I was always taught that two wrongs don’t make a right. I still believe that. But when governments and law enforcement agencies are allowed to lie, cheat, deceive, ruin reputations, and otherwise violate the rights of private citizens, shouldn’t we all be concerned.
It’s hard enough to find the truth on the Internet today… when you search a reputation for something, someone, you get a range of results from glowingly good to insidiously evil – and this is true whether you google Ford, or Microsoft or Adobe, or tens of thousands of other companies, individuals, Web sites, and more. The internet is full of misinformation and it is hard enough for the average person to find the gems amid the detritus.
It would seem to me that the last thing we need is governments and law enforcement agencies flooding the Internet with misleading, false, harmful, lies in order to ferret out a few criminals from the majority of law-abiding citizens. And what does this have to do with “national security”. If we continue to lose our freedoms at the rate we’re losing them, then we’ll all be living in a country none of us will be very comfortable living in.
Where does it end? When do we stand up and say “enough is enough’. Whether or not the information Snowden leaked makes him a traitor or a hero, each of us has to decide. But we all, I think, can agree that our individual liberties are being encroached upon by governments and law enforcement agencies using cutting edge technology to manipulate the Internet and ultimately those who use it.
I think most of you will find the following article interesting and very disturbing. What do you think? Do two wrongs make a right? Do you think this kind of activity is a bit over-the-top?
How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations
One of the many pressing stories that remains to be told from the Snowden archive is how western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction. It’s time to tell a chunk of that story, complete with the relevant documents.
By publishing these stories one by one, our NBC reporting highlighted some of the key, discrete revelations: the monitoring of YouTube and Blogger, the targeting of Anonymous with the very same DDoS attacks they accuse “hacktivists” of using, the use of “honey traps” (luring people into compromising situations using sex) and destructive viruses. But, here, I want to focus and elaborate on the overarching point revealed by all of these documents: namely, that these agencies are attempting to control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse, and in doing so, are compromising the integrity of the internet itself.
Among the core self-identified purposes of JTRIG are two tactics: (1) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets; and (2) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable. To see how extremist these programs are, just consider the tactics they boast of using to achieve those ends: “false flag operations” (posting material to the internet and falsely attributing it to someone else), fake victim blog posts (pretending to be a victim of the individual whose reputation they want to destroy), and posting “negative information” on various forums. Here is one illustrative list of tactics from the latest GCHQ document we’re publishing today:…
Thank you posting this and I’m very much afraid that posts like these to enlighten us will be censored and not allowed. Government cannot control educated people, only the ignorant. That’s why the dumbing down of our government run schools started many years ago. We have become a nation of Sheeple and I pray it can be turned around.
As i read this article it breaks my heart to know that the very government that we depend on as tax paying citizens to make our live’s a little better are the very ones that will someday make our life’s a night mare. I look back at all the great society’s in the past and they as well as us have one thing in common and that is, the morals of its citizens are the first thing to go and after that everything starts to unwound. Today we praise someone that is willing to do an immoral act with someone else and what was to be a great health issue for women is now over 54 million dead from that decision. The one thing that is lacking from all other things is we refuse to seek the face of God for his leadership. But one day everyone will come to that knowledge, maybe to late but they will get there. So let me say GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU. HogMan
HOG MAN YOU SAID IT FOR ALL OF US I WISH THE POWERS THAT BE COULD READ THIS AND START TO LISTEN.
amen…amen….amen….
It is sad to say that people have become complacent in their everyday lives. We vote people in office then sit back and expect everything will be all right with our world. We as a people have let our government get too big for its britches and then cry and rant that it shouldn’t be like that. Growing up there was right and wrong, now what was wrong is crammed down our throats as right and morality has gone the way of the dinosaur. If we want this country to get back on its feet, then we better get down on our knees and pray, and put God back in charge!
The clearer sign of the times when our Loving GOD is cast aside; thus Godly ways are being forsaken with worldly ways!
Thanks TC . Bill (hogman) has expressed my thoughts clearly- far better than I am able. Mary M
Ditto…Ditto…Ditto…Ditto…Ditto…..To all of the above comments. I too notice that what I am seeing these days, appears to be twisted and wrong, bad ideology constantly bombarding us. I have been struck by the same fears that are expressed by posters on this site! Atheism seems to have become the governing force today. The results are so obvious…..How do we save ourselves ?
Joan G., personally i always trust and obey GOD, leaving any consequences to Him. I hope this may help to all who have eyes to see and ears ti listen!
to listen. Sorry for spelling error.
I’m going to put my thoughts to bed on this issue by saying how much we appreciate TC & EB for being there to help guide us through this magical land called the internet that by the way Al Gore invented a few years back. Without you rascals a lot of us would be in a mess ( by the way the word rascals is a word of thanks down here in the south, sorta like yall which means 1 or 100 or bless your heart ) you guys keep a lot of us from turning left or right when we need to go strait ahead so thank you so much for being there. HogMan
There is a word of hope from God I adhere to -and take courage from in 2 Chronicles v13 -16 and understand we who are believers have a responsibility as well .
2Chroniclesv13-16
“I have heard your prayer ”
“If I close heaven so there is no rain, or allow locust to devour the land or send pestilence among my people , Yet IF my people upon whom my name has been pronounced , humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear from heaven and pardon their sins and revive/heal their land. ”
” Now my eyes shall be open and my ears attentive to their prayer. I have chosen and consecrated this land that my name may be there forever”
I agree with all of you…but the feeling in the land now is “what can I do as this one little person about what is going on?” The only thing that I can do is VOTE and vote the dogs out of there!
And i pray that it will be enough!
For several elections now I voted against anyone that has held that office to long, we should not have 94 year old senators that sleep all the time when they are supposed to be working! Please, give me a break! How do they keep getting voted back in? Big Question! Seems strange to me or illegal! And just like Ted Kennedy, my gosh, he had brain cancer and was dying…and voted for issues that were important to our country! We, the voters need to start taking some responsibility for what has happened to our country! Do your research, and get off your butts and go vote to change things! If you keep voting for the same dumb shits that are up there in Washington, nothing is going to change for God sake! And Harry Ried, OMG…get him the hell out of there! PLEASE! I do not care which party you are for, just get these old ones out of there…they do not have a vision for a good future for our country!
Geez, I guess I turned this into a political thing, didn’t I…but really, all they care about is their political future, not YOUR future! Let’s become smarter voters!