This is f----ed up....
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schi0249
Thats an excerpt from the song "Re-Gaining Unconsciousness" by the wonderful, awesome band NoFX, off of their "The War on Errorism" record, its their latest.
www.nofxofficalwebsite.com
one of the best bands on the planet.
Thats an excerpt from the song "Re-Gaining Unconsciousness" by the wonderful, awesome band NoFX, off of their "The War on Errorism" record, its their latest.
www.nofxofficalwebsite.com
one of the best bands on the planet.
I'm trying to take her side (no, really I am) because hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20, and no one could have reasonably foreseen 9/11, however, some of her answers were highly suspect (including the quote I copied and pasted here). Regardless of her other answers, U.S.S. Cole had occurred shortly before Bush took office, and a probe hadn't concluded on that attack until about May of 2001, so to say that the NSA didn't remember talking about Al Qaeda (who was definitively linked to the attack) is asinine, no matter how you look at it. Further, the memo that was finally declassified did talk at some length about Al Qaeda, so again, that comment is highly suspect.
But that's just me. I'm not the NSA, so I wouldn't know really how high up the ladder Bin Laden was, I'm just armchair quarterbacking. But, you have to wonder.
But that's just me. I'm not the NSA, so I wouldn't know really how high up the ladder Bin Laden was, I'm just armchair quarterbacking. But, you have to wonder.
Unfortunately , alot of this has to do with aspects of the Patriot Act and increased enforcement capabilities ( and collaborations ) between law enforcement agencies. Here's a link for a complete listing of the act itself. For stuff pertaining to what this topic is about, check out the stuff on wiretapping and data transfer interception:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html
Fortunately, the Patriot Act expires this year. Whether it is voted to stick around depends on Congress.
I do think that it will receive heavy revisions though if it is kept.
For example, the sections that implies a law enforcement agency can enter your home and perform a search while your gone and then not immedietally tell you that they did ( citing national security ), among other parts of the act, will continue to be under scrutiny.
There are some serious privacy issues (as there always have been with this act). The only difference between now and then is that people realize how hastefully this bill was pushed through.
Certainly there are constitutional issues that will come up in the process also.
For example, the sections that implies a law enforcement agency can enter your home and perform a search while your gone and then not immedietally tell you that they did ( citing national security ), among other parts of the act, will continue to be under scrutiny.
There are some serious privacy issues (as there always have been with this act). The only difference between now and then is that people realize how hastefully this bill was pushed through.
Certainly there are constitutional issues that will come up in the process also.
Indeed. Something else to note - the FBI was (originally) primarily meant to Investigate things after/while the incident occured/occurs. Now that they (and other agencies such as Homeland) are being set up to PREVENT, they are going to need the ability to do things like tap communications. Otherwise, how the heck do you catch and stop bad stuff? I do agree that the Patriot Act should and probably will be moderated. As Sundance said, things have a way of working themselves out in the system - it isn't all bad.
As an aside, I might also note that the FBI *rarely* acts in haste, so when you wonder why it takes them so long to do something, it is because they generally do really thorough investigations. They need to really get everything and nail them, they try and leave the hasty botched investigations to more local law enforcement whenever possible. Although, being human beings, they suck and make mistakes.
Ooh, amazingly enough I thought of something else to throw out there. Part of the reason why the CIA and FBI have had such poor communication (as we discussed last week in my Govt class) is because they were set up to have poor/slow lines of communication. That may sound stupid, and it is changing, but it did have a purpose. The CIA can only operate outside, the FBI mostly inside. The idea of having two seperate organizations was to PREVENT some 1984-ness. Imagine if the FBI/Homeland didn't exist, and there was only the CIA for everything? Sure, they'd share information pretty easily... at any rate, they realized that the system was outdated and flawed, and better coodination is being put in place between the FBI, Homeland, and the CIA.
As an aside, I might also note that the FBI *rarely* acts in haste, so when you wonder why it takes them so long to do something, it is because they generally do really thorough investigations. They need to really get everything and nail them, they try and leave the hasty botched investigations to more local law enforcement whenever possible. Although, being human beings, they suck and make mistakes.
Ooh, amazingly enough I thought of something else to throw out there. Part of the reason why the CIA and FBI have had such poor communication (as we discussed last week in my Govt class) is because they were set up to have poor/slow lines of communication. That may sound stupid, and it is changing, but it did have a purpose. The CIA can only operate outside, the FBI mostly inside. The idea of having two seperate organizations was to PREVENT some 1984-ness. Imagine if the FBI/Homeland didn't exist, and there was only the CIA for everything? Sure, they'd share information pretty easily... at any rate, they realized that the system was outdated and flawed, and better coodination is being put in place between the FBI, Homeland, and the CIA.
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