Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers
Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus 2003-02-07

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-10
Anonymous (1 replies)

cool! they should also ban whispering just in case

the american spook agencys want to listen into your conversation.

i wonder if american dissidents will be eligible for asylum in russia

or the european union :)...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-12
Anonymous

i cry when i see where the usa is going........

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-10
"Nother great idea

Why dont the Gov just lock us all up now and spare them selves the time for the trial and such. Apparently Pres Bush was serious on americans givving up their freedom in order to be "Safe" but who is going to protect us from our own government?...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-10
Anonymous

Let's not forget about the clause in the proposal that says that a US Citizen could lose his/her Citizenship if even SUSPECTED of fraternizing with individuals or organizations who are SUSPECTED of terrorism. Even if the Citizen doesn't KNOW about the suspected terrorism of that person/group. HELLO!...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-11
Anonymous

Benjamin Franklin said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." and I agree wholeheartedly.

Ashcroft doesn't care about the constitution; he expects us to waive our rights when he waves our flag. Bush wants a war regardless o...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-11
Anonymous

Remember that we have freedoms. We have the freedom to obey the law. Law that is made by people who we did not elect or represent us. Law that is enforced by a president who was appointed to us by an unelected group. Yep we are monkeys that are run by a monkeys uncle....

[ more ] [ reply ]

a word from our sponsor 2003-02-11
<-

It's easy and fun to talk about these things. Outrage comes easily. How dare they take our rights. Ashcroft is bringing on a police state. Et al.

As a criminal myself, I have more personal respect for Ashcroft than I do for most EFF-style reactionaries. It's easy to talk and whine and leaflet ...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-11
Anonymous (4 replies)

What alternatives do the Government have??

The Terrorists are here..in the USA!

But presently, they can hide behind our laws, and use our "rights" and skip any accountablity of crime! How can we expect the Homeland Security to work if our Laws are not properly enforced?

And our present laws ar...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-11
Anonymous

"""What alternatives do the Government have?? ""

FOR ONE THEY ARE BOUND BY OATH TO UPHOLD OUR CONSTITUTION.

The way it appears now they are trying to eliminate our Constitution and our freedom because of fear.

What did they in the revolutionary war?

LIVE FREE OR DIE!!!

...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-11
Stephen Nichols (1 replies)

Anti-American forces are in our country, that is true. However, stripping away freedoms from all Americans will not change that. The "terrorists" want to hurt us for a reason -- and it's not because we're free. As Americans, we should take a hard look at our foreign policy to see how we have inci...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-17
Anonymous

We are playing into the hands of the terrorists. This is exactly what the goals of OBL are.... Of course the monkeys at 1600 Penn Ave just don't get it yet.

...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-13
Michael B.

What alternatives does the government have? Plenty! Why don't they try working on the communication problems they have between the intelligence gathering organizations? Why not work on how our foreign policy might be influencing the US' perception to the rest of the world? Why not limit the crap...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-13
Anonymous

We had IRA terorism in the UK for decades. When the British government brought in the infamous "Suss" (Suspect) laws, it made absolutely no difference to the terorist campaign. Those affected were, in the majority, blacks on the street....

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-11
Anonymous

Is it any surprise that while the US Govt tries to act as the world's 'police', they are turning your country into a police state?

The Land of the Free?...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-11
Anonymous (1 replies)

Logically speaking, this bill states that:

If you use encryption in a crime, you get five years.

Now, think how fair this would be...

If you use a safe to hide drugs, you get five years.

Aside from this obvious fallacy, who is to decide what encryption is?...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-13
Anonymous

...and any time you use a digital mobile phone, the conversation is encrypted......

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-12
Anonymous

With the threat of an all encompassing abstract like "terrorism" around, I think it should be illegal to have a pulse without an all-out "preemptive" investigation of the possible threat to society people pose by being alive...

That is unless, of course, you come from old oil money...

Death t...

[ more ] [ reply ]

New surveillance powers 2003-02-12
Anonymous1

The new surveillance measures are intimidating and suggest to many that government is getting too big for our own good. Becoming an all-knowing big brother. The gov't knows what's best for us and will lead us into Utopia... and if we don't want to live in their Utopia, then we must be forcibly coerc...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-12
NonCryBaby (3 replies)

I find the opinions here very interesting. I work in the district for a company employed by Mr. Ashcroft at the DOJ. For this reason I am not sure that my opinion counts. I do know this. I just walked freely past the FBI HQ to mail a package. Then I walked past it again and ate at the skank McD...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-12
Anonymous (2 replies)

"I have nothing to hide. Do you?"

I am tired of hearing this retort as a rationalization to erode Constitutionally-guaranteed rights. Having nothing to hide doesn't mean your entire life should be an open book. Right now only immigrants from certain countries are the only ones being looked at. Ho...

[ more ] [ reply ]

I have plenty to hide. 2003-02-13
<-

And I have confidence in my ability to hide it.

I don't neccesarily believe that anything I wish to hide would survive having the full investigatory resources of the US Government brought to bear against it. But I know that if everyone wishing to do harm to the US took the same precautions I t...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Of slippery slopes and being tired. . .. 2003-02-13
Eric Lee

You know, you "slippery slope" people are just as tiring as the "I have nothing to hide" people. Raising a froth by thrashing about words like "civil liberties" and "erosion of rights" is no different than doing the same by talking about "rooting out evil at its source" and "broad, sweeping powers ...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-13
Anonymous

The trouble is that this email (and other communications) will be read automatically (ref: Echelon etc.). Bureaucrats will process any emails like "...bought DOJ on Nasdaq, made a bomb!..." and send SWAT teams to trash your house, lock you up without recourse to habeas corpus and flag you as a 'sus...

[ more ] [ reply ]

"I have nothing to hide. Do you?" 2003-02-13
Anonymous

Only my privacy....

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-12
Anonymous

While I agree with the stance we are taking there has to be a better solution. The bills that are passed today will haunt us tomorrow. Look what the bills passed in the depression era have done to our govt spending and ecopnomy... as we have become a welfare state. It's a foot in the door, especial...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-13
Anonymous (1 replies)

While I agree that nobody should have the right to read my e-mail, I'm not overly concerned that anyone is going to be able to do it. Part of my job is network security monitoring. The amount of traffic that Ashcroft and Co would have to monitor would be off the scales!

Heck, the economic reces...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Ashcroft proposes vast new surveillance powers 2003-02-13
Anonymous

I vote!

Yes, the bill will become public at some point. My guess is that it will surface and be introduced in the congress right after we attack Iraq and lose some of our soldiers, and we are attacked again by terrorists and the N. Koreans are making more noise about nuking somebody or other if t...

[ more ] [ reply ]

Quite nice... 2003-02-13
Anonymous

Hmmm... annoying for usa citysens... but, actually they voted for loosing of personal rights, for oil, etc. so i believe Ashcroft proposal is quite ok, in spirit of what people wants! I hope they will remember what they DID loose on next elections (democracy (i wonder if there will actually be anoth...

[ more ] [ reply ]