5 ms·

Back when I was a kid, Enemy of the State was not a documentary. But really, if you cared about Privacy/Security at all since the 80's you'd've known about Ech

Back when I was a kid, Enemy of the State was not a documentary. But really, if you cared about Privacy/Security at all since the 80's you'd've known about Echelon, Echelon II, etc. You've also read up on ThinThread and Trailblazer. My favorite is the No Such Agency adjunct that pulled like $200m a year in funding with 3 people in the division. Well and this patch: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Logo_of_Infrared_Space_Systems_Directorate.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Logo_of_... quite literally the greatest US Gov't Patch of all time.

codezero 11y ago
I've always been partial to this one: https://i.imgur.com/XaIWseY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/XaIWseY.jpg
- WiseWeasel 11y ago
  Sure, that's a great example of classic Bond-villain-like appeal, but I still have to recognize the design team who pushed this work of an entirely different level of greatness through committee approval: http://www.nro.gov/images/launches/nrol-66/NROL-66-patch.jpg http://www.nro.gov/images/launches/nrol-66/NROL-66-patch.jpg
- kristofferR 11y ago
  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/NROL49_patch.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/NROL49_pa... The text translates to: "Better the devil that you know".
wozniacki 11y ago
A 2006 Italian movie, "In ascolto" ( The Listening ) [1] [2] [3] presents a much more realistic plot. [1] The Listening (film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Listening_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Listening_(film) [2] NYT Review http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/351999/The-Listening/overview http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/351999/The-Listening/ove... [3] Trailer - The Listening (2006) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlVK906Xzr8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlVK906Xzr8
- toyg 11y ago
  Wow, an Italian film on Echelon starring Michael Parks and I didn't know the first thing about it... Thanks for the tip!
ra1n85 11y ago
No love for YGBSM? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Wild_Weasels_patch.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Wild_Wea...
vezzy-fnord 11y ago
Back when I was a kid, Enemy of the State was not a documentary. No, but The Conversation might have been.
echelon 11y ago
The dystopian film of the late 90's I recall being most frequently cited as a glimpse at our future was "GATTACA". While that portrayal may one day come to pass, it doesn't feel like something immediately dangerous. "Enemy of the State" wasn't a particularly great film at the time it was released, but these days it feels remarkably prescient. We've willingly accepted an eerily similar world to live in, and we have to place an awful lot of trust into those at the helm...
- iwwr 11y ago
  For some reason Gattaca doesn't seem like that much of a dystopia. Poverty and disease are largely conquered. It's a harsh future that fosters alienation (or there wouldn't be much of a movie), yet the problems of that world seem fewer than those of today.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    I didn't ever figure out why it was 'distopian'. Guy with a heart condition was cheating to get in an astronaut program. Disguised his cheating by playing on folks sympathy for a natural-born citizen (vs genetically designed). He was a real conniving bastard, through and through.
    - maxerickson 11y ago
      It's never really made completely clear if he actually has a heart condition or whether his genes just predict one.
    - specialist 11y ago
      Eugenics. How may society adapt to genomics. Gattaca society used your genes determine your worth, your opportunities, our future. Stuff like nature vs nurture, triumph of an individual over prejudice, the apathy of genetic winners, etc.
    - juliangregorian 11y ago
      Like Brave New World, it appeals to (most of) our distaste for treating people differently based on their class. Meritocracy and all that.
rangibaby 11y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Awareness_Office https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Awareness_Office
DonHopkins 11y ago
They spelled "Semper Villains" wrong.

codezero 11y ago

I've always been partial to this one: https://i.imgur.com/XaIWseY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/XaIWseY.jpg

WiseWeasel 11y ago
Sure, that's a great example of classic Bond-villain-like appeal, but I still have to recognize the design team who pushed this work of an entirely different level of greatness through committee approval: http://www.nro.gov/images/launches/nrol-66/NROL-66-patch.jpg http://www.nro.gov/images/launches/nrol-66/NROL-66-patch.jpg
kristofferR 11y ago
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/NROL49_patch.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/NROL49_pa... The text translates to: "Better the devil that you know".

wozniacki 11y ago

A 2006 Italian movie, "In ascolto" ( The Listening ) [1] [2] [3] presents a much more realistic plot. [1] The Listening (film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Listening_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Listening_(film) [2] NYT Review http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/351999/The-Listening/overview http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/351999/The-Listening/ove... [3] Trailer - The Listening (2006) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlVK906Xzr8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlVK906Xzr8

toyg 11y ago
Wow, an Italian film on Echelon starring Michael Parks and I didn't know the first thing about it... Thanks for the tip!

ra1n85 11y ago

No love for YGBSM? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Wild_Weasels_patch.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Wild_Wea...

vezzy-fnord 11y ago

Back when I was a kid, Enemy of the State was not a documentary. No, but The Conversation might have been.

echelon 11y ago

The dystopian film of the late 90's I recall being most frequently cited as a glimpse at our future was "GATTACA". While that portrayal may one day come to pass, it doesn't feel like something immediately dangerous. "Enemy of the State" wasn't a particularly great film at the time it was released, but these days it feels remarkably prescient. We've willingly accepted an eerily similar world to live in, and we have to place an awful lot of trust into those at the helm...

iwwr 11y ago
For some reason Gattaca doesn't seem like that much of a dystopia. Poverty and disease are largely conquered. It's a harsh future that fosters alienation (or there wouldn't be much of a movie), yet the problems of that world seem fewer than those of today.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  I didn't ever figure out why it was 'distopian'. Guy with a heart condition was cheating to get in an astronaut program. Disguised his cheating by playing on folks sympathy for a natural-born citizen (vs genetically designed). He was a real conniving bastard, through and through.
  - maxerickson 11y ago
    It's never really made completely clear if he actually has a heart condition or whether his genes just predict one.
  - specialist 11y ago
    Eugenics. How may society adapt to genomics. Gattaca society used your genes determine your worth, your opportunities, our future. Stuff like nature vs nurture, triumph of an individual over prejudice, the apathy of genetic winners, etc.
  - juliangregorian 11y ago
    Like Brave New World, it appeals to (most of) our distaste for treating people differently based on their class. Meritocracy and all that.

rangibaby 11y ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Awareness_Office https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Awareness_Office

DonHopkins 11y ago

They spelled "Semper Villains" wrong.