Slashdot Mirror
Endorse EDRI's Statement Against Data Retention
Ville Oksanen writes "Privacy International (PI) and European Digital Rights (EDRI) have published their joint answer to the consultation on mandatory data retention. The European Commission asked for public comments on a proposed retention regime across Europe between 12 and 36 months for all traffic data generated by using fixed and mobile telephony and Internet. As Statewatch puts it: 'This is a proposal so intrusive that Ashcroft, Ridge and company can only dream about it, exceeding even the U.S. Patriot Act.'
EDRI and PI are currently collecting endorsements from organizations and companies for their stamement here. This is unfortunately not enough to stop the process - expecially more should be done in the member states, which ultimately decide the fate of the proposal. So contact your local politicians today!"
America was founded by disgruntled people sick and tired of being abused and spied on by European monarchs and tyrants. While the American tradition of rights and privacy continued, Europe's monarchies continued to abuse their citizens. When the monarchies fell, they were not replaced by democracy, but swiftly usurped by another generation of murderous despots: Mussolini, Napoleon, Hitler, Tito, Franco, and an innumerable variety of smaller royals, juntas, and antidemocratic goverments in practically every country you can name.
Today, this fine European fascist tradition continues as an unelected European Union bureaucracy encroaches on individual freedoms all over the continent, stagnating and destroying Europe's economy with subsidies and entitlements (Hey, Americans whining about the Bush economy: Europe's unemployment is twice as bad!), and, as you can see, showing a complete disregard for citizens' privacy rights with a mendacity that American's libertarian tradition would never tolerate.
So you should reconsider your claims, as history does not validate them.
I am sure that the Iraqis who Mr. Hussein murdered and tortured, and their families, and the children made orphans by his wanton destrcution, the non-Muslims that the Taliban forced to wear yellow stars a la Nazi Germany, the women raped and murdered for exposing their face in pubilc or for a crime their brother allegedly committed, the Buddhists who witnessed millenia old statues razed to the ground by Muslim fanatics, and the millions of people whose souls were oppressed and and whose mouths were sown shut by edict, whose bodies were disfigured for life, would be glad to see that you, comfortable affuent man sitting in a pillowed computer chair, think that what happened to them wasn't "vile and evil," and that the word "liberate" should be put in sarcastic quotes because it doesn't apply here.
Tell me again why America should care what you think?