Another angle on the Google/Government connection
I don’t know if anyone else was confused about the announcement of Google not honoring the government’s request for search records, but I certainly was.
The government has a history of working with Google. As recently as last September, Google and NASA were partnering on some of the most advanced technologies, while Google was set to take over 1 million square feet at Moffet Field (Ames Research Center). (see http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2005/Sep/30-819897.html)
And, what about this NSA spy case? Do you see where I’m going with this?
If the NSA has the ability I think it does, why doesn’t it already have the records? All it would take would be to have access to the pipes leading into Google’s servers, and we already know the government has access to those.
I see the possibilities as these:
1. The NSA already has the records, and is just using this as a ruse to try to convince “terrists” that their Google searches can’t be checked, so they can go ahead and search on the latest jihad from home without worrying.
2. The NSA just messed up and should have had the records, but lost them. Very possible.
3. The NSA and Google are one and the same. See #1.
4. The Government just wants us to think they don’t have access to the information already.
Of course I could be completely wrong here and Google is simply not giving into government pressure (which they did in China, by the way), and the government doesn’t have the ability to track what goes into a large US corporation.