Slashdot Mirror
Secret Court: Government Lied to Get Wiretaps Approved
Paersona writes "Ever wonder what Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is doing to pass the time while she waits for the next step in the Microsoft case? Apparently she is now serving as the lead justice of the FISA court that oversees intelligence agencies' requests for domestic wiretapping. Today, the Washington Post reveals that the FISA court has released a rare public report rebuking the FBI and Justice Department for their handling of wiretap requests." The New York Times also has a story about the FISA court. The court's opinion is available.
I'm not saying this story is unimportant. I just wonder about the relevance of this to slashdot. And please don't give the slippery slope argument, that it will lead to hackers being persecuted, thats a weak line.
Stories like these invariably turn into one big circle jerk of "government is evil" replies, "1984" references, in a mess of lame discussion. And don't forget the mods here, where most dissenting opinion get modded down as troll or flamebait (as witnessed by my parent post), as if any disagreeing opinion is unworthy of reading.
SIG:Slashdot: indymedia for nerds.
I say more power to them.
Honestly, do you really think the FBI is wasting their time listening to slashdotters talk to their grandmas? The wiretaps are taking place for your protection. And you're not giving up any civil liberties, simply because the FBI has no interest in you. They only have interest in people that are doing really bad stuff (as in illegal enough to catch the FBI's attention in the first place).
Chances are, if they've tapped your wire then you know you've already put yourself at risk to deserve such attention. It's like the whole Carnivore thing...most of the emails are never seen by a human eye besides the sender and receiver. The FBI simply doesn't have any interest in you until you start acting like a fucktard.
So, yeah...I'm glad there's a "Big Brother" (despite how much I hate that term). We're not just a collection of individuals...we're a society. And this means we have to look out for each other and make sure stupidity doesn't get out of hand in order to function. Faith in your fellow man is good and all, but there's a fine line separating faith and naivete.
"I strongly urge both the faint of heart and the faint of butt to leave the room at this time."
- Strong Bad