Privacy

[Gil-Estel]

Ok, with Dain applying for a job at NSA and everything that is happening around us I was wondering: how far are we willing to go? Do we want to give up on our privacy, in order to feel more safe? This is a genuin feeling, for I don't know the anwser. So please, do not see this as a riot against the US, but something that is keeping me busy.
Ever since 9/11 there have been laws and decesions that made it more easy for the governments to see into personal data. More easy to tap people, all the data is being registered, man I can't even farth without that being monitored by some organisation. If I want to go to the US, my fingerprints are taken as if I were a criminal. I know that with all this, it is easier to keep an eye on those who want evil, but at what price? We can debate a lot on these material, but I guess it is without a doubt the US who leads this dance. Are the citizens of the US aware of all developments. I mean the government is there to protect you guys, but who protects you from the government? Everything is registered, everything is known. And maybe the mantra: who is right, shouldn't fear, is to be applied here, but still. You get my shiver? Do we trust our governments that much? Is it a nice idea to know that they have access to literally everything? And where will it stop? Technology is working on chips, so called RFID-chips that is already being used in ID cards etc. These chips can contain a lot of information, can be followed and can be implemented in humans. All for safety ofcourse, because when a child is missing, who doesn't want your child to be safely returned? You car is stolen, but it can be returned. This all sounds great, and very promising as well, but nonetheless it makes me feel somewhat...well...not at ease. Big Brother is watching you, as George Orwell wrote in his book 1984.
No matter how great the technology, the idea is, it didn't calculate 1 thing. Human nature. We have flaws, so much is true. Can we, can our government deal with this much responsebility?
To end this, and again -for you as well Dain- this isn't an attack, or a riot vs the US, vs technology, vs choises you make, this is simply an outburst of my concern. Tolkien wrote of Sauron being an huge, lidless Eye, able to see everything, penetrating mind and body.....was he a prophet? Take care, all of you!

[FM]

Dan Brown, Digital Fortress anyone?
I ask you... "It's easier to keep an eye out[...]" Now is it? Really? If someone REALLY puts their mind to do wrong, I think it's pretty hard to prevent it, perhaps to catch them later, but then again, that won't help much, the harm will be done anyway...
But of course, then, HOW to prevent it from happening?

[MR. Lurtzy]

Sauron was not a prophet.

[FM]

Ok, I'm THIS close to deleting the post above. Thoughts?

[Celebrimbor]

Interesting parellel with Uncle Sam and Sauron's lidless eye...creepy.

Yeah, I disagree with the federal government's fiddling around with wire-tapping, email and internet monitoring.

Fortunately, out on the web there are many protests against this, just google for it.

[MR. Lurtzy]

Ok, I'm THIS close to deleting the post above. Thoughts?

I was answering this question:

Tolkien wrote of Sauron being an huge, lidless Eye, able to see everything, penetrating mind and body.....was he a prophet? Take care, all of you!

[FM]

Yeah, I know, it's not pointless spam, just a spammy bad joke in a topic that could be serious.

[AgentDrake]

Random ramblings that probably don't make sense, and are likely contradictory. I don't wanna re-read them all to find out.

Not sure there is a line on stuff like this. More of a spectrum, which makes it a heckuvalot easier to cross. That's not a good thing.

Biometric security at the border? I have no problem with that. Granted, fingerprinting is often mentally associated with identifying criminals, but heck....

Next, there IS a lot of restraints on government powers in this area. Theoretically, these guys aren't allowed to gather information without sufficient cause (heaven only knows what constitutes sufficient cause) and they can't act on a lot of this information. I know a guy who works for a Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing relay service from the government. He said that he's not allowed to stop a bank robbery, assassination, murder, or anything like that, even if he hears (and, as the relay guy, passively participates in) the planning of such. 'Course, he said he would anyway, but that's not the point. Granted, he's not in the intelligence agencies, but they (supposedly) have similar restraints. No listening in without good cause, and if you do break the rules, you can't act on the info. Of course, that's all assuming they actually play by the rules.

The National ID thingy (REAL ID, I think it's called) that Bush is pushing to try to stop illegal immigration is, on the other hand, a downright absolute violation of MANY rights. And won't stop illegal immigration anyway. Fortunately, it seems to be progressing fairly slowly, and hitting a lot of roadblocks.

Yeah. I'm concerned, but I don't think we've gotten there yet. On the other hand, I'm not so sure we can avoid it. Too much forward momentum, as it were.


On the other hand, I'm sure as heck glad that we have people like Dain working NSA (at least for the moment.) After all, we still haven't caught Incog by checking his IP, now have we?

But if we wanna talk gov't conspiracy, what do you guys think is really under Mt. Cheyanne?


Oh, and I vote keep the dumb joke. It's actually sorta funny.