Panopticism, anyone?...Threads of Discussion

In the wake of 9/11, the idea of Foucault’s Panopticism has a renewed interest of experts in the field of surveillance. There are two types of surveillance: “biometry� (readings of the body) and “dataveillance� . The latter term means: collecting, organizing and storing information on persons. Our time is a time of “new surveillance,� and specialists are speculating whether it will bring us more repression and social control, or whether it bring us the opportunity to discuss and resist how the new surveillance will be done.

In short, the technique of Panoptic surveillance (which is applied to digital surveillance) hides the operation of the watcher (also his motives, techniques and ethics) while making the watched person aware that he is being watched. It provides discomfort and can be a source of anxiety because the subject doesn’t know who is watching, when they are watching or what/when they are going to do something to the subject. This watchfulness is used to keep groups and society under control.

Some scholars say that the Patriot Act only changed Internet surveillance in minor ways and added some bits of privacy protection in ways that civil libertarians and law enforcers would appreciate.

“Do we really want professional American law enforcement personnel conducting surveillance on people who haven't broken any U.S. law in order to help enforce the 'law' of some Party apparatchik in China?� ACLU Legislative Counsel, Mary Johnson (probably said 2003 to early 2004)
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Another issue, the non-disclosure agreements seem to be a gag order that actually protects the workings of TIA, so that they can continue their work without the public's knowledge of details. This is also terribly disturbing to me.

I don't know if I am wrong, but from the start of the Patriot Act, I felt that it was put through because it was perhaps an unrevealed part of Bush's agenda. He may have sought a reason to put an act of surveillance through Congress, whether an act of Terrorism had been made or not.
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Subject: Re: The Patriot Act
Regarding people who fit terrorist profiles:
Do you remember that earlier this year, Cat Stevens, a 1970's rock musician was picked up when he flew into the US from England? He had changed his name to a Muslim name, and he had been mistaken for a potential terrorist.