Cartoons and Pictures From The "Land Of NOMIS"

[Aggie]

That's an awesome graphic.

I don't agree with the sentiment, though. Anyone in this country who thinks they are not being monitored to some extent are a bit naive, IMHO.

The normalization of electronic monitoring is perhaps as or more worrying than the monitoring itself. While major threats are held up as the rationale for monitoring, the technological realities are such that broadscale electronic monitoring is/will be possible. 

If you raise a red flag by stringing together a number of words that the computer red-flags as suspicious, how much monitoring are you OK with in order to let them find out that you're not a threat? Phone, text and email tapping? How would you feel if a couple of men in a plain vehicle park on your street and watch your family's daily routine? (the latter is me scaremongering, because I doubt they have the resources for that sort of thing without significant cause) If you're not a terrorist but might be bending other areas of the law, should they be allowed to pass info on to other agencies even if the infractions have nothing to do with the original red flag?

IMHO, this kind of monitoring has more to do with technological abilities and the general political climate more than any particular figurehead.  However, if the powers that be have this kind of a mentality:

then the implications of widespread monitoring are disturbing indeed.

[Afterglow]

[Opsa]

Things have changed, eh?

I am moving Aggie's and my discussion to the Current Events Thread.

[Afterglow]

[Opsa]

I love existential humor.

[Aphos]

[Aphos]

[Aphos]

[Aphos]

[pieces o nine]

Good cartoons today, but I liked Aphos' best.  

A small, subversive part of me thinks it would be great if everyone  who lost or just needs digital data (from incremental back-ups to finished documents to contents of individual hard drives to servers, from records of on-line purchases to records of online payments received, from transcripts of calls to service centers to transcripts of calls to utilities companies) petitioned the NSA for backup copies.

By phone, with followups through fax, text, and email.

Repeatedly.     

[Afterglow]

[Afterglow]

[Afterglow]

[Aphos]

All right.  All right.  It's not political.  But it's still funny.

[Aphos]

Good cartoons today, but I liked Aphos' best.  

A small, subversive part of me thinks it would be great if everyone  who lost or just needs digital data (from incremental back-ups to finished documents to contents of individual hard drives to servers, from records of on-line purchases to records of online payments received, from transcripts of calls to service centers to transcripts of calls to utilities companies) petitioned the NSA for backup copies.

By phone, with followups through fax, text, and email.

Repeatedly.    

The NSA is still insisting that it did nothing illegal, BUT...it wants congress to pass blanket immunity for any crimes committed by companies because the NSA asked them to do it.

I know this sounds like a joke, but sadly it isn't.