Global Surveillance Apparatus Largely Independent of National Politicians

Like many multi-national corporations, the international surveillance apparatus apparently operates globally without any meaningful checks and balances. National leaders do not even know the extent to which their own intelligence agencies are or are not cooperating with the NSA. This is tantamount to a kind of international shadow government.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/03/13/nsa-elected-officials-foreign-countries-unaware-countries-cooperation-us/

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Laurence Kant

The NSA is Hacking Systems Administrators

Every day, it seems, we learn more about our shadow government: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/03/20/inside-nsa-secret-efforts-hunt-hack-system-administrators/

NSA Can Record an Entire Nation’s Telephone Calls: Surveillance Unleashed

To say the least, this is disturbing. The NSA now has the capability of recording not only metadata, but also the content of telephone calls across an entire country. When can we start saying that we live in a police state? http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-surveillance-program-reaches-into-the-past-to-retrieve-replay-phone-calls/2014/03/18/226d2646-ade9-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html

The NSA Installs Malware Globally: The Outer Limits of Surveillance

Though not surprising, this is appalling. It’s another indication how close we are to totalitarianism.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/03/12/nsa-plans-infect-millions-computers-malware/

Massive License Plate Surveillance: Another Assault on the Fourth Amendment

And they’re not deleting anything–ever.

http://www.alternet.org/print/meet-company-can-track-everywhere-youve-been-and-tell-police-about-it

Mass #Surveillance Destroys Investigative #Journalism

 

If you destroy the idea of #confidential sources through mass surveillance, what’s left of the press’ ability to do the kind of investigative journalism we have come to expect? Of course, we should remember that corporations are equally at fault here with their own surveillance systems. We are certainly entering a new word here and will have to find new ways to preserve fundamental freedoms:http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/12/nsa-direct-threat-journalism-cpj-report/print

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Laurence Kant

The NSA and Living in a Totalitarian State

We now live in at least a semi-totalitarian state–an alliance between government, multinational corporations, and the extremely wealthy. The distinction between us and other totalitarian states is a matter of degree (which is thankfully still substantial), not of definition:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/06/verizon-nsa-metadata-surveillance-problem.html

Chips that See through Walls

Of course, it’s intriguing that engineers are devloping chips that will allow smartphones to see through walls, but it also brings up a host of privacy issues as well

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/12/19/give-your-smartphone-superman-vision/

Freedom of the Press Foundation

 

A fundamental cause of our time. Without a free press that actively challenges state authority and secrets, we cannot have free societies. Whatever you think of Wikileaks (and I have my issues) and of other muckracking organizations, we need them. They are the rock on which our freedom stands.

https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/

 

 

 

Targeting Ads Across Platforms

Scary to contemplate how advertisers now can target ads on multiple devices of the same user. Oy.

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/2556/kims-picks-how-ad-tracking-follows-you?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=notd&utm_content=2012-12-14-article_9-title

Hacking the Human Brain

A brave new world for the military and the humanity:

http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/12/the-next-warfare-domain-is-your-brain/

 

Researchers are also looking into how to hack the brain for private data:

 

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/brainwave-hacking/