Even the most hardcore Republicans are going to hate this...

[Zeus]

Not a political commentary against Bush, I know none of you want to hear it, but rather a "what the hell is this waste of money by the government (any government; no partisan crap)?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

Reading further down the article, isn't there something wrong with having cyber-attacks higher on the priority list of the FBI than civil rights or violent crime? I'm talking from a social point of view, which is what the government is supposed to be acting in the best interest of (the people).

[kali o.]

Why have a "squad" to investigate that which isn't illegal (not that sex industry laws are all that logical in North America. If prostitution is illegal, then it follows almost all forms of porn-for-profit should be as well)? Unless I'm just ignorant when it comes to American laws on porn?

Anyways, sounds like a nice waste of their tax dollars and court time...positioning for some future platform that probably won't fly anyway.

As for that cyber-attack thing, I think it should probably be higher. Every year dependence on technology grows - I think its pretty nifty the government isn't being totally useless in that regard (that is, without knowing their exact purpose).

[Zeus]

Why have a "squad" to investigate that which isn't illegal (not that sex industry laws are all that logical in North America. If prostitution is illegal, then it follows almost all forms of porn-for-profit should be as well)? Unless I'm just ignorant when it comes to American laws on porn?

Anyways, sounds like a nice waste of their tax dollars and court time...positioning for some future platform that probably won't fly anyway.

As for that cyber-attack thing, I think it should probably be higher. Every year dependence on technology grows - I think its pretty nifty the government isn't being totally useless in that regard (that is, without knowing their exact purpose).

Who ever said the legal system ever used common sense or logic?

I agree that cyber crime should be high on their list, but is it more important that civil rights. "Well, we made sure that your computer is perfectly safe, but you have no right to freedom, so lets go to jail now". To me, that's priorities WAAAY out of whack, focusing on the needs of businesses above those of people.

[Nev]

I hate, but hate, this administration.

What they're trying to do isn't going to work. All of that will still be foreignly available, and I'm fairly sure that most of what's out there right now is, anyway. They might get a few of the domestic purveyors, but my guess is that's all they'll get, assuming they can overcome all the First Amendment stuff the article talks about. This sounds like about as good a use of federal time and money as the war on drugs, anyway, for the same reason - it's ridiculously easy to make any of this stuff, and this doesn't do anything about demand. My feeling is that the only way to "heal" a society of its various perversions - and that assumes one even thinks that ought to be a societal goal, which is a different discussion and not an argument I'm convinced of - would be to work on a lot of things that help produce these types of fetishes in the first place. To me, that would involve working on untreated child sexual abuse AND domestic violence between parents of young children, as well as actually having a sex education program in schools that isn't founded on ridiculous Christian morals. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean that I think that the Bush administration's policy of unilaterally harsh treatment of sex offenders is a good idea, either, though...

Besides which, I don't want to disgust anyone, but while I suppose one can make the argument that the human race might be better off without bestiality and potty-porn, I don't know if the same argument applies to all the S&M stuff. Human sexuality is a fairly wide and varied subject, and I have personally known a good number of people who'd probably get bored with the good ol' missionary position after awhile. Not meaning to make people squeamish and/or uncomfortable with all this...

I agree with Kali that cyber-protection possibly needs to be high on the list of federal protections that a sane government ought to have, though. Computer crashes are increasingly a very, very crippling thing to any modern organization of any kind.

[SineSwiper]

"I guess this means we've won the war on terror," said one exasperated FBI agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity because poking fun at headquarters is not regarded as career-enhancing. "We must not need any more resources for espionage."

Among friends and trusted colleagues, an experienced national security analyst said, "it's a running joke for us."

A few of the printable samples:

"Things I Don't Want On My Résumé, Volume Four."
"I already gave at home."
"Honestly, most of the guys would have to recuse themselves."

I like the journalist's sense of humor. And I think you're a little biased on the subject, Mental. I don't think it's a good idea at all, because the people they recruit isn't going to interested in the finer details of porn. It's simply going to be an attack on nudity in general. They should be focusing on child sexual abuse and such.

[Zeus]

I agree with Kali that cyber-protection possibly needs to be high on the list of federal protections that a sane government ought to have, though. Computer crashes are increasingly a very, very crippling thing to any modern organization of any kind.

OK, maybe you guys aren't getting my point here. I'm not saying cyber crime isn't a high priority. It is. We depend on it more and more and it would cripple our entire business world, and thus should be a very high priority.

But dear lord, man, more important than human rights? Get rid of computers and we're back to pen and paper and extreme loss of efficiency in business. Get rid of human rights and we're back to hunter-gatherer packs. Human rights is the basis of society

[Nev]

And I think you're a little biased on the subject, Mental.

Sorry, not following. In which sense?

[SineSwiper]

As a recovering porn addict?

[Nev]

I may have a better perspective than you do, because I've been around all of that stuff and have actually gotten to know quite a few people on both sides of the whole struggle. I'm still not sure what you think my biases are on the matter, actually.

Also, I thought I was more or less agreeing with you as far as what we've both posted so far?

[Zeus]

heh, just realized the pun in my subject heading :-)