Recap

Wiretapping & Data Mining

Counter-surveillance specialist Roger Tolces expressed alarm over the increase in warrantless wiretapping and "data mining" being done by the U.S. government under the auspices of fighting terrorism. Data mining, a kind of "electronic vacuum cleaning" in which emails and phone calls are searched via computers for certain key words, is drawing us closer to a police state, he commented. Further, he believes terrorists can outsmart such systems using encryptions, code words and untraceable cell phones. The real purpose of such surveillance may be to create an information database of America's citizens, rather than fight terrorism, he added.

As computer chips become more sophisticated and powerful, the level of surveillance will rise along with the shrinking of privacy, said Tolces, who warned that the government currently has the ability to monitor conversations taking place in a room through software built into cell phones.

Tolces also touched on the topic of mind control-- directed energy devices, such as those that send out microwaves can affect brain function, he detailed. Even the radiation from cell phones can cause alterations, he reported, citing the case of a young girl who exhibited strong behavior changes during the time she used a cell phone.

Related Articles

New Wiretap Bill

On Thursday, the House approved a bill that would grant legal status to President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program where under certain conditions calls and emails between people in the U.S. and those of other countries could be monitored. Democrats have opposed the bill, citing that the war on terror shouldn't be waged at the expense of civil rights. Read more here.