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Next thing you know, a new and even more totally total mass surveillance law is passed. (Obviously, attacks will continue to happen from time to time.)
by benevol 11y ago
Next thing you know, a new and even more totally total mass surveillance law is passed. (Obviously, attacks will continue to happen from time to time.)
- vezzy-fnord 11y agoGiven the unusually extreme nature of this (at least from the witness reports of the mayhem as it's ongoing), I fear a mass surveillance bill might actually be one of the lesser worries.
- AnimalMuppet 11y agoMeaning that the violence is a worse worry? Or meaning that you worry about other bills besides just surveillance?
- vezzy-fnord 11y agoExpansion of executive and police powers, I'd assume. In the worst case, you might even hear calls for internment.
- AnimalMuppet 11y agoI presume you mean internment of minorities, immigrants, and/or refugees?
- rdancer 11y agoBrown people, yes.
- wslh 11y agoWhat this means is that France surveillance and intelligence already failed.
- celticninja 11y agoAnd wholesale US intelligence failed also, either that or they kept the intelligence to themselves.
- mwpmaybe 11y agoPossibly we knew but couldn't risk warning DGSE and compromising our sources.
- celticninja 11y agowhich is sickening, and i would also question the use of these sources, will they only be placed at risk if the target is the US, or perhaps only when it is US VIPs on US soil. What if they are never to be at risk? Where is their value?
- oldmanjay 11y agoOr a fairly simple, and unfortunately satisfying, explanation; this attack is an official action intended to provide a political climate conducive to power consolidation. Too bad it smells like a conspiracy theory.
- OldSchoolPro 11y agoToo bad people still watch TV and get dog trained/brainwashed to stop thinking after hearing phrases like "conspiracy theory".
- celticninja 11y agowhy is that any more likely than it being a home grown terrorist attack? But my point stands, the US may well have had prior knowledge but want the french onside for future anti-terror wars, if that isnt the case then the millions or billions spent on intelligence gathering since 2001 has been a complete waste.
- raverbashing 11y agoI agree but several attacks were foiled as well this year Edit for source: http://www.dw.com/en/france-arrests-islamic-state-supporter-for-plotting-toulon-naval-base-attack/a-18842260 http://www.dw.com/en/france-arrests-islamic-state-supporter-...
- tomashertus 11y agoHow awesome, awesome comment. People are dying and the only thing you care about is "totally total mass surveillance law"....
- benevol 11y agoWe need to ask the question what kind of life we want for those who do live.
- hyperbovine 11y agoIn the coming days or weeks, sure. Now?
- NewNole2001 11y agoYes. Now.
- jacquesm 11y agoI think it could wait for a day or two, this is happening right now and it is entirely disrespectful to those involved to derail this into some argument contra the surveillance state.
- vacri 11y agoI think you're in error here. Benevol is talking about we need to talk about what kind of life we want to live, and this is a good time to talk about it. You yourself have been providing a lot of context in this thread (exhausting my upvote muscles...) talking about the same thing - why this is happening, sources of unrest, how to deal with the root problem, how technology is actually contributing to the problem... a tonne of context (thank you). But talking about surveillance laws dovetails into the gestalt of the problem, methinks.
- jacquesm 11y ago
- switch007 11y agoThe Snoopers Charter (Draft Communications Data Bill) is currently being pushed by the UK Government. The timing of Egypt and France is almost beyond belief. Opposition to it surely will fall off a cliff now.
- toyg 11y agoBut the opposite argument could be made: look, our British security apparatus is so good, that 1) other countries are being hit, despite "us" being much more involved in topical overt conflicts, and 2) "we" pretty much know right away who caused what (see response to the bombed Russian plane). Clearly they are working fine as they are and they don't need any more powers. In fact, French and Russian security services are known for their heavy touch. Fat lot of good it's doing for them.
- gotchange 11y agoDidn't the French parliament pass a bill recently granting the intelligence and security apparatus greater powers to persecute and watch over people without warrants? Apparently this method is not working at all.
- paulannesley 11y agoSurveillance is like XML; if it doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough of it.
- OldSchoolPro 11y agoIt's working fine, thank you very much. Of course it has little to do with terrorism, but in the political theater one has to make excuses for the unwashed masses.
- tomatioaz 11y agoIt is necessary. An attack of this size and coordination was without a doubt electronically communicated. We can't possibly infiltrate every group of radicals with informants. And they are not going to stop.
- Houshalter 11y agoThis probably won't be a popular opinion on Hacker News, but it is it possible to compromise with a limited amount of mass surveillance? I believe it was LA that had a plane fly above the city and record 24/7. It was just enough resolution to make out cars and people, but not identify anyone. Less invasive than security cameras in that sense. And I don't think it was live. It was just something the police could go back to and look at after a crime as committed, and see where the criminals went or came from. Given some conditions, like the recordings be deleted after a few days, and that it requires a warrant to look at, I think that would be ok.
- x1798DE 11y agoWhy? This sort of thing is flashy but not a real danger you need to be concerned about (think shark attack not car crash), so even if you take the premise that mass surveillance could stop it (dubious), it's probably not worth paying much for, certainly not any abridgements of our rights.
- Houshalter 11y agoI mostly agree. This would be more useful for everyday crime than terrorism. And I think that makes it worth it.