Under the Eye of the FBI: Kiss Your Privacy Goodbye

[Fan]

guys, the president has almost nothing to do with what the NSA does. He does not plan their agenda or do day-to-day oversight of them. I bet they could throw a wrench in the process, but maybe JFK already tried that and every prez since then is aware of what happens when you do that?

Obama has continued on the same path. This is not the important thing. The important thing is the out-of-control military industrial complex linked to corporations pushing the expansion of said apparatus.

Bush was a moron who helped build the spy nation, Obama is a moron who is doing the same. Forget about them, focus on the real evil.

Bobbi - you may be missing the point here. It is not about facebook or twitter postings, they are archiving ALL traffic from EVERYONE. All phone calls, all emails, all web traffic, every single thing everyone does. If that doesn't scare you then you don't have a good imagination of who could come into power, what could happen... another terrorist attack done by domestic terrorists will get us on the "person of interest" list - and think back to everything you have said and done on the net. It is enough to come round us up.

[kbot]

Over the weekend I was thinking about how this applies to protected patient information, which, supposedly, is protected by law, under HIPPA.

But, in today's highly interconnected society, wheer everything related to healtcare is transmitted over the internet, ALL of this os now being downloaded by the government.

Some examples - in Diagnostic Imaging, we archive our studies in a PACS system. Verty few facilities still use the old film system. The images and reports are stored on multiple servers. During off-hours, many radiology practices make use of what are called nighhawk servicdes - radiologists who read studies on the 11-7 shift. These studies are sent over the internet.

Also, all insurance claims and even discussions of patient conditions, reportnig of results, etc, is all done using newer/ hackable/ downloadable technologies.

Kinda scary. It's one thing to think that all medical information is going over what we thought was a secure network, but, if the government is dumping all this traffic into their servers for retrieval later....... crap!!!!! It was bad enough when they pulled out stacks of e-mails from Generals Petraeus and Allen, but, imagine one day if they start pulling out your, or your spouse's, kids or parents medical files......

[Fan]

Over the weekend I was thinking about how this applies to protected patient information, which, supposedly, is protected by law, under HIPPA.

But, in today's highly interconnected society, wheer everything related to healtcare is transmitted over the internet, ALL of this os now being downloaded by the government.

Some examples - in Diagnostic Imaging, we archive our studies in a PACS system. Verty few facilities still use the old film system. The images and reports are stored on multiple servers. During off-hours, many radiology practices make use of what are called nighhawk servicdes - radiologists who read studies on the 11-7 shift. These studies are sent over the internet.

Also, all insurance claims and even discussions of patient conditions, reportnig of results, etc, is all done using newer/ hackable/ downloadable technologies.

Kinda scary. It's one thing to think that all medical information is going over what we thought was a secure network, but, if the government is dumping all this traffic into their servers for retrieval later....... crap!!!!! It was bad enough when they pulled out stacks of e-mails from Generals Petraeus and Allen, but, imagine one day if they start pulling out your, or your spouse's, kids or parents medical files......

yeah... or sell access to it to insurance companies? Or give "strategic" partners access?

[kbot]

yeah... or sell access to it to insurance companies? Or give "strategic" partners access?

Makes you wonder....... the possibilties are endless.... And the kicker is, you can't sue the government, right?

[Riddick]

guys, the president has almost nothing to do with what the NSA does. He does not plan their agenda or do day-to-day oversight of them. I bet they could throw a wrench in the process, but maybe JFK already tried that and every prez since then is aware of what happens when you do that?

Obama has continued on the same path. This is not the important thing. The important thing is the out-of-control military industrial complex linked to corporations pushing the expansion of said apparatus.

Bush was a moron who helped build the spy nation, Obama is a moron who is doing the same. Forget about them, focus on the real evil.

Focus we can Fan, and most certaily should. Yet, IMHO evil is as evil does. The "real" culprits responsible need to be exposed, to be sure, but at the same time I'd say it's also important as well that their aiding and abetting front men ALL be held accountable for their culpability in expansion of the Big Brother apparatus -

As it is I foresee no striking at the root, so much as at any given time there's still many folks more than willing to totally ignore or excuse the actions of the nation's current Little Casears-in-place. Circumstanses as they are and moronic as they may be, Anerica's empiristic figureheads still have smarts enough to know NOT to strut their stuff in the nude...

Pursuing their operation cloaked under robes of democratically elected "legitimacy", the two-party mindset provides near perfect cover for the corporate military-industrial complex under which to work their wanton ways - Bottom-line, folks? Democrat and Republican politicans all serve the same master, and it AIN'T us.

[Fan]

Focus we can Fan, and most certaily should. Yet, IMHO evil is as evil does. The "real" culprits responsible need to be exposed, to be sure, but at the same time I'd say it's also important as well that their aiding and abetting front men ALL be held accountable for their culpability in expansion of the Big Brother apparatus -

As it is I foresee no striking at the root, so much as at any given time there's still many folks more than willing to totally ignore or excuse the actions of the nation's current Little Casears-in-place. Circumstanses as they are and moronic as they may be, Anerica's empiristic figureheads still have smarts enough to know NOT to strut their stuff in the nude...

Pursuing their operation cloaked under robes of democratically elected "legitimacy", the two-party mindset provides near perfect cover for the corporate military-industrial complex under which to work their wanton ways - Bottom-line, folks? Democrat and Republican politicans all serve the same master, and it AIN'T us.

Yes. The president would have almost nothing to do with stuff on a day-to-day basis. He inks a few things, he knows in general what is happening, but he is not making phone calls to the NSA/CIA telling them to "collect more data goddamit".

This is the out of control apparatus that runs the show. The morons are just along for the ride, and to take the fall. Go arrest the prez and see what happens. He has plausible deniability, hell, they claim it is legal anyways. The real people breaking the law are the technicians, the overseers, the analysts doing humdrum privacy encroachments.

There is no one to blame, there is no one to sue to stop it, there is no recourse at all for anyone. There was a time, but that was so long ago it was before most of us were born. The only hope is full-out rejection of these policies by the people, and we are so far from that (because they have us arguing about bush vs. obama, palin vs. biden, zimmerman vs. martin) it seems impossible we could even get close to a place where that could happen.

[SquidInk]

Yes. The president would have almost nothing to do with stuff on a day-to-day basis. He inks a few things, he knows in general what is happening, but he is not making phone calls to the NSA/CIA telling them to "collect more data goddamit".

This is the out of control apparatus that runs the show. The morons are just along for the ride, and to take the fall. Go arrest the prez and see what happens. He has plausible deniability, hell, they claim it is legal anyways. The real people breaking the law are the technicians, the overseers, the analysts doing humdrum privacy encroachments.

There is no one to blame, there is no one to sue to stop it, there is no recourse at all for anyone. There was a time, but that was so long ago it was before most of us were born. The only hope is full-out rejection of these policies by the people, and we are so far from that (because they have us arguing about bush vs. obama, palin vs. biden, zimmerman vs. martin) it seems impossible we could even get close to a place where that could happen.

All true, and well stated.

[Riddick]

There is no one to blame, there is no one to sue to stop it, there is no recourse at all for anyone. There was a time, but that was so long ago it was before most of us were born. The only hope is full-out rejection of these policies by the people, and we are so far from that (because they have us arguing about bush vs. obama, palin vs. biden, zimmerman vs. martin) it seems impossible we could even get close to a place where that could happen.

No one to blame? Hey, not so fast, Fan! If we're nowhere near a place where 'the people' will full-out reject police-state surveillance polices, I'd say SOME fault is attributable to the vast majority of folks who aren't at all inclined to pay close attention to current events, OR interested in knowing what's REALLY going on.

No system of government gets corrupted from within this way without at the very least, the implicit consent of the governed; even much of the public's explicit consent on most issues is "manufactured" by way of constant mass media bombardment in support of the system and promotion of self-censorship. Simple-minded right/wrong-black/white partisanship is made to order for the typical citizen with little time, energy or patience to produce an opinion on their own and act when their lives AND liberties are being trampled on.

As it is, all day and all night and around the clock, the sock-puppet talking-heads and political cronies are more or less serving up 'soft despotism' on a platter and all too may people are eating it up it lock, stock and barrel. If enough Americans ever cared enough to actually think for themselves, and call out the culprits across-the-board, maybe the march towards an all-knowing all-seeing surveillance society COULD be slowed or stopped -

But instead? To paraphrase George Carlin, shamefully too few seem to notice, too few seem to care. What "the real owners of America" can and do rely on is the intellectual laziness and habitual willful ignorance of the electorate at large to keep voting in their bought and paid for front men, while not noticing the big red white and blue Big Brother electronically-powered dildo that's being jammed up their rectums every day...

[Fan]

yes, blame the sleeple, but what good will that do you, you can never get justice. There is functionally no one to blame. I should have said "no one to pin the blame on".

[BenSlain]

For those who hated President Bush and cited blah blah blah and he was imperialistic and blah blah blah - they don't mind that this President has doubled down on that which they feigned was the reason they hated President Bush.

BINGO!


And ya can't even argue with them about it.

Well that may be a little harsh. it's not like they ran away and started a forum that doesn't even except or will even talk to you.

[Riddick]

yes, blame the sleeple, but what good will that do you, you can never get justice.

Well, it may do no good, but we know no good or justice will come unless the sleepy people DO wake up eh...?

There is functionally no one to blame. I should have said "no one to pin the blame on".

At that rate, searching for a singular surveillance society scapegoat is definitely a fool's errand. As you say Fan, better to focus on the evil OF the ever-expanding apparatus -

Even then though, for so much good that will do anyone, one may yet well wonder what it will take to shake a suitably sizable sum of sleeple out of their lethargy (should that be at all possible and it's not already far too late)? I'd say so much as stories like the following aren't reported by the MSM, it certainly can't hurt to pass such news around to as many folks as possible...

Maybe one instance alone won't suffice as a stimulant, yet over time with enough doses, sufferers from societal stupor may find some eye-opening benefit from the cumulative effect!

• BIG BROTHER’S LISTENING
  Government officials installing audio surveillance systems on public buses
  By Michael Brick Monday, December 10, 2012
  
  The era of private conversations on city buses — and even on San Francisco’s iconic streetcars — may be coming to an end.
  
  Government officials are quietly installing sophisticated audio surveillance systems on public buses across the country to eavesdrop on passengers, according to documents obtained by The Daily. Plans to implement the technology are under way in cities from San Francisco to Hartford, Conn., and Eugene, Ore., to Columbus, Ohio.
  
  Linked to video cameras already in wide use, the microphones will offer a formidable new tool for security and law enforcement. With the new systems, experts say, transit officials can effectively send an invisible police officer to transcribe the individual conversations of every passenger riding on a public bus.
  
  But the deployment of the technology on buses raises urgent questions about the boundaries of legally protected privacy in public spaces, experts say, as transit officials — and perhaps law enforcement agencies given access to the systems — seem positioned to monitor audio communications without search warrants or court supervision.
  
  “This is very shocking,” said Anita Allen, a privacy law expert at the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s a little beyond what we’re accustomed to. The adding of the audio seems more sensitive.”
  
  In San Francisco, for example, transit officials recently approved a $5.9 million contract to install a new audio-enabled surveillance system on 357 buses and trolley cars over four years, with an option for 613 more vehicles. The contract, signed in July, specifies both modern buses and historic trolley cars.
  
  A spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Paul Rose, declined to comment on the surveillance program. But procurement documents explain the agency’s rationale.
  
  “The purpose of this project is to replace the existing video surveillance systems in SFMTA’s fleet of revenue vehicles with a reliable and technologically advanced system to increase passenger safety and improve reliability and maintainability of the system,” officials wrote in contract documents.
  
  In San Francisco, the Department of Homeland Security is funding the entire cost with a grant. Elsewhere, the federal government is also providing some financial support. Officials in Concord, N.C., for example, used part of a $1.2 million economic stimulus grant to install a combined audio and video surveillance system on public transit vehicles, records show.
  
  The Lane Transit District in Eugene, Ore.; the Bay Area Transportation Authority in Traverse City, Mich.; the Central Ohio Transit Authority in Columbus; CT Transit in Hartford; and Athens Transit in Athens, Ga., have also been pursuing similar systems, documents show. The Maryland Transit Administration, which serves Baltimore, announced a bus recording system last month. The agency started recording audio on 10 public buses, with plans to expand the system to 340 more. Each bus uses six cameras. A recorder stores 30 days of data, the Baltimore Sun reported.
  
  Full story at http://www.thedaily.com/article/2012/12 ... veillance/

[Riddick]

So, whaddya all think about THIS story -- Surprising, or not REALLY?

• UK gov't told to rethink data surveillance plan
  
  British lawmakers on Tuesday demanded the government water down plans to keep track of phone calls, email and Internet activity - a bill critics dub a "snooper's charter."
  
  Link

Could this apparent anti-snooping "roadblock" forming among the political class in Britain INDEED in reality be anything worth getting hopeful about -

OR IS it most likely to be merely one more mock debate put out for public consumption with officeholders posturing and posing more or less per their party positions, in the end essentially all totaled a minor "speed bump" that ultimately will do nothing to deter the surveillance state's mad rush to take the whole of society down the Highway to Hell?

[Riddick]

Hey Now Folks, Getcher "SPY GUIDE" Here! Can't Know What-All's Being Done WITHOUT a Scorecard -

• Slowing down the surveillance state: a guide to warrantless government spying
  
  If the growing use of governmental tip-toeing to wiretap phone lines and emails doesn’t seem serious, think again. So heightened lately are concerns over surveillance that two major organizations have published a primer on federal spy programs.[/b]
  
  Both ProPublica and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have released thorough guides this week that explore what the US government can and can’t do in terms of tracking US citizens using an array of weirdly-worded wiretap laws currently on the books.
  
  Link

[SquidInk]

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/1 ... veillance/

Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations, according to documents obtained by a news outlet.

The systems are being installed in San Francisco, Baltimore, and other cities with funding from the Department of Homeland Security in some cases, according to the Daily, which obtained copies of contracts, procurement requests, specs and other documents.

The use of the equipment raises serious questions about eavesdropping without a warrant, particularly since recordings of passengers could be obtained and used by law enforcement agencies.

It also raises questions about security, since the IP audio-video systems can be accessed remotely via a built-in web server (.pdf), and can be combined with GPS data to track the movement of buses and passengers throughout the city.

Facepalm. Again.

[SquidInk]

There is functionally no one to blame. I should have said "no one to pin the blame on".

Believe me, this is a direct outgrowth of the widespread adoption of the 'corporate' mentality, structure, & strategy. 22,000 died due to criminal negligence on the part of Bayer, yet due to the structure of the organization, no meat people were liable, or held accountable. Instead, the entire organization as a single entity or 'person' was 'fined' one day's revenue.

In big business, & government responsibility & liability have been effectively distributed to the point where, when convenient, nobody is accountable for anything.

If we had a 'monarch' (just as an example), then like a sole proprietor, that person would serve as an effective focal point for addressing grievance & seeking remedy.