Britain's secret spy-on-every-call-and-email plan

[alien pimp]

sorry to post shitty internet links like these, but al gore's book on this matter has been postponed due to swine flu
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/p ... 211101.ece

The £1 billion snooping project — called Mastering the Internet (MTI) — will rely on thousands of “black box” probes being covertly inserted across online infrastructure.

The top-secret programme began to be implemented last year, but its existence has been inadvertently disclosed through a GCHQ job advertisement carried in the computer trade press.

Last week, in what appeared to be a concession to privacy campaigners, Smith announced that she was ditching controversial plans for a single “big brother” database to store centrally all communications data in Britain.

....
However, she failed to mention that substantial additional sums — amounting to more than £1 billion over three years — had already been allocated to GCHQ for its MTI programme.

Informed sources have revealed that a £200m contract has been awarded to Lockheed Martin, the American defence giant.

A second contract has been given to Detica, the British IT firm which has close ties to the intelligence agencies.

[alien pimp]

and somehow related:

Paris, May 4 2009 - Threats to citizens' basic rights and freedoms and to the neutrality of Internet could be voted without any safeguard in the EU legislation regarding electronic communication networks (Telecoms Package). EU citizens have two days to call all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to ask them to vote for the “Citizens' Rights Amendments”, in the second reading of the Telecoms Package. These amendments include all the safeguards that were removed in the “compromise amendments”, as well as provisions protecting against “net discrimination” practices and filtering of content.

supported by this large list of conspirationist nuts:
http://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-sup ... ure-du-net

i hope the internet gets even shutdown, so we can return to our good old reliable books!

[sigbowls]

books are boring!!

[incnic]

oh gog mah email

tl dr

[magma]

Not good things in the slightest.

[rynke]

bunch of stalkers

[alien pimp]

it's just a load of crap i posted to raise awareness about the dangers of internet readings and determine you to go back to the library and bbc

if jaqui was such a tnuc i suppose all her well intended mates in the party would've shut her up, you can't imply the large majority of people who diss conspirationists and follow quality news like those on bbc aren't able to elect somebody that serves their interest, even if rare exceptions may occur

normally if the system is healthy it rejects sooner or later this kind of abominations

[reverend dale]

Black box recorders have been installed by ISPs for years, mobile phone networks in the UK use triangulation to know where you are when ever your phone is turned on so they can improve their network black spots. There are of course ways around this. Use your own SMTP server or an offshore private proxy, and keep your phone off.

Lazy journalism really, it's been in effect for years the only difference is the government as of late have taken an interest in it.

IMO the Tories will use civil liberties as electioneering over the coming summer.

[missedthebus]

Surely this will be vetoed by European Court of Human Rights....?


I read that JS was saying that the contracts for storing "data" were going to be given to the actual isp's as opposed to a government database or an individual company, which - essentially - wouldn't be as bad as an independent 3rd party holding this kind of information.

I do not like the idea of Lockheed getting this contract - in the very least they should leave it in British hands.

Either way its just further evidence of the erosion of civil liberties and our continual degradation into the nanny state.

IMO the Tories will use civil liberties as electioneering over the coming summer.

Very likely, but I reckon the LibDems would have more to gain from that kind of battle as the Tories rim Schumpter's style of democ so cant really trump the whole civil liberty card as well.

[magma]

The problem is that the public just want alternative at the moment. Although Labour have made themselves utterly unelectable, the Tories really aren't a sensible alternative if the public's main concerns are "Too much monetarism/free market capitalism gone mad" and "loss of civil liberties".

They'll get elected ostensibly on both of those fronts and then you'll really see how to break election promises.

The Lib Dems are weaker than I can remember them. I'm actually a member of the Yellows, but the next General may end up being the first election where I don't vote for them... I really, really don't want David Cameron as Prime Minister. I'd actually rather keep Brown over that shit.

They sent me some propoganda for the MEP elections yesterday... it's now a bowl full of ash.

[missedthebus]

The Lib Dems are weaker than I can remember them. I'm actually a member of the Yellows, but the next General may end up being the first election where I don't vote for them... I really, really don't want David Cameron as Prime Minister. I'd actually rather keep Brown over that shit.

They sent me some propoganda for the MEP elections yesterday... it's now a bowl full of ash.

Tactical voting hey!

Fair play.

Ive just spent the last year writing a thesis about apathy in the British electorate - stimulating stuff!


There is an endemic problem of political cynicism and apathy and its obviously as much an issue of the choices (or lack of) presented to us in terms of the 'party package' as well as of a resounding lack of civic duty within younger cohorts of society and obviously the electoral system itself.


As a yellow do you think a change from FPTP to say AV+ (what was in the Jenkins Proposal) or another more proportional system would greater benefit the electorate and similarly stop you from making tactical voting decisions?

[missedthebus]

Either way its just further evidence of the erosion of civil liberties and our continual degradation into the nanny state.

I believe it'll keep heading further that way aslong as people are so narrow minded and gullable 2bf. These days it's just a joke aslong people don't have the common sense for themselves to, like alien pimp says, go to the library even, they'll be contuinually exploited by health scares biased propaganda and bogus pharmaceutical products. Alsong as we're already in state where the majority is conivnced they'll die of heart disease if they don't update themselves with gmtv's latest diet, immigrants are out to take all the jobs, and all religious people are out to blow everyone up.

Do you feel cynicism is an endemic problem in British society or a healthy questioning of 'the powers that be' contributing to a healthy democracy?

[reverend dale]

Very likely, but I reckon the LibDems would have more to gain from that kind of battle as the Tories rim Schumpter's style of democ so cant really trump the whole civil liberty card as well.

The Lib dems have never been a party to vote for in GEs. I personally don't vote for any party as none of them speak for me. The Lib dems getting in is a joke. Plus the Tories have pledged to ditch plans for ID cards, it'll be part of their electioneering. Good old BRITISH values that kind of nationalist spiel that appeals to middle england and nu-labour voters.

Gurgh! I hate politics talk on DFS

[reverend dale]

Do you feel cynicism is an endemic problem in British society or a healthy questioning of 'the powers that be' contributing to a healthy democracy?

More like apathy IMO. Sociological Significance of Communism Considered in the light of Psychoanalysis (W.D Fairbairn, 1935) more or less said people are content what ever the state does and whatever level of poverty they dwell in as long as they have their basic needs and are happy. You can hardly say that a majority in Western society are impoverished in any meaningful sense, can you? The masses are happy and that is all that matters.

Coupled with the defeat of the real left in the 80s the left has no viable alternative or real answer to capitalism, even socialism is teetering on the right these days.

Fuck them all I say. Bullet in the head to the ruling classes and start again from anarchy to feudalism to socialism to capitalism. Just fucking cull the upper and ruling elite.

[missedthebus]

More like apathy IMO. Sociological Significance of Communism Considered in the light of Psychoanalysis (W.D Fairbairn, 1935) more or less said people are content what ever the state does and whatever level of poverty they dwell in as long as they have their basic needs and are happy. You can hardly say that a majority in Western society are impoverished in any meaningful sense, can you? The masses are happy and that is all that matters.

Fair point.

However people are increasingly becoming discontent and surely the increase in different forms of protest demonstrates this.

Yes the fact that we are an industrialised advanced western democracy means that there is less poverty meaning less reason to protest - which the majority do not. But if you compare levels of engagement nowadays with 10, 20, 30years ago there is an endemic failing in traditional forms of participation and surely voting isthe only way to effectively instil change in our current system.

I feel in Britain cynicism is a product of apathy. The majority are apathetic because they dont have anything worth fighting for or just simply dont understand or care about politics. Those that are engaged are increasingly cynical because of a lack of ideological difference in what is on offer, distrust stemming from scandals; lack of efficacy and disaffection with policy.

The fact is the system has become what it has become the only way to resolve these kinds of problems is by tackling root causes of apathy.


We shouldnt pontificate about the dire straits of democracy and not be willing to change it.


EDIT: ive gotta stop talking politics on here - like u say Firky it has no place on dsf!

[FSTZ1]

I thought this was called "Eschelon" and had been operational since the early 80's

[missedthebus]

I thought this was called "Eschelon" and had been operational since the early 80's

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/503224.stm

Eschelon has been around for ages and serves the intelligence community. The issue with new legislation they are proposing is that not just the intelligence community would have access to this data but a wide range of government agencies, and under terrorism laws could use this info for a prosecution without a warrant.
Furthermore as far as I was aware Eschelon just snooped data transfer as opposed to actually storing the data - which in essence means the gov under new laws will be able to profile the population - nanny state = BAD.