Papers are due today. If you're having a Paper Emergency...
We'll be doing part one of a data mapping/coding/connection-making exercise
We will complete the exercise with Keith and Mendi Obadike
Wednesday APRIL 11th from 3-5pm BC142a (CEC- required) see me if you have a conflict
Homework:
Watch what you say
Reading response due on the blog
Also, keep your blogs going! make sure your content is strong, organized, and that un-original content has links to the originals.
Another CEC and EXTRA CREDIT opportunity
STORYHACK
http://www.tribecafilm.com/tribecaonline/future-of-film/Story-Hack-Where-Storytelling-and-Technology-Meet.html#.T3egG47YeOg
ReplyDeleteIn response to "watch What you say"
Delete5 April 2012
Woah! I had no idea this was going on. This article makes me feel like i should be questioning everything. This building, that will be five times the size of the US capitol, is invading personal privacy. This enormous data storage space cost tons of money, and where is that money coming from? I don't want to trust the government but at the same time I am not knowledgable enough to trust anything else. I know what I see is right and wrong and that's it. I know that our countries money should be spent on things like medical research, EDUCATION!and poverty in the US. I understand that they are saying it is to protect our country from terrorism or any other attacks, but invading privacy is not the way to do it. I know I don't have a better solution to offer up to protect our country, but I am sure there is a more plausible way of protecting out country. This NSA storage space is taking data from our entire cyberspace and encrypting it, analyzing it and viewing all the data that runs through it. I don't agree with this at all. I think this is an important topic to be discussed and am glad I was able to read about it.
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ReplyDeleteThis is scary stuff. I had stumbled across this article last week and was completely amazed that this complex is not getting more media attention. People are not demanding enough answers and officials will continue to tip toe while these highly expensive security projects are being built. I tried rereading this article again in a different light, and after weighing the pros and cons, the cons surpass without contest. Trying to visualize the capacity of the amount of data the data halls will be able to capture around the world is mind boggling.
DeleteI understand the concept of cyber security and having the ability to crack heavily encrypted data is essential for protecting this country from a serious attack, but can we trust the NSA to not invade the citizens of the U.S.? To what extent will the NSA go to “protecting” us? One disturbing quote from one of the senior intelligence officials” said, “Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.” The idea of the NSA being able to automatically store any data associated to an individual at any given time once something “suspicious” is uttered is scary. This includes people that are not on a watch list.
What is most unsettling was the response from William Binney and why he left the NSA in 2001. “They violated the Constitution setting it up,” he says bluntly. “But they didn’t care. They were going to do it anyway, and they were going to crucify anyone who stood in the way. When they started violating the Constitution, I couldn’t stay.” Knowing that Binney and another senior NSA analyst’s idea of an automated warrant approval system was brushed off by the Department of Justice's inspective general is very disturbing.
In my opinion the war on terror/cyberterror is a fraud. We could be spending our money on more important things like curing diseases, developing renewable energy stations so we an free ourselves of foreign resources, improving education, and countless other things that could benefit mankind rather than building super computers and data storage centers that compromise the very principles of “freedom” this country was founded on.
Kristin Romyns
ReplyDeleteDigital Literacy
“Watch What You Say”
5 April 2012
I had no idea that such a complex was being built, and in all honestly it is quite intimidating. I am surprised I have not heard anything about this before, and that this is the first article that I have seen about this new center for NSA.
It is understood this is supposed to be for everyone’s security, but it is unnerving that everything we say or do will be seen by the people at this complex. There is one statement that sticks and that I view as very important question, “With its new Utah Data Center, the NSA will at last have the technical capability to store, and rummage through, all those stolen secrets. The question, of course, is how the agency defines who is, and who is not, ‘a potential adversary’” (pg, 7). Honestly, how will they know a joke from a true threat? I do not know exactly how NSA works, but I can only imagine that they are looking for particular words or phrases that threaten the lives of others. The articles explains that the servers, routes, and etc. contain a never ending databases of communication forms such as total contents of private emails, cell phone calls, internet searches including all “personal data trails.” This means that nothing is private or a secret.
However, the fact that nothing is private or a secret once it leaves a person’s mouth should be obvious. People who own Facebook accounts should understand that once they upload content online it will never be erased.
Another concern is the size of this facility. This complex is absolutely huge, and as stated in the text, “Once built, it will be more than five times the size of the US Capitol.” The amount of data being stored has yet to acquire an actually name and for now is called “yottabyte.” To store such massive amounts of data they NSA needs one million square feet of space. If physical data needed to be store the new NSA complex could store five hundred quintillion pages of text (pg, 7). However due to advanced technology there is no such need for pages and pages of text anymore.
After reading this article it honestly makes me want to lessen my use of emails, text, and online personal storage. However, this would be impossible due to the fact that just about everyone either uses, or requires the use of the digital technology and storage. I would like to not depend on digital communication, but it is practically required in day to day activities.
The entire situation going on with the gigantic spy building that is being created goes beyond the privacy of Americans and the lack of moral in the operations that are planned to take place in the building. While it is horribly unjust to spy on even private emails and phone calls, corruption in the government and their attempts to track everything in the country is not a brand new idea. However, the length to which the NSA is going to do so is sickening to the constitutional rights of America.
ReplyDeleteThe most ridiculous aspect of this operation to me is the wastefulness of it. The waste of space, time and money are astronomical. With the economy not even bringing itself back up and stabalizing it hardly seems the time to invest billions of dollars in a building ment strictly to spy on Americans. Which poverty and unemployment at such a high level, the American Debt at such a a seemingly made up number and the nation in one of its worst financial situations ever it hardly seems right to invest in such a pointless operation. 2 billion dollars to build the giant spy house would have been well put towards the countless economical crisis's Americans are dealing with daily. Not to mention the waste of 40 million dollars annually which could also be put towards something that would help the American citizens, most of which are in need of help, rather than wasting it on the governments unconstitutional attempts to control everything rather than fix anything.
Aside from the fact that this plan of the NSA is costing billions of [whose?] dollars and yet is highly classified, it is without proper consent and unconstitutional to begin with. It seems that while the government tries to prevent more corruption, it is creating an inevitable cycle of destruction. The more secure the government claims it is becoming, the more insecure we become as citizens. "While cybersecurity will certainly be among the areas focused on in Bluffdale, what is collected, how it’s collected, and what is done with the material are far more important issues (page 6)."
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not against opportunities of enforcing the law and protecting our country and the people in it, it is absolutely mind-boggling how a country that takes pride in its "freedom" is simultaneously completely invading its people's privacy. If you ask me, the government seems more concerned with finding problems than actually fixing them, which obviously is only creating more problems. Maybe is the U.S. didn't attract so much hate and distrust for reasons such as this, they wouldn't be so concerned about terrorist attacks. However, as long as the government chooses to withhold and distort the information they supply through the media, both U.S. citizens as well as other countries will continue to question our government's real intentions. Unfortunately, "the old adage that NSA stands for Never Say Anything applies more than ever (page 4)"and while we can ask honest questions, we can't expect honest answers.
While reading this article, I could feel my draw dropping longer and longer with every sentence read. At first I didn't think that this new "center" was that bad... but low and behold, I was very wrong. The instant I started reading about how encryption codes were being broken and that there was even more secretive things going on I was in shock that this place is actually going to be opened in September 2013. Aside from the question of how they're actually getting all of this information, I can't help but wonder who's money is actually being contributed to this building out in the middle of nowhere.
ReplyDelete“Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.” .... Well that just sums up just about the entire world. What I don't understand is how this idea of taking everyone's information, all the way to what they bought at the convenience store, got as far as an actual possibility. What I mean by that is I don't understand how the people who came up with this center got as far as they did without getting into some sort of trouble. It looks to me that this is a huge violation of privacy and I don't even understand why some of these things would have to be stored forever, especially for an innocent person. I think it would be good to monitor those who deserve to be monitored--like those with an actual crime record--not those who have done nothing wrong.
I am all for intricate and clever spy methods; I have always been fascinated with high tech gear and cool specs. But this time, I think the government is going a little overboard and definitely encroaching on the public’s right to privacy. Yes, the level of fear of terrorism comes with the rise of technology and after 9/11 the government feels that protection and awareness needs to be revamped. And yes, sure, it is wonderful to be able to break highly encrypted codes with a computer that breaks land speed. What I don’t understand though is why they need to read through every single person’s personal emails and listen in on intimate phone calls. Anything anyone does anymore is going to be charted. Phone records, credit card purchases, and bank account transfers are readily available for scrutiny. Nothing is private anymore! Like Binney proposed why not reject those not even remotely close to the people on a watchlist. This is much less expensive. 1 million square feet to hold one computer that sifts through global communications in their entirety seems very extreme. Preventative methods also need to be installed so that the United States does not relapse into another Watergate-like state. Why is the government authorizing such violations? The NSA tapped AT&T’s entire network WITHOUT a warrant and the higher-ups shrugged it off. I am glad there is being light shed onto this. The title of the article is absolutely appropriate; everyone now needs to walk on eggshells it seems. I chuckled when they added an “old adage:” Never Say Anything,” also known as the National Security Agency. A head honcho in the NSA himself says that “basically [after 9/11] all rules were thrown out the window, and they would use any excuse to justify a waiver to spy on Americans.” This should not be the case. To me, they are stooping to criminal level, which is exactly what they are trying to put an end to. There are other less incriminating reasons to make a high speed computer, apparently like keeping up with Japan. Sure, the United States has to be on top of everything. We need to use the advances in technology for the better and to appear smarter than everyone, but do we really need to be so invasive?
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of the article, I could not believe what I was reading. It was hard for me to comprehend that a place like this exists and is getting bigger! It is such a crazy thing that is happening and to be happening within the next year is even more scary. They are receiving all kinds of money from awards, but it seems as if they are slipping when it come to the several “surprise” assaults. It mind boggles me that all of this, and I mean all of it is being done in secret and few people know about it. They can find out any little thing about anyone and have it stored in the systems forever. To me, intrusion of everyones privacy, but my question is how and why. How are they getting information on what I have bought at stores to private phone calls I may or may not make. And why all this detailed information. I know it is hard to trust everyone, but information like that doesn’t seem all that important to me.
ReplyDeleteAnother question I begin to ask myself is, why must it be so large. Yes, it is good to have security, but why is it that much information and taking up that much space as a whole. The whole situation is a little sketchy. I understand why they are doing such events, but what I am not comprehending is why everything is so much, or too much? It just something no one was really expecting from out country. But then again, certain bizarre events slowly but surely seem to be piling up on us.
This article completely blew my mind. I never knew it was possible for a company and program to expand to be that big and have control over every source of communication. Yes, it is a great thing that they are able to use their technology skills in hopes of keeping us safe but the lack of privacy is wild! Come 2013, everything someone does is going to be monitored. It boggled my mind when the article stated that if a persons name was mentioned once, they will be tracked through the computer, phones, everything, for the rest of their lives. It is remarkable that this program even exists, but the size of it is what is truly remarkable. The costs, time, and effort going into this program is incredible. In my opinion, it will either work very well, or very bad.
ReplyDeleteYou can only hope that this program isn't abused to its advantage. The National Spy Agency is building the world's largest spy center. They are going to see everything everyone in the world is saying or searching on the web starting in 2013. It is a very strange thing to read in my opinion. Or maybe just unexpected? Why does it have to be so over the top? Even though the intentions of this spy center is good, I think it may be a little too much. Our privacy rights will be completely taken away. Is that what we really need? I don't think so. Having a spy center with this technology is great, but there should be some restraining orders involved.
After reading this article, I am in shock that this whole new center was even allowed. After 9/11 and all other terrorist attacks I completely understand as to why they would want to build a secret spy center to control the terrorism, but at the same time, I think this is completely out of hand. The fact that these people and their high tech computers can eavesdrop on anything and anyones personal information is ridiculous. In the article it states, "Everything a person does becomes charted on a graph, “financial transactions or travel or anything,” he says. Thus, as data like bookstore receipts, bank statements, and commuter toll records flow in, the NSA is able to paint a more and more detailed picture of someone’s life." That is out of hand, because a persons "life" should not be followed by anyone. There is no need for a persons every move to be recorded or spied on by this spy center. Even though they are trying to protect the U.S from terrorist and all other happenings, they are crossing the line with privacy and what should be allowed. Also, in the article they state, " Even journalists calling home from overseas were included. “A lot of time you could tell they were calling their families,” she says, “incredibly intimate, personal conversations.” Kinne found the act of eavesdropping on innocent fellow citizens personally distressing. “It’s almost like going through and finding somebody’s diary,” she says. In secret listening rooms nationwide, NSA software examines every email, phone call, and tweet as they zip by." Doesn't that seem to be a little much? For this center to track the lives of average every day people is insane and just wrong. They could of went about this in a different way, or at least in a more refined section of people. The whole entire spy center is so high tech and could be very helpful to stop future endangerment, but is completely out of control. For example, the sign ears the exit reads, "WHAT YOU SEE HERE, WHAT YOU DO HERE, WHAT YOU HEAR HERE, WHEN YOU LEAVE HERE, LET IT STAY HERE." That is very intimidating and makes me double think the whole idea of this spy agency.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of the article I was amazed. I had no idea a company could expand that much! What really amazed me is the fact that everything we will be doing soon will be monitored and watched! Everything will be stored in a database from private phone calls to google searches. Everything we do on a daily basis will be stored in this underground place. Im so mind blown that this will be happening starting september of 2013! The cost of the program is unbelievable it is either going to be a huge success or just a failure. I also want to know why is this going to be happening? I thought people already monitored what we do, maybe not as much as this program will be doing but its still a lot of things. Why have so much security upon what we do?
ReplyDeleteThis article is scares me and it's horrifying how much money they spent on this company in Utah. We as citizens should feel safe in our country but instead our privacy is being intruded. The money that they are spending on this project could be used for other things that we need. It's wrong to track people's lives and looking into what they do everyday. The part on the article that says that everyone's a target is nerve wrecking. Instead of fixing our problems this is just going to make them worse. It is pointless to be so invasive in people's lives.
ReplyDeleteThe Electronic Art Workshop with Keith and Mendi Obadike was a really mind-opening experience. Through our collective activities, projects, and discussions, I gained perspective regarding idea development as well as ways of collecting and interpreting data in everyday life. While there were many insightful topics that were touched upon during the workshop, the discussion regarding racial identity really brought importance to the associations that we make everyday based off of our own personal experiences. With these associations brings the topic of speculations, and it was shocking to learn that trends are being created based off of what one company is claiming to be popular. However, despite how manipulative the media can be to society, it is relieving to be aware of more concepts developing ideas and Keith and Mandi brought out through their workshop that creative idea development has endless potential.
ReplyDeleteKeith and Mendi were awesome! I really enjoyed listening to them talk about color and hex codes. At first it was hard to tell where they were going with the discussion and having us take a test. The test was interesting in that the questions were so strange, while the answers were even stranger. Discussing the test afterwards it all started making sense. It was regarding racial identity. The idea that people are judged by the color of their skin and also very broadly labeled black or white. It was eye-opening to listen to keith and mendi talk about their "colors" in hex codes. Also hearing their personal stories of how theyve traveled the world and in different places they were considered an inter rational couple and in some places they were both considered black.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to see how many people showed up for their workshop, the room was overflowing. i think thats a really good sign to see that people like Keith and Mendi are opening students eyes to this kind of manipulative media and the categorizing of race by color.
Its amazing how much money our government has to spend on things like this company in Utah. I understand that the government wants the public to trust them but how can we when they are spending there money on things like invading our privacy when they could be spending it on Cancer research or putting the money towards something that could help us in the future. I learned in my Ethics class this year that only the people that are in the public eye gave up there right to some privacy. By the public eye I mean, people like singers and actors. People like you and me have every right to our privacy.
ReplyDelete