Tweet This At Your Own Risk
If you're emailing your mom about a freak (and don't spell it phreak, because that's on the list too) ice storm in San Diego that dropped a foot of snow, you'll be on some list somewhere.
It really isn't breaking news that the the Security State wants to read our Tweets and emails and monitor all of our electronic communication, but the fact that "breaking news" is on "list of terms that will be used by the NOC when monitoring social media sites to provide situational awareness," demonstrates the pervasive scope of the surveillance.
A January 6, 2012 "Privacy Impact Assessment for the Office of Operations Coordination and Planning" " lists those terms, the ubiquity of which are astounding. There are 372 terms on the list including ice, San Diego, storm and snow. So if you're emailing your mom about a freak (and don't spell it phreak, because that's on the list too) ice storm in San Diego that dropped a foot of snow, you'll be on some list somewhere.
The sheer length of the list ("new search terms may be added") and its plethora of terms commonly used on a daily basis shows how ineffective it will be to track down so-called terrorists. Essentially everyone will be monitored and few extremists will be discovered.
Is this a plot to snare anyone visiting Tijuana or using drugs (remember, the list doesn't distinguish "illegal" drugs except for the nasty no-nos like marijuana.)? An anti-fitness campaign targeting anyone who goes to to a gym to exercise? A conscious law enforcement plot?
As the adage goes, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." This list is more likely some half-baked idea dreamed up by overpaid, security bureaucrats, wannabe cops--fucktards (put that on the list) suffering from what a friend of mine calls dingbat paranoia. The operative mindset of dingbat paranoia is, "Anything is possible." Indeed that may be true, but one cannot live ones life in a Hazmat suit.
Of course the effect of dingbat paranoia is the notion that anyone could be a terrorist. A cost-mitigation approach to the prevention of terrorism might be to just put everybody on the list. Or just include the terms "and", "I", "we", "apple pie", "mother", "father", "sister", "brother". Oh yeah, but then the security masters of the universe would not be able to ascertain who is shooting up heroin during a twister.
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