Survey Closed
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Describe your Location:
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Chicago
Illinois
United States
International (Non-U.S.)
No Response
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Describe your community:
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Rural
Suburban
Urban
No Response
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Gender:
Male
Female
No Response
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Age:
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I. TORTURING SUSPECTED TERRORISTS
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The United States has signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel,
Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which defines torture as "any
act by which
severe pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted on a person." Since
September 11, however,
some people have suggested that torture of suspected terrorists might help
authorities prevent
a similar catastrophe.
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1. Should the United States consider using torture on suspected terrorists to
gain information
about imminent attacks on the United States and/or U.S. citizens?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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2. Should the United States "render" - turn over - suspected terrorists to
countries that use
torture during interrogation?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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3. Should interrogation methods such as sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation,
and
being held in painful and awkward positions - methods which some human rights
advocates
argue may constitute torture - be used by the United States?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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4. Should the federal government create a non-lethal "torture warrant" for use
with
uncooperative suspects whom the government reasonably believes have information
about an
imminent terrorist attack?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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II. EXPANDING SEARCH AND SEIZURE POWERS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] is the primary criminal investigative
agency in the
federal government. Following the attacks of September 11, the central mission
of the FBI
became the prevention of terrorist acts against the United States and its
people. In May 2002
U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft introduced new guidelines for investigations
that include a
new provision for counter-terrorism activities. Under the old guidelines, the
FBI could open
an inquiry of criminal activity as long as there was an allegation or
information of possible
criminal activity [II B (1)]. "For the purpose of detecting and preventing
terrorist attacks," the
new guidelines allow FBI agents to: attend any public meeting or demonstration,
monitor
internet chat rooms, and enter religious institutions and attend religious
observances without
agents necessarily following a lead that is part of an investigation or
preliminary inquiry.
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1. In order to prevent terrorism, should FBI agents be able to:
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monitor public meetings?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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monitor internet chat rooms?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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attend religious observances and institutions?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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2. Some people are concerned that the power to visit public places and events
might lead to "the bad old days" when the FBI spied on people like Dr. Martin
Luther King
who were engaged in protected First Amendment activities such as speech,
assembly,
and worship. Other people believe that the new guidelines are necessary because
of the
difficulties in tracking terrorists, and they note that no information from
these visits shall
be retained by the FBI unless it relates to potential criminal or terrorist
activity.
Do you think the new guidelines provide:
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too much power to FBI agents?
appropriate power to FBI agents?
not enough power to FBI agents?
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3. For the purpose of detecting or preventing terrorist activities, should the
FBI
continue to be permitted to visit any place and attend any event that is open
to the public,
without any indication of criminal activity?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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III. CREATING A FEDERAL DATABASE
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In response to the attacks of September 11, the U.S. Department of Defense has
begun
development of the Total Information Awareness (TIA) project. Part of this
project is based
on the idea that terrorist planning activities or a likely terrorist attack
could be uncovered
by searching vast quantities of "transaction" data, such as web searches,
financial records,
purchases, school records, medical records and travel histories. TIA would
provide a
database of information about individuals in the United States only using data
that is legally
available and obtainable by the U.S. Government.
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1. For a federal database such as TIA, would you want to include/keep out the
following personal information:
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Financial Records?
Include
Keep Out
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Internet/email use?
Include
Keep Out
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Library/Video Records?
Include
Keep Out
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Medical Records?
Include
Keep Out
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School Records?
Include
Keep Out
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Travel Histories?
Include
Keep Out
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2. Will the Total Information Awareness project be an effective security
measure
to reduce the threat of terrorism?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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3. Is the Total Information Awareness project an acceptable use of personal
information
about U.S. citizens and residents by the federal government?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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4. Should the U.S. Government develop the Total Information Awareness project?
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Yes
No
Don't know
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