Benjamin- Well said, sir. IMHO the "sound bite" media catering to the "instant gratification" video game generation takes all depth and meaning out of the news. It's all simplified into short slogans.
And I find it sad that such a heterogeneous country as the U.S. is so culturally ignorant about the rest of the world. Further, that our elected officials seem driven by public opinion polls. <sigh> -Ben -----Original Message----- From: Benjamin Falloon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2001 12:32 PM To: CF-Community Subject: Re: The Anti Terrorism Act.. I don't understand the opinions of a lot of Americans.... Americans seem to have a major superiority complex. All this talk about 'heroes 'war' and patriotic ramble. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking America was not a lot different from other empires of the past like ancient Rome etc... Seems to me Americans believe their life is more valuable than the lives of other humans around the globe. I'm struck by the American media as well. If only the average American could see the media from an outside perspective an realise how much america (and by way of cultural imperialism, the rest of the world) is being completely propagandised (like I have never seen as extreme before). The whole good and evil debate. You know how many people GW pissed off when he used the word 'crusade' in his rhetoric? How offensive must that have been to people of the Islamic faith (given history). Maybe our so called advanced civilisation really isn't that different from the dark ages of the crusades... We don't read anymore, we are incapable of forming independent opinions, all we do is consume (which is the measure of our worth) and we boil complex international politics down to simple binaries philosophies because we are incapable of seeing a more complex reality in which we aren't as innocent as we make ourselves out to be. In short, we are reactionary and are motivated by our emotions (fuelled by the media which feeds on our fear). I really think that the so called american 'way of life' is just a guise for maintaining western luxuries at the expense of the rest of the world. Some thoughts... B ----- Original Message ----- From: "Angel Stewart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2001 5:09 AM Subject: Re: The Anti Terrorism Act.. > *scratches head* > Uhh...I'm trying to sift through all the patriotic stuff and hero this and > hero that and trying to figure out what you're trying to say and how it was > cogent to my misgivings about the ATA. > > Basically, you agree with that Anti Terrorism Act as it stands, and see > nothing wrong with government agents entering your home or your neighbour's > home forcefully (i.e. possibly destroying your door, your furniture etc. ) > and without a search warrant, because a suspected terrorist (Actually just a > School Teacher from Kindustan) happened to buy something from a store that > your cousin Ed in Alabama owns? > > And once its made law, Pierre..how will you 'deal' with it? > Try to repeal the law at that point? > Should Americans give up their constitutionally assured freedoms in a knee > jerk reaction to these terrorist attacks? > > An Intelligence agency that is awarded BILLIONS of dollars a year was unable > to prevent (that's not entirely unforgivable) , and actually had no clue > about this attack (that's something else entirely..) that was supposedly > planned more than a year in advance, even though its powers were expanded in > 1998 through laws that were passed to improve its ability to fight terrorist > threats. > > And the answer now is to further increase the power of these agencies by > removing the oversight of the Judiciary and making these Agencies a law unto > themselves? And when it happens again then what? > Mandate that every home in America be bugged and have surveillance cameras > installed? Where does it stop, Pierre? > > Why was it that when suggestions were made to the FAA that security was > totally lax at American Airports..why was their response that it wasn't cost > effective to implement stricter security procedures? > > *********** > [ http://www.msnbc.com/news/635520.asp ] > > "In the very last meeting I had as inspector general with the FAA on July 3, > 1996, they said that the cost of Pan Am 103 was $3 billion and if we had to > make airports completely safe at that time they guessed-and they probably > absolutely guessed-that it would cost $10 billion. They figured we might > have another Pan Am 103, but it still wasn't worth the cost of the > heightened levels of security." > > [ > http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/americas/2001/america_attacked/new > sid_1574000/1574326.stm ] > > And here is another enlightening piece, and why I seriously doubt further > expanding and trampling people's rights is what is needed. > ( And PLEASE if you are going to respond, at least read the article this > time. ;-) ) > ******************** > > Is it more laws that are needed? > Would more laws and less personal freedom have changed the situation > described above? > > *Police wiretap powers would be expanded, and the utility of the FBI's > Carnivore surveillance system increased. Any U.S. attorney or state attorney > general could order the installation of the FBI's Carnivore Net-surveillance > system in emergency situations without obtaining a court order first. > > *Voicemail messages would be easier for law enforcement investigators to > obtain. A search warrant would be required, instead of a wiretap order that > brings with it a higher level of court scrutiny. > > *Wiretapping would become easier. Currently, police are required to perform > "normal investigative procedures" before tapping, a requirement that would > no longer apply. > > *The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a law that created a > secret court to approve spy investigations, would be broadened and made more > powerful. > > These same provisions have been pushed time and time again by special > interest groups and have never gotten past Congress. So the 'ATA' isn't some > Miracle Solution carefully crafted as a response to September 11th. It is > just a slight rewording and rewriting of laws that various groups have tried > to get past Congress, and which have been shelved because they were > unconstitutional or would give Law Enforcement agencies too much power. > > And if you read the articles above, you might get the picture that what's > needed is not less rights for people in America, but perhaps there needs to > be a shift in thinking from within these agencies themselves, starting with > the FAA. But sadly no one is putting any policies or plans before congress > to deal with this. They are just trying to further their own political and > moral agendas. > > I'm sure that the majority of Americans are not willing to buy into the hype > and have their minds so numbed by the tragedy of this event to allow this or > any other government to bend and break the constitution that America was > founded on. > > Because if that happens brotherman then them terrorists win, > and heaven help the rest of the "Free Western World" that the majority of us > live in, and which like it or not America and its way of life, leads. > > -Gel > > ---- Original Message ----- > From: "Pierre Demester" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > There use to be a time - when everyone did what it took - to get the job > > done. > > > > I personally believe people (in this Country) have lost focus with the > rest > > of the world... most of us believe America - is the world. > > > > Before September 11th - we cared more about the World Series... or World > > Champions. Keeping in mind that world (again)... is within the borders of > > our own country. > > > > I seriously doubt the government will enter a persons' home - without a > > reasonable amount of information leading to a potential arrest. > > > > If a case appears that the government did in fact - stretch the word > > "reasonable"... we will have to deal with that situation at that time - > and > > immediately. > > > > Until then, if we have something that we are so concerned about - that we > > have to hide it... maybe they should look. > > > > I sincerely missed the days when hero's were real - and not someone who > > could get paid a million dollars to hit a ball. They are not hero's - they > > are someone who we pay a million dollars to hit a frigg'n ball. > > > > The hero's in this event are the ones who risked their lives to save > others. > > > > The hero's of tomorrow - will be the ones who guide this great nation back > > to peace. > > > > The hero's of the future - will be the ones who keep us in peace... by > > always keeping an eye on the ones who want to take our peace away. > > > > Although by tragic circumstances - I'm glad the real hero's are back. > > > > Pierre > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
