or human capability of investigation, and DU is not a place to look for genuine evildoers. Truly.

[Spider Jerusalem]

37. "Critical thinking"?

There's a significant, and large, difference between reading Emma Goldman and looking up how to build a bomb (for instance). Sure, reading things like Goldman and Kropotkin and so on doesn't necessarily make one an anarchist, but there are things which can be correlated: reading those things *and* looking at how to combine fertiliser and diesel fuel to make a big boom? Then you're probably on a list somewhere, because there's a correlative link between political thought potentially leading to overt action. These aren't abstractions we're dealing with here, after all.

[olddots]

38. i think they started this people of interest crap years ago

Who wants interesting people ?