Psst: Be Careful What and Where You Post On the Internet

Through the Eye of a "PRISM" — As It Were

Fancy name for a fancy program — just watch what and where you post or comment on-line over the Internet ... or as George Orwell concluded and perhaps rightly so: "Big Brother Is Watching." 

FYI: Big Brother is a fictional character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Big Brother is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state taken to its utmost logical consequence – where the ruling Party wields total power for its own sake over the inhabitants.

In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state.

Since the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the term "Big Brother" has entered the lexicon as a synonym for abuse of government power, particularly in respect to civil liberties, often specifically related to mass surveillance, which brings us to the topic of this headlines from various sources: Intelligence agencies tap servers of top Internet companies ... coming to us at high port on top of the recent NSA telephone snooping that is still breaking across all networks ...

The conclusion is stated this way: The program, code-named PRISM, was first publicly exposed on June 6, 2013 (ironically D-Day 1944) by The Washington Post and The Guardian.

Is your keyboard work, or web surfing, or heavy-duty on-line work really safe? From viruses and such, probably, but apparently not from Uncle Big Brother? And, that is not even counting you pecking away probably daily? 

So, how many of the Internet providers do you use: one, two, three, or even more? I can see these that I use regularly: AOL; Yahoo; Skype (to relatives in Korea as well as to our son and daughter in other places across New York State); Facebook off and on; and yes, even Youtube where I have posted a few clips.

So, am I to presume that I am a target or that I have been "listed" somewhere in the NSA data bank (that metadata minefield of who knows what)? I guess I had better watch my "anti-whatever" posts and opinions, right... me a retired Marine combat officer and former enlisted man who also served as a skilled interrogator for my last 10 years of active duty (and one who held a Top Secret/SCI/SBI clearance, too), and then one who went on to serve in DOD (Department of the Army) for nearly 22 years as a civilian education services officer.

Wow - and ouch ... I damn sure hope not. But, if so, I'd love to see my files ... is that ever possible? Doubtful - so, how about you. I do hold strong views about many programs just like this latest set of issues, and especially about the detainees at Gitmo and their treatment and all that entails. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? 

Thus, I conclude that Big Brother really is keeping an eye on us right here at home. Okay, so, who's watching and tracking the really bad guys? Oh, yeah, the Drone folks. 

So, okay, you and I have nothing to hide, right? Fair enough, but, we damn sure have plenty to protect. If it matters, and it should. 

Also, visit my sister blog here to see continuing interest and updates on the NSA phone record/domestic spying issue. Boy, do we live in interesting time, eh?

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.