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Edited on Thu Aug-02-07 07:43 PM by TorchesAndPitchforks
Thus spake Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems in 1999. This is true on many levels. There is one word that is used to describe the amount of personal information about you that exists in private commercial databases: SCARY.
Even scarier, NSA has long had the capability of advanced electronic surveillance. Before 911, it is said the NSA was restricted to spying on Canadians and Europeans. It's not a great leap to suppose that the Europeans and Canadians have long been spying on us -- using equipment we gave them in a kind of quid pro quo. The big difference is now the NSA has loosed its shackles and is spying on us directly. This allows us to avoid having to share our cool new technology with others.
The scary technology used by corporations to capture "consumer" data is also shared with government - oftentimes legally. The corporatists in power now are taking this all to the next level. The Republican Party's voter database is likely bleeding edge in the information it contains and knowledge about the electorate, precinct by precinct, that can be gleaned from it. Their intimate relationship post 911 with AT&T and other telcos I'm sure gives them an irresistible temptation to use against political enemies.
We must resist all attempts to legalize the unconstitutional theft of our privacy at all costs - the Orwellian future it enables is too much to contemplate. However, if a known terrorist operative is calling American citizens then investigators should be able to get a warrant and listen in on the conversation. That is the sensible thing to do.
We should not overreact to sensible law enforcement activities that are done within an acceptable legal framework. The definition of what is allowable MUST be debated openly in public. There needs to be a vigorous public debate over ALL forms of information gathering - by both corporations and government. The technology in use has far exceeded the reach of our antiquated laws. The longer we wait the harder it will be to put the genie back in the bottle.
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