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roachboy · 12-20-2010, 01:54 PM

over the past months, the washington post has published a series of pieces on the development of a vast surveillance system, much of which is new since 9/11/2001. no-one has been mapping the system that makes maps of us; it's consumes enormous amounts of money but there's little if any in the way of accountability. one way of thinking about this is a space of convergence between american the land of illusions of freedom (always a problem under capitalism) and america the empire.

this interactive map/video feature provides a useful and quick overview of what the series is talking about:

Top Secret America: Interactive map | washingtonpost.com

you can search the overall scope of the apparatus by state, region or nationally. a particularly unnerving little feature gives you a representation of the aspects of the surveillance apparatus that is around where you live (by zip code, so depending on where you live)...

here's a new installment that appeared in todays post.
you'll have to subscribe to access it, i think, but it's free.

Monitoring America | washingtonpost.com

this is largely a bush people patronage system that was put into motion across the degrees of manufactured hysteria that followed on 9/11/2010 with the knowledge and consent of both parties.

among other things, the piece details the increasing use of military technologies in the context of domestic "counter-terrorism"----do you think this is a blurring of the line between police and military? do you see it as an aspect of such a blurring?

at this point, because the piece is quite long and pretty stunning when you think about it, i'd like simply to encourage people to read this material and post their reactions to it. perhaps we can bump things in particular directions if a discussion takes hold.

but it'd be nice for a discussion, and this because this series has landed with nary a ripple in the puddle of generalized indifference, one that is even blase about war crimes...

so an initial question: what do you think of this information?
where do you think it indicates that we, as a society, are heading?
do you see this as a reversible trend?
do you think it justified? why or why not?

12-20-2010, 01:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	monitoring america over the past months, the washington post has published a series of pieces on the development of a vast surveillance system, much of which is new since 9/11/2001. no-one has been mapping the system that makes maps of us; it's consumes enormous amounts of money but there's little if any in the way of accountability. one way of thinking about this is a space of convergence between american the land of illusions of freedom (always a problem under capitalism) and america the empire. this interactive map/video feature provides a useful and quick overview of what the series is talking about: Top Secret America: Interactive map \| washingtonpost.com you can search the overall scope of the apparatus by state, region or nationally. a particularly unnerving little feature gives you a representation of the aspects of the surveillance apparatus that is around where you live (by zip code, so depending on where you live)... here's a new installment that appeared in todays post. you'll have to subscribe to access it, i think, but it's free. Monitoring America \| washingtonpost.com this is largely a bush people patronage system that was put into motion across the degrees of manufactured hysteria that followed on 9/11/2010 with the knowledge and consent of both parties. among other things, the piece details the increasing use of military technologies in the context of domestic "counter-terrorism"----do you think this is a blurring of the line between police and military? do you see it as an aspect of such a blurring? at this point, because the piece is quite long and pretty stunning when you think about it, i'd like simply to encourage people to read this material and post their reactions to it. perhaps we can bump things in particular directions if a discussion takes hold. but it'd be nice for a discussion, and this because this series has landed with nary a ripple in the puddle of generalized indifference, one that is even blase about war crimes... so an initial question: what do you think of this information? where do you think it indicates that we, as a society, are heading? do you see this as a reversible trend? do you think it justified? why or why not? __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite