The government isn't taking your liberty from you. Your fellow citizens are. They are responsible for voting your government into power.
Republicans have control of the Executive, Legislative and if we examine the 2000 elections, the Judicial branches of the government.
The Red states far outnumber the Blue states, so popular vote becomes a moot point in future elections as the electoral advantage is seded to the Republicans.
You have to ask yourself. Is it really the government in the wrong here or is this an expression of the People's Will ?
No offense, but Austin is in Texas. And I would never live in Texas. Nothing but a bunch of backwards, rednecks down there that like to run niggers down and drive them attached to their trucks.
America did not win WW2 by itself. But if it had wanted to rule the world after, no one could have stopped it. Only the goodwill of American people that has shined through history prevented that from happening.
When you have the the most devestating amred forceds the world has seen, and the conviction to kill without hesitation, nothing matters.
You can meander on abuot debt and the world hating American policies.
So what?
What are you going to do about it?
Nothing.
America will increasingly take action in the world as it sees fit. As I've said and Bush has intimated, America will destroy the world before letting it destroy America.
Hatred of American policies will not help you when you are a puff of smoke.
America doesn't care to be in charge of the whole planet. If it did, it would be a done deal and would have been done right after WW2.
America is doing what it needs to protect itself, namely killing or capturing those who oppose it. America will continue to exact American Justice where and when it pleases, regardless of the nationality of those oppposing it.
America will either succeed, or the world will be destroyed as America lashes out. It's as simple as that. This is the way it has to be.
Please stop the naive posturing. When nations are engaged in war and take POWs, they don't give them individual trials. They determine their POW status by the circumstances involved in their capture.
Were they wearing enemey uniforms?
Were they engaged in unlawful behaviour? (soldiers are known to shed their uniforms
Were they located where the fighting was?
The battlefield is not a courtroom. None of the people picked up in the fighting are owed any US Jurisprudence, particularly if they are not American.
The question is under what rules should these illegal combatants be held. That I'm not entirely sure of but I have no problem with them being in Guantanamo at the moment.
Are some of them innocent people who were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time? Perhaps. But that is not known until thorough questioning is undertaken. With hundreds of people to question, time becomes a factor.
You're missing the point. David Hicks was not operating in Australia. Australian law is irrelvant. He was taking up arms against American soldiers, illegaly, and is paying for his crime.
If he was willing to die for his cause, he should be begging the Americans to kill him and send him to heaven where his virgins await him.
Or, he'll have to be content with the Club Med at Guantanamo.
Exactly right, you do have something to hide, and most people here would fully understand your reasons for hiding it.
Right. I'm hiding it from other people. I have no fear of the government adding it to THE DATABASE.
Now what happens if a few years down the road a new Law passes saying that it is illegal to post anonymously to the internet, and that all users must be registered and traceable.
I don't know. What happens if aliens visit earth and confiscate our computers?
I don't deal in empty hypotheticals, particularly when they're predicated on stale rhetoric.
From the perspective of Big Brother, you're right. 99% of the population fits that category. But we don't live our lives for Big Brother. We're too busy maintaining real relationships and living our lives.
I'll get the shock of my life the day that any of my posts aren't taken literally.
You should probably resist the temptation to take literally those posts which ridicule the banality of your non-sequiturs.
Regarding Guantanamo, I have no problem with the US holding combatant terrorists for as long as they deem necessary. These terrorists were not fighting under the accord of any acknowledged UN/Geneva conventions of war, thus they are not privy to the protections of said conventions.
That Australia is none too desirous of having the combatant terrorists repatriated to Australia where they cannot be prosecuted under laws passed post Afghanistan-conflict, is not surprising. They'll let the US mete out whatever punishment they are due and then take them back at the appropiate time. Australia has not sold out its citizens. They have sold out their Australian citizenship by engaging in illegal conflict.
If you send your name and address to the US Military, I'm sure they'll be sure to send them directly to your residence when they are released. Perhaps you can pick up some Pashtun and learn how to make bombs.
I won't respond to your silly hypothetical (talk about inept logic), but I will suggest that there is no such thing as absoulte privacy nor should there be any expectation.
So giving people something which is unrational is a dubious suggestion at best.
No amount of laws or dearth of laws will prevent abuses. People have been harassed by police long before Patriot Act came around. It will continue long after Patriot Act is repealed.
Abuses of innocent people should be prosecuted but the potential for abuse should not be the prevailing factor for determing whether a law is passed or not.
Heck, the justice system itself can be and has been used to abuse the rights of people. All you have to do is look at the South in the 60's during the Civil Rights struggles.
Does it mean that we scrap the justice system? Of course not. We make it better and we punish those guilty of such trespasses.
The sky is always falling whenever governments pass new "scary" laws. The truth is this has always gone on. Usually, the courts strike those laws which are egregiously wrong. Sometimes it takes years before the laws are corrected (Scott vs Dredd).
But the point is there is a system in place. And that system has proved itself to be sturdy and bouyant.
The face of the government may be radically different in less than one year. Things may change quickly. One thing won't change, however.
The stale rhetoric. The stale rhetoric will always be with us.
I was probably modd'd insightful because they got my post. You're posting anonymously because you don't. You jumped to a naive conclusion based on the refernce to Johnny Depp.
Please point to anything in my post that suggests I was advising people to leave America if they don't like it there.
Canada accepts anyone who makes it to Canada. This makes them a very hospitable destination for the persecuted...and for terrorists.
But if I were going to emigrate, Canada wouldn't be in my top 5. It's too much like the US but has shittier weather, a poor man's NYC (Toronto) and Friday Night Hockey.
I will not live in a country that has Friday Night Hockey.
If you're chillin' in a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan or residing in a country where travel is forbidden (Cuba) or where we do not have diplomatic relations (Iran), it might be wise to know where you hang your hat.
Slashdot Mirror
The government isn't taking your liberty from you. Your fellow citizens are. They are responsible for voting your government into power.
Republicans have control of the Executive, Legislative and if we examine the 2000 elections, the Judicial branches of the government.
The Red states far outnumber the Blue states, so popular vote becomes a moot point in future elections as the electoral advantage is seded to the Republicans.
You have to ask yourself. Is it really the government in the wrong here or is this an expression of the People's Will ?
You might be scared to learn the answer.
How so?
I usually see posts like yours. Rarely do I see reasoned posts which elaborate.
In the interest of fair debate and converstation, list your reasons and if possible, point to the particular pieces of legislation.
No offense, but Austin is in Texas. And I would never live in Texas. Nothing but a bunch of backwards, rednecks down there that like to run niggers down and drive them attached to their trucks.
America did not win WW2 by itself. But if it had wanted to rule the world after, no one could have stopped it. Only the goodwill of American people that has shined through history prevented that from happening.
When you have the the most devestating amred forceds the world has seen, and the conviction to kill without hesitation, nothing matters.
You can meander on abuot debt and the world hating American policies.
So what?
What are you going to do about it?
Nothing.
America will increasingly take action in the world as it sees fit. As I've said and Bush has intimated, America will destroy the world before letting it destroy America.
Hatred of American policies will not help you when you are a puff of smoke.
America doesn't care to be in charge of the whole planet. If it did, it would be a done deal and would have been done right after WW2.
America is doing what it needs to protect itself, namely killing or capturing those who oppose it. America will continue to exact American Justice where and when it pleases, regardless of the nationality of those oppposing it.
America will either succeed, or the world will be destroyed as America lashes out. It's as simple as that. This is the way it has to be.
Please stop the naive posturing. When nations are engaged in war and take POWs, they don't give them individual trials. They determine their POW status by the circumstances involved in their capture.
Were they wearing enemey uniforms?
Were they engaged in unlawful behaviour? (soldiers are known to shed their uniforms
Were they located where the fighting was?
The battlefield is not a courtroom. None of the people picked up in the fighting are owed any US Jurisprudence, particularly if they are not American.
The question is under what rules should these illegal combatants be held. That I'm not entirely sure of but I have no problem with them being in Guantanamo at the moment.
Are some of them innocent people who were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time? Perhaps. But that is not known until thorough questioning is undertaken. With hundreds of people to question, time becomes a factor.
As the other child post states, David Hicks has done nothing illegal under Australian law
Please tell me why Australian law matters in this situation?
Yeah, I didn't think it did.
You're missing the point. David Hicks was not operating in Australia. Australian law is irrelvant. He was taking up arms against American soldiers, illegaly, and is paying for his crime.
If he was willing to die for his cause, he should be begging the Americans to kill him and send him to heaven where his virgins await him.
Or, he'll have to be content with the Club Med at Guantanamo.
Due Process and Fair Trial are constitutional rights not typically afforded to illegal combatants.
People under the protection of the Consitution, even murders, are afforded those protections.
So please, stop trying to confuse the issue and reveal your ignorance of Constitutional Law.
Exactly right, you do have something to hide, and most people here would fully understand your reasons for hiding it.
Right. I'm hiding it from other people. I have no fear of the government adding it to THE DATABASE.
Now what happens if a few years down the road a new Law passes saying that it is illegal to post anonymously to the internet, and that all users must be registered and traceable.
I don't know. What happens if aliens visit earth and confiscate our computers?
I don't deal in empty hypotheticals, particularly when they're predicated on stale rhetoric.
Right, I am hiding my email because other people will abuse that information.
I am not afraid of the government abusing that information. A big difference.
But of course you guys will construe anything to suit your purposes.
Whatever.
From the perspective of Big Brother, you're right. 99% of the population fits that category. But we don't live our lives for Big Brother. We're too busy maintaining real relationships and living our lives.
I'll get the shock of my life the day that any of my posts aren't taken literally.
You should probably resist the temptation to take literally those posts which ridicule the banality of your non-sequiturs.
Regarding Guantanamo, I have no problem with the US holding combatant terrorists for as long as they deem necessary. These terrorists were not fighting under the accord of any acknowledged UN/Geneva conventions of war, thus they are not privy to the protections of said conventions.
That Australia is none too desirous of having the combatant terrorists repatriated to Australia where they cannot be prosecuted under laws passed post Afghanistan-conflict, is not surprising. They'll let the US mete out whatever punishment they are due and then take them back at the appropiate time. Australia has not sold out its citizens. They have sold out their Australian citizenship by engaging in illegal conflict.
If you send your name and address to the US Military, I'm sure they'll be sure to send them directly to your residence when they are released. Perhaps you can pick up some Pashtun and learn how to make bombs.
I won't respond to your silly hypothetical (talk about inept logic), but I will suggest that there is no such thing as absoulte privacy nor should there be any expectation.
So giving people something which is unrational is a dubious suggestion at best.
No amount of laws or dearth of laws will prevent abuses. People have been harassed by police long before Patriot Act came around. It will continue long after Patriot Act is repealed.
Abuses of innocent people should be prosecuted but the potential for abuse should not be the prevailing factor for determing whether a law is passed or not.
Heck, the justice system itself can be and has been used to abuse the rights of people. All you have to do is look at the South in the 60's during the Civil Rights struggles.
Does it mean that we scrap the justice system? Of course not. We make it better and we punish those guilty of such trespasses.
I have something to hide because I don't want SPAM ?
Riiiiiiiiiight.
Really? There are Americans in Guantanamo merely because they protested against the TIA ?
That is very shocking. It would be even more shocking if it were true.
None of those bother me at all. Probably because I have nothing to hide or worry about.
I've had relatives of mine bombed by japanese pilots.
Fuck you.
Stale rhetoric. Stale rhetoric.
The sky is always falling whenever governments pass new "scary" laws. The truth is this has always gone on. Usually, the courts strike those laws which are egregiously wrong. Sometimes it takes years before the laws are corrected (Scott vs Dredd).
But the point is there is a system in place. And that system has proved itself to be sturdy and bouyant.
The face of the government may be radically different in less than one year. Things may change quickly. One thing won't change, however.
The stale rhetoric. The stale rhetoric will always be with us.
IWhy does this guy get insightful?
I was probably modd'd insightful because they got my post. You're posting anonymously because you don't. You jumped to a naive conclusion based on the refernce to Johnny Depp.
Please point to anything in my post that suggests I was advising people to leave America if they don't like it there.
I dare you.
Exactly. It's all about Pax Americana. When Pax Canadia rolls around, then we'll pay attention to you guys.
I'm American. I don't have to know the specifics of Canadian culture.
Canada accepts anyone who makes it to Canada. This makes them a very hospitable destination for the persecuted...and for terrorists.
But if I were going to emigrate, Canada wouldn't be in my top 5. It's too much like the US but has shittier weather, a poor man's NYC (Toronto) and Friday Night Hockey.
I will not live in a country that has Friday Night Hockey.
Sure it is.
If you're chillin' in a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan or residing in a country where travel is forbidden (Cuba) or where we do not have diplomatic relations (Iran), it might be wise to know where you hang your hat.