Homeland Security Given Green Light to Monitor American Journalists

[Kainos]

Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that emerged from the Department of Homeland Security in November, Washington has written permission to collect and retain personal information from journalists, news anchors, reporters or anyone who uses “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.”

According to DHS, the definition of personal identifiable information can consist of any intellect “that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.”

RT adds:

Previously established guidelines within the administration say that data could only be collected under authorization set forth by written code, but the new provisions in the NOC’s write-up means that any reporter, whether someone along the lines of Walter Cronkite or a budding blogger, can be victimized by the agency.

Also included in the roster of those subjected to the spying are government officials, domestic or not, who make public statements, private sector employees that do the same and “persons known to have been involved in major crimes of Homeland Security interest,” which to itself opens up the possibilities even wider.

The department says that they will only scour publically-made info available while retaining data, but it doesn’t help but raise suspicion as to why the government is going out of their way to spend time, money and resources on watching over those that helped bring news to the masses.

According to RT, the website “Fast Company” reports that the NOC Monitoring Initiative has been in play since at least early-2010 and that the data is being shared with both private sector businesses and international third parties.

http://news.yahoo.com/homeland-secur...072933420.html

United States of Totalitarianism, here we come

[Sevilla]

I'm not saying I agree with this, but isn't it possible some journalist/ reporters may have some questionable ways of getting their story?

[Elvis]

I'm not saying I agree with this, but isn't it possible some journalist/ reporters may have some questionable ways of getting their story?

There are such journalists but this isn't going to be applied fairly. It will be ideological.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011...q-war-timeline

[Ragnus]

1984 was not supposed to be a manual...

[Kuya]

I really hate this department.

[Correction]

I'm not saying I agree with this, but isn't it possible some journalist/ reporters may have some questionable ways of getting their story?

What do you mean by questionable? As in Pentagon Papers were stolen property questionable? Or 'he's making shit up because his source is a liar' questionable? I'm pretty okay with the first version.

[solanis]

man, obama's been on a roll lately

[Sevilla]

What do you mean by questionable? As in Pentagon Papers were stolen property questionable? Or 'he's making shit up because his source is a liar' questionable? I'm pretty okay with the first version.

I meant the way things may be obtained. As in underhanded deals. I am not talking about making up stories.

[ronin sparthos]

man, obama's been on a roll lately

Solanis you're not stupid enough to believe that a hypothetical McCain administration wouldn't be doing many of the same things that the Obama administration is doing now.

The partisan snipe fails.

[Kuya]

Oh gosh darn that hypothetical McCain and his sinister ways

[Mazmaz]

Is this fucking real life?

[archibaldcrane]

Monitor them for...what?

[Correction]

I meant the way things may be obtained. As in underhanded deals. I am not talking about making up stories.

I still don't understand what you're getting at. Provide an example of an 'underhanded deal' that garners a story.

[Yugl]

I still don't understand what you're getting at. Provide an example of an 'underhanded deal' that garners a story.

The tea party hires journalist X to write a story about political candidate Y. The story, though making truthful assertions, may use them to reach fallible conclusions. Thus, we might find out who the fuck initiated the "Obama Muslim terrorist" bullshit.

[Elvis]

I meant the way things may be obtained. As in underhanded deals. I am not talking about making up stories.

Judith Miller. Bush admin. citing her garbage lies as credible.

[solanis]

Solanis you're not stupid enough to believe that a hypothetical McCain administration wouldn't be doing many of the same things that the Obama administration is doing now.

The partisan snipe fails.

lol nigga thou art trolling. wooooo scary ghosts in the night would have done it too, so it's okay!

[Correction]

The tea party hires journalist X to write a story about political candidate Y. The story, though making truthful assertions, may use them to reach fallible conclusions. Thus, we might find out who the fuck initiated the "Obama Muslim terrorist" bullshit.

But any examination of the facts thereafter will expose the story as a lie. No damage done except to those already in the 'obama's a muslim turrist' camp. Sevilla seemed to indicate there is something sinister to how certain news stories are sourced, not simply that special interest groups are funding hatchet jobs (*cough* Breitbart *cough*) to smear reputations.