French Counter-Terrorism

I guess I could go along with treating terrorism as a law enforcement issue, if we were working with the Napoleonic Code:

Consider the powers granted to Mr. Bruguiere and his colleagues. Warrantless wiretaps? Not a problem under French law, as long as the Interior Ministry approves. Court-issued search warrants based on probable cause? Not needed to conduct a search. Hearsay evidence? Admissible in court. Habeas corpus? Suspects can be held and questioned by authorities for up to 96 hours without judicial supervision or the notification of third parties. Profiling? French officials commonly boast of having a "spy in every mosque." A wall of separation between intelligence and law enforcement agencies? France's domestic and foreign intelligence bureaus work hand-in-glove. Bail? Authorities can detain suspects in "investigative" detentions for up to a year. Mr. Bruguiere once held 138 suspects on terrorism-related charges. The courts eventually cleared 51 of the suspects -- some of whom had spent four years in preventive detention -- at their 1998 trial.

From a WSJ article on French counter-terrorism czar Jean-Louis Bruguiere.

All things considered, I think I'd rather have a common-law system which gives better protection to citizens under the law, and just deal with outlaws as outlaws.

Guest Post: Gerry Tyra on Global Warming

As an analogy to climate change, consider a semi-tractor rig going down the interstate.

If you're driving, there are two things that you absolutely have to know: 1) where you really want to go, and 2) how to drive.

Where you want to go is not necessarily straight ahead. Think of the most complex interchange that you have ever seen, now imagine a infinite sequence of such interchanges, with no two the same. Pick the wrong lane and you end up somewhere else.

Driving requires some knowledge of how the vehicle works, including how responsive it is or isn’t. Both over controlling and under controlling can have very negative impacts.

And all of this assumes that you are driving. What if you are in a sub-compact car, tied to the semi by a tow rope? You are going to go where the semi goes, whether you want to or not. Any maneuvering that you do will have almost no effect on the semi, but it can get your car trashed in a heartbeat. This can happen by loosing your position in front of the semi and getting dragged under its tires, or you could be off to the side and hit a barrier that the semi won’t touch. You could try putting on the breaks, but you will probably only burn out your breaks and get flat tires.

So with respect to climate change, are we really in control? If so, do we know how to apply that control intelligently, or are we just jerking the wheel around and stomping on pedals?

If we aren’t in control, are we willing to adapt to the changes that are coming?