May 27, 2006

Here's what disturbs ME about Bush's illegal NSA wire-tapping: how far does it go?

When the wire-tapping stories first started coming out, a lot of people were saying, "Hey! How far does this stuff go?". But I was like, yeah, well, they would say that, wouldn't they? But now I'm like, wait a minute, how far DOES it go? Coz I mean, you know, it could go real far. Right?

Think about that Google case. Google refused to hand over records to the Busheviks and it became a big story. But what if they had just quietly handed over the records? We would never have even heard of it. Most people who work at Google wouldn't even have heard about it. Some dude would have burned a copy of the data to DVD, handed it to some other dude in a suit, and that would have been it.

So we know that three big phone companies handed over data (lots of it) and at least one other held back (Qwest, if you are thinking of swapping carriers, which you probably should be if you are with Verizon, AT&T or Bell South). But what about all the other US phone carriers? Have they been approached? If so, did they say yes or no?

Now stick with me...

What about the energy companies? Has the NSA asked them for your records? Does anyone know? Has anyone asked? Given that they are such friends with Dick Cheney, I doubt you would have to ask them twice. Your electricity and gas records are almost surely in the NSA database, IMHO.

What about the banks? From an NSA POV, there's real gold in the banks' databases. Hopefully the banks would draw the line somewhere on exactly what they would hand over, but where would they draw the line? "We'll give out balances, transaction records, credit histories and loan details, but no passwords, OK?" Have NSA approached the banks? Have the banks said yes? Does anybody know?

What about travel agents? Real estate agents? Hmmn???

Think I am being paranoid? Well, just think about WHY they want this data. They want to be able to track EVERY INDIVIDUAL IN THE USA to look for ANY signs of unusual behaviour.

Obviously, the more information you have on an individual, the easier it is to notice an abnormality. If I suddenly make an international phone call to Istanbul, that's one thing. But if I've just taken $20,000 out of the bank and terminated my lease the same day, that's another. See what I mean? (Never mind that I may have just fallen madly in love with a Turkish girl who's gone back home: from the NSA's point of view, it's something that NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED).

So here's my question: are there any reporters out there in Bush's USA who have done their jobs and chased down all the major banks, power companies and other database-assimilating business? Are they on the record somewhere as saying they have/have not been approached by the NSA and have/have not supplied information to the NSA?

How big is this thing?

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