On Thu, 2003-04-10 at 17:46, Virgil wrote: > Is this bill anything even related to DARPA and TIA? Anyone here heard of > the TIA program before? Well if you seen the sci-fi movie in which Tom > Cruise goes and arrest people even before they do their crime. Basically > that is what the TIA hopes to become in the future within DARPA.
The movie you are referring to is "Minority Report". The "Department of Precrime" portrayed in the movie depicts a scary future where they think they have 100% accuracy in predicting crime before it occurs, so they can arrest people before a crime takes place. The movie itself was very good, and asked tough ethical questions about the limits of law enforcement and invasion of privacy. Our real world grapples with very similar issues, this fine line between invasion of privacy and investigative powers to prevent crime. My personal opinion is that *perhaps* (by a long shot) it was necessary for the first PATRIOT act to violate our civil liberties in order to expose terrorists, but at the same time there is a huge potential for government abuse of these powers. It is wholly unacceptable and unconstitutional for PATRIOT to become permanent. I am a believer in the Constitution. While this thread was good to express our opinions and share links to further information on this matter, especially relating to the PATRIOT act and its effect on online activities, we are beginning to get off-topic. If this thread continues, please be civil, state your opinions calmly. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Warren Togami [EMAIL PROTECTED]