Please tell me that no one who reads here is gullible enough to believe that hi-tech orgs like goOGlie-eyes, AlphaBET, ApPLe, Facebutt, and a bunch of others are not in on this "connected tech" ?

Of course they are.  The only word that stands out as being wrongly described and used is the word "intelligence".  I have no idea why, all of a sudden, snooping has turned into something intelligent, no matter if it concerns individual people or whole countries.

This is a contrived "organization" which is over 70 years old, and the advent and intensity of the internet pushed things along nicely for them, doncha think?

https://privacyinternational.org/press-release/51/privacy-international-launches-international-campaign-greater-transparency-around

https://www.rand.org/blog/2017/04/five-eyes-at-70-where-to-from-here.html

The collapse of "intelligence sharing under Trump" was inevitable?  The cable news networks are, of course, spinning this to make it sound as though it was just dreamed up by a bunch of conspiracy theorists.  That's their MO - make it look like ANYONE else's fault but never give credit where it's due.  Their motto is "lie with grace".

https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/30/this-is-how-five-eyes-dies/

OOps!  Forgot to add the story that got me started on this subject in the first place!

http://bolenreport.com/should-trump-launch-missile-strikes-on-england-and-australia/#more-13582

(Tim Bolen needs to start using a secure network for his links.  I tried adding the "s" to the link but it took me to a 404 error page and would not display the article page.  I may have to write to him unless Kent Heckenlively sees this post).