TresSugar

Say What? NSA Workers Detail Eavesdropping on Americans

LibertySugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:15:51 -0700

The Bush Administration says it taps conversations of Americans only if they involved al Qaeda. But two ex-NSA interceptors say Bush's assertions are a lie, and they have come forward after feelings that their conduct was immoral and illegal. ABC News shared a look into the details of intercepted phone conversations between overseas Americans and their friends, colleagues, or family back home. Now, the Senate's Intelligence Committee has begun its own investigation.

Among the saddest anecdotes shared by the NSA workers is the confession that US officers intercepted American soldiers having phone sex, and then proceeded to alert those around them so they could listen in. The details would then be the topic of conversation during smoke breaks. A US intelligence officer told ABC that all US government employees should expect their conversations to be monitored. For more on how the calls of humanitarian workers were also allegedly tapped, read more.

Even when the system told NSA interceptors that callers were with organizations like the International Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders, they continued to monitor the conversations. One NSA interceptor said by casting the intelligence net to include Americans and aid organizations, the NSA made it harder to find the piece of information that might actually improve national security. The NSA has responded to these allegations saying that the organization follows the law, and that illegalities are not sanctioned nor tolerated. Will you watch what you say next time you pick up the phone overseas?

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McCain on Warrantless Wiretapping: Where Does He Stand?

LibertySugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:30:00 -0700

McCain believes President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program is legal, according to one of McCain's top advisers. Bush justifies the program based on an unprecedented assertion of executive power, sure to be a legacy of his administration. McCain now appears to embrace this interpretation.

In a letter to the National Review McCain-insider Douglas Holtz-Eakin, wrote:

[N]either the administration nor the telecoms need to apologize for actions that most people, except for the ACLU and trial lawyers, understand were constitutional and appropriate in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Going back in time, I found that in January 2006, McCain told Fox News that he was against the spying program. When asked by Mike Wallace whether Bush had the authority to engage in warrantless wiretapping, McCain said:

You know, I don’t think so, but why not come to Congress? We can sort this all out. I don’t think - I know of no member of Congress, frankly, who, if the administration came and said here’s why we need this capability, that they wouldn’t get it. And so let’s have the hearings.

For a further look, read more.

The NY Times also reports that just six months ago, McCain opposed the Bush view he seems to endorse now.

I'm not sure how McCain's recent tendency to turn towards the Republican base, and away from his previous distaste for Bush's surveillance and interrogation tactics will play out. Must McCain adopt Bush's unique constitutional theory to relay his tough-on-terrorism message? Where do you hope John McCain stands on this issue?

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Google to Help the CIA Spy

LibertySugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:00:58 -0700

Google is helping the CIA get its blog on. The internet search engine giant will supply the technology for a Wikipedia-style intelligence site: Intellipedia.

Agents will post information about targets on a secure internal forum where they can read, edit, and tag their own content, as well as the content of other spies. There will be three levels of access: top secret, secret and sensitive, and sensitive but unclassified.

This is just one of the many lucrative contracts secured by Google's "Federal Government Sales Team." It is reassuring that the government is willing to look to the private sector for innovative national security technology.

But, does it make you at all nervous that Google, a company with unimaginable access to information about private citizens, is getting nice and cozy with the federal government?

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Front Page: Domino's Workers Arrested For Spitting in Food

TresSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:00:14 -0700

Two Domino's employees have been charged with felonies after they filmed themselves contaminating food with spit and snot and posted the videos on YouTube. - New York Times
President Obama will head to Mexico today, his first stop on his Latin American visit. - Los Angeles Times
Spain's attorney general has come out against his country's attempt to prosecute six US officials for torture. - BBC News
Texas Governor Rick Perry suggested at yesterday's tea parties that Texas might want to secede from the union. - Dallas Morning News
A Senate panel will investigate whether the NSA has been violating wiretapping laws in recent months. - AP
The Obamas' tax returns show that the first family made $2.66 million in 2008, gave $172,050 to charities, and spent $933,000 on taxes. - Reuters
The sailors aboard the Maersk Alabama, which escaped pirates last week, have returned to the US. - ABC News
Nadya Suleman is seeking a trademark for the name "Octomom" so she can sell baby goods and a TV show. - E! Online

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Briefing Book! Sarah Palin Has Unresolved Wardrobe Issues

CitizenSugar — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:45:03 -0800

Wardrobe Malfunction: Sarah Palin's $180,000 worth of campaign clothes are "stuffed in trash bags" at RNC headquarters, angering big donors. - Huffington Post
Big Cheese Battle: President Bush imposed a 300 percent tariff on Roquefort cheese right before leaving office. Now France is asking Obama to remove the tax, or face "unfortunate consequences." - YumSugar
Gillibrand: New York's new senator has a conservative record. - Talking Points Memo
Wire Tapping: NSA Whistleblower says wiretapping program logged credit card information. - Good
First Quitter: Antismoking groups want Obama to lead by example, but they're willing to let him smoke through the first year. - SFist

The Press: Obama angry at press for doing its job? President got agitated when reporter asked him question during impromptu visit. - Townhall

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Wiretapping: Which is More Important - Privacy or Security?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:00:32 -0700

House Democrats unveiled new legislation yesterday in an effort to update the nation's wiretapping program. The new proposal rejects the version of the bill passed in the Senate that would give telecommunications companies legal immunity for participation in the program following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

President Bush and House Republicans stand firm that the Senate version of the legislation (FISA) should be passed. While the emphasis on tying the legislation to 9/11 makes it seem new, apparently data mining has been much more extensive than previously known.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "many of the programs in various agencies began years before the 9/11 attacks but have since been given greater reach." This means, for example, the NSA is not only listening to your telephone conversations but also reading your emails, gathering your bank transfers, credit card transactions and travel itineraries. Check out this WSJ graphic for details. The Bush Administration's FISA seeks to grant immunity to companies that abet in government surveillance from lawsuits making Americans' privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment, seem tenuous.

Do you always feel like somebody's watching you? Or do you think if you're keeping your nose clean, it's not a big deal who's checking your email?

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Link Time

LibertySugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:00:55 -0700

Alec Baldwin: McCain must prove he has not drank Bush kool-aid - The Huffington Post
What is the NSA really doing? - Talking Points Memo
Presidential candidates react to Gov. Spitzer's mess - The Caucus
Proposals to redefine British citizenship include pupils swearing allegiance to the Queen - newsblog
Student suspended for YouTube video - DCist
Honda's guide for women drivers includes "how to pump gas by yourself" - Jezebel

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