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More Details Emerge On Domestic Spying Programs

Posted by kdawson on from the government-and-business-a-sittin'-in-a-tree dept.

The feed brings us this NYTimes story giving new details on the telecom carriers' cooperation with secret NSA (and other) domestic spying programs. One revelation is that the Drug Enforcement Agency has been running a program since the 1990s to collect the phone records of calls from US citizens to Latin America in order to catch narcotics traffickers. Another revelation is what exactly the NSA asked for in 2001 that Qwest balked at supplying. According to the article, it was access to the company's most localized communications switches, which primarily carry domestic calls.

12 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. yeah by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    One revelation is that the Drug Enforcement Agency has been running a program since the 1990s to collect the phone records of calls from US citizens to Latin America in order to catch narcotics traffickers.

    ...thereby winning the war on drugs once and for all. ONCE AND FOR ALL!

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    1. Re:yeah by palegray.net · · Score: 3, Funny

      There are no drugs in this country. Anyone who tells you any different is lying. The War on Drugs was won in 1998 after a long, determined effort on the part of various federal and state agencies. If you persist in spreading rumors of the existence of illicit substances in this country, you will be asked to report to your local Reeducation Center for instruction. Thank you!

      --
      512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
  2. Criminals aren't home users by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    Of course they balked at being asked for access to the home records,

    Criminal gangs, cartels and organisations are not individual customers and must have a business account with the phone company.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re:Criminals aren't home users by Tore+S+B · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why, oh WHY wasn't this modded "Funny"? "INSIGHTFUL"?! Ironically, I feel compelled to yell "GET SERIOUS!"
      I can just picture the conversation at the local drug cartel:

      A cartel boss hangs up his cellphone after ordering the murder of several interfering policemen.
      Boss: We need a phone line for our new location
      Henchman: Sure thing, boss. Which fake name should I register it under?
      Boss: ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY MAD!? THAT IS A VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE! Murder, fine, extortion, fine, but VIOLATING TELEPHONE COMPANY TERMS OF SERVICE AGREEMENTS!? We're not IDIOTS here! THIS IS A BUSINESS, and we have to REGISTER AS SUCH!

      --
      toresbe
  3. Re:How realistic are these programs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    That begs the question: what's the real value of these surveillance programs? Job security, baby.
  4. Re:To avoid NSA, use this method... by kryten_nl · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't think Al-Jazeera is interested in broadcasting my taped message to my father.

    --
    For the perfect anti-Unix, write an OS that thinks it knows what you're doing better than you do and let it be wrong.
  5. Re:To avoid NSA, use this method... by paulthomas · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm sorry, I'm American, and I've got to ask: Who is Osama bin Laden?

  6. Re:To avoid NSA, use this method... by bogaboga · · Score: 2, Funny
    You know what? I am not sure either, all I know is that his method works.

    It's now time for a disclaimer, so here we go:

    I do not know what I am talking about.

  7. How many Bothan spies had to die... by Hamster+Lover · · Score: 2, Funny

    How many Bothan spies had to die to get us this information? God knows that the Democratically controlled Congress didn't do shit to get this information.

  8. Re:False equivalence by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 2, Funny

    1. Skip obtaining court order.
    2. ???
    3. Profit!!!

    --
    You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  9. Re:So what? This is old news! by Headcase88 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, I remember Clippy, and even arguing the free market and all, any administration that doesn't interfere with that damnable mascot being burned on millions of CDs did something wrong.

    --
    "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
  10. Re:In Communist America.. by graveyhead · · Score: 2, Funny

    Considering that America is both a democracy *and* a constitutional republic

    I thought we were the popular front?

    By the way, from now on I want you all to call me "Loretta". :P
    --
    std::disclaimer<std::legalese> sig=new std::disclaimer; sig->dump(); delete sig;