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The NSA Is Watching You (and Me)
Jun. 10th, 2013 10:14 amSo, since everybody is talking about the NSA's various acronym-ed programs busily vacuuming up all the data available on you and me, herewith are my thoughts.
First, via the people at Crooked Timber, here's a simple example of how one can use metadata to find the "bad guys." the tl;dr version is by seeing who is talking to whom, one can develop a very clear picture of the "enemy" organization. In the example, Paul Revere is quickly identified as an "enemy" even though he never made any public anti-Crown statements.
Second, much like John Scalzi, I am not surprised to hear that this program is ongoing. For all those people who are apparently suffering from amnesia, right after 9/11 the US Congress, with large bipartisan majorities, ran out and approved the Patriot Act. As we were all told at the time, this act was a blanket approval to hoover up all kinds of data with the stated goal of protecting us from terrorists.
In short, we did this to ourselves. We (I mean, the majority of American voters), in the process of wetting our pants with fear after 9/11, decided to let our government spy on us. Now, much like Claude Rains in Casablanca, we are shocked, shocked I tell you, to hear that our government is using the powers we gave them to do what we told them to do.
Supposedly Ben Franklin said "those who would trade freedom for safety will get neither." We are apparently testing that proposition.
First, via the people at Crooked Timber, here's a simple example of how one can use metadata to find the "bad guys." the tl;dr version is by seeing who is talking to whom, one can develop a very clear picture of the "enemy" organization. In the example, Paul Revere is quickly identified as an "enemy" even though he never made any public anti-Crown statements.
Second, much like John Scalzi, I am not surprised to hear that this program is ongoing. For all those people who are apparently suffering from amnesia, right after 9/11 the US Congress, with large bipartisan majorities, ran out and approved the Patriot Act. As we were all told at the time, this act was a blanket approval to hoover up all kinds of data with the stated goal of protecting us from terrorists.
In short, we did this to ourselves. We (I mean, the majority of American voters), in the process of wetting our pants with fear after 9/11, decided to let our government spy on us. Now, much like Claude Rains in Casablanca, we are shocked, shocked I tell you, to hear that our government is using the powers we gave them to do what we told them to do.
Supposedly Ben Franklin said "those who would trade freedom for safety will get neither." We are apparently testing that proposition.
