PENTAGON DATA MINING: creating soldiers for new wars

[Zlatko Waterman]

(note: This story has been sparsely circulated since Monday. It's the Pentagon and Bushco up to its usual appalling antics . . .)




Published on Friday, June 24, 2005 by Reuters
Privacy Advocates Assail Pentagon Recruit Database
by Will Dunham

The Pentagon has created a database of 12 million Americans as young as age 16, full of personal data such as grades and Social Security numbers, to help find potential military recruits, officials said on Thursday, in a program condemned by privacy advocates.

The database contains information on U.S. high school students ages 16 to 18, college students, and those who have registered with the Selective Service System as required by law in the event a military draft is resumed, the Pentagon said.

The database, created in 2003 but only now being disclosed, includes names, birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, individuals' e-mail addresses, ethnicity, telephone numbers, students' grade-point averages, field of academic study and other data, the Pentagon said.

Jim Harper, a privacy expert with the libertarian Cato Institute think tank, said, "It's a real privacy concern to have the youth of America tracked and targeted by the military this way."

Other privacy advocates challenged the database's legality, saying amassing the information violated the Privacy Act, a law intended to reduce government collection of personal data on Americans.

"The DOD (Department of Defense) proposes to ignore the law and its own regulations by collecting personal information from commercial data brokers and state registries rather than directly from individuals," a statement by a coalition of privacy groups said.

"This database represents an unprecedented foray of the government into direct marketing techniques previously only performed by the private sector," the statement added.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters, "We always worry about privacy issues."

David Chu, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said this was not a case of government infringement on citizens' privacy rights.

"There's nothing sinister," Chu said, arguing the ability to contact young Americans was critical to the success of the all-volunteer U.S. military.

Marine Corps Capt. Maurice Brown, who works on the program, said a total of 30 million people have been in the database since it was created, and it now lists 12 million people.

BeNOW, a Wakefield, Massachusetts-based marketing company that sifts through huge volumes of information to identify potential customers, is assisting with the database, Chu said.

The database was created long before current problems facing military recruitment, largely because of the Iraq war. The Army has missed recruiting targets in four straight months and is in danger of missing its fiscal 2005 recruiting goal.

RECRUITING WOES

While the database was created in 2003, the Pentagon made its first public disclosure of it in a notice under the Privacy Act published in the May 23 Federal Register.

Chu said the Pentagon did not initially realize such a notice was required. After realizing in May 2004 it was required, a lengthy internal review delayed the notice until last month, official said. This delay appeared to violate the Privacy Act, critics said.

Chu said language in a 1982 law permitted such a database.

The Federal Register notice said information in the database could be disclosed to law enforcement agencies, taxation authorities and others, but officials said no such outside disclosures had been made.

Harper said it was not surprising the Pentagon was trying modern marketing methods. "On the other hand, why are we such a warlike country that we need to have our Defense Department keeping track of every young American for the ostensible purpose of bringing them into the military?"Harper asked.

Additional reporting by Charles Aldinger

© Copyright 2005 Reuters Ltd

[Traveller13]

I heard they wanted to extend the project to he whole planet
but the other countried refused
how odd

[Axanderdeath]

is this news? I don't know if it is, I only read to the part about the govrnment tracking young people for the miltary ... I don't think it is that crazy either, tell me the truth if you were the govrnment and you knew that people would not go for a draft, and wars still break out and still happen and the USA is not imune and their are contries that could force the usa to need a miltary, the us needs a military, now if you were the government and you wanted people to be in the army you would try to sell it to the new generation--I do not like war and all the killing and shit, but really this does not suprise me or even make me angry it is just common sense---you don't think you've been trracked and studied for other things? Just because it is the military your giveing this head line--us yes creating super soilders--but that is not the case--it is not like they are injecting them with growth steroide--an idea fo the writer next peice--look I don't like the war or war, but you need an army--it is a fact. The world is not going to lay down all it's wepons and hug eachother--this is not news, and you were a very gulible person if you thought it was shocking...

[Axanderdeath]

what do you think of the reply???

[jimboloco]

I think you are naive. It is not common sense to support a massive militarism., as it is being used, and for devious purposes (GEO-POLTITCAL POWER IN THE OIL-R$CH MIDDLE-EAST)) Sorry to say so, but lookit, what we are talking about here is the abuse of power and what that means, it means the military in Am,erica has to go digging for its minions. In Canada you are not faced with anything other than what you can conjure up for yourself. In Am,rica we are inundated with political pressures for warmaking, and this warmaking is absurd, has nada to do with defense, geeze am I really having to say this, Don't see you standing at the door to enlist. TEN HUT! May the bell of mindfullness ring for thee.

The Canadians are in Basra, the port. It's not too late for you to catch some of the action. But really, Do you want the buggers coming after you?

[jimboloco]

We are currently perusing the anti-sedition law on the books in Florida, supposedly one can only inform a blood relative or someone of similar relationship not to enlist, otherwise it is a crime.

> Anita Stewart
> Tampa Bay Veterans for Peace Chapter 119
> Code Pink Tampa Bay
> Tampa Bay Indymedia Collective

The Law:
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 21:32:51 -0500
From: Timmy <ttm7715@g...>
To: X
Subject: Statute

X:

I found the statute on westlaw and checked the headnote- there
is nothing on point that has been appealed anywhere. Perhaps
there is and I am just not looking for it properly...

You can find the statute easily through flsenate.gov. There is
a search bar on the left. Here it is (two of the words are
defined below):

250.52 Unlawful to persuade citizens not to enlist; penalty.-
-Whenever the United States is at war, or our foreign
relations tend to indicate an impending war or state of war, a
person may not solicit or persuade a citizen of the United
States not to enlist or serve in the Army, Air Force, Marine
Corps, Coast Guard, or Navy, or in any reserve component
thereof, or in the Florida National Guard, or publicly attempt
to dissuade any such citizen from enlisting. This section does
not apply to the soliciting or persuading done by any person
related by affinity or consanguinity to the person solicited
or persuaded or whose advice is requested by the person
solicited or persuaded. Any person who violates this section
commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

*Consanguinity is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as: "A
person related to another by blood" *Affinity is defined by
Black's as either: The relation that one spouse has to the
blood relatives of the other spouse; relationship by marriage;
or, Any familial relation resulting from a marriage. (there
are other definitions, but this is the one to which I think
the statute would be referring)

It sounds like the key is "this section does not apply to the
soliciting or persuading done by any person... whose advice is
requested by the person solicited or persuaded." Whether
someone is actually "persuading" is open to interpretation (by
a conservative judge, perhaps), and care should be taken to
not expressly persuade. Perhaps "offering alternatives to
military service" is better. How counterrecruitment on a flyer
would be construed is anybody's guess. And all this
presupposes someone with the knowledge of the statute and the
power to arrest being at the event or seeing the flyer, which,
if they are distributed, is always a possibility.

Anita

[Axanderdeath]

I think you are naive. Sorry to say so, but lookit, what we are talking about here is the abuse of power and what that means, it means the military in Am,erica has to go digging for its minions. In Canada you are not faced with anything other than what you can conjure up for yourself. In America we are inundated with political pressures for warmaking, and this warmaking is absurd, has nada to do with defense, geeze am I really having to say this, forget about it, go get drunk. Don't see you standing at the door to enlist.

The Canadians are in Basra, the port. It's not too late for you to catch some of the action.

I may go get drunk if I want, but that does not change the fact, all that you said, I did not say who cares, I said that is not news to me... I know that America needs wars to fuel your evil empire, but it does not seem like news to me that they are looking at people information--weather I get drunk or not, or that I am a canadian does not mean I am out of it.

You don't see me enlisting?

THAT IS BECAUSE THIS WAR IS UNJUST!!!!

in my eyes at least...

I am not enlisting, and I am not marching in the streets either with sings. No one before has been able to stop wars! Why do you think they are going to stop now?

Tell me what you do to change it jim? What?

I think in canada the govrnment probally does watch it's people like in the article. I say pick one thing to be angry about at a time...
and for gods sake start small--what are you going to do about this.
get it fucking todether find one thing to yell about, that is what your bush does. Freedom peace liberty--and it is working. That is the point you have too many. That is why protest don't work, have a united cause, fuck all these little things you can do fuck all about.

is that stupid and drunk jim?

[jimboloco]

I erased the bit about getting drunk, but you got it too fast.

OK then, you showed me something.

Let me assure you that the dilemma is there, won't go away, so what should we do? YES! That is the question. What do I do with my co-worker who is a sweet lady, who has a ministry and supports poor inner city kids, yet is a Republican and votes for Bush? It is like, what do I have to do? There is absolutely nothing I can do except politely let her know that my views are different, and let it go.

We all do pick specific things to do, like writing our congressional reps (Mine is a JOKER) and Senators (one wimp, one JOKER), etc, but we also have other options, mainstream letters to the editor, alternative media (we got an alternative radio statin here in Tampa Bay http://www.wmnf.org etc look at John Stewart Comedy news show.

I don't like street marching either, have done it, all gone down, man, but there are things I have done since my street protest days (and I am sure I will eventually do so again).....as well as public speeches, letters etc

this summer I am putting an anti-war drawing into the St Pete Art Center's memberss show, so there will be a lot of folks somebody might check it out, also have a friend a professor at the local university in humanities, have offered him Vets for Peace speakers as he is trying to get the kids to learn about why we have a US flag in every classroom (patriotism or brainwashing),
we got a Nam Vet Zen Monk coming to Tampa for a speech and meditation retreat.

By the way, it is really about countering the war machine and protecting the most vulnerable, the youth who are prey to recruiters for this war.

Don't get drunk, not every day. A good mind is a terrible thing to be wasted.

[Axanderdeath]

I erased the bit about getting drunk, but you got it too fast.

OK then, you showed me something.

Let me assure you that the dilemma is there, won't go away, so what should we do? YES! That is the question. What do I do with my co-worker who is a sweet lady, who has a ministry and supports poor inner city kids, yet is a Republican and votes for Bush? It is like, what do I have to do? There is absolutely nothing I can do except politely let her know that my views are different, and let it go.

We all do pick specific things to do, like writing our congressional reps (Mine is a JOKER) and Senators (one wimp, one JOKER), etc, but we also have other options, mainstream letters to the editor, alternative media (we got an alternative radio statin here in Tampa Bay http://www.wmnf.org etc look at John Stewart Comedy news show.

I don't like street marching either, have done it, all gone down, man, but there are things I have done since my street protest days (and I am sure I will eventually do so again).....as well as public speeches, letters etc

this summer I am putting an anti-war drawing into the St Pete Art Center's memberss show, so there will be a lot of folks somebody might check it out, also have a friend a professor at the local university in humanities, have offered him Vets for Peace speakers as he is trying to get the kids to learn about why we have a US flag in every classroom (patriotism or brainwashing),
we got a Nam Vet Zen Monk coming to Tampa for a speech and meditation retreat.

By the way, it is really about countering the war machine and protecting the most vulnerable, the youth who are prey to recruiters for this war.

Don't get drunk, not every day. A good mind is a terrible thing to be wasted.

there are lots of kids that like to shoot things I don't know why they even have to be so aggressive.

but what i was saying about the uniting for one cause, I saw it on the daily show, that has to be done more. All you can do is little things, yes, and people who vote for bush are not evil I know that--the flag in class room, i have no prblem with that, I understand that, they got em in canada too...

the thing is that ever three seconds there is some new angle that is only slightly different from the last, and it is not that supriseing. I watch investigative tv shows some time and they are so stupid. One was about this beer company that had on it's web site the good health effects of beer, but not the bad ones. That maskes sense to me, and I don't think people are going to go to a beer web site to find out the health risks of drinking--but the interveiwer or the "invetigator" comes on with a scowl and is like "why did you not say on your web site that beer causes," so and so deaths a year.

I mean come on the beer company is the goverment--I just went to the fbi site and I was not suprised that there were no articles by micheal moore--you understand--this stuff makes me angry, but sometimes it does bug me to see some over the top radiucal just driveing people to the right--stick to one thing---arr...

[jimboloco]

i'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
any day.

would like to take a holiday for the rest of me life away from worries.
i work with republicans, they are incognito.