WEll that's just Bull$h!t: NSA officials testify to angry House panel that agency can perform 'three-hop queries' through Americans' data and records

I just read this article and it...well. it's just bullshit and a half that shit like this keeps happening and then we find out it is worse than previously thought and then worse again.

NSA warned to rein in surveillance as agency reveals even greater scope

was the name of the article published on the guardian's website. (I'm beginning to enjoy their coverage of a myriad of things, while still keeping a slight amount of skepticism) It details the events of the second major congressional hearing for the NSA regarding the shady dealings it's had it's hands in lately (GO Edward Snowden! Get nominated for that nobel peace prize) and frankly things were revealed that go deeper than the bullshit we found out about last month.

The NSA has been conducting information and surveilence gathering on individuals with "second or third-hop" querys. "What the F%^& is a second or third hop query" you say? Well, here's what the website has to say about that.

"Hops" refers to a technical term indicating connections between people. A three-hop query means that the NSA can look at data not only from a suspected terrorist, but from everyone that suspect communicated with, and then from everyone those people communicated with, and then from everyone all of those people communicated with. 

Have you ever played the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon? if you havent, you should try it. It is fun and challenging and makes you think about people and their connections to others. But basically the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon is the Hollywood version of a game that I don't know it's actual name, and the purpose of the game it to connect any actor in hollywood to Kevin Bacon in 6 people or less. It is not as impossible as it sounds because the game it stems from, also stems from a mathematical certainty  that any individual in the world can be connected to any other individual in the world through 6 strategic people or less. My point, purpose, and concern for this analogy is the observation that the 2nd or 3rd hop queries are halfway through this "game." Which, to me, allows a HUGE area for error and connection. People could be connected to other people through bullshit means. Somebody who is a threat to the U.S. could read this blog (I'm already probably on a fuck ton of lists anyways so who cares) and where does that put me? I certainly don't fall into the glib, glib 'Murica shoes.

I hope I'm just getting up in arms about nothing, I hope I'm just being over dramatic but this has been happening and there's no telling what they think they know. Either way, fearmongering aside, read the article. Congress is fighting for us, well at least on this issue.

Click Here for the article