White House: Need to monitor online 'extremism'

The Government...scratch that...the WhiteHouse, is monitoring your posts.

news.cnet.com...

...A White House terrorism strategy released today says Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks aid in "advancing violent extremist narratives" and should be monitored by the government.

The 12-page strategy (PDF), which outlines ways to respond to violent extremism, promises that: "We will continue to closely monitor the important role the Internet and social-networking sites play in advancing violent extremist narratives."
President Obama said in a statement accompanying the report that the federal government will start "helping communities to better understand and protect themselves against violent extremist propaganda, especially online."
While much of the White House document is focused on al Qaeda--which The Washington Post recently reported is on the "brink of collapse"--it also talks about domestic terrorists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semitic groups, and a broad "range of ideologies" that promote radicalization.

Today's announcement may signal that monitoring of social networks will broaden beyond the U.S. Department of Homeland Security already does. Depending on the details, it could also raise concerns about how to balance Americans' privacy rights with desire of security agencies to collect and analyze information that is, more or less, publicly available.

In June 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed publicly that its agents were permitted to create accounts on social-networking sites in some situations.
...

Want to be a citizen? Prepare to be 'friended' by unfriendlies.

...In addition, the Electronic Frontier Foundation unearthed documents showing that DHS officials were sending "friend" requests to people applying for U.S. citizenship. DHS conducted extensive monitoring of social networks during Obama's inauguration.
...

A company called Visible Technologies, funded partially by the CIA, is watching your posts.

...In 2009, CIA investment arm In-Q-Tel invested in Visible Technologies, which monitors millions of posts on social-networking Web sites, Wired reported. Tax collectors, too, are "nabbing scofflaws by mining information posted on social-networking Web sites," according to The Wall Street Journal, and the FBI has previously supported legislation that would allow federal police to monitor the Internet for "illegal activity."
...

Not just the US, but the UK. For those not experienced with Intel agencies, liaison officers operate equipment and hand intel to domestic agencies who are restricted from operating domestically, or spying on their own citizens.

...In 2009, the U.K. Home Office announced it would monitor all conversations on social-networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter, and Skype, in a crackdown on terrorists' use of the Internet. So has the Chilean government. And, of course, some repressive regimes have simply blocked Web sites completely.
...

See link for complete article.

How exactly do they define "extremism"?

I find it sickening how they would suppress expression of views concerning Israel and the Zionist movement. They are forcing people to agee with waging war against the Palestinians. They are forcing public opinion to concur with slaughter and the snatching away of a people's homeland.

This is capitalist fascism at its finest. They use examples of extreme Islamic activities to incite fear and hatred in their citizens for Muslims and Middle Eastern people. Of course they do not really want people to learn and understand their point of view. If they did, perhaps they would not support Israel, which is essentially an economic and political extension of the U.S.A.

Is anyone who questions this to be branded an extremist, a disturber of civil order?

And what would happen to someone whom the U.S. government identifies as having "extremist" views? Will they limit the spying to U.S. citizens, or would they also include people from other countries who hold conversations with U.S. citizens?

Another day, another heaping pile of poo dumped on our backs...

2nd

So, let's see. First, the conservatives say that Obama doesn't concentrate hard enough on monitoring the Muslim community online (which has been a huge gripe from the whining right), but now when the feds step up their monitoring of extremism, it's a bad thing. I know why it's a bad thing -- because it's monitoring far right TERRORIST groups. And yes, they are TERRORIST groups. If you notice, more than 50% of the major terrorist attacks in the US over the last 20 years have been committed by white Christians. Even outside of the US, you have Brevik, supposedly a member of the "Knights Templar", which sounds more like a group of kids playing guns and robbers outside.

What you all may need to realize is that when the US government says they are monitoring extremists, I doubt they mean the rather feeble chatter resulting from a bunch of tin foil hat lunatics on ATS. I guarentee you that if there was a major terrorist attack on our soil and there were public planning posts avaliable online on a message board, everyone on ATS would be #ting their fracking britches over how the Obama adminstration "dropped the ball" "should have been more vigilant", etc. You folks will never be happy. Accept it and move on.

Who hasn't in a moment of anger, after reading an upsetting post or topic, used stronger words than used in normal conversation to emphasize their point of view?

"Anything you say, can or will be used against you in a court of law." Now anything you post can be used against you at an unpredictable point in the future. Just like if you have an unsecured wireless network, what someone else downloads from your IP can result in a 'no-knock' home invasion by armored and well armed government agents. How many of you have home protection next to your bed, and would fumble for it at 3am when your front door is kicked in?

So now, how freely will you express your views? Do you really have the right to have your own opinions, and to express those opinions when wrong or strong words, or words taken out of context, can result in rounds being fired into the bodies of your family, pets, yourself in the early morning hours?

Fear the government. They can kill you without remorse if they misunderstand your words.

Originally posted by DeepThoughtCriminal
How exactly do they define "extremism"?

Their definition of an "extremist" can be stretched to include just about anyone they want.

* The newly unclassified DHS report (.pdf) warned law enforcement agencies to watch for suspicious individuals who may have bumper stickers for third-party political candidates such as Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin. (Bumper stickers?

)

*[T]he consequences of a prolonged economic downturn – including real estate foreclosures, unemployment and an inability to obtain credit – could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past," the report says. (Anyone who's lost their home to the bank.)

* The report also mentions "'end times' prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition and weapons." (Most Christians.)

* It further warned law enforcement to watch out for individuals with "radical" ideologies based on Christian views, such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes. (More Christians, Muslims, Jews, pro-Life Atheists; law-abiding citizens who think illegal immigrants should be arrested instead of given food stamps, an education, and free health care; and anyone who thinks the IRS is raping them while letting "the rich" get off relatively scot-free.)

* The report cites the April 4 shooting deaths of three police officers in Pittsburgh as an example of what may be coming, claiming the alleged gunman holds a racist ideology and believes in anti-government conspiracy theories about gun confiscations, citizen detention camps and "a Jewish-controlled 'one-world government.'" (Conspiracy theorists)

* It also suggests the election of an African-American president and the prospect of his policy changes "are proving to be a driving force for right-wing extremist recruitment and radicalization." (Anyone who disagrees with The Chosen One is labeled a racist.)

* Most notable is the report's focus on the impact of returning war veterans. "Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists," it says. "DHS/I&A is concerned that right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize veterans in order to boost their violent capacities." (The most radical, dangerous bunch of thugs possible IMO.)

Prominent antigovernment conspiracy theorists have incorporated aspects of an impending economic collapse to intensify fear and paranoia among like-minded individuals and to attract recruits during times of economic uncertainty. Conspiracy theories involving declarations of martial law, impending civil strife or racial conflict, suspension of the U.S. Constitution, and the creation of citizen detention camps often incorporate aspects of a failed economy. Antigovernment conspiracy theories and “end times” prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition, and weapons.

Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures. Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial elites.”

Rightwing extremists are harnessing this historical election as a recruitment tool. Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms ownership and usage.

Read more: Homeland Security on guard for 'right-wing extremists' www.wnd.com...

So basically, anyone; and DEFINITELY 100% of the membership of ATS is a possible "extremist" under one or more definitions. And we were NEVER MEANT TO SEE IT!

(U) LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION NOTICE: This product contains Law Enforcement Sensitive (LES) information. No portion of the LES information should be released to the media, the general public, or over non-secure Internet servers. Release of this information could adversely affect or jeopardize investigative activities.

(U) Warning: This document is UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (U//FOUO). It contains information that may be exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). It is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with DHS policy relating to FOUO information and is not to be released to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know without prior approval of an authorized DHS official. State and local homeland security officials may share this document with authorized security personnel without further approval from DHS.

And what would happen to someone whom the U.S. government identifies as having "extremist" views? Will they limit the spying to U.S. citizens, or would they also include people from other countries who hold conversations with U.S. citizens?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a00a995065b1.jpg[/atsimg]

I'll reserve a room for two.

reply to post by Dbriefed


The quote is actually "White House realizes that some people will expose their lies, so they will smash those people".

And my quote is "Citizens control who is in the White House - idiots and liars can leave now". Suddenly, the White House is vacant.

Bring it! Monitor this extremist statement.

Eff you. Eff your prying eye. Eff you for labeling frustrated americans as extremists. Eff you for extremely Effing up our way of life. I hope you take this effing post rectally!

No offense intended to my fellow ATSers, unless you are a subversive plant then Eff you too.

Who would want to live in a world where people can grow their own fruits and vegetables and purchase natural raw dairy from their local farmers? Or, god forbid, have an opinion, and be allowed to protest laws they don't find fair?! Yikes! Obviously these are members of al-Qaeda. We should all thank his majesty Barack and the Supreme Soviet--err, 'Super Congress'--for their efforts at cleaning our streets by detaining the individuals indefinitely and without due process.

Originally posted by zcflint05
If you notice, more than 50% of the major terrorist attacks in the US over the last 20 years have been committed by white Christians.

Would you care to provide a source for your claim?

Ok, so, if they can monitor our posts then they should also publicly release every piece of information created, altered, or distributed on the taxpayers behalf. If we are paying for these decisions then we the people should be able to vote on it. Nothing should be done like this at a federal level, each town, state, city or county should be responsible for its own well-being. The federal government should only be used as a defense during war and a way to regulate interactions between local governments.

I think everyone should be represented, scratch that, I KNOW that everyone should be represented. Honestly, when filling out tax forms there should be a questionaire asking what you support or do not support. If I do not support it I should not have to be forced to help pay for it.

Anyone who speaks out loudly against the dog and pony show ponzi mafia scheme, is an extremist.

And a lot of people out there, know better but are silent.

America knows deep down what needs to be done, but it wont because it is, despite all the belly aching, still in a certain comfort zone. Or should i say, trance.

Oooh, I'm gonna GOOGLE+1 this thread.
Should be just fine...

Imagine if someone who IS being watched by the GOV google+'s this thread. That could have your whole life red flagged.

Honestly, The privacy issue is either here or there. Whatever. I don't really hide anything, but it's like the poster above said. What do "they" deem legal or extreme???.

Now is the time to make and hold very important laws in this country and I imagine some need to be amended.

Originally posted by Dbriefed
Who hasn't in a moment of anger, after reading an upsetting post or topic, used stronger words than used in normal conversation to emphasize their point of view?

"Anything you say, can or will be used against you in a court of law." Now anything you post can be used against you at an unpredictable point in the future. Just like if you have an unsecured wireless network, what someone else downloads from your IP can result in a 'no-knock' home invasion by armored and well armed government agents. How many of you have home protection next to your bed, and would fumble for it at 3am when your front door is kicked in?

So now, how freely will you express your views? Do you really have the right to have your own opinions, and to express those opinions when wrong or strong words, or words taken out of context, can result in rounds being fired into the bodies of your family, pets, yourself in the early morning hours?

Fear the government. They can kill you without remorse if they misunderstand your words.

Or, if you put the correct security steps on your machine, you won't have a problem. It's called MAC address filtering, and if you're going to use the internet, then I suspect you should read up on the security components. How do you propose the federal government ask about people downloading child pornography, with a smile and tea?

reply to post by zcflint05


Way to generalize there, buddy. I never understand it when people say this.

"Geez, you guys can never make up your mind! When King Foopla invades a country to gather resources , Group (X) complains, and when he doesn't Group (Y) complains!" All the while making it sound like Group X and Y are the same people.

And another generalization, where you deem anyone that is worried about increased presence of Government monitoring online is a tin foil hat nutter. Nice logic, friend. It couldn't be that some people like to keep some semblance of privacy? We're all loons who've escaped the nut house? How do these actions, in any way, help contribute to a meaningful conversation?

Back to the article, this could just be aimed at Al-Qaeda, but nevertheless it is a bit unsettling knowing how easily this could be abused. This, coupled with that new bill they're trying to pass (forcing ISP's to monitor every users activity and keep a log of the past 18 months) seem out of line. It's as if they're considering everyone a sspect; guilty until proven innocent. A shame, really. :/

Originally posted by survivalstation

Originally posted by zcflint05
If you notice, more than 50% of the major terrorist attacks in the US over the last 20 years have been committed by white Christians.

Would you care to provide a source for your claim?

Let's start with 1990 from Wikipedia:

November 5: Assassination of Meir Kahane head of Israel's Koch party and founder of the American vigilante group the Jewish Defense League in a Manhattan, New York hotel lobby by early elements of Al Queda.

Muslim.

January 25, 1992: Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, fires an AK-47 assault rifle into cars waiting at a stoplight in front of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, killing two and injuring three others, see FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

Muslim.

February 26, 1992: World Trade Center bombing kills six and injures over 1000 people, by coalition of five groups: Jamaat Al-Fuqra'/Gamaat Islamiya/Hamas/Islamic Jihad/National Islamic Front,[5] see FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, Ramzi Yousef.

Muslim.

March 10, 1993: Dr. David Gunn of Pensacola, Florida was fatally shot during a protest. He had been the subject of wanted-style posters distributed by Operation Rescue in the summer of 1992. Michael F. Griffin was found guilty of Gunn's murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Christian.

August 19, 1993: Dr. George Tiller was shot outside of an abortion facility in Wichita, Kansas. Shelley Shannon was charged with the crime and received an 11-year prison sentence (20 years were later added for arson and acid attacks on clinics).

Christian.

March 1, 1994: In the Brooklyn Bridge Shooting, Rashid Baz kills a Hasidic seminary student and wounds four on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in response to the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.

Muslim.

March 5, 1994: In Salt Lake City, Utah, a gunman with a homemade bomb held several people hostage in the downtown public library. Police mortally wound the gunman before he is able to kill any hostages.

No religious ties.

December 10, 1994: Advertising executive, Thomas J. Mosser, is killed after opening a mail package from the Unabomber, being the second fatality of the mailbomb campaign.

Anti-leftist, no religious ties.

July 29, 1994: Dr. John Britton and James Barrett, a clinic escort, were both shot to death outside another facility in Pensacola. Rev. Paul Jennings Hill was charged with the killings. Hill received a death sentence and was executed on September 3, 2003.

Christian.

December 30, 1994: Two receptionists, Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols, were killed in two clinic attacks in Brookline, Massachusetts. John Salvi was arrested and confessed to the killings. He died in prison and guards found his body under his bed with a plastic garbage bag tied around his head. Salvi had also confessed to a non-lethal attack in Norfolk, Virginia days before the Brookline killings.

Christian.

April 19, 1995: Oklahoma City: Oklahoma City bombing kills 168 people, 19 of them children; the most deadly act of domestic terrorism in the United States to date.

Right wing extremists.

July 27, 1996: Centennial Olympic Park bombing, killing two and wounding 111.

Christian.

February 24, 1997: Ali Abu Kamal opens fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claims this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine". His widow claimed he became suicidal after losing $300,000 in a business venture. In a 2007 interview with the New York Daily News his daughter said her mother's story was a cover crafted by the Palestinian Authority and that her father wanted to punish the United States for its support of Israel.

Muslim.

October 28, 1997: Dr. David Gandell of Rochester, New York was injured by flying glass when a shot was fired through the window of his home.

Christian

January 29, 1998: The anti-abortion Army of God bombs a health clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, killing a police officer and injuring a worker at the clinic.

Christian.

October, 1999: Martin Uphoff set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, causing US$100 worth of damage. He was later sentenced to 60 months in prison.

Christian.

December 14: Ahmed Ressam is arrested on the United States-Canada border in Port Angeles, Washington; he confessed to planning to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport as part of the 2000 millennium attack plots

Muslim.

December 31 An arson fire causes one million dollars in damage and destroys the fourth floor of Michigan State University's Agriculture Hall. In 2008 four people that the U.S. government claimed were Earth Liberation Front members were indicted for that incident.

No religious ties.


That's just the 1990's. Six by Islamic extremists and eight by Christian extremists. That's more than 50%. Even more if you consider the unaffiliated right wing attacks.

reply to post by OldCorp


But what about my "crippled epistemology"?
I feel left out in the cold.

* It further warned law enforcement to watch out for individuals with "radical" ideologies such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes....... and believes in anti-government conspiracy theories about gun confiscations, citizen detention camps '" (Conspiracy theorists)

Upholding the law is now a radical ideology? Arrest the entire Justice Department!
Opposing murder of the unborn? - You're a radical!
Thinking our tax laws benefit the rich while screwing the middle class? - You're a radical!

Gun confiscation never happened during Katrina, get over it New Orleans.
Your Japanese grandfather lied to you about interment camps in WW2 (he must've stolen that Purple Heart he said he got fighting in the Pacific).

One would think they might try to make such stupidity somewhat believable but the White House doesn't worry about reality or history - they just make it up as they go along. (So forget what you know and just follow the bouncing ball on the teleprompter).

How come there aren't any pro-semitic terror groups?

They should monitor online extremism....Every site that ends in .gov.


2nd


Deebo

I hope they lock me up in the Gay cell! God forbid if I should have to be in there with the real Men of ATS!

Then again, the Gay cell will have the real men in there! OK, sign me up!

Stupid White House! Stupid Obama! Stupid Hillary! I really do not like them and their kind at all! Of course they know that I know that Obama is a Socialist Extremist with a twisted sense of purpose, a liar, and a thief!

He is the False Prophet! The Mahdi!

So where is that Gay cell? I hope they know I need a window!

Originally posted by Asktheanimals

* It further warned law enforcement to watch out for individuals with "radical" ideologies such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes....... and believes in anti-government conspiracy theories about gun confiscations, citizen detention camps '" (Conspiracy theorists)

Well that covers about 99% of the members of ATS, what about us in the other 1%?