Friday, June 7, 2013

Happy 64th anniversary of 1984's publication!



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20main-2%20Special%20trail:Network%20front%20-%20special%20trail:Position1

3 comments:

AGK said...

The good news is that since the Guardian broke the story, it's been all over the mainstream media. "Surveillance State" is now part of the lexicon for the uninitiated. The New York Times has come out against the president, saying "The Obama administration has lost all credibility." I doubt we will see any meaningful immediate action in stopping or reversing the trend toward overt dictatorship, but this is still a good sign.
The mainstream media is now feeling the heat from the programs it has ignored until now. As potential targets of The State, they might switch allegiances, shifting the balance of power back toward an informed citizenry. Despite the dire nature of this revelation, I was overjoyed to see this story all over HuffPo, NYT, TheAtlantic, etc... My favorite was an article titled "NSA Whistleblowers: We Told You So," I was also surprised to see the top story on HuffPo last night was titled "George W. Obama" and featured the composite portrait of the two presidents.
The fact is this type of spying and surveillance has been going on for a while now, and many credible sources have risked everything to get the word out, only to be dismissed as paranoid, conspiracy theorists. Despite the media hype we are currently seeing, I feel confident predicting the complete acceptance of this as part of " the new normal." Lindsay Graham is climbing my list of most terrifying public figures. He overwhelming supports overt surveillance saying ""I don’t think you're talking to the terrorists. I know you're not. I know I'm not, so we don't have anything to worry about," This is the most dangerous mindset. The press seems to have finally broken through this delusion, after finding that they did indeed have something to worry about.
Hopefully, as more groups find themselves on the wrong end of the intelligence networks, we will see a mass movement to put such extralegal practices and the agencies that use them back in their place. It is beyond debate that people are indeed waking up faster and in greater numbers than ever before. Unfortunately, the avenues for recourse are being systematically shut down. Protesting does nothing but raise awareness little by little. This may work against Monsanto, who is the subject of consumer demand, but the FBI is actively moving to ensure that we can't buy our way out of their control grid.

Joe said...

It has been refreshing to see these things in the light of day. But I feel that this story is being spun to make us believe that this information does not pertain to us, that this information is only gathered on terrorist, and that we are much much safer now. My Senator is already out making excuses about how this program stopped terrorist. I'm concerned that our modern technology has pushed us to a point that leaves us little choice but acceptance and indoctrination. We have little option, outside of dropping out or plugging in. Perhaps there are more options, but I do not understand this complicated technology enough to even know what possibilities exist, another factor in creating the narrow set of visible options. Does tor, vpn, or the dark net really offer anonymity? it seems that any thing that I could conceive of doing to protect myself would be a step behind what private and public entities would be able to access.

AGK said...

Again, the issue of spin comes down to the willingness of mainstream media figures to continue to support the government position against their own interests. If they are willing, this story will fade quickly. If not, this story will only continue to grow. Your senator is another very scary member of congress. She condemned "a culture of leaks." But I say the more we become this culture of leaks the closer we are to achieving real progress. Your senator also acknowledged the leaked timeline regarding the dates PRISM gained access to each company, confirming that this was nothing more than routine reauthorization for a program that was LEGAL under the Patriot Act. This is how far we have come. there is no longer any real expectation that the law will be used to support the people. rather, it will only be used to oppress and control them. The "terrorist threat" is a fabrication used to justify the creation of the domestic police state we find ourselves in today. Drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia are little more than beta testing for global deployment. Once the global population is equalized and can be dealt with indiscriminately, anyone anywhere on earth can be targeted "legally."
Our options are indeed evaporating. As dissent is criminalized and surveillance becomes absolute, we will have no choice but to begin living inside the last remaining refuge, our skulls. 1984 has been realized, there is no doubt. There is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. The best hackers might be able to maintain an edge, thereby keeping the revolution alive. If they can manage to infiltrate or subvert the media apparatus, the mass awakening can continue.
The choice is between fear and truth. You can openly resist, with increasing risk, or you can go into hiding, masking your awareness with apathy, living a lie to keep yourself out of the gulags. Not really a choice at all once you have "woken up." We have passed the point of no return; even if we were to somehow revert back to our childhood ignorance, the data would eventually be sifted through and our past awareness found out. Then its off to the re-education camps. Amazing the amount of knowledge of this subject there is to draw on. The vocabulary of tyranny just flows through the keyboard. We must accept our roles in this. Our minds have been freed, therefore, we are a liability. The only way forward is complete and utter victory over the instruments of The State!