Case of Patriotism
One of the reasons I opposed the Patriot Act was the fear of leakage in executing the provisions in this act outside of the scope of terrorism. The Patriot Act represents a grave danger to our freedom and rights from our government while we are fighting external threats of the same freedom.
This is not a new argument and those who advocated for the Patriot Act assured us that the sole intention of this law is to fight terrorism. Well I guess stilling baby formula is act of terrorism…
Mr. Jammal, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was never charged with any offense related to terrorism. Yet evidence collected in the FISA eavesdropping played a role in his conviction last April on federal charges focused on fencing stolen baby formula, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
His case sits on the fine line between the government’s responsibility to go all-out to prevent terrorism and its duty to protect the constitutional rights of American citizens accused of crimes. It’s a line that has blurred considerably since 9/11 and the 2001 passage of the Patriot Act. It allows authorities to use FISA wiretaps authorized by special courts not only to gather foreign intelligence but to investigate domestic crimes.
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I would say that everyone decide what risks he/she is willing to take as a price for comfort.
and by the way, the government (at least the American) having your mail anyway through project echelon...:)
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take gmail, for example:
how far fetched does it sound to you, that the goverment will obtain access to a citizen private mail box, given the existence of the patriot act?
(if you don't see why its so wrong, think about the goverment being able to search your physical mail box at will.)
we all leave foot-prints on the web, yes, but most people are totally unaware of them, or don't value their privacy enough to care.
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