privacy

Should the government be allowed to monitor "suspicious" phone conversations?
Should they be able to monitor things in our everyday life, such as: what we watch, read, purchase, etc?
Where does the line get crossed with infringing on our privacy?

I don't understand what you mean Justin, as far as i know...i am pretty sure that what i do isn't being watched. I know if you make customer calls for support and stuff they might monitor your call, but i totally agree with that.
As far as what i watch on tv, or do at home, i don't think they are able to know all that. Perhaps knowing what tv shows i watch helps certain organizations with understanding what should be aired at what times and stuff. Otherwise, they don't know anything more about me...well at least nothing that you wouldn't be able to find out yourself.

If you've seen the Mel Gibson movie: Conspiracy Theory, there's a starting point. It's come up many times in the U.S. about monitoring what people buy, sell, watch, or say, in the name of "protecting the country from terrorists". Some in the government think they should know what's going on in people's lives in order to better protect the country.
That brings up the question of, when does monitoring citizens lives infringe on their privacy. I read some articles about what the government would like to do in this matter, and it is very frightening. It reminds me of how Hitler took over Germany in a dictator run government.

The government would have programs that monitor for certain things: books, items bought or sold, or phone conversations. Certain words or topics would be flagged and put into a file for future use.

I know one group in the U.S. that is monitored. While the KKK is not as prevalent as it was in years past, the government keeps tabs on what it is doing. I knew of one such meeting that took place and heard from a reliable source that the FBI got license plate numbers on all the vehicles there. That's just one example. I'm not supporting the KKK; it's just an examle.

The possibilities are endless as to what the government might try when it comes to watching its people.

Justin, you seem to confuse me :S. There is a difference between "spying" on civilians such as us, and there is a totally different view on "spying" other organizations that are known to have done wrong in the past.
I would be very relieved to know that the KKK is being watched, closely, it gives me the assurance that they won't commit crimes like they had in the past. In some cases, it is ok for a government organization to keep track or spy on certain people, it definitely helps lead to clues about stuff that could happen in the near future.
I'm very sure Justin, that the government isn't tracking the food i eat, or cd's i buy, or where i go...i personally don't think they even care. But when they start tracking groups that have a bad history, then i give full support...it is very important for a country to know what these sort of groups are doing in their home land, and for the protection of their citizens (us ).

I think Justin was just giving an example of how they can track people, but I do agree with the point you brought up about tracking people with bad histories, I'm all for that too. But the thing is, is that they do track things. What we look up on the internet, they look after; the books we pull out of the library, they look after; What I'm typing on here, they probably keep tabs on. Instant Messenger convos they keep tabs on; phone conversations, television shows you watch, your closest friends and family. To some extent, they will keep track of what you do, because if you ever end up doing something bad, they'll need some lead to go off of to track you down. At least in America, they had a way of going about doing all of that in an even easier fashion when they instituted the Patriot Act. Also, if you're checking out books or whatev that seems suspicious to them, they're going to look into it.

For instance, my dad's friend had Bright House Networks for his cable. He's pretty tech savvy and tore into the cable box and took out a thing that keeps track of what you watch. About a day or two later, people from Bright House actually showed up, no one called them, no one notified them of anything and they were saying that something is wrong with his box and they needed to come in and change out the box.

Phone conversations, besides internet things, are even easier to track with the spy intel we've got. lol


that's just a little rant about what our gov't is actually doing behind the scenes lolol

those are some good points cpowanab7, but i wouldn't get all worried about this whole privacy issue. I really don't care if the government knows what i'm doing, i'm not doing anything illegal so i don't need to worry about it.

With what is going on in todays world, i'm actually glad that the government and military forces are keeping track of people. All these terrorist attacks, and shootings and stuff, its started to become a scary place to live in. Like don't be surprised if you are taking a walk and you get shot, or stabbed, or who knows what. Thats what this world is turning out to be, like kids can't even go to school without having the fear of getting shot, or killed in some form.

I think the government has all the right to know what the citizens are doing, and trust me, chances are...the government isn't going to focus on you, since they'll see its just a waste of time, there are so many more people out there that are just sick and should be watched...and better yet...locked away forever.
Well thats my little rant on this issue lol