NSA's Domestic Surveillance
Mood:
Contemplative
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May 12, 2006
I thought, for a change, I would weigh in a bit on the recent allegations that the NSA is tracking everybody's phone calls. Apologists for the Bush Administration et al say that it's necessary to fight terrorism. Along those same lines you hear the argument that the government doesn't really have any interest in your personal life, so what's the big deal? Civil liberties, personal privacy and the law aside for a moment, let's consider a couple other scenarios that, frankly, have surprised me at their conspicuous absence in the discussion.
1. Business. So, you're a business leader and you're making phone calls with people in the business community, discussing your strategic plans, your proprietary intellectual property, and the NSA is tracking your calls. No problem, right? Nobody at the NSA or anywhere else in government would be tempted to:
A. Use this information to make money by manipulating the stock market, aware of when your company was bringing something to market or making any other crucial announcements that will make the stock jump.
B. Sell proprietary information to competitors for money or for deals for government contracts.
C. Let's say, for instance, Company A in the U.S. is trying to set up a strategic alliance with Company B in another country. The government has a vested interest in keeping that country reliant on products from someone else--another company, another country, etc.--for a variety of reasons, like trade deficits, continued presence in war zones, or more nuanced concepts like they need Country B buying these products from Country C so Country C will continue buying missiles from us, but this dynamic is going to be threatened by Company A's business ventures, so the government starts screwing with their deals.
2. Politics. Oh, no politician (a Republican named Richard Nixon, who was replaced by a Republican named Gerald Ford, whose Chief of Staff was named Donald Rumsfield, whose deputy Chief of Staff was named Richard "Dick" Cheney), would have an enemies' list or want to know what competitors in the other party were up to so they could make strategic plans (G. Gordon Liddy) to screw with the opposing power. No, there's no potential for this here, with the NSA collecting phone information from private citizens. Uh-uh. None whatsoever.
Have a happy day!
Best,
Mark Terry
I thought, for a change, I would weigh in a bit on the recent allegations that the NSA is tracking everybody's phone calls. Apologists for the Bush Administration et al say that it's necessary to fight terrorism. Along those same lines you hear the argument that the government doesn't really have any interest in your personal life, so what's the big deal? Civil liberties, personal privacy and the law aside for a moment, let's consider a couple other scenarios that, frankly, have surprised me at their conspicuous absence in the discussion.
1. Business. So, you're a business leader and you're making phone calls with people in the business community, discussing your strategic plans, your proprietary intellectual property, and the NSA is tracking your calls. No problem, right? Nobody at the NSA or anywhere else in government would be tempted to:
A. Use this information to make money by manipulating the stock market, aware of when your company was bringing something to market or making any other crucial announcements that will make the stock jump.
B. Sell proprietary information to competitors for money or for deals for government contracts.
C. Let's say, for instance, Company A in the U.S. is trying to set up a strategic alliance with Company B in another country. The government has a vested interest in keeping that country reliant on products from someone else--another company, another country, etc.--for a variety of reasons, like trade deficits, continued presence in war zones, or more nuanced concepts like they need Country B buying these products from Country C so Country C will continue buying missiles from us, but this dynamic is going to be threatened by Company A's business ventures, so the government starts screwing with their deals.
2. Politics. Oh, no politician (a Republican named Richard Nixon, who was replaced by a Republican named Gerald Ford, whose Chief of Staff was named Donald Rumsfield, whose deputy Chief of Staff was named Richard "Dick" Cheney), would have an enemies' list or want to know what competitors in the other party were up to so they could make strategic plans (G. Gordon Liddy) to screw with the opposing power. No, there's no potential for this here, with the NSA collecting phone information from private citizens. Uh-uh. None whatsoever.
Have a happy day!
Best,
Mark Terry
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