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Big Brother in America
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| Thor |
It is really scary to see whats happening down south of the border, thanks to the scare 9/11 brought to the American people its become quite easy for the Bush administration to give police and government organizations frightening powers to invade its citizens privacy.
What scares me the most is how little opposition there has been to these acts, like the patriot act for example... I fear too much patriotism and the drums of war are being used to focus the peoples attention away from these sersiously disturbing trends.
Here's a new one that blew my mind, what happened to citizens freaking out about this? It seems nobody even reports this stuff anymore on mass media... Where is Bill Maher when you need him :(
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,70992,00.html |
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| Izzy |
i dont know whats so scary about that at all, im actually for it... there is always a debate between privacy and safety, usually i tend to lean towards safety because i feel the my life is more important then my privacy.
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Aldridge said the database, which he called another "tool" in the war on terror, would look for telltale signs of suspicious consumer behavior.
Examples he cited were: sudden and large cash withdrawals, one-way air or rail travel, rental car transactions and purchases of firearms, chemicals or agents that could be used to produce biological or chemical weapons.
It would also combine consumer information with visa records, passports, arrest records or reports of suspicious activity given to law enforcement or intelligence services.
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im suprised this was never done before... especially after the tim McViegh inccedent.
furthermore what kind of invasion of privacy is there really to invade? when you get arrested those records should be open to the public (as part of the punishment). when you buy something how private is that really? its a purchase between one person and usaully a group of people (ie a store), if you want there are many easy ways to keep transactions private, so i dont really see what the fuss is about.
ps. ya i miss bill maher too |
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| Thor |
Read the patriot act, find out about the software the FBI is using to gather information online on all your habits.
The government has unsurpassed powers available to them, they can hold people for questioning without explanation upto a certain time... They can wire tap people without warrants...
Its gotten really bad, and I'm sorry to say but life is not without risks; allowing the government to compile detailed information on each citizen and tracking their habits is way out of line.
Do you feel then we should have tracking devices installed on each citizen so the government can "protect" you??
Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes, they say this is all in the need for safety, but what it truly is, is that its all about invading your rights and abusing the bill of rights.
If this was the 60's we'd have huge marches all over the US, but its the new millenium and we are all too busy playing on PS2 and not being concerned with these things..
Apathy in today's society is at an all time high, thanks to people who don't pay attention to this you are slowly losing your privacy and rights..
Just read a bit more on the patriot act and see if you might look at it differently.... This purchase tracking system can also be easily abused by the government. |
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| Izzy |
| quote: | Originally posted by Thor
... They can wire tap people without warrants...
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see that honestly doesnt even bother me. maybe its because im from israel and there they wire-tap almost every phone conversation. they even cut me off once when i was talking to my friend in the army and he started to talk about his APC. anyways i guess im used to it, and now it doesnt bother me at all. i learned that it in no way influences my life other then to provide me greater safety. furthermore there is no real need to get worked about this until the government abuses that power. when that happens, trust me there will be a huge uproar.
if you arent guilty of anything you've got nothing to be afraid of
btw i've still yet to read the patriot act... and the second link wasnt working for me so i havent read it either |
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| Izzy |
im not a big fan of the ACLU at all... i do think its honorable they exsist and keeps governments and issues at check but some of the stuff they defend is way out there.
anyways this whole privacy thing is over-rated, maybe its just my personal view but what the f*ck do i care if the government knows my grades or saw that i bought 5$ boxers at walmart, i've got nothing to hide.
what is scary about all of this? do you think there is some underground conspiracy that the goverment wants to arrest anyone who does not have christian beliefs or anyone who buys products from ikea or how about the ultimate plan to get rid of those males who buy female clothe :eek: what does the government care if they over hear a phone conversation about some affiar you're having with an ex-girlfriedn. |
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| Thor |
Do me a favor, take this quiz:
http://www.aclu.org/Quizzes/QuizIntro.cfm?ID=4
You may be used to those things in Israel, but they are under a state of war at almost all times.... A land like the US is supposed to be about freedom, rights, etc....
Whats happening is that one terrorist attack has turned this country that is proud of their freedoms/rights, to a country that lets fear rule them and doesn't even fight back when something as outrageous as the patriot act is allowed to pass.
Its a dark time for the USA, I wish more Americans could see it.. I'd love to come down and protest with people who get the guts to do something.
Although after reading the powers the government has now, I'd be afraid to say anything against the US government these days.
OH, and check this out, a well written paper on the Patriot Act:
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Forum14&Number=1072675&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1 |
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| Izzy |
| taking quiz now. hehe :p |
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| Thor |
:D Take particular note about the old nun who can't fly now..
Crazy stuff :D |
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| Izzy |
question 1 - lame, im proud of my body
question 2 - sad, but if coming from an executive order (ie president) i doubt we're talking about some shmuck lawyer case but rather broad sensitive sunjects that have impact over you and I
question 3 - lame, every group should be subject to the same laws equally, duh why should one group be allowed to murder and another cant?
question 4 - dont see the point in this one, even though im not an ashcroft fan, yes you are born with these rights (human dignity and freedom) he has religious beliefs (a god given right) i belive its an inherent right of humanity, we're saying the same thing
question 5 - thats a reason i dont like ashcroft, though i feel that quote was taken out of context
question 6 - another one i could care less about... snoop all you want, everyone should be suspicious of suspicious behaviour. its common sense. if i was a mail man i would be wary of anyone who subscribed to al-jeezera magazine and ordered some recert chem stuff from an online shop (dont take literarly, just an example)
question 7 - got me there, sad indeed, but hey i bet everyone of them went home afterwards aqcuited of everything with no formal charges put forth. but ya definitley an over-raction after 9/11 (is this still happening now? i would doubt it)
question 8 - this is old, its been known for couple years that some books are tagged and alerted to the government when they are checked out... such as 'how to make a pipe-bomb' what good is learning to make a pipe bomb really going to do. but agian see if i care about the government knowing i read the 'communist manifesto' or 'rocco the suave lover of italy'
question 9 - thats a major foul, scary kind of. but i am suspect as to under what conditions and circumstances this can happen and so forth... not enough info there to let me form an opinion.
question 10 - lame... how do they know that nun was really a nun, palestinians have dressed themselves as women and even IDF soldiers, one cant be to careful. agian safety vs privacy. i'm willing to wait an extra 5 minutes in line to make sure everyone on board is not going to try to highjack a plane (as recently almost happened to el-al flight going to turkey) |
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| LiquidX |
| Mmm, an example is when they stop you and ask you for every single document, social security and green card, and make you look like a criminal with no reason, just because of the Inmigration System using the POLICE to look for terrorist, which in my opinion is sooo wrong ! ... its not cool at all. |
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