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In reply to the discussion: So, the big lie Snowden told is an important one [View all]Pholus
(4,062 posts)Last edited Mon Jul 1, 2013, 08:20 AM - Edit history (1)
I can't figure out why some people completely ignore how TIA was pitched to us and you are looking at a program which DEFINITELY has 75% of TIA's elements (including the very worst ones) and most likely 90%. I did an OP on that last week. Simply checking the buzzwords on the TIA wiki page against google news. 75% match. I don't care that you think that the President is fronting a harmless program here because when he opens his mouth the same words that Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush used come rolling out.
The EXACT same words. For what appears to be the exact same program.
And as far as datacenters. This is not just a few petabytes you're talking about here. So it begs the question, what is the extant need? Again, look at the described scope of the TIA "Genisys" database and look at the numerous references in business publications about how the US Government is now one of big data's best customers. Put those two bits together and I guess it is obvious what is going in the new datacenters. In a nominal democracy, if the legality of the program depends on some fig leaf that says it's okay to hoover up every thing you can as long as a "warrant" is tied to actually looking, you've already lost because you are compiling dossiers on the entire citizenry.
Frak, not even the Stasi actually cared what was in their dossiers until someone ticked them off. The next MLK already lost to the next Hoover and neither of them know who they are yet.
And continue that for a moment. Consider how this program supposedly defends us from evil "Terrorists." I am disappointed that most people are not picking up on exactly how relative that term is when the USG is involved. I certainly don't think that a handful of anti-war Quakers end up being "Terrorists" but someone in the USG thought they were and placed many of them on a Terrorism watch list. So, how does your system defend them then?
Answer. It doesn't. I guess it boils down to "If you have nothing to hide, and you say nothing we don't want to hear, then you have nothing to fear."
Not a system that should belong in a free country. Not by a long shot. Check my sig for a true expert's take on this.