As the world learned this year from Edward Snowden the degree that the U.S. government has used electronic surveillance, a few old hands recalled that much of what the National Security Agency renegade revealed in 2013 was actually foretold in 1963 in a very unlikely venue: an hour-long episode of the popular ABC-TV science fiction series of the time, "The Outer Limits."Incredible as it sounds, it's true. As President Barack Obama addressed the collection and storage of millions of Americans' phone records at his news conference Friday, libertarians who hailed Snowden as a whistleblower rather than a traitor told Newsmax about rediscovering the "Outer Limits" episode "O.B.I.T." that stands for "Outer Band Individuated Teletracer.”
The story is about a high-tech scanning device at a military base that can eavesdrop on any of its personnel within a 100-mile radius.
"O.B.I.T.," in fact, is developing a "Atlas Shrugged"-style following among those who consider themselves libertarians and fighters for civil liberties.
"I watched 'O.B.I.T.' last night," Libertarian Party National Political Director Carla Howell told Newsmax recently, adding that it brought back memories "of my brother and sister being frightened by an episode that left them screaming for hours into the night.
"One of the purposes of science fiction is to predict and prevent forces of evil. It's a shame more people were not exposed to the O.B.I.T. story and took the threat it foretold more seriously," Howell said.
Shot in striking black-and-white, it first aired on November 4, 1963. The episode commences with the murder of a U.S. Army officer at the Cypress Hills Research Center, a top secret Department of Defense facility in New Mexico. At the time of his death, the officer was operating and writing reports from O.B.I.T., which can monitor conversations of the center's personnel at any time or place. The fictional U.S. Sen. Jeremiah Orville arrives at the center to conduct a hearing on the device. It is soon discovered that the device had authorization from the Pentagon and was ...
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/snowden-libertarians-outer-limits-obit/2013/12/25/id/543772
I remember reading the Wall Street Journal an the New York Times blasting Snowden for revealing the secrets of the dems n reps in charge whereas 7 out of 10 Americans no longer belong to either party and are interested in what these two parties are up to. I have friends who don't know who the president is after being in office for 5 years so I don't see things changing much, Happy New Year everyone,bill
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