Remember 2001 when the new Total Information Awareness Office flopped because it was set up to rely on regular people to step-up and join the snitch club? No one stepped up to the plate but a few crazies. Well it appears that plan B is working out very nicely. With the help of corporateism we now have INFRAGARD to keep a watch on us ay.
“Exclusive! The FBI Deputizes Business” Matthew Rothschild
More than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to collect information on individuals. The members of this rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public, and at times before elected officials. In return they provide information to the government. The ACLU warns, “There is evidence that InfraGard may be closer to a corporate TIPS program, turning private-sector corporations—some of which may be in a position to observe the activities of millions of individual customers—into surrogate eyes and ears for the FBI.” Aside from information sharing, members are expected to assist the government when martial law is declared. “They’re very much looped into our readiness capability,” says DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa. According to more than one interviewed member they have permission to shoot to kill in the event of martial law without fear of prosecution. As of late January 2008, InfraGard had 23,682 members, according to its website, www.infragard.net, which adds that, “350 of our nation’s Fortune 500 have representatives in InfraGard.”
My emphasis in red.
I like safety as much as the next person, but this is looking more like "comunismo con comida" with each day.
If you have any secrets, this would be a good time to get rid of them.
UPDATE: Today in the NYTimes:
As Prices Rise, Crime Tipsters Work Overtime
...“Crime doesn’t pay but we do,” say the mobile billboards cruising Jacksonville, Fla. A poster in Jackson, Tenn., draws a neat equation: “Ring Ring + Bling Bling = Cha-Ching.” The bling, in this case, is a pair of handcuffs.....
For tips that bring results, programs in most places pay $50 to $1,000, with some jurisdictions giving bonuses for help solving the most serious crimes, or an extra “gun bounty” if a weapon is recovered...
“We have people out there that, realistically, this could be their job,” ...
Props for: marginalrevolution.com
No comments:
Post a Comment