You may be conflating the govt's ability to operate technology, which is all outsourced anyway, and the ability of a government bureaucrat to explain it.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@...> wrote: > > And governments don't get the best people at using tech anyway. That's > why the stumble so badly and make fools of themselves over technical issues. > > As for shopping conveniently they get really screwed up data if you're > using the Internet to check spelling and the meaning of a word > On 08/19/2013 06:38 AM, doctordumbass@... wrote: > > Someone recently made the point that we are willing to give away all our > > privacy, to shop more conveniently. We let huge corporations gather, store, > > and manipulate vast amounts of data on us, cross-correlating all of our > > personal information, in an attempt to target us for future purchases. Yet, > > if our government tracks our phone calling patterns, everyone freaks out. > > > > I am glad the doings of the NSA are being revealed, but I have also always > > assumed that this type of data collection has been going on, by the govt., > > for as long as the technology to do it, has been around. Governments don't > > exactly shy away from any new means available to consolidate and increase > > their power. > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "emptybill" <emptybill@> wrote: > >> Glenn Greenwald: detaining my partner was a failed attempt at > >> intimidation > >> The detention of my partner, David Miranda, by UK authorities will have > >> the opposite effect of the one intended > >> > >> * > >> <http://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=180444840287&link=http://www\ > >> .theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa\ > >> &display=popup&redirect_uri=http://static-serve.appspot.com/static/faceb\ > >> ook-share/callback.html&show_error=false&ref=desktop> > >> * [Glenn Greenwald] > >> <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/glenn-greenwald> Glenn Greenwald > >> <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/glenn-greenwald> > >> * The Guardian <http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian> , > >> Sunday 18 August 2013 > >> > >> At 6:30 am this morning my time - 5:30 am on the East Coast of the US - > >> I received a telephone call from someone who identified himself as a > >> "security official at Heathrow airport." He told me that my partner, > >> David Miranda <http://www.theguardian.com/world/david-miranda> , had > >> been "detained" at the London airport "under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism > >> Act of 2000." > >> > >> David had spent the last week in Berlin, where he stayed with Laura > >> Poitras, the US filmmaker who has worked with me extensively on the NSA > >> <http://www.theguardian.com/world/nsa> stories. A Brazilian citizen, > >> he was returning to our home in Rio de Janeiro this morning on British > >> Airways, flying first to London and then on to Rio. When he arrived in > >> London this morning, he was detained. > >> > >> At the time the "security official" called me, David had been detained > >> for 3 hours. The security official told me that they had the right to > >> detain him for up to 9 hours in order to question him, at which point > >> they could either arrest and charge him or ask a court to extend the > >> question time. The official - who refused to give his name but would > >> only identify himself by his number: 203654 - said David was not allowed > >> to have a lawyer present, nor would they allow me to talk to him. > >> > >> I immediately contacted the Guardian, which sent lawyers to the > >> airport, as well various Brazilian officials I know. Within the hour, > >> several senior Brazilian officials were engaged and expressing > >> indignation over what was being done. The Guardian has the full story > >> here > >> <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/18/glenn-greenwald-guardian-p\ > >> artner-detained-heathrow> . > >> > >> Despite all that, five more hours went by and neither the Guardian's > >> lawyers nor Brazilian officials, including the Ambassador to the UK in > >> London, were able to obtain any information about David. We spent most > >> of that time contemplating the charges he would likely face once the > >> 9-hour period elapsed. > >> > >> According to a document > >> <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/fi\ > >> le/157896/consultation-document.pdf> published by the UK government > >> about Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, "fewer than 3 people in every > >> 10,000 are examined as they pass through UK borders" (David was not > >> entering the UK but only transiting through to Rio). Moreover, "most > >> examinations, over 97%, last under an hour." An appendix to that > >> document states that only .06% of all people detained are kept for more > >> than 6 hours. > >> > >> The stated purpose of this law, as the name suggests, is to question > >> people about terrorism. The detention power, claims the UK government, > >> is used "to determine whether that person is or has been involved in > >> the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism." > >> > >> But they obviously had zero suspicion that David was associated with a > >> terrorist organization or involved in any terrorist plot. Instead, they > >> spent their time interrogating him about the NSA reporting which Laura > >> Poitras, the Guardian and I are doing, as well the content of the > >> electronic products he was carrying. They completely abused their own > >> terrorism law for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with > >> terrorism: a potent reminder of how often governments lie when they > >> claim that they need powers to stop "the terrorists", and how dangerous > >> it is to vest unchecked power with political officials in its name. > >> > >> Worse, they kept David detained right up until the last minute: for the > >> full 9 hours, something they very rarely do. Only at the last minute > >> did they finally release him. We spent all day - as every hour passed - > >> worried that he would be arrested and charged under a terrorism > >> statute. This was obviously designed to send a message of intimidation > >> to those of us working journalistically on reporting on the NSA and its > >> British counterpart, the GCHQ. > >> > >> Before letting him go, they seized numerous possessions of his, > >> including his laptop, his cellphone, various video game consoles, DVDs, > >> USB sticks, and other materials. They did not say when they would > >> return any of it, or if they would. > >> > >> This is obviously a rather profound escalation of their attacks on the > >> news-gathering process and journalism. It's bad enough to prosecute and > >> imprison sources. It's worse still to imprison journalists who report > >> the truth. But to start detaining the family members and loved ones of > >> journalists is simply despotic. Even the Mafia had ethical rules against > >> targeting the family members of people they felt threatened by. But the > >> UK puppets and their owners in the US national security state obviously > >> are unconstrained by even those minimal scruples. > >> > >> If the UK and US governments believe that tactics like this are going > >> to deter or intimidate us in any way from continuing to report > >> aggressively on what these documents reveal, they are beyond deluded. > >> If anything, it will have only the opposite effect: to embolden us even > >> further. Beyond that, every time the US and UK governments show their > >> true character to the world - when they prevent the Bolivian > >> President's plane from flying safely home, when they threaten > >> journalists with prosecution, when they engage in behavior like what > >> they did today - all they do is helpfully underscore why it's so > >> dangerous to allow them to exercise vast, unchecked spying power in the > >> dark. > >> > >> David was unable to call me because his phone and laptop are now with > >> UK authorities. So I don't yet know what they told him. But the > >> Guardian's lawyer was able to speak with him immediately upon his > >> release, and told me that, while a bit distressed from the ordeal, he > >> was in very good spirits and quite defiant, and he asked the lawyer to > >> convey that defiance to me. I already share it, as I'm certain US and > >> UK authorities will soon see. > >> > > > > >
