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DOMESTIC-SPYING

The Wire

Court Rejects ACLU Challenge to Wiretaps

The Supreme Court dealt a setback Tuesday to civil rights and privacy advocates who oppose the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. The justices, without comment, turned down an appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union to let it pursue a lawsuit against the program that began shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Judge: Feds Must Release Telecom Records

An electronic privacy group challenging President Bush's domestic spying program scored a minor victory after a judge ordered the federal government to release information about lobbying efforts by telecommunications companies to protect them from prosecution.

Court Rejects ACLU Domestic Spying Suit

A divided federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit Friday challenging President Bush's domestic spying program without ruling on the issue of whether warrantless wiretapping is legal.

Judge Criticizes Warrantless Wiretaps

A federal judge who used to authorize wiretaps in terrorist and espionage cases criticized President Bush's decision to order warrantless surveillance after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Justice Expands on Spy Program Details

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales expanded Congress' access Wednesday to classified documents detailing the government's domestic spying program but still didn't satisfy several lawmakers demanding information about surveillance.

Justice Wants Spying Lawsuit Dropped

The Bush administration sought on Thursday to drop its appeal of a federal court ruling that concluded the government's domestic spying program is unconstitutional, saying the entire issue is moot since the surveillance now is monitored by a secret court.

White House Shifts Course on Spy Program

A year after disclosure of a domestic spying program that President Bush maintained was within his authority to operate, the administration shifted its position and said it would seek the approval of an independent panel of federal judges.

No Domestic Spying in Ohio Terror Case

A federal judge who dismissed a challenge of the Bush administration's domestic spying program said the case against a convicted al-Qaida supporter was built on statements he made to investigators, not evidence from warrantless eavesdropping.

U.S. Rates Travelers for Terror Risk

Without their knowledge, millions of Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders in the past four years have been assigned scores generated by U.S. government computers rating the risk that the travelers are terrorists or criminals.

Judge Won't Dismiss Eavesdropping Lawsuit

A federal judge Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's domestic spying program, rejecting government claims that allowing the case to go forward could expose state secrets and jeopardize the war on terror.

Gov't Asks Judge to Dismiss Spying Suit

The government urged a federal judge Friday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's domestic spying program, saying it threatens to reveal state secrets.

White House Invokes Privilege in Spy Cases

The Bush administration has asked federal judges in New York and Michigan to dismiss a pair of lawsuits filed over the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, saying litigating them would jeopardize state secrets.

Specter Criticizes Rationale for Spying

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has not adequately justified why the Bush administration failed to seek court approval for domestic surveillance, said the senator in charge of a hearing Monday on the program.

Pelosi Questions Bush's Spying Program

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says President Bush should have used his extensive authority under the law to monitor suspected terrorists rather than approve the National Security Agency's disputed monitoring program.

The Vine
In Britian: Every phone call, email and internet click stored by 'state spying' databases
Source: Telegraph

All [British] telecoms companies and internet service providers will be required by law to keep a record of every customer's personal communications, showing who they are contacting, when, where and which websites they are visiting.

Big Brother FBI
Source: LewRockwell.com

From the wholesale use of informants and provocateurs to stifle political dissent, to Wi-Fi hacking and viral computer spyware to follow our every move, the FBI has turned massive data-mining of personal information into a growth industry.

Obama White House Has Secret Plan To Harvest Personal Data From Social Networking Websites
Source: national legal and pollicy center

NLPC has uncovered a plan by the White House New Media operation to hire a technology vendor to conduct a massive, secret effort to harvest personal information on millions of Americans from social networking websites.

Siemens risks losses due to Iran ties
Source: The Washington Times

One of the world's largest engineering firms, Siemens, could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) because it sold Iran equipment used to spy on dissidents...Europe says one thing and does another.

Were the Cheney/Bush administrations evil?

New revelations out today confirm longheld suspicions regarding clandestine activities of both Bush and Cheney involving torture and domestic surveillance.

Bob Herbert - Op-Ed Columnist - Who Are We?
Source: The New York Times

Policies that were wrong under George W. Bush are no less wrong because Barack Obama is in the White House.

Bush FBI sent 18 armored agents to search my house, wiretap whistleblower says
Source: Raw Story

The Bush Administration's FBI sent 18 agents in body armor to the home of a man who revealed details of the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, according to a little-noticed account of the whistleblower published Thursday.

NSA Whistleblower Meets Anthrax 'Person of Interest'
Source: Wired News

They sat near different ends of a long table Thursday: a former Justice Department official who leaked information on Bush's warrantless domestic spying program to the New York Times, and a former Army scientist who was wrongly linked to the 2001 anthrax attacks by different, b …

Following Bush lead, Obama moves to block challenge to wiretapping program
Source: Raw Story

President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.

GOP Witness: By Historical Standards, Bushies' War On Terror Conduct Was "Exemplary"
Source: Talking Points Memo

I would suggest, Mr. Rivkin, that until you know, and we all know, what was done under the Bush administration, you not be so quick to throw other generations of Americans under the bus, and assume that they did worse.

Pelosi is ready to do her job: Torture, Domestic Spying: Video
Source: msnbc.com

Pelosi attempts the remove herself from any culpability and claim she's making sure Obama's appointments had nothing to do with the crimes. Either way I don't care, lets get this done and over with so our country can move on and be respected again.

Questions to Ponder: The Societal Ramifications of Government Data Mining
Source: Daily Kos

Two days ago, Keith Olbermann had Russell Tice, former NSA analyst, on his show. Tice came forward to discuss the NSA's domestic spying program. (See here and here for the lead diaries on this by RiderOnTheStorm.)

Obama to Defend Telco Spy Immunity
Source: Wired News

The incoming Obama administration will vigorously defend congressional legislation immunizing U.S. telecommunication companies from lawsuits about their participation in the Bush administration's domestic spy program.

Intelligence Court Rules Wiretapping Power Legal
Source: The New York Times

A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, issued a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a specific court order, even when Americans' private communications may b …

Cheney: NYT Pulitzers for Spying Stories "Aggravating"
Source: TheHill.com

Vice President Dick Cheney said that the prizes won by the New York Times for uncovering the Bush administration were "aggravating" to him, and cautioned the incoming administration on the lessons he's learned in office.

This May Be Your Last Chance To Speak Out Against Domestic Surveillance - Get FISA Right!
Source: Reality Catcher

Voting ends at 2 p.m. Pacific on Thursday for Change.org's Top 10 Ideas for Change, to be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day. Get FISA Right/End the PATRIOT Act is currently at number 7. Don't miss your chance to speak out.

LA Times: State of Mayland Spies On Pacifists, Environmentalists, and Nuns
Source: The L.A. Times

Apparently the State of Maryland has been spying on law-abiding citizens and groups in a program reminiscent of the old J Edgar Hoover days.

Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views - Will "Change" Come To Bush's Illegal Wiretap Program?
Source: The New York Times

President-elect Barack Obama will face a series of early decisions on domestic spying that will test his administration's views on presidential power and civil liberties.The Justice Department will be asked to respond to motions in legal challenges to the National Security Agen …

How Will the Imperial Presidency End?
Source: blog.aclu.org

In the waning days of the Bush administration, it may seem like a boatload has already been said about the mess George W. created — gallons of newspaper ink, innumerable blog posts, an Oliver Stone biopic, endless books already on the shelves, and more on the way. close gitmo

Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views - NYTimes.com
Source: The New York Times

President-elect Barack Obama will face a series of early decisions on domestic spying that will test his administration's views on presidential power and civil liberties.

Democratic Pressure on Obama to Restore the Rule of Law
Source: The New York Times

In a Senate hearing room in September, weeks before Barack Obama won the election, a series of law professors, lawyers and civil libertarians outlined one of the biggest challenges that will be facing the next president: bringing the United States government back under the rule …

Change We Can Believe In: Revelations About Bush's Illegal Wiretapping Programs Anticipated Once Obama Is Sworn In
Source: ABC News

When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on January 20, Americans won't just get a new president; they might finally learn the full extent of George W. Bush's warrantless domestic wiretapping.

Half of UK councils use anti-terror laws to spy on 'bin crimes'
Source: www.infowars.com

Their surveillance tactics include hiding secret cameras on streets and even in neighbouring homes to catch householders putting their rubbish out on the wrong day.

Officials considering new domestic spying agency
Source: majikthise.typepad.com

The Department of Homeland Security commissioned the RAND corporation to investigate the possibility of creating a new domestic spying agency, ostensibly for the purpose of counter-terrorism.

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