State sponsored surveillance. Is it good. Is it bad. How it may affect you in the future.

[root_fu]

"When the CIA sees three guys doing jumping jacks it thinks its a terrorist training camp."
--Anonymous state department official quoted by the NY Times

Comments

[fizzyland]

That is some sloppy calisthenics - my old football coach would have had us running laps after seeing that.

[whoasksfinds]

time for a motivational speech!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1GrdTakvl8

[fizzyland]

Slackers!

[root_fu]

Everyone starts at the bottom.

[rimpala]

some of them aren't even doing jumping jacks, they're doing the "Y" part of the YMCA

the video could be anything really, to me it looks like a bunch of people in black sweat shirts and pants, in Anywhere, Anycountry being told to do random exercises

[root_fu]

Its an Al Qaeda terrorist training camp.

[rimpala]

If you say so

[root_fu]

As far as I can tell, its american soldiers training middle eastern soldiers in Iran or Afghanistan.

[gunslnger]

There are no options for delisting ones personal information from publicly accessible databases as in the past.

This is not true. I've done just that myself a few months ago. Even from Intelius.

[root_fu]

Is that the option where you pay them not to disclose your information?

Doesn't count. They should remove it for free considering its your information and not their property. d :

[gunslnger]

Nope, I did not pay them to not disclose it. I did pay a service to help me find all the places that offer it and then format the requests for removal of my info properly so that they would do it, but that's not the same thing. Some of the places I notified myself directly and my info was removed.

[root_fu]

I may have been wrong in terms of there being no means of delisting. (((:

But, I would maintain that the degree to which a persons personal information has been expanded, shared and sold as if it were a commodity owned by private enterprise constitutes an infringement upon personal privacy and rights.

[sophia_sadek]

I am reminded of the story Gary Schroen told of his experience with drone targeting in Afghanistan. He was on the ground when he got word that drone surveillance of the territory picked up someone thought to be bin Laden. When he checked the coordinates against his own position he realized that the drone image was of himself. It would have been the first instance of death by friendly fire in the Afghan war.

This kind of misidentification happens more than the guys in Washington are willing to admit. It lends new meaning to the slogan, "Support Our Oops!"

[root_fu]

Putin's returned to using typewriters.

What does he know that we don't? :T

[sophia_sadek]

When he employs monks as scribes and has all of his manuscripts illuminated with illustrations, then I will be concerned.

[root_fu]

I'll be concerned if he ever manages to get a decent haircut.