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Patriot Act Author Warns EU Against Dragnet Response To Terror (politico.eu)

Posted by Soulskill on from the those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it dept.

schwit1 writes: Jim Sensenbrenner, former chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, was one of the driving forces behind the Patriot Act. He introduced the legislation a month and a half after the Sept. 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, and in 2013 he led the charge to scale back its powers, after Edward Snowden's revelations. Now, in the wake of the tragedy in Paris, Sensenbrenner is warning the EU that sweeping surveillance measures are not a proper response. Sensenbrenner said, "The cautionary tale is that democracy depends upon a respect for civil liberties. ... Talking about it in practical terms, the answer is to target the people which you know are up to bad stuff rather than bringing in the 99.8 percent of the inhabitants there, including the vast majority of followers of Islam, who have no intention whatsoever of conducting a terrorist attack."

18 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Exactly Right by PvtVoid · · Score: 3, Funny

    Instead, the Euros should do like we do here in the U.S. and hand out AR-15's and Glocks to anybody who wants one. That'll keep them safe.

    1. Re:Exactly Right by JackieBrown · · Score: 2

      Instead, the Euros should do like we do here in the U.S. and hand out AR-15's and Glocks to anybody who wants one. That'll keep them safe.

      We don't do that. That is part of the problem from the viewpoint of the gun rights supporters.

    2. Re:Exactly Right by PvtVoid · · Score: 3, Interesting

      We don't do that. That is part of the problem from the viewpoint of the gun rights supporters.

      Good point. Any sane reading of the Second Amendment should make it obvious that citizen gun purchases should be financed by government, as part of the militia. Any citizen should be able to pop up to their local National Guard armory and pick up an AR-15 and a couple of thousand rounds of ammo, no questions asked. It's the only way to keep a free society.

    3. Re:Exactly Right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But you don't understand - if EVERYONE was armed then you'd only have a few people getting shot every day until the suicidal killer is killed, rather than in countries where guns are harder to access in which you have a few people shot every few months until the suicidal killer is killed.

    4. Re:Exactly Right by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Informative

      That is an interesting, while accurate, way to read the Second Amendment.

      Technically no, as a militia at the time of the writing of the 2nd Amendment was comprised of citizens who brought their own weapons. So a more accurate reading of the 2nd Amendment would be that the military or local National Guard unit would provide instructors to lead regular drill sessions that are open to local citizens training with their own weapons.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    5. Re:Exactly Right by PvtVoid · · Score: 2

      You wimp. You shouldn't need guns to pick the kids up, because the kids ought to be armed themselves.

      Only a good toddler with a gun can stop a bad toddler with a gun.

    6. Re:Exactly Right by DoctorBonzo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm perfectly OK with a complete ban on guns as long as we start with the military and police...

    7. Re:Exactly Right by GlennC · · Score: 5, Interesting

      ...the military or local National Guard unit would provide instructors to lead regular drill sessions that are open to local citizens training with their own weapons.

      To expand on that idea, how about we automatically enlist all gun owners in the National Guard, with all attendant requirements?

      Want to keep your gun? Attend the monthly training and annual 2-week deployments. If you can't be bothered to be part of a "well-regulated militia," why should you be trusted with a gun?

      --
      Go on, citizen, stamp the vote card. R or D, your choice.
    8. Re:Exactly Right by smooth+wombat · · Score: 2

      So a more accurate reading of the 2nd Amendment . . .

      Which, of course, is exactly what was done. You, the citizen, had to bring your own weapon, your own powder, and on a specific date, perform drills.

      The catch was, and the NRA will deny this with its last breath, the citizens who owned firearms had to be registered with their local government entity. That's how it was known who to call up in times of war or insurrection (the two main reasons for the militia).

      Obviously this will never fly today because, you know, big government, but every time people bring up the 2nd Amendment and their Constitutional right to own a firearm, it's always nice to remind them of everything that was originally involved. Then suddenly their argument changes because we can't do what the Founding Fathers did.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    9. Re:Exactly Right by Yokaze · · Score: 2

      If the Paris attacks happened every month in France, then the rate of homocides through guns would still be lower than the one in the US.

      --
      "Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"
  2. Re: It's time... by TheReaperD · · Score: 2

    Seriously what the hell would you suggest? There will always be terrorism as long as there are radicals with a score to settle. If you're referring to (sudo-)Islamic terrorism only, there is no way to root out all terrorists. If your thinking of rounding them up Hitler style, you still have a problem. Islam is a faith of choice. If you try to round them up, they'll just deny that they follow Islam. So then what? Round up all brown skinned people? Worldwide they outnumber Caucasians by a huge margin and you still will not get all Muslims as they can be Caucasian too. So rather than vague "final" solutions, why don't you try to be constructive for a change.

    --
    "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
  3. Re: It's time... by TheReaperD · · Score: 2, Informative

    The problem with this topic is that Godwin can be invoked and be 100% on topic at the same time. Especially with the vitrol Donald Trump is spewing.

    --
    "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
  4. Re: Uh, hello Germans? by Coren22 · · Score: 2

    In Germany, there are laws outlawing iconography of the Nazis. Wouldn't this make it kind of hard to teach history? This even caused Wolfenstein, that was about killing the Nazis to be banned, as it was somehow supporting Nazi ideas to go around shooting them.

    --
    APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  5. Re: Uh, hello Germans? by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

    Not the same as the Hindu/Buddhist symbol. The Nazi version is reversed.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  6. Re: It's time... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

    I hope you meant PSEUDO-islamic terrorism, and not really " (sudo-)Islamic terrorism"...

    The difference is horrifying(! ahem)

    Or worse: apt-get Islamic_terrorism. That kind of describes ISIS.

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  7. Re: It's time... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 4, Funny

    E: Invalid operation Islamic_terrorism

    Oops, sorry: apt-get install Islamic_terrorism.

    Although I'd prefer apt-get purge Islamic_terrorism.

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  8. Re: It's time... by vel-ex-tech · · Score: 4, Funny

    (sudo-)Islamic terrorism

    Oh god, they've got root?! Cut the hard line!

  9. Re: It's time... by smooth+wombat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    there could quite possibly be another Holocaust towards the Muslims

    If that happens, one can be assured Israel will say or do nothing, just as they did with Srebrenica or the near-concentration camps in Bosnia which the Serbs created.

    It's only the Jews which have had bad things happen to them and they will keep reminding people regardless if the same is done to others or if they do the same things to others.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower