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PRINCIPIIS OBSTA -
"An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure."

"The constitution and laws of a State are rarely attacked from the front; it is against secret and gradual attacks that a Nation must chiefly guard. Sudden resolutions strike men's imaginations; their history is written, and their secret sources made known; but changes are overlooked when they come about insensibly by a series of steps which are scarcely noted. One would do a great service to Nations by showing from history how many States have thus changed their whole nature and lost their original constitution. The attention of the peoples would be awakened, and thenceforth in the realization of that excellent maxim, no less essential in politics than in morality, principiis obsta, they would not close their eyes to innovations which, though of little account in themselves, serve as so many steps to advance to higher and more disastrous undertakings."


The Law Of Nations Or The Principles Of Natural Law,
Book I, Chap. III, Sec. 30, by Emer de Vattel

taken from http://www.gilanet.com/wallace/
 
Originally posted by Chef Ramen
its actually called carnivore. and its not powerful enough to scan the ENTIRE internet. TIA will try to accopmlish this.

Ah, yes, it's been a while since i've heard anything about it-- While they don't scan the entire net, certain ISPs have pretty willingly complied, i don't have a list handy. So far small, local ISPs (i used a coop for years, was great) have been safe still. what we're talking about now is a law requiring ISPs to comply, and so they should have great success monitoring most internet communications in this country. I wonder, the USA being the world's policeman, if they'll spread out in time? Electronic eavesdropping all over the world... The practical uses for espionage are numerous... reading private and secret emails, planting propganda, operating entirely in the open, no one to stop the USA.

The implications here are widespread... And none very good, other than perhaps getting a lock on the (assumed number of) terrorists in the USA...

pnw
 
What about the rest of the world?

Have any of you stopped to think how this may affect the rest of the world? America doesn't own the internet, but it encompasses a friggin' huge chunck of it. I don't want anyone invading my privacy (whether online or otherwise), and especially not some foreign government. Unfortunately, if something big happens in America, the rest of the world usually follows suit. In other words, foreign governments would start to adopt an internet monitoring system.

As other people have said, this one step may start a chain reaction of leaps and bounds. With other governments following, this could become a worldwide nightmare.

I haven't read 1984, but I think it's easy enough to see where this could lead.
 
besides the fact that this would get other countries to invade my privacy, i dont want the american government to invade my privacy! cumon the country is based on freedom...! government needs a warrant to go in some1s house, how is this different? cant i do what i want on my computer?
 
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