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Title: Revealed: Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don't want the government spying on you (and they include 'pork', 'cloud' and 'Mexico')
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Published: May 30, 2012
Author: v
Post Date: 2012-05-30 11:06:00 by PSUSA2
Keywords: None
Views: 179
Comments: 13
Department of Homeland Security forced to release list following freedom of information request Agency insists it only looks for evidence of genuine threats to the U.S. and not for signs of general dissent By Daniel Miller PUBLISHED: 04:32 EST, 26 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:46 EST, 26 May 2012 Revealing: A list of keywords used by government analysts to scour the internet for evidence of threats to the U.S. has been released under the Freedom of Information Act Revealing: A list of keywords used by government analysts to scour the internet for evidence of threats to the U.S. has been released under the Freedom of Information Act The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S. The intriguing the list includes obvious choices such as 'attack', 'Al Qaeda', 'terrorism' and 'dirty bomb' alongside dozens of seemingly innocent words like 'pork', 'cloud', 'team' and 'Mexico'. Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats. The words are included in the department's 2011 'Analyst's Desktop Binder' used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify 'media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities'. Department chiefs were forced to release the manual following a House hearing over documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit which revealed how analysts monitor social networks and media organisations for comments that 'reflect adversely' on the government. However they insisted the practice was aimed not at policing the internet for disparaging remarks about the government and signs of general dissent, but to provide awareness of any potential threats. More... Thanking his drug dealer in his yearbook and inventing the best ways to inhale: Book lifts lid on 'Barry' Obama's marijuana-smoking school days Passengers restrain man on an American flight from Jamaica after 'he tried to rush the cockpit after landing' Undercover US agents brought down our new Superjet: Russia’s extraordinary claim about crash which killed 45 As well as terrorism, analysts are instructed to search for evidence of unfolding natural disasters, public health threats and serious crimes such as mall/school shootings, major drug busts, illegal immigrant busts. The list has been posted online by the Electronic Privacy Information Center - a privacy watchdog group who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act before suing to obtain the release of the documents. In a letter to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, the centre described the choice of words as 'broad, vague and ambiguous'. Scroll down for full list Threat detection: Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats Threat detection: Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats They point out that it includes 'vast amounts of First Amendment protected speech that is entirely unrelated to the Department of Homeland Security mission to protect the public against terrorism and disasters.' A senior Homeland Security official told the Huffington Post that the manual 'is a starting point, not the endgame' in maintaining situational awareness of natural and man-made threats and denied that the government was monitoring signs of dissent. However the agency admitted that the language used was vague and in need of updating. Spokesman Matthew Chandler told website: 'To ensure clarity, as part of ... routine compliance review, DHS will review the language contained in all materials to clearly and accurately convey the parameters and intention of the program.' MIND YOUR LANGUAGE: THE LIST OF KEYWORDS IN FULL 
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#1. To: PSUSA2 (#0)
(Edited)
An acquaintance of mine who is deep into computer geekdom was hired by the govt a few years back to work up just such a program to detect terrorist emails and forum postings. According to him, the searches were done entirely by computer, with a fairly sophisticated program, who would look for listed words, combing many hundreds of emails & postings a minute, day and night. Not just the mere use of one of the words, but its use within (or, more likely, outside) a certain context, with each word on the list triggering a secondary search to see if a word from another, specific, list is either there or missing (for example, an innocuous message about "pork" might also use the words mutton, slops, piglet, beef, BBQ, farm, etc., and the inclusion of one of the words on the secondary list might mark it as harmless and the total lack of any word on the secondary list - which in real practice might be very extensive - might raise eyebrows). If the program thought the message MIGHT be suspicious, it was referred to a human operator, of whom there were several around the clock, and the human - who had plenty of messages to vet all the time - spent perhaps ten seconds before deciding that the message was innocuous or deserved further investigation by others. A similar program has long been at work on telephone calls, especially international calls, using computer equipment that can recognize spoken words.
Of course it has. Israel has, no doubt, one of the more sophisticated systems on the planet and free access to all American telephone lines. What a great blackmail and extortion tool.
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While I'm not quite as fatalistic I long ago concluded that the moment we cease speaking the truth then the bad guys really have won. The one thing they most fear is exposure and having too many people aware of their malefactions.
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#3. To: Shoonra, *US INDUSTRIAL WAR MACHINE* (#1)
A similar program has long been at work on telephone calls, especially international calls, using computer equipment that can recognize spoken words.
#4. To: Original_Intent (#3)
(Edited)
#8. To: Eric Stratton (#4)
#12. To: Original_Intent (#8)
Replies to Comment # 12.