Land of the caged{¿}

[dredz]

I have conversed with this girl from Iran. When I mentioned quite passively(and somewhat jokingly) that my government (USA) is probably monitoring my activities, she seemed perplexed. I inquired, "don't you think the Iranian government watches you?" She responded with something along the lines of, "that's stupid, ofcourse not." Now, there are a few conclusions one may draw from this. One being that, like most Americans (i think) believe, Iran is a horrible horrible place, and this girl is either in denial, or blissfully unaware. Another would be to entertain the notion that, perhaps, what if...she is correct? I ask for anybody's stories, beliefs, or fun misconceptions of this idea. What if various articles of legislation similar to "The Patriot Act" have rendered every Americans' homes to be constructed with glass walls. John Ashcroft (and others) try to whip up nationalistic fervor to promote this intangible idea of "security" against repeated attacks on U.S. soil. I don't consider myself a raging liberal, or a right wing fascist...I was raised with conservative parents who love America and George W. Bush. But once in a while, I do have thoughts.
I thank you guys for venting whatever thoughts you have.

[dredz]

DAMMIT!,....this should be in "Discussions"....sorry 'bout the mix up folks...

[BlueBoy]

*waits for phoneyhuh and Mr Bigglesworth to notice this thread*

[Bostonmess]

Originally posted by dredz
DAMMIT!,....this should be in "Discussions"....sorry 'bout the mix up folks...

There ya go :)

There were quite a few (US backed?) protests in Iran recently. Needless to say these people aren't happy with their government, but I suppose we all have our unrest every now and again. Hmmm big protests though?

When you have so much and there's so much to lose, as a country I suppose you go as far as you can to ensure that you stay strong with all your wealth and power, so it makes sense that the government will start pushing for tighter laws, tighter control. You're still basically what would be called "free", just so long as you don't break the law.

In my country, the Uk, a senior? police officer has been suggesting everyone gives a DNA sample. Quite alot of people are obviously upset that it's an infringement of civil liberties and the right to a certain amount of privacy. The other side of the coin is: what are we scared of? So long as we don't break the law, it won't affect us. Personally I'm against it happening, probably because it seems so Orwellian.

I suppose in all countries you are going to find people that are happy with their government and also those who are dissatisfied. That's where democracy supposedly comes in. Personally I think our Western "democracies" are taking the piss. So there you go: I'm one of those people dissatisfied with the way we go about things.

How old's the Iranian lass?

[dredz]

ahh yes,...pretty much good points all around,...the part where i get fuzzy is around the area of, "am i satisfied or dissatisfied?"...mainly because i have trouble figuring out whether national allegiance is worth a damn when i know all it takes is a slight wrinkle in the FBI's paper trail that would send them breathing down my neck. I respectfully site the case against Wen Ho Lee ( www.wenholee.org ), in which a fellow who had dedicated the last 20 years of his life to strengthening the U.S. Nuclear Defense systems, but due to a larger than normal amount of assholes in the DOJ and DOE (dept. justice/ dept. energy) and because he was a naturalized citizen of Taiwanese background....they fingered him as being a security leak.....which they couldn't prove...but that didn't stop them from detaining him, pretrial, in solitary confinement, for more than 9 months....but now i've gotten off the track again....the Iranian lass is 19...(given that "she" tells me the truth) she is a fucking genius who is studying physics....and stuff.....which was a cultural slap in the face for me....i just assumed all Arab nations didn't like women bettering themselves....the internet kicks so much ass...

[Bostonmess]

Oh yes, I forgot that one. If you haven't commited a crime you've nothing to fear unless you've got some other nationality in you :D Ahh well, I hear they are thinking of colour coding passengers on airplanes. Why don't they just lock 'em in a big box and ship 'em about that way?:)

[dredz]

supposedly some fellow actually did that here recently,...he boxed himself up and shipped himself to Dallas? i think....either way,...it was another security blindside..."Before climbing into a box last Friday, according to the FBI, he filled out shipping instructions saying the crate held a computer and clothes. He then was loaded onto a truck at New York's Kennedy Airport and driven to Newark, where he was loaded onto a plane operated by Kitty Hawk Cargo. The plane stopped in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and the carrier's hub in Fort Wayne, Ind., before arriving in Dallas, the FBI said." enjoy this tidbit...

[Bostonmess]

Yeah, I've read that somewhere (http://forums.zgeek.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11499) too ;)

[108]

Nah. I think he read it here (http://forums.zgeek.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11469). :D

[Bostonmess]

Damn that Thingy, beat me again. :D