Comments on: Top secret America? http://warincontext.org/2010/07/22/top-secret-america/ ... with attention to the unseen Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:44:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: scott http://warincontext.org/2010/07/22/top-secret-america/comment-page-1/#comment-14115 scott Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:45:44 +0000 http://warincontext.org/?p=7996#comment-14115 Size is relevant. The simplest critique of the security state is that they absorb so much info that they can never process it in a timely fashion. They literally record EVERY electronic transmission. How many billions of Arabic conversations do we record, and what is the turn around time to translate and interpret those conversations? The good thing about warrants is that it causes the security state to focus it's energies. In fact, wiretapping and signals intelligence is of no use to prevent anything if you can't essentially live monitor it. Otherwise, all you have is forensic evidence for ad hoc prosecutions. James Banford's Body of Secrets addresses this more closely, addressing Echelon back in 2000. Size is relevant. The simplest critique of the security state is that they absorb so much info that they can never process it in a timely fashion. They literally record EVERY electronic transmission. How many billions of Arabic conversations do we record, and what is the turn around time to translate and interpret those conversations?

The good thing about warrants is that it causes the security state to focus it’s energies. In fact, wiretapping and signals intelligence is of no use to prevent anything if you can’t essentially live monitor it. Otherwise, all you have is forensic evidence for ad hoc prosecutions. James Banford’s Body of Secrets addresses this more closely, addressing Echelon back in 2000.

]]> By: Richard01 http://warincontext.org/2010/07/22/top-secret-america/comment-page-1/#comment-14090 Richard01 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:57:40 +0000 http://warincontext.org/?p=7996#comment-14090 Sugar Grove: Having seen many similar aerial photos, I can say with some confidence that had the last photo actually been taken over Iran or North Korea, it would be labelled 'Secret Cyclotron' or something similar, and adduced as evidence of their doing somethings horrendous. Sugar Grove: Having seen many similar aerial photos, I can say with some confidence that had the last photo actually been taken over Iran or North Korea, it would be labelled ‘Secret Cyclotron’ or something similar, and adduced as evidence of their doing somethings horrendous.

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