...all of this information is not just flowing into NSA/CIA databases but is also flowing into the HUGE databases of the Republican Party.

I'm sure that journalists are intimidated by the thoughts that the NSA/CIA is spying on them. And when we see what the Dems do or don't do we will know whether they are intimidated by the Bush/Rethug/Rove/Gen.Hayden/NSA/CIA intimidation and war machine. And for those who believe that it is being used just to spy on terrorists, you folks are sleeping.

Those who commit one crime always commit many crimes, 'we the people'only discover a very few. How many other crimes are being committed by these agencies and groups, mission creep will not stop at crossing just one line.

The guise of national security is not being used for us but against us.

Time will reveal all, or will it, not.

The President told us that he's compiling databases of personal information on millions of innocent Americans--why wouldn't you believe him? I'm sure it's one of the rare cases when he is actually telling the truth.

As for data theft, the VA is only one particularly egregious example, but were you aware that in the past few months, similar personnel records, containing names, addresses, SS numbers, and financial information also mysteriously disappeared from the Long Island Railroad, Stop & Shop supermarket chain, and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene? (Check Newsday) I especially like it when they say "a laptop computer" containing all this information was "stolen" from an employee's car or home. Am I supposed to believe that millions of personnel records is routinely kept on unsecured laptop computers that people just bring home with them? You know, so that all those conscientious government employees can do all that payroll work at home in their free time? And who exactly are the people who took these laptop computers home with them, and what prisons are they in now?

Yeah, they're spying.

Many who read this will not believe that the Israeli Mossad are

also connected with the NSA in spying on US citizens.

I am NOT anti-Semitic, rather anti-Zionist. there is a bIG difference.

I am PRO-AMERICAN, A PATRIOT, ARE YOU?

I am surprised to see that anyone is surprised about any of this. There have been many good points about the current situation re spying, eavesdropping, comparisons to East Germany, possible uses of their intel, etc. The history of the neo-cons rise to power is readily available to anyone who searches. There are, however, many other details about the technical methods they used to acheive this surveillance society in which we now live. Homeland security was formulated under two atrocious people - the heads of the old East Germany Stasi and a former director of the KGB. Ponder that point for a moment. Our government officials RECRUITED these men SPECIFICALLY for their history and skills. What does that tell you about what the intel community thinks about the citizens of the US? Greg Palast, in a recent interview made a wonderful comment on this...that on 9/11 19 (supposed) hijackers from OTHER nations attacked the US and on 9/12, 270 million Americans became the suspects. The Patriot was rolled out almost immediately. Being a MASSIVE piece of legislation, it was OBVIOUSLY drawn up LONG before 9/11. Just so nobody is mislead that a Democrat administration would save the country, remembe that the OK City bombing and Waco incidient occurred under Clinton and it was Clinton who rolled out a so called anti-terrorist act, which is basicaly Patriot Act Lite. Someone made a comment on the possibility that if the NSA is controlling the telecoms, they could shut down our com capabilities - very true. Another little known fact is that the FCC MANDATED that all radio and television broadcast facilities install new computerized Emergency Broadcast Systems which are fully automated and control by the federal gov't, overiding any and all boradcast capabilities of the stations themselves - basically diabling any possible broadcast of a coup, martial law or call of resistance to such actions. Well, the coup is already here. Martial law is being implemented incrementally. That being the case, what sort of HORRIFIC actions do they have planned for the American people. Personally, I think it's too late to save our nation and that we'll be fully under a facist regime - BUT - these always self destruct. Get ready for 20 years of hell, though.

Rather trite, but this remindes me of the tagline:

The US Constitution (and Bill of Rights)... It's not perfect, but better than what we have now.

when the wall fell, sometime later it was revealed, discovered, ascertained that there were warehouses full of information stored on nearly every citizen within the eastern half, alright that may be a stretch but the point is that there was so much information coming in that they couldn't manage it, let alone look at it and I suspect the same is true here.

Perhaps they have a more accurate count of how many 'citizens' view porn web sites but I doubt they have the ability to do much with what they have other than store it all on massive hard drives for some future date to look at, a date that will probably never arrive.

As mentioned before, given their complete incompetence in handling events they have inklings of of beforehand; 911, Katrina, etc. I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it. And I look forward to the day that I can retrieve my personal dossier.

In the course of the article, mention is made of the possibility that the secured room at the St Louis facility is just to manage the intercepts, but there's an expression of skepticism: if that's all there is, why the room?

TS/SCI facilities have to be like that, it's the regs. There's not a progression of security features depending on the relative level of skulduggery. Even if "all" that's going on is managing the intercepts and re-routing data, if it's TS/SCI then it needs to be done in an internal, windowless environment with access controls...

I have been resisting the urge to join in the "Salon's not what it used to be" chorus that one sees elsewhere in the letters section, but I seem to remember that once upon a time there was some pretty good tech writing. Maybe I hang out with the geeks too much, but the presentation of intercepting by packet id, or of using network sniffers, seemed a bit melodramatic. Umm, even on the piddly COTS implementations I've helped support as a functional person, we've used network sniffers -- and it can just be software installed on existing servers for lighter weight applications -- to monitor traffic for latency, movement through network hops, etc.

Likewise, a quick call to anyone at a DC-area trade publication would have revealed that you can't move for private-sector workers who either have or are getting TS/SCI clearances to do government work, throughout the government.

I think it's an interesting article, but you could probably have got to the point quicker by tracking down some people who are more familiar with some of the domains involved.

Oh, one other thing, if that post about useless drug-addled liberals wasn't a joke, I hope your packets are getting a good working over by our friendly government... ; )