reply to post by DeadSeraph
I'm right there with you on this. I find it very worrying that people are not marching on Washington right now. Seriously, there should be anger out
there that the US government (and the UK too by the looks of things) has been systematically monitoring its own supposedly free citizens.
Forget the ranting about gun control, this is the real deal, happening right there in front of you, sweeping invasion of privacy and the destruction
of basic Human rights, and people are apathetic about it.
I have seen people on the BBC comments saying the same thing - if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about. How about saying if
you've done nothing wrong they have NO RIGHT TO MONITOR YOU!?
The biggest bafflement in all of this is that people don't seem to understand that the gathering of massive amounts of data on innocent people has
nothing to do with preventing crime or terrorism.
This is how it should go... there is a suspect, they monitor the communications of that suspect, and it leads to other suspects who they also then
monitor. This is how we all pretty much believed it was being done, how it should be done, what we would accept as being reasonable. If there is
suspicion, then there should be investigation. The gathering of massive amounts of data on people not identified as suspects has NOTHING TO DO with
preventing crime and terrorism, nothing at all.
How does the mass gathering and storage of millions of people's information in any way helpful to preventing a miniscule minority of people from
acting criminally? It doesn't, there is no way that harvesting such data can be of any use in tracking down or preventing "just the criminals" from
acting.
Instead of looking for the needle in the haystack, they've collected up every haystack in the field. But for what purpose? The only explanation I can
think of relates to that gigantic new facility they have in Utah, and the Stasi-like "file building" efforts where every citizen has a little folder
and everything about them is detailed as and when it arrives.
The only reason I can think of for having such a system is for the manipulation and control of the population at large. This is about absolute power
over the citizen. This is about a totalitarian state so terrified of its own population it would lock them all up to remain in power. This is the
creation of a digital prison, a virtual cell where you are watched and flagged for having an opinion, or expressing something the government
(whichever government that is) doesn't agree with.
When you combine this with everything else they have, such as no-fly lists of politically opinionated people, monitoring and infiltrating of peaceful
protest groups, the TSA, the actions of the DHS in quashing Occupy, the monitoring of the Tea Party, the gags on media and reporting, secret courts,
Bradley Manning... this is proving that the fears of people concerned about a totalitarian state are real and genuine.
There is no denying that this is bigger than Watergate, bigger than any scandal to have ever come to light, bigger than any conspiracy theory we have
seen unravel in the history of the USA. But, people just don't seem to get it at all.
The only bright light we have in the UK right now is MP Kieth Vaz, he has consistently shown himself to be a true voice for the people and for
justice. He was quick to get on the BBC and say that there needs to be an investigation into the powers the government has abused, and it seems he
might be the only MP willing to demand that something be done.
But what can be done? Does anyone think that an investigation is going to do anything? Even removing our elected will not likely change anything at
all, the next guy will do more of the same.
edit on 8-6-2013 by Rocker2013 because: (no reason given)