<story><title>Main Core – database of US citizens believed to be threats to national security</title><url>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Core</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>w_t_payne</author><text>After the last few days of headlines on HN, I am starting to feel a bit (a lot) like a conspiracy theory wingnut. Am I going mad? Is it just me?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>alan_cx</author><text>The government does something bad, you see the evidence and speak out. Those who support the government have no defence so they trash you. One way to to that is to use another one of those weasel words &amp;quot;conspiracy&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;One of the usual arguments against &amp;quot;conspiracy&amp;quot; theories is that apparently it over estimates how clever and organised a government can be.&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;Oh, don&amp;#x27;t be so silly, a government could never keep all that quiet, you silly little conspiracy theorist.&amp;quot; Then as an aside, often talking tot the interviewer or audience, in a getting you on side tone, &amp;quot; Such poor weak people need to know that governments control everything. There is comfort in that for them&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;Heard that kind of patronising put down before, used against people trying to be heard? Note how with the statements from both US and UK governments, they also avoid the direct answers? Same as google, FB, etc? &amp;quot;Trust us, we are only after the bad guys, and if you have nothing to fear...&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;Hmmm, well, until a whistle blower spoke out, all that surveillance was conspiracy theory. Any one who spoke out or claimed it was happening was put down, patronised or accused of being a foil hatted nutter.&lt;p&gt;Except, it turned out to be true.&lt;p&gt;Or think back to how the illegal extraordinary rendition story broke. Rumours of secret night flights carrying kidnapped people and delivering them to off limits secret torture prisons in places out of jurisdiction. A very evil setup, denied left right and centre by the US government. Accusers were openly mocked. All until some UK plane spotters started taking down plane numbers and looking them up, connecting the dots.&lt;p&gt;So, yes, if you criticise the government or the power that be you are almost programmed to feel like a &amp;quot;wing nut&amp;quot;, etc, etc. Just like you are made to feel &amp;quot;unpatriotic&amp;quot; or worse still, &amp;quot;traitorous&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;Trust us, the are nukes in Iraq, we must invade......</text></comment>
<story><title>Main Core – database of US citizens believed to be threats to national security</title><url>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Core</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>w_t_payne</author><text>After the last few days of headlines on HN, I am starting to feel a bit (a lot) like a conspiracy theory wingnut. Am I going mad? Is it just me?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>glurgh</author><text>Only if you apply the loose criteria conspiracy theory wingnuts apply. Like with anything else, you should ask yourself &amp;#x27;what&amp;#x27;s the evidence? how reliable&amp;#x2F;well-sourced is this story?&amp;#x27;. In this particular case, the answer to the latter is &amp;#x27;very poorly&amp;#x27;.&lt;p&gt;A reasonable common-sense question is also - what use is a database with 8 million records in a situation dire enough to necessitate invoking continuity-of-government procedures&amp;#x2F;martial law&amp;#x2F;etc. Who exactly is going to go out and check up on 8 million &amp;#x27;potential threats&amp;#x27; in case of, say, a nuclear attack?</text></comment>