OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer

[dogscoff]

I agree, it's insane. I mean, what's next? Now that the thin end of the wedge is in, how long before every letter and parcel we send is opened and scanned at the sorting office? How long before we're all required to have mini-GPS locators implanted? How long before the police kick down your door because they found "criminal" genes in your DNA?

People just don't seem to care though: The amount of brainless morons I see on TV reacting to news like this with comments like "Well if you've got nothing to hide then you've got nothing to worry about" ... Yeah, that's fine as long as you have complete and utter faith in every single individual and organisation with access to these powers. Jeez, what if some nazi like Jean Marie LePen got into power here? ****, imagine if Hitler or Stalin had had the technology to monitor every bit of correspondance, every request for information...

I just wish the majority of the general public (in this country and, I suspect, everywhere else) wasn't so damned ignorant. Literacy and numeracy is all very important, but I really think schools should be obliged to teach things like philosophy and citizenship (ie rights/ justice/ responsibility). Of course if the government did that, they'd probably never have gotten this law passed. Maybe apathy is the price we pay for affluence: Bread & circuses...

The really sad thing is that the government can't even be honest about their reasons for bringing these laws in. Do you really think they'll catch any more pirates, terrorists and paedophiles this way? All the criminals have to do is use coded Messages rather than plain language. Hell, they probably do already - so what is the real purpose of this legislation? If they said "We want to snoop on your 'net usage because we're a bunch of paranoid, voyeuristic megalomaniacs and we're scared that the internet might actually bring about a change in society that reduces our importance in some way" then at least I might have a tiny bit of respect for them.

*Bastards*

</rant>

I'm really depressed now. It's enough to turn you into a conspiracy theorist. I'm off to the cantina to drown my sorrows...

[ August 05, 2002, 13:10: Message edited by: dogscoff ]

[Mephisto]

Dogscoff, I agree 100%.

[tesco samoa]

And who is to say who will be incharge in the future. This information gathering will grow and grow... Maybe one day there will be another Stalin in power.

Also.... I do not like the fact that this information will be used more for Marketing than catching terrorists....

[Lord_Shleepy]

"...Further, I would add that most of us have more to fear from our network administrator trolling through our computers than the FBI doing so. The network admin has fewer legal restrictions on them and almost no logistical problems to overcome. The FBI has bigger legal and computer challenges to get over. "

Oddly enough I happened across an old "Newsweek" in the break room today containing an article discussing possible oversights made by the CIA/FBI prior to 9-11. Amongst other leads that the FBI did not use to avert the 9-11 tragedy was a militant islamic Moroccan who was making odd inquiry's about how to pilot jet planes. Apparently, the feds had been investigating him from some time (monitoring email and the like) but were unable (before or after 9-11) to acquire a search warrant to allow them to snoop through his computer files. And these guys are supposedly raiding random people's hard drives for pirated copies of "Space Invaders"?! Hmm...I think not.

[Lord_Shleepy]

*struggles back to consciousness...

On the same note...why would they waste their time and money digging through millions of parcels of fruit cakes, boring personal letters, and nudie flics? Sure...governments have never been particularly careful with their money...but really...it sounds a tad boring doesn't it?

They'd be bLasted to heck by pizza delivery bombs while searching through my dirty laundry (which is only slightly pewie at best). best of luck to em if they wanna try is what i sez...

ahem...i mean

*resuming character

Our glorious citizens will never be intimidated by these humiliating searches of our personal artifacts. We will persevere, overcome, and generally surmount all obstacles in our quest for glory and... splutter....snnnzzzzz....

[Instar]

Well, the world will be a better place when I conquer it.

[Atrocities]

The answer is, all it takes is ONE fruit cake to make it through. The President eats it, and the gig is over. "Game over man."