Decius wrote:
] inignoct wrote:
] ] ] Senior FBI officials took the unusual step Tuesday of
] ] ] publicly declaring that agents are not using the war
] ] ] against terrorism as a cover to collect information on
] ] ] people who demonstrate against the government.
] ]
] ] oh, good, i was a bit worried there for a minute, but i
] guess
] ] it's all ok. i suppose i just need to learn to trust our
] ] benevolent federal police-state-in-the-making.
]
] In this case, I think so. There are people who show up for the
] anti-globalisation protests with bombs. I do think those
] people are a concern.

i'm not saying we shouldn't have security at public events, but i don't feel comfortable believing that no one is or will be keeping tabs on protesters. when there are fenced off "free speech zones" at presidential speeches and people like Ann Coulter believe i should be hanged for treason because i disagree with the actions of our leaders, i think it's important to be very careful with the restrictions we accept from federal agencies. It can get out of hand real fast -- millions of americans already believe that dissent is unpatriotic... it's not a good situation, and spoken assurances from the FBI are not a particularly comforting salve.

RE: FBI declares publicly: We're not spying on protesters