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Government official used Homeland Security Data to stalk ex-girlfriend

jonholato.com — This story represents a perfect example of why the government needs to be limited in its power and why our privacy as citizens needs to be protected.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 23, 2007

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  • chicagobiker, on 10/10/2007, -1/+153I'm surprised it took this long to catch someone. This is the EXACT thing those of us who opposed this type of power which we've given our law enforcement were worried about and what those who said "If I have nothing to hide I have nothing to worry about" should have feared!

    How do you know that creepy FBI agent friend of a friend who tells the bad jokes at dinner parties and looks at your wife funny isn't spending his entire days and nights doing nothing but monitoring your wife's phone calls, e-mails and photographing her travels.

    But hey, just remember; "If you're not doing anything wrong" and "have nothing to hide" what's to worry about?
  • tehpwnerofn00bs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+85If only more people would read 1984, they'd understand the evil of an omnipotent gov't better.
  • hiphoc, on 10/10/2007, -5/+45But, but, but this is for the terr'rist..... This could never happen, government is good, they do no wrong? I must be dreaming. Yes, I am dreaming, and turn the television back to FOX news. I want to see what Sean Manatee is going to say about this Patriot at the Fatherland Gestapo. I mean, maybe his ex-girlfriend was with al-qaeda. And I am absolutely positive that no one else in government is misusing their ill gotten authority./sarcasm
  • inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+29Your denigrative opinion, sir, is being duly saved in your permanent records. Sincerely, Homeland Security.
  • Sil369, on 10/10/2007, -1/+25According to the current administration, we shouldn't question or doubt their surveillance operations. Right.
  • repete, on 10/10/2007, -0/+23I'm sure they won't only spout "If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear", but also "Don't let one bad egg spoil the situation. What is the loss of a _small_ [Their words] amount of privacy for safety from Islamofascits who hate our fredoms?".
  • HannibalCat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+19It seems that both US and British governments have forgotten about indvidual freedom in the rush to combat whatever is the latest buzz word. Nazis, communists, now terrorism. Freedom of the person is what the last world war was fought for. Slowly we are losing the most precious thing of all.
  • PrettyLadyGrace, on 10/10/2007, -0/+19someone please get the gov't out of our lives
  • hiphoc, on 10/10/2007, -6/+22But but, this is for the terr'rist. Government is good, they can do no wrong. I must have dreaming, yes I was dreaming. Yes, I am going back to sleep and please turn on FOX news to soothe me to sleep. I want to see what Sean Manatee is saying about this Patriot at the Fatherland Gestapo. I mean, an "OFFICIAL" abusing his power, unheard of. This woman must have been al-qaeda, you know. Al-qaeda in America. He must have had to do a Jack Bauer and "bend" the rules to stop the ever talked about suitcase nuke. This man was just cutting through the red tape. The officials and authorities that have saddled us and ride us with bloody spurs would never abuse the power they have stolen from us while pissing on the constitution that thousands have died for.

    Folks, if you are not for officials spying on their own friends and families, then you must be with the terrorists simple as that. /sarcasm

    This guy should be strung up with ridiculous jail time. But I have a feeling he will the get the "good job Brownie" award. Maybe a Tennant like Medal of Honor, or possibly a fast promotion up the ranks, lets see what happens. Did I miss the memo when public servants became officials or authorities? My only authority is my creator. ***** these scumbags
  • frazw, on 10/10/2007, -1/+15So abuse of the database is fine so long as it isn't sanctioned? Awesome coz governments always tell their citizens exactly what they are up to.
  • epicstruggle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14I'm much more concerned with the incompetent government.
  • humanerror, on 04/03/2008, -0/+13Your entire comment makes perfect sense except for the last sentence. Take it out for an A.
  • GaiaAP, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11I'm sure they will. The correct answer would be 'everything' :)
  • IllBeBack, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12"Please allow up to 60 seconds for your comment to be saved."
  • Baroja1898, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9I say "in your stupid face" to anyone who has used the argument that if you've got nothing to hide, then you shouldn't mind if the govt snoops into your life a little.
  • Xyleene, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9Exactly! If the Government was some omnipotent being that was unfalable I wouldn't be so worried. We have to remember that the Government is made of people. And I don't trust random PEOPLE with a documented story of my comings and goings.
  • GaiaAP, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8In the words of Terry Pratchett, "Only you can save mankind - if not you, who else?".
  • dickbain, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Here's a link to the actual story...not blogspam:

    http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArt ...
  • SeethisPass, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8National Security is only for the government. It is used only Against you.
    When you give up your liberty DO NOT expect security To do so makes you an idiot. When you give up your liberty you have only given up your liberty. That's all.
  • ibecerfoozled, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8who watches the watchmen?
  • inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Operation Pink Panties (SECRET/NOFORN)
  • Gnasche, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7(as I said on the webpage) Then obviously you are for a Department of Department of Homeland Security Security. It really doesn't matter how much it costs. If we don't do it, the bad seeds win.
  • frazw, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8I'm frankly amazed that there are people being so blase about this. Ok this situation was just one employee not the government, but this is the one you've heard about. The potential is there for ANY government employee to do this. If you annoy any of them in any way the temptation for them would be there to just have a quick look in the database to get justice. Or when the government starts to get desperate for money, they might start selling the data for advertising purposes, just like they use the electoral register (at least here in the UK). Or the worst scenario for you guys is given China's hacking attempts your data ends up in the hands of the Chinese from where it could end up being used anywhere for anything.
  • drakethegreat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7But but 9/11!

    (sarcasm)
  • inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+71984 warrants its own law akin to Godwin's.
  • nextyoyoma, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Chmeee, the point is that he shouldn't have been able to get that information from the GOVERNMENT! When you collect that much personal info on people, the potential for abuse is extremely high.
  • inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6I love Big Brother.

    Can I get my much awaited bullet now?
  • Haecceity, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6"If you haven't done anything wrong, you've nothing to fear." Right?
  • e4rache, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5"People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
  • TheLoneHoot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I've had it happen before... and long after 60 seconds.
  • frazw, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5It's always the other guy isn't it! I'm X, therefore X's can do no wrong so Y's must be responsible.
    That's why the world is in such a ***** state. Everyone thinks problems are the fault of the other guy and does nothing to sort out the problems themselves or does not even acknowledge that they cause any.
    "If everyone was an X we wouldn't have any problems!" Bollocks, you just wouldn't have anywhere to lay the blame until you subdivide X.
  • vertinox, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Actually, if you have ever studied Soviet history (particularly 1920s to 1950s) you'll understand that Animal farm and 1984 was a pure metaphor for Stalin's reign. Animal farm was pretty much the story about how Stalin changed the original ideals of the communist revolution into something more twisted.

    Wheras 1984 described how it really was during the 1937 purges. Basically, everyone was monitoring everyone like a TV set. There is a statue of a kid still in the Ukraine who turned his parents over to the NKVD for an alleged betrayal of the government. During the purges the people put on trial actually confessed to being guilty and apparently believed in the crimes they had committed and were shouting "Long live Stalin!" even as the firing squads were shooting them because they really were tortured until they believed he was a living god.

    The whole thing about war with Eurasia and Oceania was an allegory to Stalin's relationship with Germany and the West. He was at war with one and then allies with the same ground the next day.
  • adooga, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Not only is this guy a creep, he's also a traitor if he's using resources that are supposed to protect the American people for his own personal ends.
  • darkside255, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4This stuff happens more frequently than you would think. A friend of mine worked for the NSA at a summer internship and he told me some stories about the Homeland Security Database (or whatever the NSA equivalent is). Apparently it's literally as easy as opening a window and typing in the name of the person you're looking for. Then you get a search results window including photos, available wiretaps, phone records, the works. Interns within the program were told that any non-government use of this database would result in being instantly being thrown out of the program and blacklisted from intelligence jobs. This apparently happened at least once over the summer. The fact that some random college student with a decent math score could have access to every piece of information on your life just by typing in your name is more than slightly worrisome.
  • jessehadden, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Isn't that exactly what makes it 1984-like? People are given insane amounts of power... and they can't resist using all of it, in questionable ways.
  • humanerror, on 04/03/2008, -0/+4The point is that this kind of covert data-gathering passes under the radar because people don't understand that horrible abuses are absolutely bound to happen. From the moment this program was implemented it was only a matter of "when" and "how often".

    An invasion of one girl's privacy by an individual with access to her aggregated data is just the tip of the iceberg. The data is there, and now we can do nothing but pray that the government successfully ensures that nobody can ever access it without permission or with bad intentions. Obviously, that's a fool's hope.
  • bjornski, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5You're not very bright, are you?
  • nextyoyoma, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Um, I'm sorry, but stalking a person's every movement is not an "understandable personal reason." I can understand, say trying to find an old classmate. You find their location, say "Oh, that's nice" then leave it be. I'm not saying that that is right either, but it's more like what your describing. This guy actively stalked her using government information. That is an entirely different matter.
  • TheLoneHoot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Brillian use of reason and commentary - your obvious use of sarcasm has perfectly captured the blind following of the right wing's party faithful. Bravo, bra-VO!
    [/sarcasm]
  • TheLoneHoot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4So what was the "Patriot Act" for then?
  • falseleftright, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Want great voyeur action? Do you like to watch people who don't know you are watching? Do you need to catch up with the old girlfriend who seems to have vanished? Did you ever want to know why she vanished?

    Then come and work for the Department of Homeland Security. We've got the things that make you go hmmmm.
    -1
  • vertinox, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Would you rather live under Herbert Hoover or Ioseph Stalin?

    Sure the great depression was bad, but it sure beats living in a gulag.
  • jellygraph, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4wow, who didn't see that coming... stay tuned, as there will be more of this to come (if it is not kept secret)
  • adooga, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5No, he isn't.
  • kreneskyp, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3LIVE FREE OR DIE.
  • SeethisPass, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Yep, lot's of my comments disappeared. some came back but most just disappeared. I happens most when you have the goods.
  • kreneskyp, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3when they started spying you said "dont worry you're ok if you have nothing to hide" and "it will only be used on the terrorists".

    THIS is why there needs to be oversight. whether it is sanctioned or not it can't be that easy to spy on someone. people WILL abuse the information if they can get it.
  • drakethegreat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Except for the fact that this was made possible by the new laws enacted by Bush...
  • TheLoneHoot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Not me, bud. Sure the incompetent government is bad, make no mistake, but an incompetent government can be handled by a competent people. However even a competent people would be hard pressed to deal with a truly totalitarian regime.
    Smart people might be able to oust BushCo and their ilk provided they wise up before their rights and freedoms have been eroded.
    So, yeah, 1984 should be required reading on a national level.
  • TLAKABM, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3It's not the fact that he did, it's the fact that he could.
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