Authorities in the UK have acquired surveillance powers that would make Americans shudder. Security cameras are ubiquitous; invasions of privacy are on a par with Singapore. Sarah Lyall reports for the New York Times.
Authorities in the UK have acquired surveillance powers that would make Americans shudder. Security cameras are ubiquitous; invasions of privacy are on a par with Singapore. Sarah Lyall reports for the New York Times.
The Obama administration may run into resistance from its co-partisans in Congress over renewal of provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, reports Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post.
There’s a new administration in Washington — but the USA PATRIOT Act is still on the books, and some provisions are up for renewal. Gentle reader, will you be watching this as closely as you were before January 20, 2009?
As a college instructor, I would tell students that it is rare in the extreme for a presidential administration to give up power; scholars say that each president leaves the office stronger than when he found it.
Now comes news that important provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act – its title really should be rendered in “all caps,” since it is an acronym — are up for renewal, with the support of the Obama administration.
Some new protections for individuals’ privacy at least are being considered. “Sens. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who raised strong objections to the problems in the previous administration, said Tuesday that they will introduce a bill that would enhance privacy safeguards.”