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And my argument is that the Boston bomber warning from the Russian authorities doesn't appear like a typical "noise," at last for somebody just reading the news

by acqq 11y ago

And my argument is that the Boston bomber warning from the Russian authorities doesn't appear like a typical "noise," at last for somebody just reading the news, like me. I admit I don't know how many such warnings come from Russia, but I doubt it's really something overwhelming, especially compared to collecting every phone record of everybody, if you know more I'm surely interested.

maxerickson 11y ago
I do not know the internal workings of the FBI but am willing to believe that they are on point enough that such a warning either didn't particularly stand out from others or that it did not get looked at due to a shortage of resources.
Retric 11y ago
Sure, and in this case they actually conducted an interview. So, we had an FBI guy in the same room with a future terrorist. But, the attack still happened. Which points to a wider issue, sure he was suspicious, but then what?
- acqq 11y ago
  > Which points to a wider issue, sure he was suspicious, but then what? That's exactly the question to which Europe also searches for the answer now. One of the reasons everybody bends over backwards to avoid saying anything against the religions in different countries is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law "In some European countries is the crime of "religious insult", which is a subset of the crime of blasphemy. It is forbidden in Andorra, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.[30]" "The report noted that, in Europe, blasphemy is an offense only in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, and San Marino.[contradiction]" Human rights be damned as long as the religions teach against them, you can't call a spade a spade. It would be insulting.
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    I'm quite ashamed to see NL on that list. Really, we should know better than this. But then again, we're also still a monarchy so we have a bit of a history of believing fairy tales.
    - maxerickson 11y ago
      The date of the most recent prosecution would be a little bit more telling about the cultural atmosphere than just having the law on the books. For example, only recently did my state repeal some stupid laws, removing them from the state code: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/20/it-s-almost-legal-to-swear-in-front-of-your-kids-in-michigan.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/20/it-s-almost... Still, it was big news 15 years ago when someone was prosecuted under the swearing law, and the courts eventually tossed the law: http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040102/upd_075-8555.shtml http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040102/upd_075-8555.shtml I label that unsurprising inertia more than I label it embarrassing.
      - jacquesm 11y ago
        May 6th, this year someone was prosecuted for 'insulting the king': http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/05/f-the-king-demonstrator-taken-to-court-for-insulting-the-monarch/ http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/05/f-the-king-dem... This case was dropped because of the tremendous backlash but the law is still on the books. I don't recall when was the last time someone was prosecuted for blasphemy.

by acqq 11y ago

maxerickson 11y ago

I do not know the internal workings of the FBI but am willing to believe that they are on point enough that such a warning either didn't particularly stand out from others or that it did not get looked at due to a shortage of resources.

Retric 11y ago

Sure, and in this case they actually conducted an interview. So, we had an FBI guy in the same room with a future terrorist. But, the attack still happened. Which points to a wider issue, sure he was suspicious, but then what?

acqq 11y ago
> Which points to a wider issue, sure he was suspicious, but then what? That's exactly the question to which Europe also searches for the answer now. One of the reasons everybody bends over backwards to avoid saying anything against the religions in different countries is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law "In some European countries is the crime of "religious insult", which is a subset of the crime of blasphemy. It is forbidden in Andorra, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.[30]" "The report noted that, in Europe, blasphemy is an offense only in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, and San Marino.[contradiction]" Human rights be damned as long as the religions teach against them, you can't call a spade a spade. It would be insulting.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  I'm quite ashamed to see NL on that list. Really, we should know better than this. But then again, we're also still a monarchy so we have a bit of a history of believing fairy tales.
  - maxerickson 11y ago
    The date of the most recent prosecution would be a little bit more telling about the cultural atmosphere than just having the law on the books. For example, only recently did my state repeal some stupid laws, removing them from the state code: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/20/it-s-almost-legal-to-swear-in-front-of-your-kids-in-michigan.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/20/it-s-almost... Still, it was big news 15 years ago when someone was prosecuted under the swearing law, and the courts eventually tossed the law: http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040102/upd_075-8555.shtml http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040102/upd_075-8555.shtml I label that unsurprising inertia more than I label it embarrassing.
    - jacquesm 11y ago
      May 6th, this year someone was prosecuted for 'insulting the king': http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/05/f-the-king-demonstrator-taken-to-court-for-insulting-the-monarch/ http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/05/f-the-king-dem... This case was dropped because of the tremendous backlash but the law is still on the books. I don't recall when was the last time someone was prosecuted for blasphemy.