Big Brother wasn't watching out, unfortunately

Phrasal verb: to watch out (to be careful or on the alert) . If you believe in the Hollywood version of reality, every e-mail you send, every tweet you type and every phone call you make is being monitored by the NSA, BND, MI6, CIA or some other surveillance agency. All you have to do is mention words like "bomb" and "jihad", and some very unpleasant people will come around to your workplace, and that's the end of your career, right there. Really? Well, let's look at the case of Dr Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people on 5 November in Fort Hood, Texas.

• He posted pro-suicide-bombing arguments to Islamic websites using his own name, "Nidal Hasan".
• He made a presentation to a group of US Army officers and said that "non-believers should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats".
• He exchanged e-mail with Anwar al-Awlak, an outspoken advocate of jihad.

Was Dr Nidal Malik Hasan arrested? Was he harassed by government agents? No. In fact, he was promoted to the rank of major in the US Army! Meanwhile, here's a clip from Enemy of the State, the Hollywood version of Big Brother (un)reality.