[ExI] The NSA's new data center

[Eugen Leitl]

On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 05:29:53PM -0600, Kelly Anderson wrote:

> I have a kind of vision of nanobot video cameras just crawling all
> over the place, self replicating (under control, of course - don't
> want grey goo), and doing mesh communication to relay the images back
> to a central server. Try to hide from those Bin Laden... Who owns

If you can do this you can do perimeter security and alife immunosystems.
The toner wars are coming.

> these? Everyone who wants to. Where will they be? Everywhere. The only
> thing that could stop you would be the law, and there are enough
> people willing to break the law with video cameras today that I don't
> see that as an effective deterrent.

Today is a very early time in surveillance/sousveillance. Already
unlawfully collected information is inadmissible. Infrastructure
to jam cellular and GPS exist. I anticipate drone interception 
capabilities, with the state having an edge over the citizens.
Sufficiently punitive legislation and interception capabilities
will take care of the rest.

On the other hand, the Pirate Party got 7.4% in Saarland today.
 
> Technology like this is going to make it really difficult for multiple
> governments to continue to function independently. I am guessing that
> we're headed for a one world government IF the populace is going to
> continue to insist on privacy... but I don't know that the populace
> will insist on that. The next generation is just giving away their
> secrets on Facebook as though they have no value whatsoever. And I

Won't they be surprised when they try to go underground, and the
black vans will get them in their underwear.

> care a lot less about privacy than the generation before me... so
> maybe the one world government can be prevented. Maybe.
> 
> >> This new data center is less than ten miles from my house. I had heard
> >> only the lightest whispers of such a thing going in. There are a lot
> >> of construction activities in the area right now, so it's not hard to
> >> believe that it got lost in the noise.
> >
> > I wonder why they let Bamford get away with it year after year.
> > I understand he has some fans in the agency, and since he's not
> > getting any info on the really juicy stuff keeping the agency
> > in the press makes sense. It's hard to justify your budget if
> > you're not there.
> 
> Freedom of the press? I think it's in some barely consequential

Doesn't apply to whistleblowers.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2011/06/hbc-90008114

> document referred to as "The Constitution"... but we'll probably not
> pay much attention to that in the future if current trends hold.

"Probably"? "future"? We do not seem to be living in the same reality.