PSX5Central
Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: luckee on November 25, 2002, 07:10:53 AM
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Got this from a friend and Im about to do the same.
I just e-mailed this to the president@whitehouse.gov and invite all who agree to do the same.
If you agree or disagree, make yourself heard, don\'t just complain!
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Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to ask that you renounce and take all action necessary to terminate the new Defense Department “Total Information Awareness” program that would provide government officials with the ability to snoop into all aspects of our private lives without a search warrant or proof of criminal wrongdoing.
Recent media reports have said that the Pentagon\'s new Office of Information Awareness is building a system called “Total Information Awareness.” This computer system would effectively provide government officials with immediate access to our personal information: all of our communications (phone calls, emails and web searches), financial records, purchases, prescriptions, school records, medical records and travel history. Under this program, our entire lives would be catalogued and available to government officials.
I find it disgraceful that there are government officials who think that they should treat all Americans as though they are suspects and therefore "fair game" for government snooping and spying. I believe that the principles enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights sought to protect my privacy rights and I do not believe that bureaucrats in Washington should have the most intimate details of my life available on their computers to be pawed through at their whim.
I fully appreciate that the government may need to intrusively investigate specific individuals who may be planning to do us harm. Our current legal system provides the ability for such investigation to occur within judicial constraints. I also believe that rather than seeking to investigate some 270 million Americans, law enforcement officials should instead be focusing on the small number of people who are real suspects.
I hope that you will take immediate action to terminate the “Total Information Awareness” Program and look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
*edit* send it to your congressmen/women as well.
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if the govt had its way, we\'de all be injected with ID marks
complaining about it tho, is kinda pointless
just dont vote for what ever official is for this, thats all we can do
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Originally posted by mm
if the govt had its way, we\'de all be injected with ID marks
No that\'s Microsoft\'s idea.
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Nice thread :D
some of the points look like what Ryu and myself are debaiting over in CD.
i\'ll post later got to catch a bus.
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Originally posted by mm
if the govt had its way, we\'de all be injected with ID marks
complaining about it tho, is kinda pointless
just dont vote for what ever official is for this, thats all we can do
I often feel that way unless one is a real estate, oil, or communications mogul, but I just had to send this one off to about 6 different politicians.
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My buddy posted an update which I am C&P\'ing here.
Seems even more official now :(
Well Bush is going to sign the Homeland Security Bill within the hour.
Guess what comes along with it?
The government can now, with no legal reason watch and record:
Every purchase you make with a credit card.
Every magazine that you subscribe too.
Every web site that you visit.
Every e-mail that you send or receive.
Every grade you or your child receives or has received.
Every deposit or withdrawal you make.
Every trip you take.
Every medical prescription you take.
Suddenly America and the freedoms that come along with it, is no longer America. We are now the former East Germany and USSR.
Is this really what my relatives fought and died for in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam? No.
This is so wrong.
Many Senators are coming out and saying that this bill was bull rushed through the Senate and they did not get to read it all the way through before voting "Yes" to it.
This is their fault and they need to be held accountable.
I support the tightening up of the borders. The sections they are most concerned with are section 203 & 204. These are the sections dealing with the massive electronic dragnet.
What\'s scary about this? The government can look at all of the things I previously mentioned without suspicion, without a warrant, without a judge knowing.
The Freedom of Information Act was enacted to act as a check and balance to keep the government in check. Well guess what is in section 204? It states that the Patriot Act states that the Freedom of Information Act cannot be used.
You are probably thinking, "Well come on Cisco, if the government was doing something wrong, the courts would step in right?" Sorry to let you know, "no." The information is being stored in the Defense Department so it\'s not accessible to the courts. The information should be stored in the Justice Department where the courts can access it.
Freedom is essential to being American. While the freedom of privacy does not appear in the Constitution, it is upheld over and over again throughout rulings from the Supreme Court. Griswold v. Connecticut (1966) is a prime example of this.
To those who state, "I have nothing to worry about because I\'m not doing anything illegal," that is the same thing that the KGB and the Gestapo said.
We as Americans have the right to not have the government looking over our shoulders. There are aspects of our private life that the government is not entitled to.
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If you want someone to take it out on, just look around and thank the nearest nimrod who voted for George W. Bush. You shouldn\'t have to look far.
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That can\'t be good, living it Britian jhas its advantages
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Im gonna mail Sexy_Goran@lunarstom.se
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The end of the US is upon us :eek: I would refuse to take any injections now, fearing its a micro chip or something. Seriously though, there are its advantages (I\'ll tell you as soon as I think of any) but there are definitley more disadvantages. Its invasion of privacy. Why would the government need to know that? Probably so they could change it and find new ways to screw with us.
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Its all heading a bit minority report if you ask me!!
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This is the end. Of freedom anyway.
HELLO 1984! I missed j00.
Seriously, this is f*cking disgusting! Is it really official? Because if it\'s true, then I truely feel sorry for my American pals. That is utter crap! This is one of the issues I feel very strongly for (well, against :p) - Big Brother (the government) watching over the population. Even if you think "well, I don\'t do anything illegal" - BS! They shouldn\'t be able to snoop on private citizens! Argh. I just hope the general population is clever enough to stand up to such crap.
"1984" and other books with similar themes should be required reading. :confused:
BTW, whoever said "glad to live in Britain" or whatever - you\'re not entirely safe either. The US is using the Echelon system to \'spy\' on Commonwealth citizens and vice versa - so as to not to violate peoples rights... :boom:
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WHAT THE F*CK?PRIVACY IS A HUMAN RIGHT!!THATS AN INDIRECT DICTATORY!!!!!
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I wonder how long before this becomes a Supreme Court Case, which people will learn about in text books for years to come.
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Heh...
Like you all didn\'t see this comming? Sucks that just two years ago you were all bytching about Leiberman maybe being VP and censoring your videogames (which he had no intention of doing in the first place.. just enforcing the rating systems we already have) and instead supported the guy and political party which is monitering our every move for "our own safety" and trying to smack the hornets nest with threats of invasion instead of finding a subtler and more "US Friendly" approach.
Oh well... I voted for McCain anyhow. And still, do you not think this has been going on for years now? The CIA has so much information on so many American citizens that it puts this bill to shame.. the only catch is.. you have to give them reason to look into you - however remote. This new bill jus automatically moniters everyone.
And one thing I don\'t understand.. why? Why go to such measures? Have American\'s become so pussified and afraid of death that we\'re willing to give away everything our forefathers fought and suffered for? Live Free or Die was an American motto for many many years.. meaning I would rather live a day as a free man than a lifetime under the yoke of King/Gov\'t/Dictator. Oh well.. we\'re already so far from what our forefather\'s view of freedom was this new bill doesn\'t really mean much in the grand scheme of things.
/me goes back to reading Civil Disobediance by Henry Thearou
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Is the mark not far off? Do we need to go back and count those votes in Florida again?
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