Terrorising Civil Liberties!!!!

national | miscellaneous | news report Saturday June 01, 2002 13:47 by Andrew J Regan AndrewJRegan at hotmail dot com

An Opinion Of The USA PATRIOT Act

The USA PATRIOT Act is a violation of the American Constitution!! This affects everyone and show's Bush, once again, to be a powerhungry shark!! Included also are some possible consequences to demonstrators!!

In 1933, Hitler used the burning down of the German Parliament Building to fuel support for his 'Enabling Law'. This law allowed him to rule for four years with out consulting Parliament, and was the first step in his establishing a dictatorship.
In October 2001, American President, George Bush II, used the events of September 11th to fuel support for his USA PATRIOT Act. This Act gives the Executive Branch the power to "bend" the constitution in the name of preventing terrorism.
DO YOU SEE A COMMON LINK?

USA PATRIOT= Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism

These "appropriate tools" include the use of warrantless searches, internment and the destruction of free speech to achieve their goals. I know that you may think that a nation should do whatever it can to prevent another September 11th, but you should remind yourself that if the information that the American government had at its disposal regarding the use of commercial jets as weapons (and imparticulary Zacarias Moussaoui’s bizarre request that he be trained to fly passenger planes without having to take-off or land) had been acted on, so many innocent people could be alive today. (Both in America AND Afghanistan)
The PATRIOT Act is supposed to be mainly aimed at gathering information, instead it infringes on Civil Liberties. Take for example Environmentalists or Anti-Globalisation Demonstrators: Under the PATRIOT Act, which can be interpreted loosely, a person who takes actions which "appear to be intended…to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion," could fit into the terrorist category. Don't both of the above groups wish to change Governmental policy through coercion? Oops.. I guess they're terrorists so. And what about clashes with police? They could be seen as forms of "Urban Terrorism".
And what happens after one has been deemed affiliated with a terrorist group? Well, you can look forward to having your home searched (WITHOUT A WARRANT), your internet and phone usage may be monitored (INCLUDING YOUR E-MAILS AND WEB HISTORY) and (BEST OF ALL) you could be detained in a prison cell for an undetermined, but "reasonable" time. Ain't life Grand???? And, God forbid, if you're an immigrant in the States you might as well pack your bags and hit the road - you're already seen as a terrorist. According to Attorney General John Ashcroft, (who, I'm told, confuses the word "immigrant" with "terrorist" quite easily. Simple mistake, I guess.) "Let the terrorists among us be warned, if you overstay your visas even by one day, we will arrest you."
Although we live in Ireland, we cannot turn a blind eye to this further example of the Bush Administration's grab for power. (Just look at Fast Track) How soon do you think it'll be before the same thing happens in Europe??

Activist: Hitler, I don't agree with you.
Hitler: He's a communist! Get him!!

Activist: George, I don't agree with you.
George: He's a terrorist!! Get him!!

HOW SOON??