Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid..

Things like this are bothersome as it tends to be touted as necessary to respond to threats of terorism etc.

The truth is that anyone with enough initiative to and reason could/will create their own private solutions to encrypt any trafic they need to - possibly using steganography to avoid obvious "uncrackable" packets floating about and drawing attention to them.

The only people things like this makes it possible for the authorities to monitor are Joe Public and small time wannabe troublemakers. If the state wishes to spy on it's people then they should say so and not wrap it up in "this is for your own good" balony.

I would expect even moderate scale drug dealers will quickly adapt to using techniques to avoid this being effective.

In the mean time, it stiffles inovation, smothers freedom of exchange of ideas in the general population, and undermines yet again peoples trust in the very organisations which purport to "protect" them.

/me is feeling particularly cynical today!
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Dunno why, but for some reason "extreme paranoia" and "mental instability" are the first words that comes to my mind here....

my first thoughts were....'tinfoil hats' and 'black helicopters on whisper mode'....

Another disturbing request from the government for police-state powers...

 

I'm torn. 9-11 hurt me bad, I don't want to see that happen again and I read that those guys were communicating a lot on the internet. BUT would these capabilities have led the FBI to them? I don't see it. I would go for it if I trusted the hands these liberties were given to but since I don't, well, I'm just torn about it. Maybe if the government would just worry about governing and mind their own dadgum business...... (I don't know about dadgum, I'm southern).......

I must be in a bad mood, that sounded terrible.
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If we allow these changes due to the terrorists and their tactics then we allow them to win by changing our lives and by giving up our liberties. Also this smacks of a far right wing take over of our government. It happened in Germany, Russia, Spain and many other nations. Call it what you will. Fascism starts this way. Give up your liberties one by one and soon or later you'll given them all up for "security". It has begun. 1984 is back. Ashcroft is back. Man do I go on. Tirade over. >

#6 - I agree completely about the terrorists winning if this sort of knee jerk draconian measure is justified by their actions. The one things terrorists try to create is terror, and the best thing we can do to prevent them continuing is to demonstrate that we are NOT terrified by them.

I live in the UK, I lived through the era of IRA bombings, and I learned that nothing is gained from being scared of such things - progress only comes from understanding, dialogue and ultimately, yes...compromise.

Compromise is option rarely looked upon, what benefits them HAS to benefit us, a like it or lump it attitude

Especially if your country is being ruled by some John Wayne acting Texan that thinks "my way or the highway".
You guys forgive me, I'm even a die hard Republican and I can't stand the guy.
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#6, yeah, i totally agree, its a snowball type of effect you let it roll on, and it gets bigger and bigger.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

President Woodrow Wilson, during WWI, stated, "We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the world - no longer a Government of free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men."

It's a sorry situation that has us quoting ancient commentary....means no-one 'new' is of equitable 'quality'....

Good point. Except of course for "read my lips".............

jafo - could be that the old brigade was right and that we've now got the "leaders" we deserve for letting it happen despite their words of warning?

Sput...yes....and it is a tad annoying that when people look for 'great statesmen' in history....they NEED to go a fair way back....[this is  a world-wide issue, not just the US].

Why can't current leaders be quotable and notable too?...

OK. Something much more current said by Noam Chomsky.

"There is no reason to accept the doctrines crafted to sustain power and privilege, or to believe that we are constrained by mysterious and unknown social laws. These are simply decisions made within institutions that are subject to human will and that must face the test of legitimacy. And if they do not meet the test, they can be replaced by other institutions that are more free and more just, as has happened often in the past."


If the orignal post worries you...do something to make sure it doesn't happen.

jafo - because "we" now vote for TELE-Vision celebrities rather than people with REAL-vision.

We're in the era of the instant sound bite, rather than the considered observation.

...and worst of all, polititians have very little to do with what happens in the world in many ways as we're no longer democracies but have become "ruled" by unelected media/business "dictators" who manipulate public opinion, and keep most people so fed on a opium of Simpsons/reality tv/junk news that their capacity to question what is going on in the world is reduced to deciding which re-run they should watch while eating their vacuum packed TV meals...

/me is getting even more cynical by the minute...

UBoB - I do, and posting here to possibly help point out to some people who may not be aware WHY this is such an issue is part of that...I've also taken part in various non-violent direct actions based on other issues in the past...

Sput, I had a feeling this was the case.

Why can't current leaders be quotable and notable too?...

In addition to Sput's response, I see a few other factors.

1. I venture to say that very few of today's politicians and leaders have the command of language held by those 'ancient' statesman. The de-emphasis of language arts at every level of the curriculum in our schools has resulted in smaller vocabularies and poorer mechanics in terms of grammar, spelling, and rhetoric. Even those who do have sufficient command of the language are advised and assisted to lower the level of vocabulary and reduce the complexity of the rhetoric in order to appeal to a lower common denominator.

2. Public speeches and documents now are often further simplified in order to make sure they will translate properly into other languages, many of which are not as rich in vocabulary, so subtleties and nuances are not only lost, they are actively avoided.

3. The immediacy of modern media has also had an adverse impact in terms of the richness and precise use of language. Sput mentioned sound-bites, referring, I think, to short, concise, often terse comments which can be played in a short amount of airtime. Often those sound-bite comments are scripted, not necessarily to clearly and concisely capture the author's thoughts on the issue as to give the appearance of so doing. If the response has the proper rhythm and is delivered in an effective manner, appears to respond to the issue without being either too precise or too vague, then considerations of accuracy and relevance be damned.

4. Statesmen of the past were often forced by constraints of time and travel to communicate solely in writing, and knew as they crafted the document that their message must be clear, concise, and persuasive. The opportunity to correct misunderstandings, clarify points of contention, or strengthen a message might not come for a very long time after the initial document was received, if ever. Thus a great deal more thought and attention was given to the composition. Modern spin control has taken away the need for that kind of effort.

With each passing year, I become more disappointed at the state of literacy in general, and the deterioration of the rhetorical art, which is why I make a point personally of trying to discipline myself to use appropriate language and to use it as precisely and correctly as possible. On occasion, I will even attempt to assist others who appear in need of a reminder.

I agree with the above and have lamented the lack of statesmen or inspirational leaders myself for over thirty years. By way of understanding the times we live in I offer you this not so comforting view of our times from an ancient text...

We are living in the final years of the Kali Yuga, the age of conflict, the fourth and final Kalpa (stage) of our world's passage through the cycle of life that is but a day for  Brahma.  In the Linga Purana, one of the books of the Upanishads, a collection of wisdom that predates us all by thousands of years, we are told that in these times we will see these things around us

Everyone will use hard and vulgar language.
 
Men will devote themselves to earning money the richest will hold power.
 
The state leaders will no longer protect the people but, through taxes, will appropriate all wealth.

Fetuses will be killed in the wombs of their mothers.
 
People will prefer to choose false ideas.
 
No one will be able to trust anyone else.
 
People will be envious.

Young girls will do trade in their virginity.
 
The god of clouds will be inconsistent in the distribution of the rains.
 
Shopkeepers will run dishonest businesses.
 
There will be many beggars and unemployed people.

Water will be lacking.

Pre-cooked food will be readily available

Thieves will become kings, and kings will be the thieves.
 
Rulers will confiscate property and use it badly.
 
They will cease to protect the people.
 
Base men who have gained a certain amount of learning (without having the virtues necessary for its use) will be esteemed as sages.
 
There will be many displaced persons, wandering from one country to another.

The Kali Yuga is a five thousand year period so these writings were done in this age, albeit closer to the begining when such predictions as these seemed inconceivable. They had been passed down orally for thousands of years and finally preserved when Sanskrit became available, thus, writing itself is another symptom of the Kali Yuga.

Even those who do have sufficient command of the language are advised and assisted to lower the level of vocabulary and reduce the complexity of the rhetoric in order to appeal to a lower common denominator.

Betty has a pram.

See Spot run....

How about this? -  "I will rid the world of evil."

not your usual political rhetoric...

 

btw - the source of those predictions listed in my post above is a book titled "While the Gods Play: Shiva Oracles and Predictions on the Cycles of History and the Destiny of Mankind", by Alain Danielou - 1985

Not trying to push the Vedas on anyone, I just thought those statements about our times were quite fitting. We are apparently nearing the end of this cycle and the effects are supposed to be more pronounced as we approach the final curtain. The predictions seem to describe our times so well it's hard to remember they are from 500 to thousands of years old.