Their databases are a jumbled mess of COLLECTION with a really
crappy AI sorting out the data.
Their latest project was working on comprehending cultural
metaphors to better interpret movements of forces. Great idea,
*love* the concept... but botched it entirely. [whoever the
successor to ARPA is.. I forget their new name.. they were
working on it].
TOTALLY messed it up.
Oh wait - nvm.. that's the military's databases that are messed
up.
The NSA's amounts to a gigantic neverending text file where they
search for keywords. Perhaps a tad more sophisticated but
Intelligence, rarely is.
Our cultural assumptions keep getting in the way. They miss the
*whole point* and are blinded by Americanism.
I'm not the least bit worried about NSA, Homeland Security, or
any of that. I'm about as public record as you can get. I gave
up on my privacy in 2002 when Google released HUNDREDS of my
ancient Usenet posts to the WHOLE FREAKIN' WORLD... and I was
like, "shit, I think I talked about a sex fantasy on there when
I was 19" and got it removed. It was a crappy fantasy too.
Nope. here I am. You know who is far worse than any govt agency?
Gossip + Media + Gossip. Far more damaging. Impossible to
contain. Just start a rumor. Meangirls. 3 middle school girls in
unison are FAR more powerful than any male govt agency with
computers and a singular set of cultural misunderstandings.,
even about their own people. Incompetence is the reality of most
things. When you see a well put together story about THE FUTURE
or HOW THINGS REALLY ARE, or SECRETS YOU SHOULD KNOW... and
there's lots of Hyperbole and Drama... it's likely a lie. A
sales product.
If they ask for money or your allegiance, watch out.
If they're incompetent and bumbling but well-meaning, I'm more
likely to believe it. That's more normal. Of course,
self-effacing is *also* a technique of sales and/or scame but
it's not as commonly used.
