Just sose ya don't miss the memo, certain "political beliefs" are now a "mental illness" - let the following really(!) sink in: It is important to point out that such initiatives, whether HARPA or Barr’s newly announced program, are likely to define “mental illness” to include some political beliefs, given that the FBI recently stated https://nypost.com/2019/08/01/fbi-conspiracy-theory-extremists-are-a-terror-... in an internal memo that “conspiracy theories” were motivating some domestic terror threats and a series of questionable academic studies have sought to link https://www.geek.com/science/new-study-links-conspiracy-theorists-with-a-men... “conspiracy theorists” to mental illnesses. Thus, the Department of Justice and “mental health professionals” have essentially already defined those who express disbelief in official government narratives as both a terror threat and mentally ill — and thus worthy of special attention from pre-crime programs. One of my political beliefs is that we all have the fundamental human right to freedom of private, public (so far as people care to listen) and anonymous, communication. Another of my political beliefs is that we all have the fundamental human right to free and anonymous, travel. Further, I hold that it is our right, so far as our community institutes any political systems and entities, to petition those governing entities in respect of our grievances, and to hold those in power to account for their every action. Perhaps others might like to join us in the above political beliefs which may be held by some in power as mental illnesses. "Are you a free man, or a mental illness?" On Sun, Oct 27, 2019 at 04:37:28PM +1100, Zenaan Harkness wrote:

Freedom has a price.

Free people pay the price for freedom.

The rest are slaves.

We exist with the right to be presumed innocent.

We exist with the right to communicate freely and anonymously.

We exist with the right to travel freely and anonymously.

Science fiction becomes rights-violating reality:

With Little Fanfare, William Barr Formally Announces Orwellian Pre-Crime Program https://www.zerohedge.com/political/little-fanfare-william-barr-formally-ann... https://www.mintpressnews.com/william-barr-formally-announces-orwellian-pre-...

Last Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General William Barr issued a memorandum to all U.S. attorneys, law enforcement agencies and top ranking Justice Department officials announcing the imminent implementation of a new “national disruption and early engagement program” aimed at detecting potential mass shooters before they commit any crime.

Per the memorandum, Barr has “directed the Department [of Justice] and the FBI to lead an effort to refine our ability to identify, assess and engage potential mass shooters before they strike.” The Attorney General further described the coming initiative, slated to be implemented early next year, as “an efficient, effective and programmatic strategy to disrupt individuals who are mobilizing towards violence, by all lawful means.” More specific information about the program is set to follow the recent memorandum, according to Barr, though it is unclear if that forthcoming document will be made public.

... However, the memorandum differentiates suspected terrorists from the individuals this new program is set to pursue. Barr states that, unlike many historical terrorism cases, “many of today’s public safety threats appear abruptly and with sometimes only ambiguous indications of intent” and that many of these individuals “exhibit symptoms of mental illness and/or have substance abuse problems.”

Thus, the goal of the program is ostensibly to circumvent these issues by finding new and likely controversial ways to determine intent. As will be shown later in this report, Barr’s recent actions suggest that the way this will be accomplished is through increased mass surveillance of everyday Americans and the use of algorithms to analyze that bulk data for vaguely defined symptoms of “mental illness.”

Barr also suggested the likely courses of action that would follow the identification of a given individual as a “potential mass shooter.” The Attorney General notes that in past cases individuals deemed a violent or terroristic threat before they commit a crime are subject to “detention, court-ordered mental health treatment, substance abuse counseling, electronic monitoring”, among other measures. Ostensibly, the new program would then apply these same practices to individuals in the U.S. that federal authorities believe are “mobilizing towards violence,” as Barr put it.

... Barr went onto say that “warrant-proof encryption is also seriously impairing our ability to monitor and combat domestic and foreign terrorists.” Barr stated that “smaller terrorist groups and ‘lone wolf’ actors” — such as those involved in the series of mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio that occurred in the weeks after his speech — “have turned increasingly to encryption.” Barr later noted that he was specifically referencing encryption used by “consumer products and services such as messaging, smartphones, email, and voice and data applications.”

To overcome the resistance by some private companies — who do not want to renege on their right to privacy by giving the government backdoor access to their devices — and American consumers, Barr tellingly anticipated “a major incident may occur at any time that will galvanize public opinion on these issues.” Shortly after this speech, several mass shootings, including one at an El Paso Walmart took place, which again brought the issue to the forefront of political discourse.

As MintPress reported at the time, Barr’s uncanny prediction and a litany of other oddities related to the El Paso shooting left many answered questions about the FBI’s foreknowledge of the event. In addition, the tragedy did appear to serve as the very “galvanizing” event that Barr had anticipated, as the solution offered by President Trump in the wake of the shootings was the creation of a government backdoor into encryption as well as calling for the very pre-crime system Barr formally announced just last week.

The pre-crime dragnet takes shape ...

[worth reading in its entirety]