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Ten Big Problems with the PATRIOT Act

1: The government can conduct "sneak and peek" searches in which agents enter your home or business and search your belongings without informing you until long after.

2: Government agents can force libraries and bookstores to disclose the titles of books that you've purchased or borrowed and can demand the identity of anyone who has purchased or borrowed certain books. The government can also prosecute libraries and bookstores for informing you that the search occurred or even for informing you that an inquiry was made.

3: Federal agents are authorized to use hidden devices to trace the telephone calls or emails of people who are not even suspected of a crime. The FBI is also permitted to use its Magic Lantern technology to monitor everything you do on your computer -- recording not just the websites you visit but EVERY SINGLE KEYSTROKE as well.

4: Government agents are permitted to arrest and detain individuals "suspected" of terrorist activities and to hold them INDEFINITELY, WITHOUT CHARGE, and WITHOUT an ATTORNEY.

5: Federal agents are permitted to conduct full investigations of American citizens and permanent legal residents simply because they have participated in activities protected by the First Amendment, such as writing a letter to the editor or attending a peaceful rally.

6: Law enforcement agents are permitted to listen in on discussions between prisoners and their attorneys, thus denying them their Constitutional right to confidential legal counsel.

7: Terrorism suspects may be tried in secret military tribunals where defendants have no right to a public trial, no right to trial by jury, no right to confront the evidence, and no right to appeal to an independent court. In short, the Constitution does not apply.

8: Allows the CIA to spy on American citizens, a power that has previously been denied to this international espionage organization.

9: In addition to the Patriot Act, the Bush administration has given us Operations TIPS, a government program that encourages citizens to spy on each other and to report their neighbors' activities to the authorities. Fortunately, Operation TIPS seems to have been recalled to the factory -- at least for now.

10: Total Information Awareness [TIA] will link commercial and government databases so that the DOD can immediately put its finger on any piece of information about you that it wants.

You have been reading excerpts from "USA Patriot Act and the Nazi Enabling Act", posted at unslaver.com/forum/index.php?topic=70.0. Please see the original article for more details.

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