Post by Kizzume on Nov 28, 2007 21:48:53 GMT -5
www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/nov/24/firefighters-take-on-new-role-as-governments-we/
I don't know about you, but I find this to be a freightful thing. This is truly an erosion of our rights.
Firefighters in major cities are being trained to take on a new role as lookouts for terrorism, raising concerns of eroding their standing as American icons and infringing on privacy.
Unlike police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel don't need warrants to access hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings each year, putting them in a position to spot behavior that could indicate terrorist activity or planning.
But there are fears that they could lose the faith of a skeptical public by becoming the eyes of the government, looking for suspicious items such as building blueprints or bomb-making manuals.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans have given up some privacy in an effort to prevent future strikes. The government monitors phone calls and e-mails; people who fly have their belongings searched and are limited in what they can carry; and some people have trouble traveling because their names are similar to those on terrorist watch lists.
The American Civil Liberties Union says using firefighters to gather intelligence is another step in that direction. Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now the national security policy counsel to the ACLU, said the concept is dangerously close to the Bush administration's 2002 proposal to have workers with access to private homes — such as postal carriers and telephone repairmen — report suspicious behavior to the FBI.
Unlike police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel don't need warrants to access hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings each year, putting them in a position to spot behavior that could indicate terrorist activity or planning.
But there are fears that they could lose the faith of a skeptical public by becoming the eyes of the government, looking for suspicious items such as building blueprints or bomb-making manuals.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans have given up some privacy in an effort to prevent future strikes. The government monitors phone calls and e-mails; people who fly have their belongings searched and are limited in what they can carry; and some people have trouble traveling because their names are similar to those on terrorist watch lists.
The American Civil Liberties Union says using firefighters to gather intelligence is another step in that direction. Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now the national security policy counsel to the ACLU, said the concept is dangerously close to the Bush administration's 2002 proposal to have workers with access to private homes — such as postal carriers and telephone repairmen — report suspicious behavior to the FBI.
I don't know about you, but I find this to be a freightful thing. This is truly an erosion of our rights.
not really funny, but it's about the only way I know how to respond to reading this article.
