Google something totally innocent, house gets raided by the cops

[eyeballkid]

Be careful what you say on forums too. You're right of course, it's disgusting. It amazes me how easily people give up their privacy or allow authorities to take it.

this whole thing has me so pissed on multiple levels. dammit, we shouldn't have to be careful what we say ANYWHERE! the America our grandparents fought for is dead. that is no hyperbole. we've become a nation of wusses afraid of our shadows just begging someone to keep us safe no matter how much of the freedoms that took humanity millennia to secure are being burned away. why are we not FLOODING the streets in protest s of every sort?... oh look, a sale on Amazon!

 

[guy n. cognito]

I don't see how that makes it okay. Someone with a grudge against you can go to the government and tell them that you are doing something "suspicious" and all of a sudden the Feds are trying to connect every dot whether they should be connected or not.

The government was condemned for not doing its job to "connect the dots" and stop the 9/11 attacks from happening. Since then, its done everything it can to spy on anyone suspicious and to investigate to the fullest extent of its new found power granted to it by the people so they could feel more secure.

I, for one, am not comfortable with this.

Based on the misleading rewrite of the article, it now seems that local police, acting on a tip from the husband's former employer, went to the house and talked to the man for a few minutes, before deciding that he was no threat. All of the other content: federal agents, black vans, rough searches.....all of that has now been removed from the article. Police got a tip, conducted an interview, went home. Honestly, that's pretty normal police work.

Articles like this are meant to illicit the kind of response you're having here. This event has nothing to do with government spying, or sophisticated snooping programs, or Snowden. Yet, this poorly written piece of tripe connects all those dots for one reason.......more click......more ads......more money.

Oh, and let's remember this: the main source of information for this "article" was a short story written by the wife of the suspect....a story which she has now edited

 

[guy n. cognito]

this whole thing has me so pissed on multiple levels. dammit, we shouldn't have to be careful what we say ANYWHERE! the America our grandparents fought for is dead. that is no hyperbole. we've become a nation of wusses afraid of our shadows just begging someone to keep us safe no matter how much of the freedoms that took humanity millennia to secure are being burned away. why are we not FLOODING the streets in protest s of every sort?... oh look, a sale on Amazon!

It doesn't work that way. Its NEVER worked that way. Freedom of speech doesn't mean that you can make threats unfettered, or that you can madman-like statements without someone checking on you.

 

[Phil Smith]

The additional information in the story doesn't really make a difference when you really think about it. Moreover it can also be a lie told by the police officials to spin the story in a different direction.

 

[hover]

Outrage! Finger point! No! Yes!

Oh look, a burrito!

edit: seriously tho, it is outrageous and it sucks...and that whole bit.

 

[96tbird]

I just googles The Anarchist Cookbook, for the lulz.

Ziltoid we are in Canuck so we're outta NSA jurisdiction. The CSA still respects Canadian privacy to a point and they don't have the budgets to spy on people that don't fit the most basic of terrorist profile markers. Most info they get here are tips from merchants and neighbors. Our neighbors to the south are so very full of paranoia though that it's only a matter of time before they force their will on our security. Yay!

 

[1958Bassman]

Ziltoid we are in Canuck so we're outta NSA jurisdiction. The CSA still respects Canadian privacy to a point and they don't have the budgets to spy on people that don't fit the most basic of terrorist profile markers. Most info they get here are tips from merchants and neighbors. Our neighbors to the south are so very full of paranoia though that it's only a matter of time before they force their will on our security. Yay!

And the last time Canada was attacked in any major way was.....?

 

[guy n. cognito]

The additional information in the story doesn't really make a difference when you really think about it. Moreover it can also be a lie told by the police officials to spin the story in a different direction.

Of course it does. It changes the story from the federal govt checking someone's google searches, then showing up in force when they see something they don't like, to local cops paying a visit to ask a few questions based on a tip from a former employer.

 

[Febs]

Oh, and let's remember this: the main source of information for this "article" was a short story written by the wife of the suspect....a story which she has now edited

It's also worth noting that the wife was not home at the time the police interview took place, and that her short story was based entirely upon hearsay. From the story:

That’s how I imagine it played out, anyhow. ...

I was at work when it happened.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[yodedude2]

...a month ago. if you consider a thwarted attack an attack, that is.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/07/02/bc-rcmp-terrorism.html

plus, i googled 'canada terrorism'. i reckon they'll be knocking on my door next. or kicking it in. quien sabe?

 

[David Jayne]

Of course it does. It changes the story from the federal govt checking someone's google searches, then showing up in force when they see something they don't like, to local cops paying a visit to ask a few questions based on a tip from a former employer.

+1. What a bunch of crap.

 

[alembicguy]

Any reputable news agencies carrying this story?

Sadly we live in a society that believes in National Enquire type of reporting or they get news info from Facebook and believe it no matter what the twist the media has put on it.

 

[fdeck]

Ziltoid we are in Canuck so we're outta NSA jurisdiction. The CSA still respects Canadian privacy to a point and they don't have the budgets to spy on people that don't fit the most basic of terrorist profile markers. Most info they get here are tips from merchants and neighbors. Our neighbors to the south are so very full of paranoia though that it's only a matter of time before they force their will on our security. Yay!

I admire your faith. One by one, similar spying operations are being disclosed in European countries, who are also cooperating with the NSA. Also, most web traffic goes through the US.

 

[David Jayne]

And the last time Canada was attacked in any major way was.....?

I think the last time was when Canada( they started it) bombed the Arquette residence and the US responded by invading and occupying Toronto.

 

[aborgman]

I place the blame on the media for spreading the fear mongering nonsense that created this paranoid culture we live in

Well - except for the part where (post 9/11) the government was telling citizens to spy on each other.

 

[Ziltoid]

I think there may be more monitoring than you (96tbird) think, I'm not big on paranoia but it wouldn't surprise me.

Imo. the October Crisis in 1970 proved we were not any better than the states.

As far as domestic terrorism is concerned here's a quick list according to wiki:

2012- assassination attempt on the night of the Quebec elections, he also set fire to the place.

2010 - A RBC Bank was firebombed

2008-2009 pipelines in the west were bombed (ecoterrorism)

2000-2001 The "Brigade d'auto-défense du Francais" bombed a Church and firebombed a Second-Cup.

1995 Bomb outside the Province House in PEI.

 

[aborgman]

Of course it does. It changes the story from the federal govt checking someone's google searches, then showing up in force when they see something they don't like, to local cops paying a visit to ask a few questions based on a tip from a former employer.

The original story never said it was the Feds - it said it was "agents from the joint terrorism task force", which are quite often local police.

...and the original story never said it was NSA based Google spying - it only said it was related to Google searches... which it was.

I'll agree that a lot of the speculation by folks about the story was wrong - but the original story itself never makes those claims.

 

[Factor88]

this whole thing has me so pissed on multiple levels. dammit, we shouldn't have to be careful what we say ANYWHERE! the America our grandparents fought for is dead. that is no hyperbole.

Yes, it is hyperbole.

You are a poor student of history if you believe questionable things have not been done by those in power in the days of our grandfathers and before.

Heck, in the days of our grandfathers we rounded up people of japanase descent and put them in concentration camps. US citizens, no charges, no proof, just race.

Teddy Roosevelt used the secret service illegally to spy on his politcal opponents. Lincoln suspended the wirt of Habeous Corpus and had his federal marshalls go around and arrest northern newspaper editors who were printing things they didn't like against the Union cause. No charges, no evidence, just sit in jail.

Teddy and Father Abraham are on Freakin' Mt Rushmore.

POint is, if you think what you are compaining about is some sort of recent occurance, you lack historical perspective. This sort of thing has been going on in this country since before it was even a country.

 

[sevenorchids]

this whole thing has me so pissed on multiple levels. dammit, we shouldn't have to be careful what we say ANYWHERE! the America our grandparents fought for is dead. that is no hyperbole. we've become a nation of wusses afraid of our shadows just begging someone to keep us safe no matter how much of the freedoms that took humanity millennia to secure are being burned away. why are we not FLOODING the streets in protest s of every sort?... oh look, a sale on Amazon!

Whatever America you believe that your grandparents fought for never existed. The difference today is that, if you are hassled by the police or any government agency, you can report it on the Internet and everyone knows about it. The police and government have been hassling people on the fringes of society all the way back to George Washington's administration. The only thing that the hassled could do back then is either type up a pamphlet or try to get the newspapers to cover it. Neither was very effective. The newspapers rarely would, since those in power like to cover for others in power. It's a whole self-interest thing. Also, not being political here, this is simply a historical explanation.

The issue here is that some hack decided to put on a hat and call him or herself a "journalist" and wrote this horrendously misleading piece of semi-fiction, complete with the awesome picture (at the Atlantic Wire) taken from another time and place completely. Some others read it and, without checking for accuracy, disseminated it on this forum and others. Now, everyone is looking for the black helicopters and screaming about their rights.

If the police get a tip that someone might be planning to build a bomb, what should they do about it? Ignore it? Or should they send a couple people out to check it out and see if there is any truth to it?

I'd really like to understand how the police should have handled this differently. I'm well aware of how the "journalist" should have handled it differently (silly things like corroboration, verification, and validation, etc.), but page views are the new currency of the millennium. We allowed them to collect their money from us on this one.

 

[guy n. cognito]

The original story never said it was the Feds - it said it was "agents from the joint terrorism task force", which are quite often local police.

...and the original story never said it was NSA based Google spying - it only said it was related to Google searches... which it was.

I'll agree that a lot of the speculation by folks about the story was wrong - but the original story itself never makes those claims.

Yes it did, on both counts. The article, in its current form has been edited multiple times.