WARNING! this is a real threat to basic human freedoms!

[Lazier Than Thou]

You'd think Stalin and Hitler both doing that in the past would have tipped them off that it's kind of a totalitarian policy.

Come now, such a comparison is an insult to good old Comrade Stalin.

Yeah! Stalins holocaust was 6-8 million Ukrainians, not Jews.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

 

[Hookman]

Oh, you Americans and your raging hypocrisy! Although I'm one to talk, my country is run by a man who assumes that everyone who isn't rich enough to buy a second home deserves to die of starvation.

 

[Robert Sanders]

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty
to purchase a little Temporary Safety,
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-Benjamin Franklin

 

[BarbaricGoose]

Your American politicians are crazy.

Please, please don't remind me... oops, too late.

Captcha: Voloaou ()%2;. Didn't have enough vowels and symbols for my taste.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

Ah, we love you America.

From a distance.

...

A really looong distance.

I dunno, I see it as a car crash.
sure, you don't want to be in the car when it crashes, but on the other hand, you'd rather be in the car instead of in front of it.

 

[2733]

I read a couple other articles about this and it doesn't seem as bad as the linked site made it out to be, still quite bad mind you, but not as bad. It has something to do with the ability to declare american citizens "Enemy Combatants" which voids their rights to a lawyer and all that good stuff.

that's what I got out of it anyway, It's difficult to understand.

 

[Pointer]

Good news, Obama has already said he's going to Veto the military thing into the dirt should he ever find it on his desk.

He physically can't. The Senate overrides this naturally. All there needs to be is 2/3 consensus to push a vetoed bill into law.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Did any one of You bother to actually check sections 1031 and 1032, or did You all just assume. Oh! It says so on teh internets! Must be true, then!...?

Under 1031:
"(d) CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY TO UNITED STATES PERSONS.
?The authority to detain a person under this section does not extend to the
detention of citizens or lawful resident aliens of the United
States on the basis of conduct taking place within the
United States except to the extent permitted by the Constitution of the United States."

Under 1032:
"(b) REQUIREMENT INAPPLICABLE TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS.
?The requirement to detain a person in military custody
under this section does not extend to
citizens of the United States."

Source: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1253rs/pdf/BILLS-112s1253rs.pdf

So, yeah. Goddamn it, I'm not even a citizen of the US. Do Your own research?

~Sylv

THIS!! Enough with the fucking scaremongering already!!

Quoted for truth. Hopefully a few people will read this and-

Oh, who am I kidding? This is the Escapist. They always do the exact same thing when this happens:

DOUCHE 1: Look at this news article from a questionable source! Something really horrible has happened/is happening now!
DOUCHE 2: I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
DOUCHE 3: Lost faith in humanity!
DOUCHE 4: America, lol.
REASONABLE HUMAN BEING: Good news, everyone! Look at this new piece of info that proves the first guy was talking out of his ass, and this news isn't actually nearly as bad as it seems! Good news, right?
DOUCHE 4: "I don't want to live on this planet anymore." Good point, DOUCHE 2! Neither do I! Humanity/Possibly just America sucks!
DOUCHE 5: Censorship, death of freedom, 1984, Guy Fawkes, etc etc!!
DOUCHE 6: "Censorship, death of freedom, 1984, Guy Fawkes etc etc!!" That was a moving speech. DOUCHE 5 is a master wordsmith!
REASONABLE 2: Hey, look at what REASONABLE 1 said! This seems REALLY RELEVANT.
DOUCHE 7: Lost faith in humanity!
DOUCHE 8: The world now sucks! I hate humanity! Except for myself, of course.
REASONABLE 3: Seriously, look at REASONABLE 1's post! This is actually not that bad at all!
DOUCHE 9: America, lol!
DOUCHE 10: I don't want to liv-Ah, ninja'd!
REASONABLE 1, 2, and 3: *facepalm*

NOTE: Obviously joking, mods. This is the Escapist! Each and every one of our members is a genius who deserves to have their thoughts made public. Not insulting anyone specific with this post. No need for offensive action.

 

[Vausch]

And that's my cue to get out of the US as soon as I can. Any escapists from Japan looking for a roommate?

 

[DracoSuave]

I read a couple other articles about this and it doesn't seem as bad as the linked site made it out to be, still quite bad mind you, but not as bad. It has something to do with the ability to declare american citizens "Enemy Combatants" which voids their rights to a lawyer and all that good stuff.

that's what I got out of it anyway, It's difficult to understand.

The concept that 'enemy combatants' are not 'prisoners of war' is what baffles me most about american law.

Also, the constitution doesn't differentiate between citizens and non-citizens. All are protected under the law.

 

[spartandude]

So this is a country where a coperation can make you sign a contract saying you cant sue them.
Where congress tried to pass a bill where coperations could take down websites without justification.
Where peace protestors are brutalised because their message could maybe be possibly potentially damaging to some senators invesments.
And where congress tried to pass a bill to dentain people without trial, indefinately.


I know britain is fucked up at the moment but seriously? I'd hate to think what would happen if the republicans win the election

 

[Naeras]

While this thankfully doesn't turn the US into a police state yet due to reasons that have been mentioned in the thread, anyone claiming this bill is anything but bad news deserve a kick in the nuts.

 

[TimeLord]

Ah, we love you America.

From a distance.

...

A really looong distance.

Yes we do. I'm glad there's a huge ocean between me and America.

OT: This is nuts. I'm not an American but doesn't it violate those Amendment thingys?

 

[javelinstark]

first healthcare and the commerce clause and now this!
next thing i know i wont be able to listen to slayer or watch my little pony or even play xbox without government suspicion
the terrorism is becoming the communism scare all over again.
i hear sweden is nice

 

[Athinira]

Well, time to move. Where's a good place?

*looks at the EU*
eh, nope.

There are several good countries in the EU to move to which retains decent rights for the civilian population. You don't have to move in with the British or those Italian or French bastards you know

Without wishing to flaunt my own country, most Scandinavian Countries are great (although there is an obvious language barrier). Sweden is great, so is Norway (except things up there is rather expensive), Denmark and Finland. Those are countries with working democracies, low corruption (according to Transparacy Internationals newly released 2011 Corruption Index Report), cheap high-speed internet connections (especially in Sweden), low crime rates and hot girls.

In the civil rights department we offer stuff like police that are less brutal and aren't allowed to lie to you, laws which are basically pussy-whipped (which actually sucks since hardcore criminals can't be punished like they deserve) and politicians who are just incompetent rather than raving lunatics.

We also offer sucky weather, high taxes, insane car prices and a food culture that while not spicy isn't hung up on fast food. Come join us!

 

[JesterRaiin]

and we though SOPA was the biggest threat to freedom.

...in Soviet America... :|

 

[Starke]

Dont forget that the military also come under another set of laws, in which escalation of force, and necessity play a huge part. This doesn't mean that Military Police can just go around arresting people for fun, as they would be court marshalled and punished for the offence. They would have to do it for good reason, and for what rules of engagement apply. I expect it was passed to allow the military police to deal with protestors, and other nuisances more efficiently, without a further risk to operations and or lives. (Some of the things that protesters around airbases do is just plain stupid and dangerous to their own and others lives!)

Remember that the most crucial thing when evaluating a law is not the law's intent, but the unintended consequences. If the intent is, indeed to apply only to protesters around military installations, then that's what's called a compelling interest, but, the law, at least what little I've seen of it doesn't seem to limit itself in that way.

In fact, if I'm reading the information on it correctly, that's not even in the periphery of the intent, it looks like the intent was counter terrorism, which starts to get downright scary when you consider that the military, when it comes to terrorism suspects isn't justice, it's intelligence gathering.

Without stipulations or a supreme court slap-down, what you can expect is the military seizing US citizens, initially in relation to suspected terrorism charges, but, abuses, and a lack of oversight are inevitable.

EDIT: A quick review indicates that this in fact is not the case at all. There's a nominal exemption for American Citizens, it can be found on page 359. Granted this is an arms appropriation bill so the thing runs to 666 goddamn pages (no joke), so I may have missed something.

It does explicitly affect Anons who aren't US Citizens however, if the McCain amendment on cybersecurity is real.

 

[Epicspoon]

can we start getting paranoid about communists infiltrating America again like we did so many years ago?

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Ah, we love you America.

From a distance.

...

A really looong distance.

Hahaha true that, they get a thumbs up from me before I flee back to the middle of my cold, cold island.

 

[rob_simple]

I can see why people would be upset about this, but it sort of strikes me the same as when people in Britain lost their shit over more CCTV cameras being installed everywhere: surely if you've done nothing wrong then you have nothing to worry about?