First, thanks to Keldon for this link about a photographer getting arrested under “anti-terrorist” legislation. Click here for the full story, or here's my summary:
Photographer Mike Maginnis was walking through his hometown, Denver, when he saw piles of snipers on the roof of the Adams Mark Hotel and a bunch of other police action (since Dick Cheney was staying there). He took out his camera and snapped some photos -- like most people would do -- and as he was putting his camera away, he was told by police to hand over his camera. When he refused he was thrown to the ground, cuffed, and arrested.He sat alone for two hours in an interrogation room and was then interrogated by secret service for about an hour. He was told that under the "USA-PATRIOT" act he was considered a terrorist that was trying to take photos to analyze for potential weaknesses. They called him a "raghead collaborator" and a "dirty pinko faggot".
When he got his phone call, instead of calling his lawyer, he called the Denver Post. The police immediately grabbed him, disconnected the call, and threw him in a holding cell. Three hours later they tossed him out on the street -- he was given no arrest report, and no receipt for his camera, film, and other possessions, which he was told were "evidence" and he wouldn't be getting back.
And the end's the real kicker — no evidence. No proof. No records. That's the new American police state for you. Not only that, but now that the FOIA has been largely overturned, he probably can't even proove that he was there.
Here are just a few of the rights the police have gained since September 11th 2001. When you're done reading the list, ask yourself if the terrorists really hate you for your freedom:
- Police have the right to access to your phone records, voicemail, email, internet browsing records, google and other online searches you've made, your credit card records, what books you've checked out of the library, and so on, without the need for a warrant or probable cause.
- Miranda laws are on the verge of being overturned, as well as the 5th amendment, albeit indirectly for now.
- Lawyer-client communications are no longer considered privileged (that is, the government can monitor all communications you have with your lawyer).
- “Material witnesses” can be held indefinitely without charge.
- Enemies of the state (everything from legit terrorists to computer hackers to protest groups, including US citizens) are designated “enemy combatants” and are no longer protected by normal rights. The points below outline a few of the new police rights in those cases:
- If you are considered an enemy of the state, you have no right to representation or due process.
- If you are considered an enemy of the state, the CIA has been granted authority to EXECUTE you WITHOUT TRIAL if they deem it necessary. That's right. If you're a computer hacker, protestor, political dissident, or just general weirdo that finds themselves opposed to the state, now they can kill you. Hello Rainbow Farm.
I could go on and on, but if you want to get involved, groups like the EFF and the ACLU have many pending actions going on to try and stop the profoundly anti-American forces that have seized control (can you say coup?) of the government.
Oh, and while I appreciate the cultural diversity, I wish that PayPal would consider that when manning an international call center it might make sense not to have operators speaking super-thick lisp-enhanced ebonics. I'm sorry, but some of us simply aren't used to that and have some trouble working their way through the chain of nonsensical double negatives.
I don't care how people speak, and I don't mind accents — the guy who eventually helped me had a thick Indian accent but made sense — but come on! A certain level of professionalism is expected when you're dealing with your financial records!
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