What is Digg?Sponsored by Travelzoo
Take Advantage of Ridiculously Low Holiday Airfares view!
travelzoo.com - Flights $52 and up for Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year. But move on it now.
112 Comments
- phnx0221, on 06/28/2008, -1/+60It is always easy to push an idea like this based on a need for natural disasters, flooding, hurricanes etc. Who is going to say no to that? To protection, to locating their families, to making sure that there is more accurate detailing on the events that are occurring in the aftermath of said disasters?
Okay, great idea. I have a question. What happens, in the every day life when these natural disasters are not occurring? What are these military(!) satellites going to be used for? What are the monitors going to be used for? When a population becomes increasingly frustrated by policies made by government and business officials to go into wars with other nations, when people begin to organize to show their frustrations, when people gather in groups in attempts to do something about governments run amok against the will of their populations? Are these more common occurrences going to be subject to these monitoring devices? What about crime? Who dictates what locations and socioeconomic demographics are going to be monitored under these surveillance devices?
You can paint a pretty picture about the rare occurrences of natural disasters, and convince people that this is a good thing by need for protection, and you can fairly easily succeed by doing so. The questions that need to be asked though, are what happens in the far more often circumstances when there are no disasters and these devices are being built using taxpayer money, to monitor and control the domestic population that is paying for this? - SaraLiberty, on 08/16/2008, -3/+51This Bill of Rights subversive Nazi-esque "Homeland (in)Security Department" needs to be abolished ASAP. It's not doing us a single bit of good. It's merely a tool for the elite to be (ab)used against us. Get rid of this fascist, Hitlerian wet dream already. America has a Constitution for a reason.
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+42The thing is, I'd rather have my liberty and risk being unsafe than have that security and no freedoms. Why can't conservatives understand that? Not all of us want security over liberty.
- stienster, on 06/28/2008, -1/+34righto Isikoff... some of us have actually extricated our heads from the sand. How 'bout you talk to us instead?
- wjcormier, on 06/29/2008, -0/+32Natural disasters my ass! These satellites have ground-penetrating capabilities and the government has already stated they are willing to share their intelligence with local law enforcement agencies. This is another gross violation of our civil liberties by the Bush administration, and why he hates Americans as much as as he does I'll never know - but they aren't being turned on the population for "natural disasters" - and anyone that believes that BS needs to have their heads examined.They are looking for underground shelters, weapon caches, and illegal pot growers, not to mention spying on their political adversaries as they have from the beginning with the illegal wiretapping program. Bush and Cheney are enemies of the constitution and freedom, we all know it, including our Congress, but they have been blackmailed into silence and complicity!
- inactive, on 06/28/2008, -0/+27"It is always easy to push an idea like this based on a need for natural disasters, flooding, hurricanes etc."
This is an old government trick, it's called -The Shock Doctrine-. http://youtube.com/watch?v=kieyjfZDUIc - borez, on 06/29/2008, -0/+24Oh they understand alright...they just don't really care what you want.
- inactive, on 06/28/2008, -4/+27Google earth is a good example already there. Address of a home and you have a picture, people, cars and all. Easy passes for the highways to see where you've been and where you're going, phone taps. Kinda makes you squirm doesn't it?
- obliviousfool, on 06/29/2008, -0/+22The satellites they have now are already a violation of Posse Comitatus. They just get around that by putting these military satellites into black budgets. Since we don't know about it, it isn't against the law; kinda like the whole NSA wiretapping thing.
- Schmich, on 06/29/2008, -1/+21Imagine the outrage if this was the other way around. Or lets take a random example: biometric passports. The US imposed other countries to create biometric passports. Imagine if Japan obligated the US to make biometric passports, that's unthinkable.
Or something more current, how about what happened lately in North Korea with the US over-regulating the demolition procedure. Now imagine if France required such supervision on something that's American (on US soil).
The US can treat the world how they want, and it's considered normal, but the other way around is nonexistent. Of course when I say the US it's the government. The people are great, well..about half are. We can accept getting Bush elected a first time but a second time is beyond words. Sure both elections were faulty but that doesn't change the fact that almost half of the votes went for Bush and that we've had to see Bush on TV/net pretty much every day for pretty much 8 years.
The Palestine/Israel conflict and he have stolen quite a bit of our time, especially news time. Fortunately the latter will soon disappear. - dOOBiEx213, on 06/29/2008, -0/+12They already HAVE the satellites monitoring us, they're just doing this to cover their asses. Next up: telescreens. We already have the Thought Police in full force: http://digg.com/world_news/Kill_Cops_Rant_Lands_Ma ...
- FlaNative, on 06/29/2008, -0/+12When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out. - bsmeteronhigh2, on 06/29/2008, -3/+14They will do as they please. No amount of gnashing of teeth or typing will change anything. Digg is like a little valve atop a pressure cooker. We will rant for a day or two and then the next seemingly outrageous headline will grab our short spanned attention.
- SaraLiberty, on 08/16/2008, -0/+11"But what exactly does it have to do with the original topic?"
/snip remaining unintelligent vomit
Reading is a skill. Yet look what we get from the likes of you. An ad hominem assault puke. That's all your feeble TV soundbite-addled existence is capable of! How "creative." Can you get any more un-original? You are a really odd one to mention substance, much less lecture someone on coherent thoughts to begin with. Do you dream at night of giving 'erections to 'Alex Jones fanboys" or what. It's obviously captivated your 'mind'. - inactive, on 06/29/2008, -2/+12Resist Big-Brother, i.e., the NWO/globalist who are seeking to destroy our U.S. Constitution & our sovereignty!
- badassninja, on 06/29/2008, -0/+10I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security, the familiar, the tranquility, repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the annunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance, and depression. And where once you had the freedom to object, think, and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.
- jellygraph, on 06/29/2008, -0/+9Stupid MSNBC host. Here he's talking about how this will destroy privacy and civil liberties and all she cares about is "wow, how cool that we can do this! geee wiz!"
- greenm1981, on 06/29/2008, -0/+9You are absolutely right. As long as we continue to purchase the things that are produced by the very corporations that own our gov, we will do nothing to stop it. It may seem harmless to eat a Big Mac or drink a can of Mt. Dew, but the boards of directors of these corporations are interlocked amongst many others. In the end, every dollar you spend goes towards the further suppression of our personal freedoms.
So ***** the latest gadget or item at Taco Bell, and purchase a gun and plenty of ammo instead. While your at it, plant a garden. - Kitrus, on 06/29/2008, -0/+8I think we're one of the few (only?) democratic nations out there in this day and age that can say we have OUR VERY OWN SATELLITE IN SPACE... FOR THE CITIZENRY.
For us, people. Our OWN friggin satellite. For you and me. The small guy. That's awesome!
Thanks Uncle Sam!!!
So proud right now. - BluesFan, on 06/29/2008, -0/+8aghh this is just ***** hopeless..............good bye free world.
- EggNogIceCream, on 06/29/2008, -1/+9"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -Benjamin Franklin
- newsound6, on 06/29/2008, -0/+8I promise to keep you safe as long as you let me follow you everywhere. If you take a shower, I need to be standing right behind you or I cannot guarantee your safety. If you don't want me standing in the shower next to you, it is clear that you hate America.
- jlhoben, on 06/29/2008, -0/+7Why incur the cost of building more prisons when you can just turn the entire nation into one? Thanks Uncle Sham.
- ZenMojo, on 06/29/2008, -0/+7Now you know why we ended up in the Iraq War.
(Feed at your ***** trough, Pravda!) - STPZ, on 06/29/2008, -1/+8The pendulum swings in both ways I the further they push this ***** the harder its going to hit the fan when more and more people mobilize and fight back against these fear-mongering Authoritarians. Power to the people and may it always be that way, when a government oversteps its bounds it is the role of the pubic to set it back in its place.
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+6"Those who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" - Ben Franklin (RIP my fellow)
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5First, the National Guard has planes and helicopters that can do this same job in a disaster. We don't need spy satellites for this.
Second, posse comitatus (which is a law that prohibits the use of the US Military for domestic purposes) was suspended by Congress in 2006 at the request of Bush in the aftermath of Katrina. It was only reinstated in 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act#H ...
So the Newsweek reporter should get better informed and stop telling nice bedtime stories to the American People about how we are protected by our rights. That used to be true, but in the post 9/11 USA Congress has stripped us of many of our rights.
Last, I was struck by how uncommitted the Newsweek reporter was to the story. He kept stumbling over his words as if he felt awkward talking about the US Government spying on its own people. Actually I view this as a positive sign. I think the MSM is realizing that there is a demand for this kind of information, and that printing this kind of article can actually boost their circulation. After all these are corporations and there number one motivation is Profit. The traditional press is under assault by the internet. Newspaper and magazines subscriptions are going down. Meanwhile, more people are turning to the internet for their information - including such counter MSM sources as digg and blogs. So now Newsweek is put in the awkward situation of watching the blogs and digg to determine what stories will sell magazines. This is a very positive sign that the Spirit of Liberty and Democracy is still alive in these United States of America. - locojones, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5I'm sorry, but don't we have hundreds of other non-military sattelites that can take pictures just fine? Every mapping website on the Internet has satellite imagery maps, and when you can see your house from the internet, that seems to be all we need to deal with any natural disaster without involving military surveillance of American citizens.
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5I want satellites too. :)
- newsound6, on 06/29/2008, -1/+6LIVE FREE OR DIE. I mean holy *****, sayingthis today in public would probably get you taserd.
- diggydougie, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4I think that the government should make ALL wiretapping, video, audio recordings available on the web so that the people (us) could review them. The reactions would be enough to ensure that they only monitored important cases. The government should have no secrets and be open. That would solve a whole lot of our problems with government excesses.
- bjornski, on 06/29/2008, -2/+6You want your global trade, and global markets and global policing you're gonna get global government.
Why don't the "free market" types understand this?
Go ahead. Vote Libertarian. Let the companies do what they want. "The Market" will thank you. Everyone else? Not so much.
Stop voting for the corporations to do what they want.
Corporatists won't stop this. They'll just privatize it. - inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4The sad part about Humanity is that our Wisdom is far behind our knowledge, Technology like this is Excellent if in the right hands but that is clearly not.
- DogBotherer, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4Actually, if you take libertarian logic to its ultimate conclusion (and aren't just a right-wing Libertarian), corporatism is recognised as a form of statism - big business and state collusion. The privileged status of corporations in law (whereby they garner human rights without human responsibility and mortality) is clearly un-libertarian - limited liability and corporate welfare are statist propositions.
- stareD, on 06/29/2008, -1/+5cram a satellite up that texas racists ass
- rz8472, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4Shouldn't the military satellites be spying on something more important... like North Korean nuclear sites or something rather than John and Jane Q. Public? Way to jeopardize our security in more ways than one, Mr. Bush.
- hollyminkowski, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3I can speculate on what I would want in geosync orbit if I wished to spy on rf signals.
There may be satellites in geosynchronous orbit (about 22,000 miles up) with large dish antennas pointed at the ground.... huge, lightweight, spindly things (60-100ft diam) that can selectively deform from wide to narrow beamwidth. If such sats exist and if the antennas have a gain over 60dbi then the rf that they could detect on the earths surface would be astonishing! Not just transmitters like say cellphones and other handheld 2way gear could be easily detected but also equipment that most people don't know are radiating rf. For one thing, about any device with a part 15 sticker on it could be detected.... such as receivers, gps devices, almost any device with a processor...etc. Most modern devices emit rf you see... and with an antenna gain of 60db+ even a fraction of a milliwatt could be detected from 22,000 miles... just run the formulas and you can see how easy it would be. RF clutter would be a problem for detecting some sources in dense urban areas...i.e the part 15 IF radiation from tv sets and fm radios. (The UK detecto-vans pick up these signals from TVs at close range to see if you have a set on and have payed your yearly fee)
All sorts of things could be done with such a system...tracking of bugs with unbelievably weak signals that only send a pulse every minute or so could be picked up...they could be incredibly tiny and have years of useful life from minuscule batteries since they would mostly sleep except for a nanoamp counter that would wake the device every so often to trigger an rf pulse.
So many sneaky things could be done with 60+ dbi gain dishes in geosync that books could be filled with the applications.
For example...You could track every ship on the oceans simply by receiving the rf from the many electronic devices aboard.... this would be easy since the ships are out in the open away from other rf emission sources. So, maintain strict radio silence on board a ship and not only would you be tracked anyway but the fact that no ordinary radio traffic emits from your ship means you would be tagged as very suspicious. - sfacets, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3We fund our own demise.
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3I disagree. Digg effect is raising awareness for average uninformed Joe. And that is already 100% more than they can get via mainstream brainwashing propaganda machine called TV. When the news like this hit the Digg's front page, I talk about them to my non Digg, mainstream brainwashed friends. And that's usually enough for them to go online and look for the story not reported on a TV. People are waking up from a dream called Democracy.
- bjornski, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3I wish Limbaugh would teach you guys a new word.
- Arcueid01, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3What the ***** is wrong with these people and all of the citizenry that appease them? I swear, I will never be able to figure it out. Are our citizens really this ***** stupid? Take a look in a history book and it becomes painfully obvious that all great countries fell in the same way. Liberty and freedom was taken away by a tyrannical government. Tell me, why then do we continuously make the beaurocracy larger and more powerful?
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3we're lazy we are complacent we want someone else to solve things for us
after all we are busy watching american idol - darkciti2, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3Trusting a Bush appointee ("You're doing a heckuva job Brownie [Katrina Disaster]", or Chertoff) with First Response is equivalent to
FAIL. - inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency & National Reconnaissance Office did this in 2005 after hurricane Katrina.
Excerpt:
"NGA is using imagery captured by commercial remote sensing spacecraft and spy satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office to piece together before-and-after pictures that document the devastation the hurricane inflicted on coastal Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi as it made landfall Aug. 29."
Rest of the story http://www.space.com/spacenews/archive05/Ksats_091 ... (its an interesting read) - Arcueid01, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3So true dude. The land of sheep.
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3I could not disagree more. I have seen cases where digg does make a difference and has led to real change. Here's an example.
http://futurenewstoday.blogspot.com/2008/05/lieber ...
I also hold to the fundamental belief that information is the greatest weapon we have against Tyranny. The corporate MSM is not giving us the information we need. In fact it is feeding us information that only increases the public's paranoia that justifies voluntarily giving up our civil liberties.
Digg and blogs have emerged as a counterbalance to the MSM. In fact, when the founders talked about Freedom of the Press it is certain that they had in mind a popular and decentralized press, like today's Internet. The American Revolution began by people speaking out against the King and then taking action. There was a pamphlet called Common Sense by Thomas Paine for example that was attributed with rallying support for the revolutionary cause.
In today's battle against Tyranny, guns are of limited use. Of what use are guns against the US military? The time to stop the march towards Martial Law is now, by alerting American Citizens to the consequences of giving up our civil liberties. Once the Police come knocking on your door at 4 AM to take you to an internment camp, it is too late. - EDViNNY27, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!!
- netsql, on 06/29/2008, -1/+4So does Obama. Look at him double talk on bill of rights. Change = more of the same. Bye O.
- amenic, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2*cough cough - ******
- inactive, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2well he may be running out of time hopefully santa will be very late this year and on january 20 2009 what he wants is laura's problem not ours
-
Show 51 - 100 of 114 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is