Silbakor
A meandering commentary on the World at Large.
7.22.2005
Let me be the first to welcome our new American overlords
House votes to extend Patriot Act
Thinking about leaving yet? Cuz our government is looking for you. Not because you're a terrorist, but because someone in your extended family is, or because you were caught by a camera in a train talking to one, or maybe just sitting vaguely near one. Cuz that's enough reason for them to wiretap you (without having to identify you, btw - Section 206 allows investigators to obtain warrants to intercept a suspect's phone conversations or Internet traffic without limiting it to a specific phone or identifying the suspect), stalk you, and look at what you've checked out of the library. Better hope you haven't read any Huxley lately.
And for all of you who like to spout "If you haven't done anything wrong, what do you have to hide?" here's a great little commentary from a Slashdot poster about what you have to hide. If you're too lazy to actually read it, the basic argument is that it's not the truth you ought to be afraid of. It's the hunters. Because the hunters claim to be after the truth, but are usually happy when they find something that only looks like truth. And a photo of you talking to a terrorist looks like truth, because there's no way to tell from a photo that you had no idea who or what they were.
