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Ok, so I completely fail to see how a random crazy guy with a gun who shoots up a bunch of unarmed people has "national security implications". This seems to be

Ok, so I completely fail to see how a random crazy guy with a gun who shoots up a bunch of unarmed people has "national security implications". This seems to be a "fact" that everyone wants to agree on, but is frankly a load of BS if one considers the government probably already has his entire call/texting history for the last couple years. I see this as just another "its for the children" ploy, of which I'm completely sick of. In that I fully support Apple/etc for finally gaining a backbone. If more people stood up, then I wouldn't have to be naked body scanned at the airport, or the dozens of other privacy invasions the government performs on a daily basis simply to give themselves something to do. So, rather than admit they won't ever be able to predict or protect the population in any meaningful way from random people willing to give their lives to make a statement, they waste our time and money coming up with ever more invasive ways to peek into everyone's most private possessions.

programmarchy 11y ago
Good point. You'd think this would be something that local / state law enforcement should be handling, but the reason it's kicked up to the federal level is that the attack is politically motivated, which places it in the "terrorism" category. The irony is that most people are afraid to stand up (to body scanners, mass surveillance, etc.) because of threats of violence from their own government, which is in itself a form of terrorism.
omarforgotpwd 11y ago
If it was many of the shootings perpetrated by non-muslims every day in the US, they wouldn't have cared. But because these Americans were muslims they need to scan their phones and make sure they weren't getting orders from some terrorist network.
- pyre 11y ago
  Does it really matter? Most terrorist networks would be claiming responsibility for the attack if they were involved.

programmarchy 11y ago

Good point. You'd think this would be something that local / state law enforcement should be handling, but the reason it's kicked up to the federal level is that the attack is politically motivated, which places it in the "terrorism" category. The irony is that most people are afraid to stand up (to body scanners, mass surveillance, etc.) because of threats of violence from their own government, which is in itself a form of terrorism.

omarforgotpwd 11y ago

If it was many of the shootings perpetrated by non-muslims every day in the US, they wouldn't have cared. But because these Americans were muslims they need to scan their phones and make sure they weren't getting orders from some terrorist network.

pyre 11y ago
Does it really matter? Most terrorist networks would be claiming responsibility for the attack if they were involved.