The upper house of Russia's parliament on Monday passed a bill granting expanded powers to the country's main security agency, a move that critics say echoes the era of the Soviet KGB.

The bill, which now goes to President Dmitry Medvedev to be signed into law, would allow the Federal Security Service (FSB) to issue warnings to people suspected of preparing to commit crimes against Russia's security.

Human rights and democracy activists say this power could be used to intimidate government opponents and stifle protests.

"This law is targeted against the opposition ... It's a draconian law which is unprecedented in the world and is reminiscent of our repressive past," Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister who is now leader of the opposition Solidarity movement, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

Former KGB agent Gennady Gudkov told NPR that the the law is written so vaguely that the government could use it "as an instrument to pressure the opposition."

Yipes. How frightening it must be to live in such a society.

Wait for it...
Wait for it...

In other, unrelated, news:

The American Civil Liberties Union launched a new website Tuesday to track incidents of domestic political surveillance by the government along with a report claiming such incidents have increased steadily since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

According to the report there have been 111 incidents of illegal domestic political surveillance since 9/11 in 33 states and the District of Columbia. The website, Spyfiles, will serve as the ACLU's online home for all news and reports of domestic spying.

“In our country, under our Constitution, the authorities aren’t allowed to spy on you unless they have specific and individual suspicion that you are doing something illegal,” said Michael German, ACLU Policy Counsel and a former FBI Special Agent. “Unfortunately, law enforcement in our country seems to be reverting to certain old, bad behaviors when it comes to political surveillance."

German told Hillicon Valley the report shows that law enforcement and federal officials are working closely to monitor the political activity of individuals deemed suspicious, an activity that was previously common during the Cold War. That includes protests, religious activities and other rights protected by the first amendment, German said.

But, we um... we, well, we,... uh... at least we don't use that fucked-up backwards alphabet that Russia uses !

Freedom!