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Bush Wants Right to ISP Customer Data
bryan8m writes "Wired is reporting that the Bush administration wants back the ability to make ISPs turn over information on their customers. The U.S. Court of Appeals is handling the case and of course the feds want to hide details of it from the public. The law giving the government the power to seize communications records from 1986 was strengthened in 2001 by the Patriot Act and struck down after the ACLU challenged it."
The US is so democratic its democratised itself into a dictatorship...
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In some ways it's worse than a dictatorship, if you think about it. Most people in nasty dictatorships have an all-to-clear a picture of exactly what kind of behaviors will get them 'disappeared.'
I can understand your problem. Apparently you, like about 15% of Americans, have a problem distinguishing what could be considered good versus bad in regard to the war against Al Qaeda and its associates. I've prepared a short guide to help you past these difficulties.
Good Buying pie to take to church picknic
Bad Putting arsenic into pie at church picnic to impress Osama
Good Taking pictures of statue of Liberty to remember trip and show neighbors
Bad Taking picutres of Statue of Liberty to plan where to put bombs with rest of your cell
Good Using web mail to keep in touch with Grandma
Bad Using web mail to check if today is the day you strap on bombs for Martyrdom
Good Attending City Council meeting to speak up about bad roads
Bad Assassinating City Council
Good Donating money to the Girl Scouts
Bad Acting as front man for fake Islamic charity funneling money to Al Qaeda
Good Buying everyone a round of drinks
Bad Shooting everyone in the bar
Good Sight-seeing Japan
Bad Taking secret training in Pakistan to make war on Western infidels
Good Having a pen pal with whom you trade cultural and person observations for world peace
Bad Collecting secret information to make the next hijacking easier
Good Having a job to pay your bills
Bad Taking a job to get closer to a target for the next bombing attack
Good Attending a meeting to plan a demonstration (in favor of | against) American policy
Bad Meeting with the rest of the cell to plan how to block escape routes so more infidels die
Good Offering to take in a former convict from a half-way house to make a new life
Bad Using your home as a "safe house" to hide an ambush squad in route to their mission
Now, this might be a lot of deail, so you can boil it down to a fairly simple heuristic: If the activity contributes to violent attacks against America or Americans, it is almost certain to be a bad thing under the anti-terrorists laws.
Is this helping?
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
The Third World War is being waged right now. WW III is The Information War.
How does one acquire knowledge? How does one know what information is correct? To what degree is one susceptible to disinformation? How does one maintain secret information? How does one keep information out of the hands of enemies?
We will win The Information War because technology is such that we cannot lose. If they intend to really shut us all down, they will have to go toe to toe with us and resort to violence in the streets of the United States. My only real fear is that bunker bombs are actually intended for use in country.
It is not paranoia if you really are being watched. And you are. They are coming for you.