Prepare for departure

[andrewducker]

Those of you between Canada and Mexico may wish to revise your living arrangements.

PATRIOT II is under review. This sequel to the delightful PATRIOT act will include:

• Americans could have their citizenship revoked, if found to have contributed "material support" to organizations deemed by the government, even retroactively, to be "terrorist."



• Legal permanent residents (like, say, my French wife), could be deported instantaneously, without a criminal charge or even evidence, if the Attorney General considers them a threat to national security.



• Authorities could wiretap anybody for 15 days, and snoop on anyone's Internet usage (including chat and email), all without obtaining a warrant.



• The government would be specifically instructed not to release any information about detainees held on suspicion of terrorist activities, until they are actually charged with a crime.



• Police officers carrying out illegal searches would also be granted legal immunity if they were just carrying out orders.

More here

Comments

[kpollock.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile over here the UK govt is trying to revoke the British passport of a leading Muslim cleric - admittedly this Abu Hazma's statements seem to be very inflammatory and he is generally not a nice person - very very racist and not supported by most ordinary folk.

see here (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/attacks/story/0,1320,902337,00.html) for more.

I'm not sure that I approve of either party in this, but Abu Hazma is actually wanted on terrorist charges in Yemen, so perhaps that swings it a bit.

As a general point, seemingly often forgotten, democracy is the rule of the majority. Most people are stupid. What sort of things do you therefore expect to happen?

[andrewducker]

I expect the people we elect to ignore the stupid people.

Well, I don't _expect_ that, but I kinda wish they would.

Oh, and we're a representative democracy, which means that it's not a straight 'majority rules' - we're supposed to vote in people who can then spend all of their time acquainting themselves with the facts and complications that exist out there.

[(Anonymous)]

..not exactly a *perfect* system is it.

Dave

[kpollock.livejournal.com]

Oh, and we're a representative democracy

I know that, I know we actually are not a simple democracy - some sense of fairness and equality etc. are (still) built in. I just get peeved with people thinking democracy is the 'answer'. Pure democracy would be really horrible.

The elected are rarely going to ignore the majority, they can't afford to or they are out on their ear [before they can get any of their long term plans working (or not as the case may be)].