cannabisnews.com: 'A Supersnoop's Dream' 





'A Supersnoop's Dream' 
Posted by CN Staff on November 15, 2002 at 11:51:56 PT
By Audrey Hudson, The Washington Times
Source: Washington Times 
Language tucked inside the Homeland Security bill will allow the federal government to track the e-mail, Internet use, travel, credit-card purchases, phone and bank records of foreigners and U.S. citizens in its hunt for terrorists.    In what one critic has called "a supersnoop's dream," the Defense Department's Total Information Awareness program would be authorized to collect every type of available public and private data in what the Pentagon describes as one "centralized grand database."
Computers and analysts are supposed to use all this available information to determine patterns of people's behavior in order to detect and identify terrorists, decipher plans and enable the United States to pre-empt terrorist acts.   The project first appeared in the Senate Democratic proposal for the new Homeland Security Department, which was defeated Wednesday in a 50-47 vote. However it was included in the Republican-brokered agreement that passed the House later that night in a 299-121 vote and is on the fast track to pass the Senate by next week.   The computer-generated project of raw data will "help identify promising technologies and quickly get them into the hands of people who need them," according to a congressional leadership memo outlining the legislation.   In a blistering op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times titled "You Are A Suspect," columnist William Safire compared the database to George Orwell's Big Brother government in the novel "1984."   "To this computerized dossier on your private life from commercial sources, add every piece of information that government has about you — passport application, driver's license and bridge toll records, judicial and divorce records, complaints from nosy neighbors to the FBI, your lifetime paper trail plus the latest hidden camera surveillance — and you have the supersnoop's dream: a 'Total Information Awareness' about every U.S. citizen," Mr. Safire wrote.   "There is a great danger in this provision. It gives carte blanche to eavesdrop on Americans on the flimsiest of evidence, if any evidence at all," said Phil Kent, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation.   Mr. Kent called the provision "an unprecedented electronic dragnet."   "I think it's the most sweeping threat to civil liberties since Japanese-American internment," Mr. Kent said.   Mr. Kent and outgoing Rep. Bob Barr, Georgia Republican, are lobbying the Senate to remove this and other provisions they say are a threat to civil liberties and restrict the public's right to know of government activities.   "In defense of members of Congress, many don't read the whole legislation and very few people read the fine print," said Mr. Barr. "You would think the Pentagon planning a system to peek at personal data would get a little more attention.   "It's outrageous, it really is outrageous," Mr. Barr said.   The bill establishes the Total Information Awareness program within a new agency — the Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (SARPA), which would be modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the central research office for the Defense Department that pursues research and technology, and led to the creation of the Internet. DARPA and SARPA both would be under the supervision of Adm. John Poindexter.   Neither Adm. Poindexter nor a spokesman at his current agency, DARPA, could be reached for comment. The phone number listed for Adm. Poindexter in the government directory reaches a recording that says incoming calls are not accepted. A recording reached in the media relations office states that Adm. Poindexter is "not accepting any interview requests at this time."   Adm. Poindexter first hit the public eye as national security adviser for President Reagan during the Iran-Contra scandal. He was convicted in 1990 on five felonies including lying to Congress and destroying evidence.   At a DARPA conference in Anaheim, Calif., Adm. Poindexter made his first public appearance since taking the post in February.   "During the years I was in the White House, it was relatively simple to identify our intelligence collection targets," Adm. Poindexter was quoted as saying in Government Executive magazine.   However, the United States now faces "asymmetrical" threats that are loosely organized and difficult to find, and require new, technology-driven defenses, he said. The goal of his new office is to consider every source of information available worldwide to uncover terrorists, the magazine said.   Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the computer system would capture the data and analyze it to find patterns that match terrorist activity.   Authorizing the project would require amending the Privacy Act of 1974. The language contained in the homeland security bill does not address the act directly, but authorizes the creation of the agency.   Mr. Rotenberg said the database takes a convergence of various factors to a system of public surveillance.   "They think the technology is about catching terrorists and bad guys, but these systems can capture a lot of data at different levels without oversight, judicial review, public reporting or congressional investigations. I can't think of a good countermeasure that would be good to safeguard civil liberties in the United States," Mr. Rotenberg said.Source: Washington Times (DC)Author: Audrey Hudson, The Washington TimesPublished:   November 15, 2002Copyright: 2002 News World Communications, Inc. Website: http://www.washtimes.com/Contact: letters washingtontimes.comRelated Articles:U.S. Hopes to Check Computers Globally http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14733.shtmlMilitary Looks To Drugs for Battle Readiness http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13695.shtmlThe Great Awakening - Washington Post http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13151.shtml 
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on November 17, 2002 at 09:59:51 PT
DdC
Thank you. Life can be really hard sometimes and I appreciate the support. We have a war to win and there's no time for becoming weary now. Time for all of us, after the disappointing elections, to stand up one more time. Sometimes I feel like we are punching bags. One thing about a punching bag it always comes back for another punch. Maybe we all are just masochists. LOL!
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Comment #20 posted by DdC on November 16, 2002 at 23:01:24 PT
Fighting the fight is what its all about...
Thats all we can do FoM. It's about each of us and what we do about it. Not the end result. You honestly fight injustice the same as most on these boards. Thats what it's about. Pot is a red herring. Fascism is the enemy. It doesn't matter if you know it or not. You fight it just the same every time you post an article we might not see otherwise. Bringing the bigger picture into focus a little more each day. So writers and comentators can see the bigger picture. The facts of physical reality of ganja and hemp over the D.E.A.th's vested ignorance. By being involved in various degrees we all fight it. We are the true Americans, Canadians and Brits etc. Not the D.E.A.th Merchants. Be proud of a job well done and keep fighting the fight for Freedom FoM. Peace, Love and Liberty or the Dirty Rotten System of D.E.A.th!DdC"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." Dolores Ibarruri (1895-1985)
 
"Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy rotten system." Dorothy Day"The media's the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses." Malcolm X
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on November 16, 2002 at 18:25:34 PT
DdC
We are well on our way to a big mess in our country and it bothers me but what can I do about it except keep trying to find news about cannabis and some drug policy news. That's all I know how to do. The rest of the time I help my husband and father in law and family as best as I can. I'm giving it my best shot.
What's New
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Comment #18 posted by DdC on November 16, 2002 at 18:11:41 PT
Sadamnsomabushladin should know FoM...
He wrote the script... Fascism always needs censorship. No matter if its republican nazism fascism or democratic communism fascism. Its a merging of the state and factories. Legislating for profits not citizens. Nothing will ever make me "careful" about truth. If they can't handle it, too bad. If the net goes down for us, it goes down for everyone. Thats pretty simple. No compromizing with the enemy. Solidarity is coming from all sides against this fascist state. Mostly non tokers seeing the connection between prohibition and their problems. Feeding the beast is as evil as the beast. Fighting the fight is what its all about. Censoring is the act of a coward liar. Pretty much describes Wally and Bushit don't ya think? When the sheople are ready to lead the leaders will follow or get left behind. All aboard the Peace Train...Peace, Love and Liberty or the Ungly, and I mean really Ugly D.E.A.th!DdC"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to
danger."
Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, Nazi Air Force (Luftwaffe) commander, the Nuremberg Trials "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes,
Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."
Harry Anslinger, U.S. Commissioner of Narcotics, testifying to Congress on why marijuana should be made illegal, 1937.
(Marijuana Tax Act, signed Aug. 2, 1937; effective Oct. 1, 1937.) "There is a point at which the law becomes immoral and unethical. That point is reached when it becomes a cloak for the cowardice that dares not stand up against blatant violations of justice. A state that supresses all freedom of
speech, and which by imposing the most terrible punishments, treats each and every attempt at criticism, however morally justified, and every suggestion for improvement as plotting to high treason, is a state that breaks an unwritten
law."
- Kurt Huber [The head of White Rose], killed by the Nazis in 1943. 
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on November 16, 2002 at 11:43:00 PT
DdC
I don't think they will censor the over all Internet but we will need to be careful. That is how bad things have become since 9-11. I value my freedom and want to be able to speak but being discrete is smart in my opinion. This isn't the America I grew up in but it is the one we are stuck with unfortunately. bin Laden said that they won't need to do anything else to the USA in one of his first tapes that we heard right after 9-11. He said the USA will take our freedom because of 9-11.
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Comment #16 posted by DdC on November 16, 2002 at 11:33:40 PT
If they censor the internet...
http://www.cannabinoid.com/wwwboard/politics/binaries/29/29728.gif
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on November 16, 2002 at 10:32:07 PT
afterburner 
I don't use email barely anymore. I saw Tech TV and it said always remember that your email is as private as a post card you send in the mail. I got many viruses sent to me thru email and now my computer is working good since I don't get email. I have an email to receive newsgroups but I don't send anything from it. I get 4 or 5 good newsgroups so I can keep up on what's happening but that's all anymore.
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Comment #14 posted by afterburner on November 16, 2002 at 10:15:37 PT:
Killing the Internet.
If the Senate bill mentioned by DdC in comment #13 passes into law, then the Internet IS DEAD, and so is free speech. I will not use the Internet anymore for e-commerce if this police-state bill passes!ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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Comment #13 posted by DdC on November 15, 2002 at 22:48:35 PT
Dateline: 1984 Big Brother's Holding Company
Bill Would Outlaw Internet Drug InformationThe days of ordering bongs and pipes and other drug paraphernalia online, getting information on the medical uses of marijuana or instructions on growing hemp may go up in smoke if lawmakers have their way. A bill passed by the Senate in November seeks to make it illegal to provide any information online about marijuana. The measure also would increase penalties for drugs classified as methamphetamines, which go by street names such as "speed," "meth," "crank," "crystal-meth" and "glass." Free-speech advocates say the proposed law banning marijuana information violates the First Amendment. In addition, the legislation also says Internet service providers (ISPs) will be held liable for not removing a site featuring marijuana information if notified by top federal law enforcement officials and that "appropriate" federal government Web sites will have to display anti-drug messages.Bill headed to House committee... (Older newz)Continued...
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=28.topicMeth Bill/Free Speech by Richard Lake
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=122.topicMaking War On Free Speech! S. 486/H.R. 2987 Passes
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=118.topicMKULTRA
http://www.parascope.com/ds/mkultra0.htmThe Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment & Linx 
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=341.topicPREJUDICE: CANNABIS AND JIM CROW LAWS
http://www.jackherer.com/book/ch13.htmlThe Drug War Comes To The Rez
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread8646.shtmlThe sovereignty enjoyed by Indian nations in the United States is inherent to the Indian tribes. This means that the Creator granted sovereignty to the tribes, not the federal government or the Congress. The federal government has acknowledged the inherent nature of tribal sovereignty in the U. S. Constitution. http://www.cniga.com/images/sovereignty1.gifToday, tribal sovereignty is exercised by Indian nations in efforts to fulfill basic governmental obligations, including providing for the general welfare of its members, developing economies within its jurisdiction, and creating the governmental institutions by which local control and input are the foundation for tribal community prosperity.
http://www.cniga.com/images/pull_media1.gifCannabis Shrinks Tumors: Government Knew in 74    
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n572/a11.html?1979 Slave Labor Means Big Bucks For U.S. Corporations
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=233.topicUNICORE 
http://www.unicor.govAmerica's Private Gulags
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=240.topicD.E.A. Confirms Grounds To Remove Cannabis from Sch#1 
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=253.topicDrug Czar Manipulating Data in a Report to Congress
http://www.ariannaonline.com/discus/messages/4/920.html?FridayNovember1720001020am  The FBI and Me -- An American Story
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=258.topicThe Assassins of Youth: FRCn PDFA/DARE 
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=105.topicWhat the WHO doesn't want you to know about cannabis 
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=261.topicschool of the americas school of assassins
http://www.aflcio.org/publ/estatements/aug1999/school.htmCOINTELPRO
http://www.cointel.org/index.htmInstitutionalised Bilderberg Org/Masons
http://www.bilderberg.org/masons.htm#InstitutionalisedTHE ASSASSINATIONS OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. & MALCOLM X How the US National Security State murders popular leaders.
http://www.shout.net/~bigred/king1 
http://www.shout.net/~bigred/king2 
http://www.shout.net/~bigred/king3 
http://www.shout.net/~bigred/king4 Government Property Seizures out of Control 
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=255.topicThe Electromagnetic Bomb - a Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/kopp/apjemp.htmlAnti-Nuclear Movements — a list of links BOMBSHELL Links
http://www.bombshell-1.com/links.htmSTAR WARS II: HERE WE GO AGAIN The Nation, June 19, 2000 
http://www.thenation.com/The entire family has been dabbling in darkness for years.
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=18.topicAnd where oh where did crack suddenly appear from?
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=38.topicSecret Searches Bill Also provides plenty of stocked shelves.
http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=107.topicBeginning in the early 1990's CNIGA adopted a policy and made a commitment to educating state elected officials, local governments and federal representatives about California Indians and tribal government gaming.Since the last Indian mentioned in a California textbook died in 1880, we realized that we would need to educate Californians at all levels not only that Indians still exist and have contemporary lives, but that we have sovereign government status. We were not surprised in the beginning of our educational outreach to learn that very few Californians knew Indians and reservations exist in the state, or that we still struggle to overcome poverty and the bitter circumstances of the past. Even more shocking to people not familiar with Indians was that we wanted to achieve the self-governance, promised us in the U.S. Constitution, court decisions and federal policy.The critical issue was and will continue to be the recognition of tribal government status, jurisdiction and political rights as equal to the state's authority. Understanding that the state cannot and does not have the automatic right to dictate to tribal governments, as it does all other governments in this state, is the lesson that all Californians are grappling with. The extent that other governments come to respect our sovereignty will depend on many factors, but one will certainly be public recognition of tribal sovereignty and its historical basis.The goal of the CNIGA Public Relations Committee is constant communication. Communication is also hearing and responding with understanding to concerned and interested parties from neighbors to local and state government officials, as well as getting our story and point of view across.We have learned through our public relations efforts, that when we articulate whom we are and what we are trying to achieve, people listen and support us. Indians and non-Indians can get beyond old stereotypes, old history and prejudice. Ignorance is only our enemy and oppressor if we allow it to exist.So we are vigilant in weeding out ignorance wherever it may be growing. We exist to prevent and expose misinformation, misrepresentation and ignorance about Indian people, tribal government gaming and sovereignty. By Anthony R. Pico, Chairman CNIGA Public Relations Committee
http://www.cniga.com/media/index.phphttp://www.cniga.com/sponsors.phpThe California Nations Indian Gaming Association would like to extend a special thank you to the following companies and organizations. Their support, expertise and generosity has helped make CNIGA more efficient, organized and successful.
http://www.cniga.com/sponsors.phpPurMedia, Inc. (pronounced Pure Media) is an agency that provides custom creative and technology solutions to Native American Tribes and Gaming establishments. They deliver successful products that surpass client expectation and maximize initial investment return.
          
VCAT provides consulting services to support and facilitate Tribal business development in the gaming industry. They act as the Tribal Council's ally in identifying, organizing, managing and capitalizing businesses.Pine Ridge 8
http://www.cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=Pine+Ridge&H=40&SM=on&T=B
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Comment #12 posted by mayan on November 15, 2002 at 18:36:55 PT
Get Ready!
We may just witness tyranny as it has never been seen before! I used to have hope for this country, but I have lost that hope. Freedom is on the run! Prepare!It's all relative -MS hires security chief to win federal homeland contracts: 
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/28097.htmlUS gov's 'ultimate database' run by a felon: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/28107.htmlYou Are a Suspect: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/opinion/14SAFI.html?ex=1037854800&en=3778829e1bec3dc2&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLEWhite House Reaches Compromise On 9/11 Commission(Bush gets to select Chairman & it will only examine "intelligence failure" as the cause)
http://www.thewgalchannel.com/news/1787551/detail.htmlTerror Flight School Owner Implicated In 'Protected' Drug Trafficking Ring:
http://www.madcowprod.com/Sheltering A Puppet Master?
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,300609,00.html'Lone Gunmen' Series Presaged 9–11: 
http://onlinejournal.com/Media/Cogswell111402/cogswell111402.html2002 elections: Republican voting machines, election irregularities, and "way-off" polling results:
http://onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/Landes111402/landes111402.htmlELECTION FRAUD 2002:
http://whatreallyhappened.com/votefraud.html
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Comment #11 posted by Prime on November 15, 2002 at 17:22:18 PT
How this works...
I'm sort of a super geek, so I'll try to give my opinion on how something like this might work.The technology relates to pattern recognition. If you go into a store and purchase an item, it gets logged. If a buddy of yours goes across the street to a different store, it gets logged.Two weeks later you and your buddy go shopping again in a different town, a couple of different stores. A relationship is established. You and your buddy have developed a pattern. Now, depending on what the two of you purchased, you may be flagged. If you get flagged, the snooping goes into more detail, such as how much fuel you purchase, how much you travel, and how much you spend as opposed to how much you make.This technology of pattern recognition is already in place on our borders. If you are constantly crossing borders at similar times as other individuals you will be scrutinized. Ask any biker gang members who travel to Canada alot.The scary part about this is the its potential misuse. The more we move away from a cashless society, the more vulnerable we become to government computer snooping.And you guys are right. These programs that deal with this data are incredibly complex to write, and they will give false-positive results more than not. Where something like this is really powerful is identity theft. 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on November 15, 2002 at 15:42:01 PT
My Opinion
I have no idea how anything like this would work except if they grab certain words or phrases that could be linked to illegal activity? Does that make sense?
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Comment #9 posted by AlvinCool on November 15, 2002 at 15:40:34 PT
It is strange, but it isn't hard to figure
Once thought about many congressmen and senators now realize it will be monitoring THEM too. Think watergate was bad, wait for congress and senate gate. What a bunch of morons.
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Comment #8 posted by krutch on November 15, 2002 at 15:33:35 PT:
Information Overload
John Tyler make a good point. Reams of general information are often impossible to sort through. The goverment could have prevented 9/11 attacks by listening to the FBI agent who was screaming bloody murder about suspicious Arabs taking flying lessons. They failed to listen. Why does anyone believe that this mass of data is going to help them prevent another attack? It is a very blunt instrument, but catching terrorists requires a fine instrument. The terrorist organization has to be infiltrated. This yields specific data about what they will do next. 
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Comment #7 posted by canaman on November 15, 2002 at 15:17:52 PT
Isn't life strange
I never thought I'd agree with Bob Barr."It's outrageous, it really is outrageous," Mr. Barr said.I guess everyone has a good side.
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Comment #6 posted by John Tyler on November 15, 2002 at 14:34:09 PT
thoughts
The funny thing is that, this is not going deter skilled agents, who will use multiple false identies, cash transactions, and false paper trails. The gov. will end up with gigabytes of gigabytes of records of honest people doing ordinary things trying to deal with this "organ of state security".  
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Comment #5 posted by Billos on November 15, 2002 at 14:06:05 PT:
Security
Well, the terrorists set out to seriously change our way of life somehow. It looks like they've succeeded, by making our own government cut off it's nose to spite its face. It's our own government that's chipping away at the foundation of democracy and the American way of life. How so ironic. I doubt the terroists are so smart as to realize that their actions on 9/11 would cause the feds to revamp the United States Constitution. But, what if they are? 
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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on November 15, 2002 at 14:00:29 PT
No need to worry
Homeland Security is here.I would suppose al-Qaida has a loosely organized plan that may span a 200 year time period. They may even plan to topple every skyscraper in the USA, who knows?I'm really not worried about what they may do or can do. They're not the wolf at my door.The US gov can conduct it's affairs anyway they please, but I do think they should consider the consequences of their actions.Actions speak louder than words.
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Comment #3 posted by knox42897 on November 15, 2002 at 13:41:25 PT:
SCARY
This is just sickning
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on November 15, 2002 at 13:08:41 PT
The ticks are full of blood
Look at all the fat ticks wanting an eveh faster growing deficit. We have a built in deficit going all the way to 2007. people born in 1945 will take that retirement when their 62 year-old bodies call it quits. Argentina defaulted on its debt and it is nothing like ours and they don't have an expanded generation of entrenched ticks like we do.The big think about the homeland security is they will never have enough money hust like the defense department and for that Walters and the other black parrots. Then you have the pee-testers and the rehab rackets pushing for rules that create revenue. There always is a day of reckoning and in Dana's word's it ain't going to be pretty. It is already ugly and going to get worse. What kind of Polly Anna thinking is that?The oligarchy rules. You better get back to charging your battery.1
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Comment #1 posted by Dan B on November 15, 2002 at 12:47:28 PT
If You Voted Republican . . .
. . . you voted in favor of this snooping system. You voted in favor of increased government control and constriction of your life. You voted to let the U. S. military, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and every other government agency associated with "fighting terrorism" (which is code for "fighting personal freedoms" in most cases) have every shred of personal information about you in a large supercomputer so that they can create a profile on you and see if any trumped-up charges are warranted. You voted in favor of military tribunals, in favor of racist policies, and in favor of war without end. Congratulations. Sometimes, you get exactly what you ask for.Dan B
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