Politech: FC: Neil Munro on the societal costs of total UNsurveillance

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Previous Politech message:

"The societal costs of total surveillance, from NYT"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-03828.html

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From: "Munro, Neil" <nmunro () nationaljournal com>
To: "'declan () well com'" <declan () well com>
Subject: RE: The societal costs of total surveillance, from NYT
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2002 10:21:31 -0400


        The societal cost of total un-surveillance;
        Atta asked a government official if he could buy a large overhead
photograph of D.C. from the official's wall. He then suggested the U.S.
cities might be attacked, told the official that Osama/Al-Qaeda would be
famous in America, and then left in a huff when the official refused to lend
him money which he said was to buy a large, two-engine crop dusting
airplane.
        You can likely find a psychiatrist who would conclude that Atta
likely, but subconsciously, wanted to be caught.
        But the official said nothing. Privacy, non-judgementalism and all
that.
        The war began. The Patriot Act was passed.
        Surely we can find a reasonable middle-ground.


                        Neil




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