"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live - did live, from habit that became instinct - in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and except in darkness, every movement scrutinised."George Orwell,
Nineteen Eighty-Four
1949
The U.S. government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of "terrorist activity."US plans massive data sweep
Christian Science Monitor
February 9, 2006
Are we citizens of Weber County Forum the only ones "getting the creeps" here about the massive and obtrusive socialist government that we've brought upon ourselves in the name of "Big Brother security"?
SHEESH!
