Letters to the Editor
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I'm in no mood for odes, bop.
Given that FISA doth not mind fereign-to-foreign peeping and even giveth a 72 hour window-of-opportunity for peeping in general... I'm madder than a wet hen on the fourth of July. (*i don't even know what that means, that's how mad I am, bebop.o)
I suppose, Glenn, that the R-political operatives spreading this dung are the same 'grizzled' reporters you keep telling us/we/me about. Imo, some one needs to pull the gizzards out of them lizards. (*if you need help, call me or bop. We're probably listed in the NSA directory. ie. AT&T.)
Bebop, respectfully, you got to 'smoke' the bees first (indica, sativa or Prince Albert will do). That way, you won't get stung with your hand in the honey jar. Also, again respectfully, don't worry about the big horned 'mater worms... it's the bushy-born blossom-end rot you got to watch out for. imo.
Hafiz ode?; 'secrets are many, but strangers are myriad.'
I say,"Hi NSA"? YEP, how may we direct your call,
bah.
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Ode to pretty boys and girls and birds and bees who work for Peace and Democracy.
Ode to honest workers...
I went by the field of the slothful, and by the blueberry bushes of the man void of understanding:
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns (thanks Tigerr), and nettles had covered the face therof, and the stone wall therof was broken down.
Then I saw, and considered it well. I looked upon it,
and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep;
So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth;
And thy want as an armed man.
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Thanks.
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The circle outside the circle
In an article on the front page of today's Washington Post, Ellen Nakashima provides more details on data obtained by the government when NSL's are submitted to telecom's. Citing a letter from Verizon to three Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Nakashima finds that these NSL's have requested not just information on those communicating with the "target" of the investigation, but also on those who communicate with the "target's" circle:
Yesterday's 13-page Verizon letter indicated that the requests went further than previously known. Verizon said it had received FBI administrative subpoenas, called national security letters, requesting data that would "identify a calling circle" for subscribers' telephone numbers, including people contacted by the people contacted by the subscriber. Verizon said it does not keep such information.
"The privacy concerns are exponential each generation you go away from the suspect's number," said Kurt Opsahl, senior staff attorney with the EFF. "This shows that further investigation by Congress and the inspector general is critical."
Earlier this year, the Justice Department's inspector general found that the FBI may have improperly obtained phone, bank and other records of thousands of people inside the United States since 2003 by using national security letters and exigent letters, or emergency demands for records.
Michael Kortan, an FBI spokesman, said the bureau has suspended use of community-of-interest data "while an appropriate oversight and approval policy" is developed. He added that the inspector general is reviewing the use of those data.
Link:http://tinyurl.com/3yskl8
Perhaps even more disturbing, however, is that although the surveillance in these programs has been sold to the US on the basis of fighting terrorism, the government may have reached the slippery slope, and this program may have been applied to cases other than terrorism:
From January 2005 to September 2007, Verizon provided data to federal authorities on an emergency basis 720 times, it said in the letter. The records included Internet protocol addresses as well as phone data. In that period, Verizon turned over information a total of 94,000 times to federal authorities armed with a subpoena or court order, the letter said. The information was used for a range of criminal investigations, including kidnapping and child-predator cases and counter-terrorism investigations.
It is difficult to tell from this article whether any of the "emergency" requests are among those relating to non-terrorism cases, but it was my impression that terrorism was to be the only subject for the increased surveillance powers the government is defending.
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humbugbirddingbats
William Dunbar, an English poet of the early 16th century (the 21st century too), sums it up somewhat:
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A short couplet:
Man, please thy Maker,
and be merry,
And give me not this world a
cherry.
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Let's try to not be invalids for life,
ever under the tutelage of excellent Glenn.
Let's remain faithful to truth and mirth.
Remembering to oppose the Gop's mindset.
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We/me/you, can say bye to lawyers, physician's,
musicians are we all? Your wellness coaches.
Bring me some merriment and health, merriment.
Those who lie will go.
Blot GOP memory's existence.
This era of 'our' existence.
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Woe man.
Women.
Ladies.
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WaPo: Verizon Says It Turned Over Data Without Court Orders
Preemptive strike? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101501857_pf.html
Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone records to federal authorities in emergency cases without court orders hundreds of times since 2005.
The company said it does not determine the requests' legality or necessity because to do so would slow efforts to save lives in criminal investigations.
In an Oct. 12 letter replying to Democratic lawmakers, Verizon offered a rare glimpse into the way telecommunications companies cooperate with government requests for information on U.S. citizens.
Verizon also disclosed that the FBI, using administrative subpoenas, sought information identifying not just a person making a call, but all the people that customer called, as well as the people those people called. Verizon does not keep data on this "two-generation community of interest" for customers, but the request highlights the broad reach of the government's quest for data.
The disclosures, in a letter from Verizon to three Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigating the carriers' participation in government surveillance programs, demonstrated the willingness of telecom companies to comply with government requests for data, even, at times, without traditional legal supporting documents. The committee members also got letters from AT&T and Qwest Communications International, but those letters did not provide details on customer data given to the government. None of the three carriers gave details on any classified government surveillance program.
From January 2005 to September 2007, Verizon provided data to federal authorities on an emergency basis 720 times, it said in the letter. The records included Internet protocol addresses as well as phone data. In that period, Verizon turned over information a total of 94,000 times to federal authorities armed with a subpoena or court order, the letter said. The information was used for a range of criminal investigations, including kidnapping and child-predator cases and counter-terrorism investigations.