Changes

==Introduction==

==Introduction==

Daniel Brandt, founder of the Wikipedia-Watch website describes watchdog organizations that use political profiling as "private intelligence agencies", and remarks as a private agency, they enjoy

[[Daniel Brandt]], founder of the [[Wikipedia-Watch]] website describes watchdog organizations that use political profiling as "private intelligence agencies", and remarks as a private agency, they enjoy

{{Cquote|no oversight, no requirements for probable cause prior to political spying, and no Privacy Act or Freedom of Information Act responsibilities to the public. By contrast, the FBI, CIA, and some major police departments in the U.S. are held accountable by various hard-won legal restrictions. <ref>Daniel Brandt, [http://www.namebase.org/news02.html ''Cyberspace Wars: Microprocessing vs. Big Brother''], NameBase NewsLine', No. 2, July-August 1993.</ref>}}

{{Cquote|no oversight, no requirements for probable cause prior to political spying, and no Privacy Act or Freedom of Information Act responsibilities to the public. By contrast, the FBI, CIA, and some major police departments in the U.S. are held accountable by various hard-won legal restrictions. <ref>Daniel Brandt, [http://www.namebase.org/news02.html ''Cyberspace Wars: Microprocessing vs. Big Brother''], NameBase NewsLine', No. 2, July-August 1993.</ref>}}

Walter James O'Brien refers to them as "civilian agencies." <ref>[http://www.rjayco.com/obrien/ Walter James O'Brien], [http://www.rjayco.com/obrien/nazism.pdf ''Nazism, the Internet and Culture of Violence,] A preliminary survey toward preventing a third world war'', 1999, pgs. 3, 6-9, 12, 14, 61, 63, 68.  Written to compete for the Trench Gascoigne Prize offered by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (http://www.rusi.org); retrieved from http://rjayco.com/ 06/10/07.</ref>  And Laird Wilcox uses similar language in discussing their activities,

[[Walter James O'Brien refers]] to them as "civilian agencies." <ref>[http://www.rjayco.com/obrien/ Walter James O'Brien], [http://www.rjayco.com/obrien/nazism.pdf ''Nazism, the Internet and Culture of Violence,] A preliminary survey toward preventing a third world war'', 1999, pgs. 3, 6-9, 12, 14, 61, 63, 68.  Written to compete for the Trench Gascoigne Prize offered by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (http://www.rusi.org); retrieved from http://rjayco.com/ 06/10/07.</ref>  And Laird Wilcox uses similar language in discussing their activities,

{{Cquote|Any citizen can obtain their FBI files through the Freedom of Information Act....There is no such mechanism by which a private American citizen can obtain their files compiled by private Watchdog organizations.... You cannot correct errors...  they may have obtained information that government agencies cannot legally collect on its own. This... is something that goes on all the time and represents a serious civil liberties issue. <ref>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/5.html Laird Wilcox], ''The Watchdogs: A Close Look at Anti-Racist "Watchdog" Groups'', Editorial Research Service, 1999, pg. 15. ISBN 0-993592-96-5. </ref>}}

{{Cquote|Any citizen can obtain their FBI files through the Freedom of Information Act....There is no such mechanism by which a private American citizen can obtain their files compiled by private Watchdog organizations.... You cannot correct errors...  they may have obtained information that government agencies cannot legally collect on its own. This... is something that goes on all the time and represents a serious civil liberties issue. <ref>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/5.html Laird Wilcox], ''The Watchdogs: A Close Look at Anti-Racist "Watchdog" Groups'', Editorial Research Service, 1999, pg. 15. ISBN 0-993592-96-5. </ref>}}

Some watchdog organizations have been criticized for the misuse of journalist shield laws to mask thier domestic spying operations.  Robert J. Friedman of the ''Village Voice'' commented:

Some watchdog organizations have been criticized for the misuse of journalist shield laws to mask their domestic spying operations.  [[Robert J. Friedman]] of the ''[[Village Voice]]'' commented:

{{Cquote|Journalists place information in the public domain where they are held accountable for falsehoods, distortions, and libel. And for the most part, journalists don’t share their files with domestic police agencies... many of [the "watchdog" agency] files are not open to public scrutiny, false information collected by ideologically biased researchers cannot be corrected. <ref>Robert J. Friedman, ''The Anti-Defamation League is Spying On You'', The Village Voice, 11 May 1993. </ref>}}

{{Cquote|Journalists place information in the public domain where they are held accountable for falsehoods, distortions, and libel. And for the most part, journalists don’t share their files with domestic police agencies... many of [the "watchdog" agency] files are not open to public scrutiny, false information collected by ideologically biased researchers cannot be corrected. <ref>Robert J. Friedman, ''The Anti-Defamation League is Spying On You'', The Village Voice, 11 May 1993. </ref>}}

{{Cquote|Watchdog organizations tend to define themselves in terms of their opposition, i.e., the various individuals and organizations they call “extremist,” and depend upon this opposition to justify their existence, their intense hatred of their enemies, and their often questionable fund-raising activities.  Moreover, Watchdog groups tend to exaggerate the divisions that exist in American society. In fact, the supposed polar opposites on the [[political spectrum|ideological spectrum]] have far more in common than they do in opposition. ...studies suggest that extremism is overestimated in American politics and that the differences between left and right are partly imagined.}}

{{Cquote|Watchdog organizations tend to define themselves in terms of their opposition, i.e., the various individuals and organizations they call “extremist,” and depend upon this opposition to justify their existence, their intense hatred of their enemies, and their often questionable fund-raising activities.  Moreover, Watchdog groups tend to exaggerate the divisions that exist in American society. In fact, the supposed polar opposites on the [[political spectrum|ideological spectrum]] have far more in common than they do in opposition. ...studies suggest that extremism is overestimated in American politics and that the differences between left and right are partly imagined.}}

The Wikipedia project has worked in close collaboration with several alleged humanitarian "watchdog" groups.  The "Notable Wikipedia Experts" entrusted with this venture [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2005-December/033813.html] are immune to all Wikipedia's published policies, ''WP:Attribution'', ''WP:No self promotion'', ''WP:Experts do not hold a place of privilege'', ''WP:Citing self'', ''WP:No personal attacks'', ''WP:Civility'', and ''WP:Wikipedia is not a battleground'' are the most often cited policy violations that go unenforced against these private organizations which are granted license to publicly slander at will. <ref>Chirsi Arabia, [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10352 Leftist Lie Factory], ''FrontPageMagazine.com'', October 16, 2003.</ref> [http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=6799&st=0&p=22830&#entry22830]

The [[Wikipedia project]] has worked in close collaboration with several alleged humanitarian "watchdog" groups.  The "Notable Wikipedia Experts" entrusted with this venture [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2005-December/033813.html] are immune to all Wikipedia's published policies, ''WP:Attribution'', ''WP:No self promotion'', ''WP:Experts do not hold a place of privilege'', ''WP:Citing self'', ''WP:No personal attacks'', ''WP:Civility'', and ''WP:Wikipedia is not a battleground'' are the most often cited policy violations that go unenforced against these private organizations which are granted license to publicly slander at will. <ref>Chirsi Arabia, [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10352 Leftist Lie Factory], ''FrontPageMagazine.com'', October 16, 2003.</ref> [http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=6799&st=0&p=22830&#entry22830]

==Links and Ties==

==Links and Ties==