Manhattan—Twenty-two-year-old college student Steve Fernandez of Harrisville, Rhode Island, says he came to pay homage to liberty and what the idea stands for. After being patted down in a holding area in front of the ferry that will transport him to Liberty Island, he stands in a long security queue, where he is eyed by police dogs, NYPD officers, park… return to article
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Reader Comments (8)Page 1 of 1 pagesThis article highlights that people will allow their government to intrude on individual privacy for the sake of security. Paranoia about domestic terrorism has hopefully peaked and will begin to decline in coming years as people realize that much of the perceived threat was actually manufactured by the current administration. Unfortunately, the spying on individuals most likely will not. Policy based on fabricated threats to advance a leaders persona amongst voters will ultimately be recognized for what it is. Had they been on the ball none of this would need to be carried to the extreme as it currently is. Let us not forget the intel bungling by those in charge of overseeing our domestic security prior to 9/11 that allowed the WTC attack to occur. These same people will now both guard and analyze this collected data, that’s what scares me. How many reprimands or firings occured because of this lapse? Sadly none that i am aware of. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
Posted by eric sorensen on Jul 8, 2003 at 8:03 AM “Policy based on fabricated threats”
Are you saying that the threat of terrorist attack is fabricated?
If so, was the threat fabricated before or after those terrorist attacks that have occurred?
Posted by Nus on Jul 9, 2003 at 1:58 PM Given what great (greater?) bedfellows the government and corporations have become since the Bush administration, I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t one more favor to the corporate elite hidden in the guise of Nationnal Security.
I agree with the arguments brought on by this article that data mining to detect terrorists is an unprecise science, but what about consumer habits?
A great chunk of marketing theory, including the image building and search of new niche markets is based a lot on surveys and the resulting statistics. Creating a centralised database that monitors consumer habits seems a more feasible plot. This is, after all, a country where money overweighs the interest of public safety and I’d be surprised if projects like TIA, GENOA and likes ever leave the drawing board on the sole determination of some old power-hungry warhawk.
Posted by Alex on Jul 9, 2003 at 2:51 PM I wonder how all this (datamining) would affect someone with the name G.W. Bush. Just some poor ‘schmo’ trying to board a flight and is denied because a more famous G.W. Bush has three prior arrests.
Posted by stephen on Jul 11, 2003 at 12:37 AM once again, very informative and interesting.
(I am a diplomatic consultant)
Posted by j pedler on Jul 14, 2003 at 10:38 AM Needless to say, the terrorsists have won. Well, better stated, the American populous at large has lost. Lost it’s freedom and privacy, that is. This is precisely what those who created the 911 event wanted to have happen with liberty.
Read “The Grand Chess Board” to find out why 911 happened and what our economically controlled political leaders are doing in the wake of 911. Read Amazon.com reader feedback if nothing else.
Posted by Robert on Jul 19, 2003 at 8:12 PM Just wait and see how pissed the American populous becomes when they find out that the Bush Administration has been using Homeland Security resources to collect intelligence for later use in the “War on Drugs.”
Wasn’t there once a precedent for the seperation of Public Law Enforcement and the Military. (For good reason) It seems the Military and its technology has been slowly creeping into law enforcement.
Wouldn’t the most frightening invasion upon the American public be the adoption of Martial Law. Well, it seems that we are moving dangerously close to the next worst thing, Martial Law Enforcement.
Posted by Anonymous Patriot on Jul 19, 2003 at 8:35 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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Posted by V on Jul 14, 2003 at 8:16 AM 
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