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An agency that owns a number of black helicopters has derided "conspiracy theorists" who have spoken out against the DHS's plans to monitor journalists:
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday pushed back against a report warning of the agency's plan to compile a list of media professionals and influencers as part of a "media monitoring" effort.
The plan outlined in a FedBizOpps.gov posting by DHS this week says the agency will create a database of "any and all media coverage" related to the agency or specific events, with a list of more than 290,000 global news sources searchable by location and individual reporters.
[...] Responding to a tweet from the Committee to Protect Journalists, which shared the Forbes report, DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton suggested that critics who cited the department's news tracking plan as a supposed attack on the press were "conspiracy theorists." "Despite what some reporters may suggest, this is nothing more than the standard practice of monitoring current events in the media," Houlton tweeted. "Any suggestion otherwise is fit for tin foil hat wearing, black helicopter conspiracy theorists."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 08 2018, @12:57PM (4 children)
I really don't think anything like the TSA should exist. Forcing everyone to submit to searches before they're allowed to get on a plane is simply unconstitutional. I would rather risk a terrorist attack than have such a thing. Of course, that generously assumes the TSA is even effective, which it isn't. If we're going to do anything at all, we have to take actions that don't violate people's freedoms. The presence of air marshals on planes and securing cockpit doors do not violate anyone's freedoms. And passengers should be ready to fight back, instead of letting the plane be taken over, which is already true.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Sunday April 08 2018, @01:06PM
Judge: "It is a reasonable search".
You will NEVER be free.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 08 2018, @02:53PM (2 children)
What I hear you saying is, "The TSA does things all wrong." There is little doubt that *something* like the TSA should exist. There is a demonstrated need for *something*. IMO, had we followed Israel's lead, we would be light years ahead of where we are now. I'm not saying that Israel necessarily has the very best solution, I'm merely observing the obvious: Israel has a better system than we have by orders of magnitude.
Of course, to have what Israel has, we would have to develop some of their psychological advantages. That old "shoot the hostage" thing, for instance. The hostage is already dead, in Israel's eyes, so it simply doesn't matter if he is hit with some bullets. Instead, we are whiny, sniveling cowards, who will bend over backwards, stick our heads up our arses, in an attempt to "negotiate" with hostage takers.
Further, we would have to shitcan our aversion to profiling. It's a very sick person who can decide to collectively violate *EVERYBODY'S* rights, to avoid possibly infringing on the rights of the suspects. In effect, we've decided that it's better to cavity search our young, our old, our most respected, male, female, as well as our least respected, to avoid any possible offense to some damned fool with known ties to extremist Muslim groups. Sick sick, SICK!
There is a proven need for something, but we've gone about it all wrong, starting with the creation of the DHS.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 08 2018, @03:01PM (1 child)
If by "hostage" you mean "Palestinian child", Israel sees those as nuisances and good things to kill to stave off the demographic collapse of their ethnostate.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 08 2018, @03:23PM
If by "Palestinian", you mean the children now living in Palestine, Israel cherishes those children. Arabs and Muslims generally want to kill those children. Your post makes me wonder if you don't want to kill some Jewish children, as well.