We Have No Privacy, We Are Always Being Watched.

Frank Apisa wrote:

The people making the most fuss about it are the ones who, if a another serious attack occurred here or elsewhere in the world, would be demanding to know why the government had not done more to prevent it.

I'm one of the ones making a fuss, but if another serious attack occurs, you will not see me screaming about it. The number of deaths by toddlers wielding hand guns exceeds the number of terrorism deaths in the US in 2013 (by 4 to 1). There are ~30,000 auto deaths in the US in any given year and I'm not demanding all my rights be taken away to prevent them. Drunk driving deaths are around 10,000 annually but I'm not calling for prohibition. The idea that we will give up all the protections of the fourth amendment to possibly prevent a few deaths is laughable when we look at the routine risks we tolerate every day. You are giving up a lot for very little return.

Terrorist caused deaths are an effort to change our way of life, drastically, and those engaged in them attempt maximum effect.

But the "giving up" is no longer a matter of choice. The technology has progressed to where it is unavoidable...and the good folk thinking they can turn back the clock are in for a very disturbing future.

spendius wrote:

Terrorist caused deaths are an effort to change our way of life, drastically, and those engaged in them attempt maximum effect.

And they are succeeding! Because of terrorist attacks, people who used to believe that we should be mostly free from government intrusion in our personal lives have lost the right to that privacy. This massive diminution in our rights represents a complete success for terrorism IMO.

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But the "giving up" is no longer a matter of choice. The technology has progressed to where it is unavoidable...and the good folk thinking they can turn back the clock are in for a very disturbing future.

Nonsense it is not unavoidable to put hardware in place on the main backbones to monitor/record all traffic and it is not unavoidable to build a few billions dollar computer center in Utah with five billion terabytes just to start with.

Bulldozing this new center after selling all the hard drives and other hardware for used of the private sectors would be a damn good start.

A police/surveillance state is not unavoidable.

And they are succeeding! Because of terrorist attacks, people who used to believe that we should be mostly free from government intrusion in our personal lives have lost the right to that privacy. This massive diminution in our rights represents a complete success for terrorism IMO.

The privacy is GONE...whether we face terrorism or not. The technology has already decided that. If it is not the NSA...it will be someone or something else...probably business run with profit as a motive...

This massive diminution in our rights represents a complete success for terrorism IMO.

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The privacy is GONE...whether we face terrorism or not. The technology has already decided that. If it is not the NSA...it will be someone or something else...probably business run with profit as a motive...

Bullshit there is no reason to allowed private businesses to tap the internet anymore then in allowing the government to do so.

Just because it is possible to set up a surveillance state does not mean that such a state should be allowed to be set up!!!!!!!

This massive diminution in our rights represents a complete success for terrorism IMO.

.and we will be living a lot closer to George Orwell's 1984 world soon.

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.and we will be living a lot closer to George Orwell's 1984 world soon.

I don't think so. Huxley's Brave New World is much more likely. Who would give up having a different hottie every night when as high as a kite because he objected to being manipulated?

and it is not unavoidable to build a few billions dollar computer center in Utah with five billion terabytes just to start with.

But in the BNW privacy has no meaning. Some of your recent confessions are going in that direction. When everything has a banal scientific explanation there is nothing left to be ashamed of.

I try never to do anything that I ought be ashamed of, Spendius. (Not always successful!)