Government Spying On a Global Scale - Why is This a Surprise? (Also known as, The Self-Powering Metallic Turkey Buzzard.)

"Honey, let's stay inside today. That thing is back on the telephone pole."

 

When a well-regarded British newspaper—the UK Guardian —has a large headline saying “NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others,” I would be outraged if I was at all surprised.

I am not surprised, however. Instead I am surprised—at other people’s surprise. Did the US Congress not have votes on this issue—specifically last year? The unpatriotic, unconstitutional, yes, despicable Patriot Act of 2001 was renewed with bipartisan support, and I never once heard, not once anywhere, that post-George W Bush, any wiretapping/phone/internet surveillance was scrapped. No media outlet ever mentioned it, so surely such surveillance continued. We now find out that it has.

Discouraging if you bat for the (D) team. When “our” political side does it, it is no more acceptable than when the “other” side does it. It’s bad policy, and the Boston Marathon bombing shows that—with all of the surveillance and wiretaps—the government still couldn’t prevent the attack. Yet no government - except for gallant Scandinavians and ever-plucky New Zealanders—would willingly end the use of such a powerful new tool.*  And they won't listen to you and me anyway. (...Wait—I suppose actually they will be listening...)

. Obama continues these policies—and too many other shadows of George Bush's bad-to-ghastly ideas. I don’t feel spying is something Obama could personally justify, and I would love to be a fly on the wall and hear him explain this to progressive supporters, but I’ll just settle for electronic surveillance, perhaps. I don’t need a court order very much, and if he’s innocent, he should have nothing to hide. 

(I kid.)



This is no joke, though. The National Security Agency is building the country’s largest data--collecting building - ever - in Bluffdale, Utah. It’s very near some of the more beautiful mountains (the Wasatch) in that scenic state - our weary spies will enjoy taking that weekend off—unless it’s a working-vacation, requiring them to monitor your vacation plans as they conduct their own. This place will be the Disneyland of spying.




How Cheney-esque! This building and these spook programs are a complete flashback for anyone who felt like a future was debatable with extremists like the former Wyoming Congressman and Dubya. I did expect a more from Obama—though by last year I ceased to believe in much of anything Obama does as opposed to how he campaigns. However, others did and do believe in him, in both 2008 and in 2012. My advice? Those naive 2008 supporters and wishful 2012 backers should run to their cars—rain or shine—and remove their "Yes We Can" Obama bumper stickers very quickly, or it will look very awkward for all of us. 

Last decades' paranoids have turned into this year's prophets. Now we truly know that it really is true—even your computer is watching you! According to this article: “Some of the world's largest internet brands are claimed to be part of the information-sharing program since its introduction in 2007. Microsoft—which is currently running an advertising campaign with the slogan "Your privacy is our priority"—was the first, with collection beginning in December 2007. It was followed by Yahoo in 2008; Google, Facebook and PalTalk in 2009; YouTube in 2010; Skype and AOL in 2011; and finally Apple, which joined the program in 2012. The program is continuing to expand, with other providers due to come online.”

Steve Jobs may have been a domineering jerk. He may have acted the big shot by parking in the handicapped parking slots of companies (he admittedly did run.) But he's all right in my book for one thing:  he wasn't keen on allowing every American to be spied on by an Spook with an Apple. He resisted the program, according to co-founder Steve Wozniak. It's revealing and thoroughly depressing that Apple only jumped on board for Internet snooping for the NSA in 2012—almost one year after Steve Jobs' death. Shouldn't they have been making Mountain Lion better? Apple's new management could use an ethical (or at the least courage) upgrade. (Throw in a restoration of Final Cut Pro 7 while they are at it)

Microsoft was the first company to agree to this top-secret (and criminal) NSA espionage?

Booh! For Shame 2.0, Bill!

As for the rest of us, the new generations are savvy with technology, but it’s sad that there may be one sinister person from a larger yet faceless group—on the other end of the fiber-optic line, serving as a solitary audience for each and every one of us. It was not always like this. Whether it is computer and TV screens that can watch you—yep, they do exist—Playstation spies that can tell you really suck as a gamer, or software that can tell what you’re typing by listening to the acoustic difference of each finger on a different key, computers are a great window into our lives and interests. I hope people like what they see. I feel very sorry in a lot of ways for younger people today—when I'm not busy feeling sorry for myself. I have to live with all of this too... Budget-busting smartphones won't make me feel less creeped out by recent history.



I haven’t even mentioned the killer robots—drones—that are rapidly coming down the pike, replacing most human soldiers. They'll look less like the in-sourced nightmare fodder to the left...

and more like the bug-sized terror below.

Terminators indeed, they can be constructed as large as the creators wish, or as small as a large bug.

The U.S. is not the only nation developing this nightmare-fodder. Britain, Israel and South Korea are active participants, creating the bizarre and real possibility of jingoistic robots fighting tribal wars in a post-apocalyptic future. Which would win? Could the legacy of Honeywell overpower the metallic spawn of General Electric, or will they be blown apart by Lockheed Martin's monsters? Will they have finished off the rest of us before we ever know? 

Personally, I'm betting money on Skynet.

Bad Cop, Example #3456

Bug-bombers may not have joined your local Boys in Blue yet, but they are being used by many police forces, and will likely be embraced by most police forces in the near future. Training exercises are already being conducted so your local sheriff can familiarize himself with the possibilities. SWAT teams are being briefed. Watch out Banksy, Germany is considering their use against graffiti. Terrifying possibilities abound across the globe and the near future doesn't look good. These flying Terminator bugs could be self-regenerating, if programmed to, renewing all needed electrical power by sitting on phone lines, like self-powering malevolent turkey buzzards. With a Raytheon laser perhaps?  In theory self-powering drones could work for us (or against us)... forever. Don’t piss that drone off.

 Sweet dreams.

*since I wrote this piece, Scandinavia has revealed a strong lack of gallantry previously missed by me. The whole disturbing Snowden affair suggests that many of these frosty countries are also in the bag for President Obama's renegade Terror Fighters, or as (they) might say in Norway, "Jagerfly av terror." 

"My, they do grow..."

Labor Day Blues Overcome by Pasta, plus Lynda travails

Staycation on your Labor Day weekend? Not what I dream for in this sparkling sunshine. Still I tried to do my best. On the top photo you will see some ingredients. Navy beans, tuna and olive oil mixed with parsley, celery, salt & pepper, herbs de province, a big red onion. Throw in a tad of balsamic vinegar if it's a ll a bit too subtle. Although I consider myself quite good at Italian cooking, I never actually remember the name of each dish, let alone the Italian name for them. I do know it's tasty, though. And the finished product can be seen below. Next on my agenda - getting better at food photography.

A Thousand Dreams?

What can Doyle be dreaming of?

Good Enough, Let's Move On...

Let's keep it this way, so that we can all ignore the election and keep our collective disappointment private. Click to enlarge, and let me know if you can find Romney's tax returns hiding in some state or other...

The Silliest Book Cover You Will Ever See...

Normally I'd like to focus on things more Win-based, but this amusing site gets my approval. We all know that Sci-Fi and Fantasy books have some of the trashiest covers this side of Harlequin romance books. But sometimes - just once in a while, the graphic design has something intriguing and memorable. That would be this then, although really it's just hilarious.

Good Show Sir presents the best of such images.

It's now the end of Friday.  no phone call, therefore, no job. At least there is a meteor shower tonight. If I can see anything. And if I can't, there's always rice-a-roni tuna with marionberry/currant scones. Guess which dish is more sophisticated...

Brief Countryside Trip - Trying To Catch A Bit of Summer

Don't Get Lost in the Field...

 The picnic basket packed, we made a quick trip to the lavender fields. We cobbled together enough to make a brief visit, on a budget. The fields were already being harvested, but there were still plenty of rows to get lost in, plenty of lavender flowers to accidentally step on as you navigated between said rows. This photo reminds me so much of a realism/impressionistic painting by Jules Bastien-Lepage. (No French in sight, though.) It's very soothing - even though the sky was uncharacteristically overcast. There was new ownership - apparently the puzzling lack of sun last year drove the previous owner out of the business.

Picking yourself a huge bouquet of lavender for $5 is my idea of a fragrant deal. We picked both culinary and fragrant lavender. Culinary lavender, you ask? Sure, great for making herbal meat rubs, you can even use it for baked deserts or jams. Since lavender is one of the cheapest ingredients for a fine herb, you will see it combined with a million different products. When lavender is done right, it is unique and special. It has reputed relaxing properties - this must be true, as it was so calming for us. I wanted to stay and use every combination of apertures for my photographs. But you can't stay forever.

The Solemnity of the Gathering of the Lavender

Tranquility

Picking Some Marion-Berries

If you look at the bottom picture, you can see where a major lake is being drained as the result of the Elwha Dam being torn down. (We would not have been allowed to wander around on the lake-bed, as the state is still working on the dam for a few years). Eventually it will become a meadow, as it was before the damn was built at the turn of the century. We got as far as this section of the mountains before we turned away for home. Can't do everything in one adventure, I suppose. The cat awaits.

Have to be pleased that we saw a baby deer on the way to the lavender field, a tiny tiny Shetland Pony, caught an incredibly atmospheric foggy noir morning on the 5 AM ferry, saved food costs by packing sandwiches, scones and some dirt-cheap Kombucha we came across at Grocery Outlet.(Stay tuned for a future ode to the chaotic choices of Grocery Outlet. But watch out for their eggs...)

Still hoping for the Value Village call...