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FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

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Re: FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

#3
Is anyone surprised at all by this? It's not like this is new or something. Despite the various documented incidents of physical violence and intimidation inflicted by law enforcement officers on Occupy protesters, it comes nowhere near the sorts of horrors suffered by protesters during the Civil Rights Movement, for example. Especially in the South, where protesters were often being attacked by the police.

Re: FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

#4
Of course they did. Let's ignore for a moment that protest groups (like PETA) are usually considered some of the highest risks for terrorism; it would be irresponsible of the bureau to take the protest at face value and assume they have completely peaceful intentions.

Re: FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

#6
What kind of idiocy is this? This is the FBI's job -- to monitor both foreign and domestic groups of national scope that might present some kind of threat to civil order.

They're not like the fire department, where they sit around waiting for something to happen. They're supposed to get out there and get proactively involved in all kinds of things from white supremacists to greens.

As a libertarian I enjoy a good rant about state security as much as the next guy, but I prefer to do so from an informed position. There's enough real things to worry about without going on about the FBI doing what they're supposed to be doing.

Re: FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

#7
The presumptuous labeling is definitely questionable, but the coordination and communication seems applaudable.(for a government organization)

If there was a movement of people planing to protest Google or Facebook, I would expect the FBI to warn them if they had solid information it was going to happen. In fact if they were aware of large scale protests again an all but convicted child killer, they still have a responsibility to inform and protect. We protect criminals and saints equally in this country.

Second in my mind there is no question that on both "sides", police and protesters, individual people broke laws. Protests bring out the worst in some of the police officers under pressure and some of the protesters. So the FBI and the agencies they coordinated with would have been failing at their job to not monitor and report in an effort to protect the employees of the businesses.

You might not like the protection big banks got but they should receive it. Just like the most heinous criminal receives a lawyer to defend themselves, access to protection from danger (vigilanties), etc

So if we can step the emotions back a bit and use a critical eye on both sides of the protests I think we will see a FBI that jumped to conclusions but did their job.

And finally, I find it surprising in a start up forum that promotes agility and a lack of bureaucracy as the ideal that we are so quick to suggest more of it to an already bureaucratic, slow government.

Re: FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

#8

What kind of idiocy is this? This is the FBI's job -- to monitor both foreign and domestic groups of national scope that might present some kind of threat to civil order. They're not like the fire department, where they sit around waiting for something to happen. They're supposed to get out there and get proactively involved in all kinds of things from white supremacists to greens. As a libertarian I enjoy a good ran…

You Sir are very sensible, good someone actually thinks twice before going down with hysteria about "yet another big brother"

Re: FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

#9

What kind of idiocy is this? This is the FBI's job -- to monitor both foreign and domestic groups of national scope that might present some kind of threat to civil order. They're not like the fire department, where they sit around waiting for something to happen. They're supposed to get out there and get proactively involved in all kinds of things from white supremacists to greens. As a libertarian I enjoy a good ran…

Lately, their primary job seems to be creating fake terrorist plots and finding 16-year old illiterate Somali immigrants to execute them, and than applauding themselves.

Never once have I heard of a similar sting operation being done for insider trading or other kind of financial crime.

Re: FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring

#10

What kind of idiocy is this? This is the FBI's job -- to monitor both foreign and domestic groups of national scope that might present some kind of threat to civil order. They're not like the fire department, where they sit around waiting for something to happen. They're supposed to get out there and get proactively involved in all kinds of things from white supremacists to greens. As a libertarian I enjoy a good ran…

Dissent: just one misinterpreted statement away from jailtime.

...because the FBI and DoJ have such a long and varied history of making sure that the free and legal exercise of one's first amendment rights are upheld.... riiiight.

This is the same FBI that tapped the phones of MLK Jr. Fuck them.

To DanielBMarkham: what fucking world do you live in where this is your reasonably-considered view?! Please go read some history.[1]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO

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