I've always known that the idea of "privacy" is self-delusional; even before the Internet explosion, when the government (*any* government, my darlings... Makes no difference who) wanted to "track" you, it did. It was a bit like locking the door to your house; a *dedicated* burglar could aways gain access, though a casual "passer by" might be deterred...
But now, every Joe Schmoe can build a dossier on you too, to rival anything the government-sponsored (on your tax dime <g>) fellas do. And Joe Schmoe likes it, and does it with zeal - perhaps CIA and FBI and NSA and all the remaining secret agencies could save us all some money (not to mention notoriety) by buying the info off small businesses, instead of torturing it out :)
From: R.H.
http://www.adcritic.com/interactive/view.php?id=5927
On parallel (but relevant) trails...
1) Read (if you can) Bob Herbert's column in yesterday's (Feb 11) NY Times, titled "Torture, American Style". It tells the story of a *Canadian citizen* (of Syrian origin) who was kidnapped from the Kennedy Airport (a layover on his way home from holidays), on Sept '02, and shipped (by US Special Forces, on a US "special" plane) to Jordan (and, later on, to Syria) for "interrogation" - officially, US frowns on torture (vide the current Abu Ghrabi and Guantanamo "flaps"); Jordan and Syria have no such reservations...
The man was never charged with anything, but another man at his place of work was on the US "watch list", which - so it seems - was enough to "net" this guy. He was released, 13 months later (October '03), because his interrogators concluded he was innocent - under torture, he'd confess to any- and every - thing but, otherwise, he seemed to be clueless any terrorist activity.
What puzzles me is that it's an organisation called "Center for Constitutional Rights" which is suing US on behalf of the man; I'd have thought it would be *Canada*. US refuses to recognise the validity of the International Court in Hague, because we will not permit anyone but ourselves to jail/judge our citizens... To me, it seemed to be the case of "on the thief, the hat is burning" - ie being overly cautious, covering our butt before the match was lit, just in case...
But, OK, nobody is gonna meddle with us, not even a legitimate court, if it ain't a US court... So, where do we get off kidnapping another country's citizen, and sending him to be tortured? Is that the kind of behaviour, perhaps, that we don't want the court in The Hague to get a whiff of?
2) Not facts, all fiction, but well-worth reading all the same... Henning Mankell, "Before the Frost" (Copyright 2002, as "Innan frosten"; English translation 2005)
It's one of a series of mysteries which I have enjoyed for years. I never specifically look for the guy's titles (can't remember the name <g>), but pick them up whenever I came accross one... Slow action, somewhat oddball characters, but excellent writing (and translations), which can freeze your marrowbones on occasion (the scene is Ystad, in Sweden).
This particular story is a story of a Christian fanatic, who sets up his "statement" on Sept 8 (my wedding anniversary; I *hate* that choice of date <g>) '01; he is foiled and the book, *essentially* (there's a "coda"), ends on Sept 11, with: "something's happening in US"...
Book being written in '02, the author, obviously, did not dream of the '03 invasion of Iraq... Nevertheless, his "take" on the "Christian terrorist" is eerie in the extreme...
The "villain" is a true believer in what he does; he believes that he's God's instrument following God's will, now that he's left all his ties and weaknesses behind. Hopes to be the 5th prophet, and is writing the 5th chapter of Gospel... Is willing to sacrifice everyone's life (including that of his own family members) on the altar of the higher goal. *As long as* he himself survives; it's essential that he survives, so that he can carry on his mission, even if the current set of disciples is exterminated (a necessary sacrifice, to his way of thinking).
I read the book with a sense of recognition, fascinated and repelled at the same time:
A man with a mission, directed (in his own mind) by God...
A man who "found himself" and God after having been a failure in human relationshps...
A man willing to sacrifice *others*, but making sure *he* survives to carry on his mission...
A man who thinks that "true Christianity" can only be reached via the blood-shedding cleansing, carried out by the dedicated martyrs (like the Muslims he hates), destroying whatever *he* thinks is sinful...
Etc, etc, etc... In Mankell's book, the guy's called Erik Westin...
But, current political parallels apart, the book's is an excellent *mystery*, as always with Mankell.
-- Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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