NSA Scandal: Can You Hear Me Now? Hear You? We Can’t Shut You Off!
George Orwell began writing 1984, his novel of a dystopian future, in 1944. It was published in London in 1949 and five days later in New York. An immediate hit, the novel has remained in print, and is serialized on the radio, and is produced on stage, screen, and television. Despite its enormous success over the past 64 years, the unavoidable cautions presented in 1984 continue to be avoided. Orwell’s future is upon us.
The NSA is ignoring the Constitution and invading everyone’s privacy on a massive scale. Telephone records, emails, even our credit card transactions are an open book to a government that has come to resemble Orwell’s 1984 more and more. In just one example, the records being siphoned up aren’t limited to telephone numbers, as previously stated. Surveillance isn’t restricted to those suspected of terrorist activity. It is being collected from everyone. According to c/net, the NSA has admitted, in a secret briefing on Capitol Hill, that they can and do listen to thousands of telephone calls and read thousands of emails, daily, all without court authorization. The NSA insists that they don’t need it. Now, in the latest development, AT&T has raised the bar and inadvertently answered Verizon’s annoying and repetitive marketing question: “Can you hear me now?”
Orwell’s Big Brother appeared on “viewscreens,” in everyone’s home, 24/7. There was no way to shut off the broadcasts. If one was a member of the elite one might lower the volume but, if that was done, the person doing so was subject to reprimand or worse.
Gateway Pundit reported on Sunday that: “AT&T has begun rolling out Wireless Emergency Alerts updates for iPhone 4S and 5 … You’ll receive a notification from the carrier when your update is ready, but only if you’re using iOS 6.1 or higher… Once installed, AMBER and Emergency alerts are automatically sent to your phone unless you switch them off via Settings.”Well, that doesn’t sound so bad. The trouble is, it doesn’t stop there: “… However … there’s no way to switch off Presidential alerts.” Got that? In addition to the apps that iPhone users love so much AT&T is gifting you with The Lyin’ King … all day, every day, whether you want him or not..
Currently, this Obamination is being installed only on the iPhone 4 and 5. Remember, this isn’t a feature being prepared, it is already in production. There is no word as yet on whether other carriers are going to follow suit or if the program is going to be expanded to other brands of smart phones. But it seems unavoidable.