Comment by dotancohen

  > Here's an interesting thought about how preferential surveillance can lead to repression even when it's public and not itself acted on:

  > 1. Every demographic commits petty crimes and code violations at about the same rate (things like parking violations and music piracy).

  > 2. However, people who are being watched will be caught more often.

  > 3. The end result is that people in the "wrong" crowd on average are punished more than people in the "right" one at an equal level of misbehavior.

For what it's worth, the Israeli side sees the situation as every nation has pitfalls and misgivings at about the same rate. However, nations who are under threat from well-funded media campaigns (AlJazeera, BCC) will be discussed more often. The end result is that nations in the "wrong" crowd on average are punished more than nations in the "right" one at an equal level of misbehavior.