I find it more than a coincidence that this whole "Isis terrorist plot" occurred so soon after the SSA bill. The cynic in me thinks that this was a deliberate attempt to mould public perception to accept less privacy and give up more rights to the government.
Worldwide all governments are looking at spying on their own population, officially for "terrorism" reasons. But if you think about it the real reason is worse–imagine compiling private information about everyone and using that to blackmail, deter or persecute for political, religious, sexual orientation or for business interests.
If you are a government in power you probably are overjoyed at the possibilities of being able to get control of your political competition. And what about upcoming generations? Is everyone OK with being spied upon from birth? Let's not forget the "Reshmi" SSA fiasco where an unqualified person was appointed due to political reasons.
If you think I'm being overly paranoid then answer this: how many crimes have been detected by the FIU? To do almost any kind of financial transaction you need to give confidential info, but how many criminals, drug lords and corrupt officials have been successfully prosecuted due to FIU detection? The FIU objection is about data collection regardless what their official mandate is.
Also, why is the fine for shutting down malls in this country only $1,000 and six months? Shouldn't it be more than the fine for speeding?
R Samaroo