"Another Brick in the Wall" "VIPR Searches and the American Citizen: ‘Dominate. Intimidate. Con

If you haven't caught this before, here is one more reason to fear.

Original Source

The transition to a police state will not come about with a dramatic coup d’etat, with battering rams and marauding militia. As we have experienced first-hand in recent years, it will creep in softly, one violation at a time, until suddenly you find yourself being subjected to random patdowns and security sweeps during your morning commute to work or quick trip to the shopping mall. Perhaps you have yet to experience the particular thrill, and I use that word loosely, of being manhandled by government agents, having your personal possessions pawed through, and your activities and associations scrutinized. If so, not to worry. It’s only a matter of time before more and more Americans will experience such a military task force knocking at their door. Only, chances are that it won’t be a knock, and they might not even be at home when government agents decide to “investigate” them. Indeed, as increasing numbers of Americans are discovering, these so-called “soft target” security inspections are taking place whenever and wherever the government deems appropriate, at random times and places, and without needing the justification of a particular threat. Worse, not only is this happening with the blessing of the Obama administration but at its urging. What I’m describing–something that was once limited to authoritarian regimes–is only possible thanks to an unofficial rewriting of the Fourth Amendment by the courts that essentially does away with any distinctions over what is “reasonable” when it comes to searches and seizures by government agents. The rationale, of course, is that anything is “reasonable” in the war on terrorism. And by constantly pushing the envelope and testing the limits of what Americans will tolerate, the government is thus able to ratchet up the level of intrusiveness that Americans consider reasonable.

And if this wasn't enough to ruin your day.

Original Source

Have you heard about the new “smart meters” that are being installed in homes all across America? Under the guise of “reducing greenhouse gas emissions” and “reducing energy bills”, utility companies all over the United States are forcing tens of millions of American families to accept sophisticated surveillance devices in their homes. Currently, approximately 9 percentof all electric meters in the U.S. have been converted over to smart meters. It is being projected that by 2012, the number of smart meters in use will rise to 52 million, and the federal government is spending a lot of money to help get these installed everywhere. Eventually the goal is to have these smart meters in all of our homes and if that ever happened there would essentially be no more privacy. Once installed, a smart meter monitors your home every single minute of every single day and it transmits very sophisticated data about your personal behavior back to the utility company.

But of course the biggest issue with smart meters is how they will strip us of our privacy. The concern is that the incredibly detailed data that these surveillance devices collect will be given or sold to a vast array of third parties.
For example, smart meters are already being used by police to bust marijuana growers.
It is also feared that insurance companies, credit agencies, lawyers, marketing firms and even criminals will be able to get their hands on this data as well.
A recent article posted on the website of the Electronic Frontier Foundation summarized some of the concerns…. “Without strong protections, this information can and will be repurposed by interested parties. It’s not hard to imagine a divorce lawyer subpoenaing this information, an insurance company interpreting the data in a way that allows it to penalize customers, or criminals intercepting the information to plan a burglary. Marketing companies will also desperately want to access this data”

Where does all this end? When we have no freedom left.

The biggest problem right now is that that many people are aware... but what good does it do you to know the prison you are in is being built up brick by brick? All you can do is watch in dismay as they add more and more to the walls that already surround you.

That, at least, is how I suspect a great many 'aware' people feel. This causes a great number of detrimental outcomes. What we need is a solution. A way for people to take back the power from these psychotic hippocrites (Oh there's too many humans on the planet, you should all die so I can live and eat steak every night!) and maybe even break this cycle of tyranny which humanity seems perpetually stuck in.

What would be your solution? (If you can say it online safely)

Originally posted by rlnochance
The biggest problem right now is that that many people are aware... but what good does it do you to know the prison you are in is being built up brick by brick? All you can do is watch in dismay as they add more and more to the walls that already surround you.

That, at least, is how I suspect a great many 'aware' people feel. This causes a great number of detrimental outcomes. What we need is a solution. A way for people to take back the power from these psychotic hippocrites (Oh there's too many humans on the planet, you should all die so I can live and eat steak every night!) and maybe even break this cycle of tyranny which humanity seems perpetually stuck in.

What would be your solution? (If you can say it online safely)

I think that the analogy is more correct when it goes like this:

"The walls will be built up slowly and the select few will fight while they are still building the foundation, more than likely being labeled as terrorists. The masses will scream for justice and the terrorists will be dealth with quietly. More will rebel, in small numbers, most individual, when the walls reach just over their heads and escape is finally realized to be impossible. The rest will never wake up to the idea they are in prison, and will instead worship their tyranny."

How's that? Where do you think we ar in that timeline now?

I'm not sure who wrote that quote, but it's not encouraging :/

We need solutions

It is the same for smart meters in the UK. A friend of mine owns his own house but he has been told he cannot refuse a smart meter! WTF?

The problem is the people who buy into the c**p about the eco-ness of those meters etc. then everyone else gets nagged about it until they make it illegal to refuse.