The US Department of Homeland Security has released a list of the keywords and phrases the agency monitors online to find potential threats. Obviously posting "Al Queda" and "dirty bomb" online will get the government to start looking at you real closely, but "pork" and other oddly normal words are also on the list.

In response to a freedom of information request, the department posted its Analyst's Desktop Binder (a manual for the agency's security analysts) containing this hotlist. The keywords cover domestic security, HAZMAT and nuclear, health concern, infrastructure security and other threats.

According to the Daily Mail, the Department of Homeland Security says it only uses this keyword list to look for genuine security threats, not signs of general dissent. Nobody wants Big Brother looking over her shoulder—and you shouldn't have to feel like you need to censor yourself in this way—but if you're particularly paranoid about the government spying on you, you might reconsider using too many of these keywords together when you post something online. Here's the full list.

I'll say it again, anyone who thinks this list is anything like the kind of words actual terrorists would use (unless making public announcements) is an idiot.

Just as an example, think of the bajillions of euphemisms that police officers are taught from day one and pay more attention to in order to capture drug offenders.

If anything, the publication of these lists is only going to cause people to be more cautious in their wording and potentially obfuscate things even further.

n00bfest should be on the list.

I pretty sure terrorists have their own slang terminology, and all these words are just to give an idea of what gov agencies are looking for.

Which would mean that our government and its intelligence community is headed by retards.

You act like this is a surprise to some people.