Warrantless surveillance slipping further?

[Caligirl]

Supposed to be reserved for cases where one of the callers is thought to have ties to terrorists.

A terrorist surveillance program instituted by the Bush administration allows the intelligence community to monitor phone calls between the United States and overseas without a court order -- as long as one party to the call is a terror suspect.

Adrienne Kinne, a former U.S. Army Reserves Arab linguist, told ABC News the NSA was listening to the phone calls of U.S. military officers, journalists and aid workers overseas who were talking about "personal, private things with Americans who are not in any way, shape or form associated with anything to do with terrorism."

Report: U.S. spied on Americans' intimate conversations abroad - CNN.com

 

[I Missthe North]

They monitor everyone's calls these days and the Patriot Act gave them the legal right to do so. A girl from my high school had her phone tapped because her grandparents were Iranian and her dad worked at a power plant. Privacy? Psh, that is a thing of the past.

 

[Caligirl]

I don't think that is right. I think there are some restraints, and that this report shows something illegal.

 

[Sunni Man]

Just google "Echelon" to find out all about how average Americans are being spied on by the government.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

The government says that they'll only spy on suspected terrorists, but I personally don't think the government is qualified to decide who should be considered a terrorist. But who needs their 4th amendment rights, right?

 

[Chris]

Many years ago the NSA located their listening station in West Virginia because that is where Ma Bell had her satellite uplink station. Believe me, they have been listening in for years.

 

[Larkinn]

They monitor everyone's calls these days and the Patriot Act gave them the legal right to do so. A girl from my high school had her phone tapped because her grandparents were Iranian and her dad worked at a power plant. Privacy? Psh, that is a thing of the past.

Umm, my guess is that she was being paranoid. If they did tap you, you wouldn't know, and they can't without an Article III warrant (i.e. a domestic warrant),unless its an overseas call.

 

[I Missthe North]

I honestly believe you give the Federal government way too much credit. Go look into the Patriot Act a little bit. I think you will be shocked at what you find. The government has a lot of leeway in deciding who to tap and who not to. The "War on Terror" has not been a good thing for our right to privacy. There is not much left and the sooner you realize that, the better.

 

[Larkinn]

I honestly believe you give the Federal government way too much credit. Go look into the Patriot Act a little bit. I think you will be shocked at what you find. The government has a lot of leeway in deciding who to tap and who not to. The "War on Terror" has not been a good thing for our right to privacy. There is not much left and the sooner you realize that, the better.

I really don't. I am the last one to be a fan of the federal government. But the patriot act has nothing to do with domestic to domestic phone calls. Look it up yourself, let me know if you can find anything there. It only has to do with foreign phone calls. The government does have a lot of leeway in deciding who to tap: but only in very certain circumstances.

The WoT hasn't been good for privacy, but there is still a LOT more left, believe me. If there is another attack on US soil, you'll see how much more you can complain about once they take away more rights.

 

[Chris]

Umm, my guess is that she was being paranoid. If they did tap you, you wouldn't know, and they can't without an Article III warrant (i.e. a domestic warrant),unless its an overseas call.

You are being naive.

My ex had her phone tapped because she was involved in publishing a book about secret defense department info. Her phone had a double click on it, when she picked it up. She called the phone company and they said, "Yes, your phone is probably tapped. There's probably a guy in a van somewhere who is bored to death listening to your calls."

 

[Larkinn]

You are being naive.

No, I am actually informed.

My ex had her phone tapped because she was involved in publishing a book about secret defense department info. Her phone had a double click on it, when she picked it up. She called the phone company and they said, "Yes, your phone is probably tapped. There's probably a guy in a van somewhere who is bored to death listening to your calls."

Umm, if you are publishing classified materials, an article III warrant to tap your phone won't be hard to do. They can tap whoevers phone, but they need a judge to sign off on it if it is domestic to domestic calling. A judge isn't going to sign off on tapping someone because they are Iranian. Because they released classified information, probably.

 

[manifold]

This is why you need to be creative if you're conducting illicit business over the telephone. For example, a call to your weed dealer might go something like this:

Dealer: Hello?

You: Hey Huggy Bear, this is Starsky, what up?

Dealer: How ya doin? Long time no see. What's it been, 5 days?

You: Yeah yeah, anyway, I'm gonna be in your neighborhood tomorrow and I heard you have some extra tickets for the rock concert, can you hook me up?

Dealer: Sure thing buddy. I got some great seats in row Z on the floor, those are $150 a piece. Or if you're on a budget, I got some balcony row Q seats for $50 each.

You: I'll take row Z, see ya tommorow, peace out.

Dealer: Peace.



Or so I've heard.

 

[editec]

I've been Ayn Randed and I've been branded
A Communist cause I'm left handed
And that's the hand I use
Well, never mind.