You are Prolly an Extremist to the NSA

[SurfaceUnits]

Ever downloaded or searched for privacy software? Then the NSA is tracking you as an "extremist"

The NSA has been tracking anyone who has downloaded or even searched for privacy software such as Tor or the Linux-based operating system Tails, and labels such privacy-conscious users “extremists”.

[QIII]

This has already generated three or four threads.

[RichardET]

Say I am doing an analysis using a small claims database as my source; I want all people who have hypertension, high cholesterol, and arthritis; Do you think I am going to examine everyone, or target my search to some population over say aged 50? If I look at all medical claims of people over aged 50, am I saying all people over aged 50 are automatically suspected of being sickly? No, but I can assure you that if you used everyone and did some frequencies by age band, the distribution would look rather lopsided towards the older groups, so why bother to examine anyone under 50?

The NSA is operating in similar fashion with its targeting; People need to get a grip and get over it; quit watching too many CSPAN interviews with Greenwald and other Washington Post reporters, such as Gellman, who are mainly trying to puff up their own careers.

These guys are rather interesting - they feed off of whistleblowers who end up paying the price, while they bask in the glow of a new book, or adoring college audience, giving speeches and interviews, completely ignoring the damage they are causing.

[Buntu Bunny]

Near as I can tell, they think everybody is an extremist.

[Warren Hill]

Near as I can tell, they think everybody is an extremist.

+1

[themainliner2]

I'm a communist Linux user...their system must choke when processing my data.

[pretty_whistle]

I check out privacy software anyway. I dont care what they think. Cant go around being concerned about what others may or may not think. What kind of life is that?

[bashiergui]

No clue if it's true or not. Let's assume it is. I can't imagine the innumerable benign records they're collecting. Must be zetabytes. I don't know how many people in the world possess enough knowledge about big data analytics to turn all that data into anything remotely useful, but it's not like they can have dozens of data guys. With the knowledge it would require, people would be far better paid and have better flexible work arrangements in the private sector.


My theory is that the problem is moot. They have too much data to extract anything useful routinely. They probably get lucky once in a while. Maybe they're stockpiling the data to get crunched by future technology.


And if they are using the data to identify useful threats routinely, they should patent and sell that ****. They'd make millions.

[bashiergui]

Someone else went through the same thought exercise as me, but had far more detailed answers. http://arstechnica.com/information-t...with-big-data/

[mattlach]

Whatever, I'm probably on several lists already, so here goes...

This is the biggest illegal dragnet in the history of mankind.

Every last one of those yahoo's at the NSA ought to be rounded up and sent to Guantanamo, along with the entirety of the Bush administration.

No threat - violent terrorism or otherwise - warrants the loss of our basic freedoms. When we as a society stoop to these levels, the terrorists surely have won.

Instead we ought to lead by example, exercise our freedoms and the rule of law, and if a few terrorists fall through the cracks and have successful attacks, well then that's the price we have to pay. Freedom is risky. Freedom isn't free. We can NEVER trade freedom for security.

We have to be prepared to live and die by our principles of law and order and freedom, and no person or agency can be above the law.