Confiscating the Phone Records of US Citizens

[Ed W]

This part of the Patriot Act expires June first. Wanna bet that Congress amends the wording to make NSA snooping okay AND that the prez signs it?

[patric]

This part of the Patriot Act expires June first. Wanna bet that Congress amends the wording to make NSA snooping okay AND that the prez signs it?

Only if they soften up the public with a rash of "terrorist plots" that are foiled at the last second.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/virginia-gop-congressman-claims-isis-has-invaded-texas-you-cant-make-up-what-a-terrible-problem-this-is

[Townsend]

Only if they soften up the public with a rash of "terrorist plots" that are foiled at the last second.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/virginia-gop-congressman-claims-isis-has-invaded-texas-you-cant-make-up-what-a-terrible-problem-this-is

[Hoss]

Wondering how long it will be before someone asks who that is and why it's relevant.

And not because I don't know..because as someone who grew up with Saturday morning kids shows, I know exactly who this is.

[Townsend]

Wondering how long it will be before someone asks who that is and why it's relevant.

And not because I don't know..because as someone who grew up with Saturday morning kids shows, I know exactly who this is.

She's what comes to mind any time someone mentions ISIS.

[patric]

She's what comes to mind any time someone mentions ISIS.

or an attack by ISIS



as the "credible but non-specific" fear machine is spinning up in time for the Patriot Act vote.

[Vashta Nerada]

What I'm still concerned about is that our elected leaders don't even seem to get the debate:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/15/boehner-nsa-snooping-helped-stop-capitol-bomb-plot/?page=all

Boehner says that the Ohio mans plot to bomb something in DC was caught because of phone surveillance. 

I don't think anyone is debating the fact that if the government listens to citizens' phone calls, they will catch bad people. Just like if police were free to randomly stop and search cars, or randomly enter homes, they'd certainly catch bad people. That is all beyond a doubt.

The debate is: is listening to 330,000,000 million US citizens' phone calls justified by the possibility of occasionally catching a bad guy?

We are trading freedom for security. We are granting the government more power sow e can feel safer.  There is always a balance in play. And where that balance lies SHOULD be a matter of public debate. Certainly it started off far to the "government stay the hell out of my business and no, you can't search crap without a warrant" end of the spectrum  and has shifted more to the "freedom for security" theme as we've gone along. Particularly in the last couple of decades.

But that debate should be public. We wouldn't even be having the debate if Snowden wouldn't have broken the law and tipped us all off about it.

And why the hell are the conservatives fighting for more government power? The world has gone tipsy-turvey!

"We need NSA wiretaps to prevent domestic terror like the biker war in Waco"


No.  The DEA had been surrepetitiously sharing its own illegal wiretap data with Waco police long before the massacre, and may have been insturmental in the pre-deployment of heavily-armed SWAT teams at the Twin Peaks restaurant.

Perhaps it was a poorly-planned warrant or drug sweep; we may not know for some time.
It is believed Waco police were responsible for most of the gunfire and deaths there, but even then, a militarized presence in and of itself was unprovoked and unwarranted escalation.

[cannon_fodder]

Don't worry guys, we fixed this problem now. Under the "USA Freedom Act" the government can still read your emails (have to wait 6 months), review your checkout history from libraries, find out what classes you are taking, and pull all your medical or financial records. But, they have made it so the NSA has to get a FISA Warrant to gather data on all your contacts and where you and said contacts are at all times.

The FISA Court has been in place since ~1980. Since that time they have rejected three (3) warrant requests.

So we are totally safe now. Rejected one request a decade sounds like checks and balances to me. Really a good compromise. It's like handing the mugger your wallet, but making him say "thank you" before he kicks you in the nuts and walks away.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Wondering how long it will be before someone asks who that is and why it's relevant.

And not because I don't know..because as someone who grew up with Saturday morning kids shows, I know exactly who this is.

You are young!  I could plop the kids in front of tv and that is one that would keep their attention pretty well.  They also liked the Beverly Hillbillies...deep into re-runs by the 70's....

[patric]

The FBI is now pressing Congress to mandate front-door access to American's encrypted files and communications, with the promise that they will keep its stockpile of passwords safe and secure.
http://gizmodo.com/fbi-insists-on-access-to-encryption-despite-warnings-it-1716603473

...and they have a swell track record to back up their demands:

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Thursday revealed that 21.5 million people were swept up in a colossal breach of government computer systems that was far more damaging than initially thought, resulting in the theft of a vast trove of personal information, including Social Security numbers and some fingerprints.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/us/office-of-personnel-management-hackers-got-data-of-millions.html

[Vashta Nerada]

Don't worry guys, we fixed this problem now. Under the "USA Freedom Act" the government can still read your emails (have to wait 6 months), review your checkout history from libraries, find out what classes you are taking, and pull all your medical or financial records. But, they have made it so the NSA has to get a FISA Warrant to gather data on all your contacts and where you and said contacts are at all times.

The FISA Court has been in place since ~1980. Since that time they have rejected three (3) warrant requests.

So we are totally safe now. Rejected one request a decade sounds like checks and balances to me. Really a good compromise. It's like handing the mugger your wallet, but making him say "thank you" before he kicks you in the nuts and walks away.

It isnt about terrorism.  It never was.

http://www.wired.com/2015/07/drug-war-driving-us-domestic-spying/




In many ways, drug cases subsidize the surveillance technology used by law enforcement.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

She's what comes to mind any time someone mentions ISIS.

There's a new Isis. When not giving Swedish Massages to Travel Gnome, she overhead lifts grown men and works out with economy cars.

[TeeDub]

All this over a measly 3,500 wire taps?    Come on guys, you can do better than that.

[TeeDub]

All your records still belong to the Government.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dc-circuit-overturns-ruling-against-nsa-bulk-collection-program/2015/08/28/d91c1876-4d92-11e5-84df-923b3ef1a64b_story.html

A D.C. appeals court has lifted an injunction against the NSA phone call records program

A federal appeals court in the District has lifted an injunction against the National Security Agency's call records program on the grounds that the plaintiff has not proved his own phone records were collected and so lacks standing to sue.

The move lifts a ban on the NSA's collection that had been imposed — and temporarily stayed — by a U.S. District Court judge in December 2013.

[patric]

Despite promises, technology will always get away from you.   



A runaway communications surveillance blimp in Pennsylvania.