Haven't they changed the name to Little Iraq yet, the demographics had
already moved that way before I left SE Michigan. Dearborn is to Arabs
as Bush is to Mexicans. Of course the neighborhood I grew up in was
predominantly Polish, but I never heard them talking about killing
Americans, they considered themselves to be Americans and only spoke
Polish to their grandparents.
graywolf
http://www.graywolfphoto.com
http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf
"Idiot Proof" <==> "Expert Proof"
-----------------------------------
Paul Stenquist wrote:
To be frank, nationality has a lot to do with it as well. There are
enclaves of middle-eastern zealots throughout the US. I know. I work in
one of them: Dearborn, Michigan. The kids in the schools talk about
jihad with a religious fervor. Patterns can be sorted. Leads can be
followed up. It may be better than doing nothing. Everyone complained
when nothing was done. You can't have it both ways.
On May 16, 2006, at 8:06 PM, Tom C wrote:
I understand what you're saying. It's just that similar patterns
would exist in regular old normal everyday people calling. Your son
or daughter has a baby. They call you. You call brother. The chain
continues. Or maybe normal innocent random calling will match a
so-called pattern that raises a flag.
I don't believe terrorists use the telephone system much differently
then the population at large. Patterns mean nothing, in this
instance. It's the content that's meaningful. You can't prosecute or
entrap somebody for a pattern of phone usage. That implies something
more is being done than just looking for patterns...
How many millions/billions of phone calls are made in a day? How long
to you have to save the data to see a pattern, How do you know when a
pattern began?
Even if the government could detect patterns, how ridicuously simple
would it be to throw then off? Call from home. Call from a cell
phone. Call from a hotel lobby or pay phone. Arrange so that both
parties don't call to/from the same number.
The idea is absurd, is a waste of money, is barking up the wrong tree,
and is a further step toward a police state.
Tom C.
From: Paul Stenquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net
To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net
Subject: Re: Zone Alarm (Now OT)
Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 19:33:24 -0400
On May 16, 2006, at 3:01 PM, Tom C wrote:
I just don't see how collecting data on 'all the phone calls in the
United States' and 'analyzing them for patterns' will help fight
terrorism. That data base would contain a preponderance of
useless, irrelevant data.
Tom C.
It's pretty simple, Tom. The computer looks for patterns. Twenty
people all linked to one call source or daisy-chaining. Then it looks
at from whom and from where the calls originated. Is it profiling?
Yes. Is there some chance that it might uncover a terrorist plot?
Slim, but within the remember the possible. Remember the hue and cry
about government malfeasance prior to 9/11, and how not enough was
being done to hunt down terrorists? Well, you can't have it both ways.
