How a surveillance story can get out of hand
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 08/02/2013 09:30 AM
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We are so willing to eat up any bit of information that comes our way in light of the leaks that Edward Snowden is throwing out to us; we are hungry for truth, but we sometimes believe what is maybe more like a half truth.
Case in point; freelance writer Michele Catalano told us about how her family was subject to a visit from the Joint Terrorism Task Force after some questionable Google searches that included things such as ‘pressure cooker’ and ‘backpack’. She asserted that the visit was prompted by the searches made at her home and that these searches were unrelated in nature but somehow authorities were able to pick up on it; this made for a little bit of an outcry from the general public. The question was posed “how and what are ’they’ doing to us in order to be able to know and act on a private in home Google search?”
According to Catalano, what happened was this: At about 9:00 am, my husband, who happened to be home yesterday, was sitting in the living room with our two dogs when he heard a couple of cars pull up outside. He looked out the window and saw three black SUVs in front of our house; two at the curb in front and one pulled up behind my husband’s Jeep in the driveway, as if to block him from leaving.
Six gentlemen in casual clothes emerged from the vehicles and spread out as they walked toward the house, two toward the backyard on one side, two on the other side, two toward the front door.
A million things went through my husband’s head. None of which were right. He walked outside and the men greeted him by flashing badges. He could see they all had guns holstered in their waistbands.
“Are you [name redacted]?” one asked while glancing at a clipboard. He affirmed that was indeed him, and was asked if they could come in. Sure, he said.
They asked if they could search the house, though it turned out to be just a cursory search. They walked around the living room, studied the books on the shelf (nope, no bomb making books, no Anarchist Cookbook), looked at all our pictures, glanced into our bedroom, pet our dogs. They asked if they could go in my son’s bedroom but when my husband said my son was sleeping in there, they let it be.
In her tale she puts forth facts that are known to be true by her - but there were other aspects that she didn’t know; such as her husband was searching things on a work computer that included more ominous search parameters, ‘pressure cooker bomb’ is one that really sticks out. Also the husband was recently discharged from that job and the employer was just being diligent in reviewing the company owned computer's search history, ultimately airing on the safe side and reported it to police - no secret spy program.
So it would seem that the whole affair was a timing issue; a perfect storm of data searching and the act of an employer that lead to this ‘red flag’ not the ominous dark shadowed, Orwellian nightmare that numerous people immediately gravitated towards - including myself.
That is not to say that ‘they’ aren't doing these things on a regular basis but more that ‘they’ weren’t this time.
Case in point; freelance writer Michele Catalano told us about how her family was subject to a visit from the Joint Terrorism Task Force after some questionable Google searches that included things such as ‘pressure cooker’ and ‘backpack’. She asserted that the visit was prompted by the searches made at her home and that these searches were unrelated in nature but somehow authorities were able to pick up on it; this made for a little bit of an outcry from the general public. The question was posed “how and what are ’they’ doing to us in order to be able to know and act on a private in home Google search?”According to Catalano, what happened was this: At about 9:00 am, my husband, who happened to be home yesterday, was sitting in the living room with our two dogs when he heard a couple of cars pull up outside. He looked out the window and saw three black SUVs in front of our house; two at the curb in front and one pulled up behind my husband’s Jeep in the driveway, as if to block him from leaving.
Six gentlemen in casual clothes emerged from the vehicles and spread out as they walked toward the house, two toward the backyard on one side, two on the other side, two toward the front door.
A million things went through my husband’s head. None of which were right. He walked outside and the men greeted him by flashing badges. He could see they all had guns holstered in their waistbands.
“Are you [name redacted]?” one asked while glancing at a clipboard. He affirmed that was indeed him, and was asked if they could come in. Sure, he said.
They asked if they could search the house, though it turned out to be just a cursory search. They walked around the living room, studied the books on the shelf (nope, no bomb making books, no Anarchist Cookbook), looked at all our pictures, glanced into our bedroom, pet our dogs. They asked if they could go in my son’s bedroom but when my husband said my son was sleeping in there, they let it be.
In her tale she puts forth facts that are known to be true by her - but there were other aspects that she didn’t know; such as her husband was searching things on a work computer that included more ominous search parameters, ‘pressure cooker bomb’ is one that really sticks out. Also the husband was recently discharged from that job and the employer was just being diligent in reviewing the company owned computer's search history, ultimately airing on the safe side and reported it to police - no secret spy program.
So it would seem that the whole affair was a timing issue; a perfect storm of data searching and the act of an employer that lead to this ‘red flag’ not the ominous dark shadowed, Orwellian nightmare that numerous people immediately gravitated towards - including myself.
That is not to say that ‘they’ aren't doing these things on a regular basis but more that ‘they’ weren’t this time.
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