3 ms·

Talk about your slippery slopes.

TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
The USA is at the bottom of the slippery slope, has landed on it's arse and now rapidly sinks deeper in to the quagmire. For example, in 2010 the ACLU sued on behalf of a man who was abusively interrogated, handcuffed, and detained for nearly five hours because he was carrying a set of Arabic-language flash cards and a book critical of U.S. foreign policy. We also know that the DHS database known as the “Automated Targeting System,” which tracks information on international travelers, has included notations in travelers’ permanent files about controversial books in their possession.
- fludlight 9y ago
  The flash cards case was not as clear cut as one would think: > The flashcards included every day words and phrases such as “day before yesterday,” “fat,” “thin,” “really,” “nice,” “sad,” “cheap,” “summer,” “pink,” and “friendly.” > However, they also contained such words as: “bomb,” “terrorist,” “explosion,” “attack,” “battle,” “kill,” “to target,” “to kidnap,” and “to wound.” http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/114292p.pdf http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/114292p.pdf
  - zepto 9y ago
    I learned French in high school, but it is very rusty. The first thing I did last time I visited was to pick up a newspaper and try to read it, using a dictionary to look up the words I didn’t recognize. Those word lists look like just the kind of vocabulary you would need to read the front page of a newspaper.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    Crikey! Remind me not to invite you to parties. They're just words. Probably pretty dumb ones to take through airport security, but then it would be hard to find an action / thriller novel that didn't contain some or all of those words many times over. Or as the sibling comment points out any newspaper. You want a more egregious, what about detaining little old ladies in wheelchairs and children's book authors? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/28/in-that-moment-i-loathed-america-i-loathed-the-entire-country https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/28/in-tha...
  - mikeash 9y ago
    What part of that is supposed to make it less clear cut?
bleke 9y ago
Talking about slippery slopes, it is more like this (I understand that security is needed) : 1. Nobody over dangerous caught - there are no bad guys that many and we don't need that big agency, need to be reduced 2. Bad guys became smarter (our research says that there are 99% bad guys lurking and etc...) - we need to increase scrutiny never know what they can do And now you are sitting in management, if you choose option 1 there are big probability that loose job, option 2 you can expect that you wage will be rising (bigger agency, more work). It is same as policeman catching all criminals and he will be not needed, of course if something happens government will be blamed...

The USA is at the bottom of the slippery slope, has landed on it's arse and now rapidly sinks deeper in to the quagmire. For example, in 2010 the ACLU sued on behalf of a man who was abusively interrogated, handcuffed, and detained for nearly five hours because he was carrying a set of Arabic-language flash cards and a book critical of U.S. foreign policy. We also know that the DHS database known as the “Automated Targeting System,” which tracks information on international travelers, has included notations in travelers’ permanent files about controversial books in their possession.

fludlight 9y ago
The flash cards case was not as clear cut as one would think: > The flashcards included every day words and phrases such as “day before yesterday,” “fat,” “thin,” “really,” “nice,” “sad,” “cheap,” “summer,” “pink,” and “friendly.” > However, they also contained such words as: “bomb,” “terrorist,” “explosion,” “attack,” “battle,” “kill,” “to target,” “to kidnap,” and “to wound.” http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/114292p.pdf http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/114292p.pdf
- zepto 9y ago
  I learned French in high school, but it is very rusty. The first thing I did last time I visited was to pick up a newspaper and try to read it, using a dictionary to look up the words I didn’t recognize. Those word lists look like just the kind of vocabulary you would need to read the front page of a newspaper.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  Crikey! Remind me not to invite you to parties. They're just words. Probably pretty dumb ones to take through airport security, but then it would be hard to find an action / thriller novel that didn't contain some or all of those words many times over. Or as the sibling comment points out any newspaper. You want a more egregious, what about detaining little old ladies in wheelchairs and children's book authors? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/28/in-that-moment-i-loathed-america-i-loathed-the-entire-country https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/28/in-tha...
- mikeash 9y ago
  What part of that is supposed to make it less clear cut?

bleke 9y ago

Talking about slippery slopes, it is more like this (I understand that security is needed) : 1. Nobody over dangerous caught - there are no bad guys that many and we don't need that big agency, need to be reduced 2. Bad guys became smarter (our research says that there are 99% bad guys lurking and etc...) - we need to increase scrutiny never know what they can do And now you are sitting in management, if you choose option 1 there are big probability that loose job, option 2 you can expect that you wage will be rising (bigger agency, more work). It is same as policeman catching all criminals and he will be not needed, of course if something happens government will be blamed...