Homeland Security may be watching us....

gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
edited January 2012 in A Moving Train
i don't know about you guys, but i doubt that the official reason given to justify the monitoring of these sites is to "collect information used in providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture."

if they are going to do that, why would they not just go ahead and monitor individual posters?? i know there are laws against that, but with the power the federal government has taken since 9/11, the laws are just mere speedbumps that are easily driven over by the powers that be.

we talk about a lot of things on here and most of us were critical of the response to all of the examples listed in the article.... should we be watching what we are saying and holding our opinions in check??

Why Homeland Security Watches Twitter, Social Media

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/1 ... 99633.html

(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.

A "privacy compliance review" issued by DHS last November says that since at least June 2010, its national operations center has been operating a "Social Networking/Media Capability" which involves regular monitoring of "publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites and message boards."

The purpose of the monitoring, says the government document, is to "collect information used in providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture."

The document adds, using more plain language, that such monitoring is designed to help DHS and its numerous agencies, which include the U.S. Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency, to manage government responses to such events as the 2010 earthquake and aftermath in Haiti and security and border control related to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

A DHS official familiar with the monitoring program said that it was intended purely to enable command center officials to keep in touch with various Internet-era media so that they were aware of major, developing events to which the Department or its agencies might have to respond.

The document outlining the monitoring program says that all the websites which the command center will be monitoring were "publicly available and... all use of data published via social media sites was solely to provide more accurate situational awareness, a more complete common operating pictures, and more timely information for decision makers..."

The DHS official said that under the program's rules, the department would not keep permanent copies of the internet traffic it monitors. However, the document outlining the program does say that the operations center "will retain information for no more than five years."

The monitoring scheme also features a five-page list, attached to the privacy review document, of websites the Department's command center expected to be monitoring.

CONTROVERSIAL SITES

These include social networking sites Facebook and My Space - though there is a parenthetical notice that My Space only affords a "limited search" capability - and more than a dozen sites that monitor, aggregate and enable searches of Twitter messages and exchanges.

Among blogs and aggregators on the list are ABC News' investigative blog "The Blotter;" blogs that cover bird flu; several blogs related to news and activity along U.S. borders (DHS runs border and immigration agencies); blogs that cover drug trafficking and cybercrime; and websites that follow wildfires in Los Angeles and hurricanes.

News and gossip sites on the monitoring list include popular destinations such as the Drudge Report, Huffington Post and "NY Times Lede Blog", as well as more focused techie fare such as the Wired blogs "Threat Level" and "Danger Room." Numerous blogs related to terrorism and security are also on the list
.

Some of the sites on the list are potentially controversial. WikiLeaks is listed for monitoring, even though officials in some other government agencies were warned against using their official computers to access WikiLeaks material because much of it is still legally classified under U.S. government rules.

Another blog on the list, Cryptome, also periodically posts leaked documents and was one of the first websites to post information related to the Homeland Security monitoring program.

Also on the list are JihadWatch and Informed Comment, blogs that cover issues related to Islam through sharp political prisms, which have sometimes led critics to accuse the sites of political bias.

Also on the list are various video and photo-sharing sites, including Hulu, Youtube and Flickr.

While a DHS official involved in the monitoring program confirmed the authenticity of the list, officials authorized to speak for the Department did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,156
    We have collectively done what a government monitoring agency could only dream of. A majority of the nation is carrying around video cameras in their pockets and posting information on their private lives for all to see.

    We cry about Big Brother but we are Big Brother.
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • Jason P wrote:
    We have collectively done what a government monitoring agency could only dream of. A majority of the nation is carrying around video cameras in their pockets and posting information on their private lives for all to see.

    We cry about Big Brother but we are Big Brother.

    and we are told to watch out for others and report any "suspicious" activity.

    i know it is cliche but... 1984
    Everything not forbidden is compulsory and eveything not compulsory is forbidden. You are free... free to do what the government says you can do.
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,156
    Jason P wrote:
    We have collectively done what a government monitoring agency could only dream of. A majority of the nation is carrying around video cameras in their pockets and posting information on their private lives for all to see.

    We cry about Big Brother but we are Big Brother.

    and we are told to watch out for others and report any "suspicious" activity.

    i know it is cliche but... 1984
    A good recent example is the Ranger fans who got beaten up by Philly fans while in line for cheese steaks after the winter classic. People just videotaped it and sent it to authorities instead of helping.

    If there is a crime, the police reach out to the public hoping for a video or picture.

    Also, why does every security camera video have the quality of a VHS camera from 1985?
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • Jason P wrote:
    We have collectively done what a government monitoring agency could only dream of. A majority of the nation is carrying around video cameras in their pockets and posting information on their private lives for all to see.

    We cry about Big Brother but we are Big Brother.
    Agreed. If you don't want people to see it then don't put it online, that is just common sense. Some people can't help themselves though, they enjoy talking about themselves far too much.
  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,495
    So, it's a surpise that the government is looking at public websites and looking at what people are doing?

    Isn't that what people want when they twitter all day about going to the coffee shop, having their nails done, hitting the gym, taking a piss...they are egocentric people that think people care about their every move...and now you are surprised that people are actually reading those dumb as tweets? :lol:
    hippiemom = goodness
  • Monster RainMonster Rain Posts: 1,415
    Hey, if someone's stupid enough to post a threat on Twitter, I'd like our government to be smart enough to read it. How dumb would they look if there was a terrorist attack and the media found out that the person responsible for it posted on Twitter? 75% of the country would think the government was incompetent and the other 25% would think it was a conspiracy.
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    So, it's a surpise that the government is looking at public websites and looking at what people are doing?

    Isn't that what people want when they twitter all day about going to the coffee shop, having their nails done, hitting the gym, taking a piss...they are egocentric people that think people care about their every move...and now you are surprised that people are actually reading those dumb as tweets? :lol:
    no not surprised at all. just telling everyone here.

    so consider it a fyi...
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,495
    So, it's a surpise that the government is looking at public websites and looking at what people are doing?

    Isn't that what people want when they twitter all day about going to the coffee shop, having their nails done, hitting the gym, taking a piss...they are egocentric people that think people care about their every move...and now you are surprised that people are actually reading those dumb as tweets? :lol:
    no not surprised at all. just telling everyone here.

    so consider it a fyi...

    Honestly, as MOnster Rain has already said...what if something was on Twitter/Facebook for the world to see but the gov't didnt look or do anything and then an attack came? What would you say then?

    They have to monitor this stuff.
    hippiemom = goodness
  • Honestly, as MOnster Rain has already said...what if something was on Twitter/Facebook for the world to see but the gov't didnt look or do anything and then an attack came? What would you say then?

    They have to monitor this stuff.

    i think the point is that they're watching it in abundance and targeting people for things that shouldn't be part of the "homeland security."

    e.g., The Patriot Act, which pretty much allows for the government to spy on you anytime anywhere, is there to protect us from TERRORISTS, right? Why then, has it resulted in 1,618 drug cases and only 15 terrorism cases?
    Everything not forbidden is compulsory and eveything not compulsory is forbidden. You are free... free to do what the government says you can do.
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,430
    A lot of people I know who are socially and politically similar to me are very concerned about the government watching our every move. In theory, I agree with them but to tell the truth, in practice I don't really worry about it. The government can find out anything about anyone anytime. I'm more concerned that the government isn't spending more time working on solutions to poverty, peak oil, climate change and especially all of the complex problems of environmental degradation. If we annihilate ourselves and other life on earth by altering the ecological systems on which we depend, there won't be anyone left to watch.
    "Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
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    "Try to not spook the horse."
    -Neil Young













  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    Honestly, as MOnster Rain has already said...what if something was on Twitter/Facebook for the world to see but the gov't didnt look or do anything and then an attack came? What would you say then?

    They have to monitor this stuff.

    i think the point is that they're watching it in abundance and targeting people for things that shouldn't be part of the "homeland security."

    e.g., The Patriot Act, which pretty much allows for the government to spy on you anytime anywhere, is there to protect us from TERRORISTS, right? Why then, has it resulted in 1,618 drug cases and only 15 terrorism cases?
    exactly.

    plus, i know from conversations with other posters that this message board was monitored by the government at one time in the lead up to and just after the start of the iraq war. so all of us with the same screen name as 2003 have most likely been looked at by big brother.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Monster RainMonster Rain Posts: 1,415
    Even if it's true that the government looked at this board back in 2003, has anyone who posted here been mistreated by the government in some way because of it? I sure haven't and I've never seen anyone else mention the government interfering in their lives due to something written on this board, either.
    exactly.

    plus, i know from conversations with other posters that this message board was monitored by the government at one time in the lead up to and just after the start of the iraq war. so all of us with the same screen name as 2003 have most likely been looked at by big brother.
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    brianlux wrote:
    A lot of people I know who are socially and politically similar to me are very concerned about the government watching our every move. In theory, I agree with them but to tell the truth, in practice I don't really worry about it. The government can find out anything about anyone anytime. I'm more concerned that the government isn't spending more time working on solutions to poverty, peak oil, climate change and especially all of the complex problems of environmental degradation. If we annihilate ourselves and other life on earth by altering the ecological systems on which we depend, there won't be anyone left to watch.

    QFT
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    exactly.

    plus, i know from conversations with other posters that this message board was monitored by the government at one time in the lead up to and just after the start of the iraq war. so all of us with the same screen name as 2003 have most likely been looked at by big brother.

    Juicy. How do you know this Gimme? Of course I would not be surprised if any of this is true (including the OP), but just curious how you think this board in particular was watched.
  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,616
    Jeanwah wrote:
    exactly.

    plus, i know from conversations with other posters that this message board was monitored by the government at one time in the lead up to and just after the start of the iraq war. so all of us with the same screen name as 2003 have most likely been looked at by big brother.

    Juicy. How do you know this Gimme? Of course I would not be surprised if any of this is true (including the OP), but just curious how you think this board in particular was watched.

    It must be true if other posters told him as such! :o
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    Even if it's true that the government looked at this board back in 2003, has anyone who posted here been mistreated by the government in some way because of it? I sure haven't and I've never seen anyone else mention the government interfering in their lives due to something written on this board, either.
    exactly.

    plus, i know from conversations with other posters that this message board was monitored by the government at one time in the lead up to and just after the start of the iraq war. so all of us with the same screen name as 2003 have most likely been looked at by big brother.
    yes they have been mistreated.

    you did not know because these people did not share the information with you....

    because you are not aware of it does not mean it never happened...

    i am not at liberty to discuss it any further, so please do not ask me to.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Monster RainMonster Rain Posts: 1,415
    You'll have to forgive me for doubting this. Short of anyone making comments that could be considered threats against the President, I really don't think the government gives a damn if a poster on a Pearl Jam message board agrees with their policies, whether it be about a war or any other foreign or domestic policy.
    Even if it's true that the government looked at this board back in 2003, has anyone who posted here been mistreated by the government in some way because of it? I sure haven't and I've never seen anyone else mention the government interfering in their lives due to something written on this board, either.
    exactly.

    plus, i know from conversations with other posters that this message board was monitored by the government at one time in the lead up to and just after the start of the iraq war. so all of us with the same screen name as 2003 have most likely been looked at by big brother.
    yes they have been mistreated.

    you did not know because these people did not share the information with you....

    because you are not aware of it does not mean it never happened...

    i am not at liberty to discuss it any further, so please do not ask me to.
  • Godfather.Godfather. Posts: 12,504
    all it would take is one person on here to be a regular on another forum (anti government or some other radical movement site) that makes a lot of noise and threats that big brother is watching and they will follow him/her here to the train and see all of the anti American posters :lol: ...so yes it's very possible in my opinion.


    president Obama is great ! :shock: :lol:

    Godfather.
  • CH156378CH156378 Posts: 1,539
    Godfather. wrote:
    president Obama is great !

    Godfather.

    +1
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    You'll have to forgive me for doubting this. Short of anyone making comments that could be considered threats against the President, I really don't think the government gives a damn if a poster on a Pearl Jam message board agrees with their policies, whether it be about a war or any other foreign or domestic policy.
    i forgive you. when i heard about it i did not believe what i heard either.

    i know of people who are no longer in this country in part because of what they have said on message boards.

    we can all file a request under the freedom of information act and ask to see who and what had been monitored. people have done it. people that i know have done it.. it is from them that i got my information. what little of it i have that is..
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    You'll have to forgive me for doubting this. Short of anyone making comments that could be considered threats against the President, I really don't think the government gives a damn if a poster on a Pearl Jam message board agrees with their policies, whether it be about a war or any other foreign or domestic policy.
    i forgive you. when i heard about it i did not believe what i heard either.

    i know of people who are no longer in this country in part because of what they have said on message boards.


    we can all file a request under the freedom of information act and ask to see who and what had been monitored. people have done it. people that i know have done it.. it is from them that i got my information. what little of it i have that is..


    could the bigger part be cause that they overstayed their visa or that their visa ran out? are they americans or foreigners? did they say i have to leave the country, the govt is on to me??? do you now realise that cause you were told you are now on those watchlists and may now have to flee the country?? ;)8-)
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
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