Norm at Night

This is scary. It was reported today in the Washington Post that NSA and Google are joining forces to fight cyberterrorism and industrial espionage.

The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

I find it very difficult to understand how NSA could do this at all without having access to the Google servers and search files. In order to find something you have to have access to the area where it is taking place. Given that idea I find the following lines in the Post hard to believe.

the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans' online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users' searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.

I do not think that this is a good idea for the privacy of the American people and is just another attempt by the NSA to use fear to gain another entry point into the lives and thoughts of Americans. I mean why is it any less outrageous for American spy agencies to have access to Google files than it is for Chinese spy agencies to try to examine them to search for dissidents. Does anyone think that the NSA will not examine those same files for intelligence on those same dissidents and on American dissidents? I will be talking about these issues on NormAtNite next Tuesday night. Tune in if you have ideas on this issue.

We made a mistake after 911 by allowing NSA to begin spying on Americans without warrants. In my view, we are now compounding this error by not screaming bloody murder about this potential alliance between Google and NSA. As written in the Post,

But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates, concerned about a repeat of the NSA's warrantless interception of Americans' phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen.

I am not sure it can be overseen. Call in next Tuesday and let me know.

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On another issue. We will be asking the question Is Internet access a civil right? This question was raised in a blog I read, and recommend to everyone called TeachPaperless. Teachpaperless believes that Internet access is a civil right and makes a solid case for it. We will talk about this on NormAtNite for 15 minutes on Tuesday also.

This is cross posted on PaddyWop.

Labels: Free Speech, Internet, Privacy

The Show will be live every Tuesday night from 9-10 PM at Blogtalk Radio . The call in number is 347-945-6713. We would love to hear from you live. The topic for Tuesday January 20, 2009 is the Inauguration Address of Barack Obama and the promise of his presidency.

http://joannejacobs.com/2008/10/19/fast-talking-racism-and-the-faux-moon/

just have a read and a lookL:)

Join us tonite at 11 PM EDT for another half hour of Norm at Nite. 42 days to go to the election and they are both just sounding the same. Economics, Economics,Economics.