Sure it could be abused by the police state, but if you have open connectivity, I'm not sure how the evil state is going to pull it off without everyone knowing.

No.

I think what is happening, and what will continue to happen in future generations is that you will continue to connect to the world (and vice versa) in more and more ways. Facebook, xbox gamer tags, etc you have many forms of identification and lots of data points that people are freely exposing including current location and who you're hanging out with. This openness has more potential to enrich our lives and interactions than anything else going on in technology.

Sure it could be abused by the police state, but if you have open connectivity, I'm not sure how the evil state is going to pull it off without everyone knowing.

Number of Violations Committed by the FBI

• From 2001 to 2008, the FBI reported to the IOB approximately 800 violations of laws, Executive Orders, or other regulations governing intelligence investigations, although this number likely significantly under-represents the number of violations that actually occurred.
• From 2001 to 2008, the FBI investigated, at minimum, 7000 potential violations of laws, Executive Orders, or other regulations governing intelligence investigations.
• Based on the proportion of violations reported to the IOB and the FBI’s own statements regarding the number of NSL violations that occurred, the actual number of violations that may have occurred from 2001 to 2008 could approach 40,000 possible violations of law, Executive Order, or other regulations governing intelligence investigations.1

Substantial Delays in the Intelligence Oversight Process

• From 2001 to 2008, both FBI and IOB oversight of intelligence activities was delayed and likely ineffectual; on average, 2.5 years elapsed between a violation’s occurrence and its eventual reporting to the IOB.

Type and Frequency of FBI Intelligence Violations

• From 2001 to 2008, of the nearly 800 violations reported to the IOB:
  • over one-third involved FBI violation of rules governing internal oversight of intelligence investigations.
  • nearly one-third involved FBI abuse, misuse, or careless use of the Bureau’s National Security Letter authority.
  • almost one-fifth involved an FBI violation of the Constitution, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or other laws governing criminal investigations or intelligence gathering activities.
• From 2001 to 2008, in nearly half of all NSL violations, third-parties to whom NSLs were issued — phone companies, internet service providers, financial institutions, and credit agencies —contributed in some way to the FBI’s unauthorized receipt of personal information.
• From 2001 to 2008, the FBI engaged in a number of flagrant legal violations, including:
  • submitting false or inaccurate declarations to courts.
  • using improper evidence to obtain federal grand jury subpoenas.
  • accessing password protected documents without a warrant.

User data requests increased by 70% from the last reporting period. Figures revealed for the first time show that the US demanded private information about more than 11,000 Google users between January and June this year, almost equal to the number of requests made by 25 other developed countries, combined. Governments around the world requested private data about 25,440 people in the first half of this year, with 11,057 of those requests in the US. During that period, Google complied with 93% of those user data requests that came from US Government Agencies.

I've been wondering the same thing and I have no idea. Even with the OWS movement going on I still feel extremely helpless, to be perfectly honest.

I know for my part I've been donating to OWS and have been donating to the ACLU since the day the Patriot Act passed.

No.

I've been donating to OWS and have been donating to the ACLU since the day the Patriot Act passed. ... and I look seriously at the possibility of leaving the US at some point.

H.P. Lovesauce wrote:

In this hypothetical info-corporatocratic police state of Mericabba, would anyone fight the machine?

Not sure I should answer that, honestly. Such is the nature of a police state.

In recent months several Tibetan monks and nuns have set themselves on fire to protest China's rule in Tibet. The attempted suicides have drawn an angry response from Beijing officials who claim the protests are linked to acts of terrorism and sponsored by the Dalai Lama.

Transparency and fair and free elections is how you defeat the police state.

Malor wrote:

Quote:

Transparency and fair and free elections is how you defeat the police state.

Which is why the American government is so resolutely opposed to both, while claiming to be in support.

Don't worry, Obama is saving all that transparency he promised us for that second term. sh*t will get real transparent then.

Don't worry, Obama is saving all that transparency he promised us for that second term. sh*t will get real transparent then.

Yonder wrote:

Don't worry, Obama is saving all that transparency he promised us for that second term. sh*t will get real transparent then.

Quote:

I know for my part I've been donating to OWS and have been donating to the ACLU since the day the Patriot Act passed.

ACLU is a great suggestion, as is the EFF. My concern with OWS is that it doesn't distinguish between inequities in wealth which come from natural differentials in ability & execution in a capitalistic society, vs inequities which come from political advantage and favoritism. The former drives prosperity, and the latter is highly corrupting and anti-competitive.

I wish the OWS conversation would focus around transparency / money in politics / regulatory capture. Instead, the "99%" crowd has become the media meme (pushed, perhaps, by those who wish to marginalize the protests), and the public face of OWS.