paranoia gets more difficult to reality test

sanakruz, ADN · Nov 19, 2002

Is this john ashcroft again? where the hell did you read this? the pentagon? oh come on youre pulling my leg!

NurseDennie, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2002

Oh yeah, like that's gonna work.

Try getting a lab value from the local VA hospital.

The best thing that ever happened to keep this total information thingie from happening was the breakup of the Bell telephone system in the late 70's,early 80's.

Love

Dennie

maureeno · Nov 19, 2002

sure it will work and sure it is true. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency first brought us the internet. The homeland security bill authorizes $200 million for what the Pentagon calls 'a virtual, centralized grand data base.'

This 'Total Information Awareness' makes George Orwell obsolete. A computerized dossier on every citizen, bringing together commercial, academic , medical and government information. As well as every internet and telephone interaction.

So who is in charge of this program? John Poindexter of Iran-Contra disgrace.

Conservative writter Wm. Safire reports, Mr. Poindexter [who was convicted of lying to Congress] had over his desk at the Pentagon a sign saying: 'Scienta Est Potentia'--science is power. >>the governments infinite knowledge about you is its power over you

I'm scared; are you like me wondering just how we test reality with paranoia?

sanakruz, ADN · Nov 23, 2002

Scares the living shit out of me!!

I cant imagine it working tho-At my husbands job they cant even find the right automotive parts despite state of the art techno, because PEOPLE still enter the data.

I cant imagine that 200 billion would be enough

NurseDennie, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2002

I don't think it's as it's being written up. IF they are talking about a system to get all the info that they have Anyway in one place, then I guess I can't get too upset about that.

Turns out "they" we, whoever, knew a LOT about the people who hijacked all those planes last year, but the information didn't get put into one place to make a picture.

But no, the technology for what we've been describing here doesn't exist here and now. Not yet, anyway. It's just too much. In order to track emails as such, you'd have to put a program on every ISP in the world, and that's just a massive undertaking. My daughter, her boyfriend and I set up a new ISP last year, for instance. (We figured it was either an interesting afternoon of unix programming or perhaps a multi-million dollar startup, who knows? Well, okay, it was an interesting afternoon)

In fact, if information is transmitted, it's public here and now. If you talk on a cell phone or even on your cordless extension of your landline phone, anybody who wants to can hear you. I'd guess that if your ISP uses satellite then anything you send can be seen right now.

But listening to every phone conversation and looking at every email would just be too expensive/time consuming/unproductive even for the government!

But I'd be keeping a good check on our representatives and senators to let them know that IF they're thinking about doing it as the massive information-gathering process we've been describing, that their career will end before it's ever set up.

Love

Dennie

maureeno · Nov 23, 2002

data exists in many places now. the proposed program develops a data base to look for patterns. having already witnessed government over-reaching in my neighborhood this year I am frightened. guilty by association, guity until proven innocent...these are the new American ways.

A somali grocery store was raided and destroyed about 1/2 mile from my house. the store was housed in the same building as a wire transfer business. the government has admitted the grocery was not involved in any wrong doing, but the food and equipment is trashed without just compensation. people are also too afraid to go to the store anymore.