Nickname: stankles

Review: Spread the word for the need for anonyminity on the net. Software to defeat government snooping exists. http://www.digg.com/security/Exhausting_Guide_to_Circumventing_Censorship

Date reviewed: Jun 7, 2006 6:47 PM

Nickname: eb

Review: k.k., it is the shortsightedness of people like you that is the worst danger to our nation. Have you stopped to think that this sort of behavior on the part of the government will still be going on in the future when an administration with whom you do not feel idealogically in-tune is in office? How comfortable will it make you feel then?

Date reviewed: Jun 7, 2006 4:59 PM

Nickname: Nanoguru

Review: This is absolutely ridiculous! Now, what is the difference between Former Soviet Union (or Russia, for that matter) and the U. S.? We would be better served by NSA's trying to catch criminals than to spy on us, Americans. Intelligence Agencies should focus their precious few resources on the terrorist elements. What they currently are doing borders on criminal conduct. To make matters worse, our Agencies are overloaded with information, which does not bode well for catching terrorists, because ultimately, it is only humans who sift through these mountains of data and make artional decision. Then again, who is to say that the decisions are done by humans and not computers, as it is done these days?!

Date reviewed: Jun 7, 2006 4:18 PM

Nickname: none

Review: I don't believe our laws were created to protect us if we'd like to have our privacy. They were created to protect our privacy, period. Absolute security sacrifices that.

Date reviewed: Jun 6, 2006 8:36 PM

Nickname: Anonymous

Review: The evesdropping programs already pre-date the war on terror. The article mentions Nixon and Thatcher's use as well. the wikipedia article on echelon is interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON

Date reviewed: Jun 6, 2006 7:42 PM

Nickname: Mike D

Review: The most often used excuse for the government is "if you're not doing anything wrong, you don't need to worry." However, when there are no checks being done on this, who says it will stop with protecting us? The Supreme Court isn't even being allowed to find out if it's constitutional, because it's "classified". Isn't that concern enough to make you wonder if they're really doing what's best for us?

Date reviewed: Jun 6, 2006 6:17 PM

Nickname: j.j.

Review: @k.k. - "If a person is not doing anything illigal, then he/she should not have to worry about being snooped." In fact, that argument is a very popular one. The Chinese government makes this assertion too, as did the KGB, and the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. Note that you all said "wrong", and not "illegal". A small difference, but an important one. I'd also note that historically, even in this country, it's precisely the people that have done nothing wrong that have the most to fear. McCarthy, Nixon, LBJ, and every politician in history that sought to discredit his adversaries, crush dissent, or intimidate. Far too many people today are far too comfortable with what's going on here. There's no evidence that this is done to make you more secure or that it has in the past. Nor are people looking objectively at the cost in both money and personal freedom. If you were wrongly implicated by such a system, what would happen to you?

Date reviewed: Jun 6, 2006 5:59 PM

Nickname: MP

Review: In theory, there is no risk for Americans from being spied on by our own country. Their job is to protect us. So as long as we are not doing anything harmful, we have nothing to worry about. But, history has showed us that if you give someone or a group too much power, they are likely to abuse it. When allocating power, even for the best reasons, we must be very carful that there are always checks and balances.

Date reviewed: Jun 6, 2006 5:08 PM

Nickname: Jason

Review: One needs to consider when the War on Terrorism will end. If it will not then it could be said that the eavesdropping programs may never end as well. That would represent a new world order in the United States, represented by constant surveillance and spying, predicated on a single event, 9/11. Of course if you see the War on Terror as just another war, say like Vietnam, then you assume it's going to end which would hopefully end the surveillance. I would argue that the War on Terror is more akin to the War on Drugs, which is a war in perpetuity (follow the money, War on Drugs is a profit center for law enforcement). That's why it's clear to me that the eavesdropping issue must be addressed and resolved immediately, possibly through criminal prosecution (you mentioned Nixon). Great article by the way.

Date reviewed: Jun 6, 2006 3:08 PM

Nickname: k.k.

Review: I believe they are doing what is necessary to keep our country as safe as possible. If a person is not doing anything illigal, then he/she should not have to worry about being snoopped. As a concerned citizen, I like to have my privicy, but the security of our nation is more important.

Date reviewed: Jun 6, 2006 3:02 PM