[pp.int.general] copyright vs. "droit d'auteur"

[Richard M Stallman]

    No. It is not far-fetched to argue that increased surveillance improves 
    safety.

Increased surveillance does not improve overall safety.
It improves safety from attacks by underground groups, but it
increases the danger that the government will attack people's rights
(for instance, by calling protestors "terrorists", or arresting people
for what they read).  Since the government is far more powerful than
underground groups, and since governments regularly support powerful
businesses that exploit and endanger people thus engendering protests,
the danger from the government is greater.

In any case, we must distinguish between safety and human rights.
Each is desirable in its own way, but they are not the same.
Confusing them is a fallacy at the root of a lot of right-wing
authoritarian arguments.