Monday, July 18, 2005

You Look Like a Terrorist to Me, Mrs. Jones

Life under the USA Patriot Act: evidence in today's papers that the F.B.I. has generously blurred the distinction between "terror" and political dissent.

A coalition of civil rights, animal rights, and environmental groups say they have been subjected to scrutiny by F.B.I. task forces set up to combat terrorism, and under the Freedom of Information Act, the F.B.I. has been forced to admit that it has 1,173 pages of "records" relating to the ACLU and 2,383 pages relating to Greenpeace as well as tons on anti-war groups with "peace" and "justice" in their names.

What do you call a powerful government police agency that collects information (public and private) on its citizens who dissent?

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