Patriot Act to be expanded

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Raithlin

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Just when you thought it was safe to emigrate...

http://news.com.com/2061-10789_3-5736302.html?part=rss&tag=5736302&subj=news

Forget scaling back the Patriot Act.

Instead, the controversial post-9/11 law would be expanded to give the FBI new powers to demand documents from companies without a judge's approval, according to a vote late Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence committee.

The final text of the Senate Intelligence committee's amendments was not immediately available (here's a draft dated last month), and reporters were barred from the secret session during which the vote was held.

But the proposal appears to grant the FBI more power to seek information from banks, hospitals, libraries, and so on through "administrative subpoenas" without prior judicial oversight. The subpoenas are only supposed to be used for terrorism or clandestine intelligence cases.

One other detail: the FBI may designate that the subpoenas are secret and punish disclosure of their existence with up to one year in prison (and five years if the disclosure is deemed to "obstruct an investigation.")

In testimony in April, FBI director Robert Mueller said: "The administrative subpoena power would be a valuable complement to (existing) tools and provide added efficiency to the FBI's ability to investigate and disrupt terrorism operations and our intelligence gathering efforts."

The ACLU denounced the Senate Intelligence committee's vote. "In a move antithetical to our Constitution, the new 'administrative subpoena' authority would let the FBI write and approve its own search orders for intelligence investigations, without prior judicial approval," the group said in a statement. "Americans have a reasonable expectation that their federal government will not gather records about their health, their wealth and the transactions of their daily life without probable cause of a crime and without a court order."

In theory, the expand-the-Patriot-Act bill now goes to the Senate floor for a vote. But some negotiations are likely to take place between the Intelligence and Judiciary committee, and that could affect the final form of the legislation.
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Slowly slowly slowly America is changing. In the context of civil liberties, I think that country is losing the brownie points as a model of liberty and freedom.
 
Land of the free ---> Land of the semi-free
 
I wouldn't emigrate there regardless of the patriot act. Can't say I'm a huge fan of the USA. The idea of living amongst people who queue up a week in advance to see a dumb-ass sci-fi movie like Star Bores, live on fast food, are religious zealots and have no clue about the rest of the world really doesn't appeal to me.

I want to see New York one day tho and then head on down to Mexico and South America.

I'd rather emigrate to Australia - far more like South Africa, less people, you very rarely hear any news from there, beautiful coastline, good sense of humour !
 
bb_matt said:
I wouldn't emigrate there regardless of the patriot act. Can't say I'm a huge fan of the USA. The idea of living amongst people who queue up a week in advance to see a dumb-ass sci-fi movie like Star Bores, live on fast food, are religious zealots and have no clue about the rest of the world really doesn't appeal to me.

I want to see New York one day tho and then head on down to Mexico and South America.

I'd rather emigrate to Australia - far more like South Africa, less people, you very rarely hear any news from there, beautiful coastline, good sense of humour !
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How can u knock a country u never been to? I lived there for 1.5 yrs - great place
 
bb_matt said:
The idea of living amongst people who queue up a week in advance to see a dumb-ass sci-fi movie like Star Bores, live on fast food, are religious zealots and have no clue about the rest of the world really doesn't appeal to me.
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The queueing up of zealots does not make the movie a bore. It's a bore for you, perhaps, but then that's just your POV.



There is no anger, there is only the force. ;)
 
craigsa said:
How can u knock a country u never been to? I lived there for 1.5 yrs - great place
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Agh, I'm just being a wally.
Seriously tho, from watching so many movies and reading so many books etc. the USA doesn't appeal to me much - it's way down my list.
The fact that over 50% of them voted for Bush is a big factor in that.

I honestly feel like I've been there simply because of the sheer amount of American created content I've digested since birth.
 
Raithlin said:
There is no anger, there is only the force. ;)
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Bollocks

I can get pretty damn angry sometimes and I end up using the farce !

Star Snores - May The Farce be with you !

:D

(don't take me seriously !) ;)
 
Star Wars Ep 3 wasnt what i expected.. looked a lil bit amateurish, or did they do that on purpose??
 
bb_matt said:
The fact that over 50% of them voted for Bush is a big factor in that.
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Only 50% of the voting public voted for him !
 
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Well I agree with those who are not impressed by the USA.. I wouldn't go there either... and neither would anyone else I know
 
You people are seriously blind !! I f u can not see the direction the US and even the world is taking, do yourselves a favour and go look at Pan's link http://www.infowars.com oh and this is only one there are many places rife with information on everything the so called "mighty" U.S. is up to al this because a few selected people in power do as they wish because the everybody else have been indoctronated and programmed to accept that there is nothing they can do about it - same as our people here in South Africa who have gone lame and nowadays just accept things as the norm pull's up their shoulders and say ah well nothing we can do about it !! Come on get a grip get out of your Sci-Fi mentality you live in a real world where things are crumbling all around you and then what ?? Believe in the farce you say !!! get with the program people, I for one am sick and tired of a corrupt governments, corrupt town councels and corrupt corporations shoving everybody around as they wish with your family and friends losing jobs small companies closing and leaving thousands of people without income because a major corporation decided that you are not worth the dround they walk on. OK OK Enough thats it for me i'll rave again some other time -- eish I feel better already.
 
qDot said:
Slowly slowly slowly America is changing. In the context of civil liberties, I think that country is losing the brownie points as a model of liberty and freedom.
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You forget, this is the country (US) that started Die Rooi Gevaar with a red under every bed - remember McCarthyism? They ALWAYS take things too damn far. Next thing there will be hundreds of court cases about civil liberties violations and people ruined because some over zealous official got his knickers in a twist unnecessarily.
 
My parents go there every two years or so on holiday, but only to Florida ( All the amusement parks, NASA etc :) ). One thing that really impressed me though was the last time they were there. When they got to New York a hurricane was still on it's way through Florida, so they got a $10 phone card to phone everyone to say that they were fine and that they were delayed. They phoned South Africa 6 times, the calls ranging between 3 and 6 minutes each, and when they got back it still had about a dollar-sixty left. :eek:
 
FYI: I could be arrested in the US for doing things that I do in the course of my job thanks to a ridiculous piece of **** law called the DMCA. Furthermore, they have taken things so damn far there that you can get deported even for making an accident in traffic.
 
Kei said:
FYI: I could be arrested in the US for doing things that I do in the course of my job thanks to a ridiculous piece of **** law called the DMCA.
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hmm... now that statement is tempting... but I'll leave it alone.. :p
 
Peapod said:
You forget, this is the country (US) that started Die Rooi Gevaar with a red under every bed - remember McCarthyism? They ALWAYS take things too damn far. Next thing there will be hundreds of court cases about civil liberties violations and people ruined because some over zealous official got his knickers in a twist unnecessarily.
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I do not forget I just did not know about McArthyism, I will go and read up about it, thanks for the heads up.
 
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