Slashdot Mirror
NSA Overstepped the Law On Wiretaps
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that legal and operational problems surrounding the NSA's surveillance activities have come under scrutiny from the Obama administration, Congressional intelligence committees, and a secret national security court, and that the NSA had been engaged in 'overcollection' of domestic communications of Americans. The practice has been described as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional. The Justice Department has acknowledged that there had been problems with the NSA surveillance operation, but said they had been resolved. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the intelligence community, did not address specific aspects of the surveillance problems, but said in a statement that 'when inadvertent mistakes are made, we take it very seriously and work immediately to correct them.' The intelligence officials said the problems had grown out of changes enacted by Congress last July to the law that regulates the government's wiretapping powers, as well as the challenges posed by enacting a new framework for collecting intelligence on terrorism and spying suspects. Joe Klein at Time Magazine says the bad news is that 'the NSA apparently has been overstepping the law,' but the good news is that 'one of the safeguards in the [FISA Reform] law is a review procedure that seems to have the ability to catch the NSA when it's overstepping — and that the illegal activities have been exposed, and quickly.'"
When a parent tells a child to commit a crime there isn't really a point to punish the kid.
These aren't children, they are adults. You have failed at basic kindergarden level reasoning skills.
The government asked them to do something. Even if it is illegal the boss of the country asked them.
Not "even if". It is treason. It is a direct, intentional violation of the constitution and a willful violation of the oaths of office of everybody involved. There isn't anything to be debated, because there is no counter argument possible. It is treason. Everybody involved needs to be put to death or we need to admit that America has no respect for the rule of law or for its founding principles. Personally, I don't support the death penalty, but the law demands their deaths for their willfully chosen treasonous actions, so my statement is an absolute fact.
It would be silly for the boss to then punish the kid for doing as told.
No, you are just a fucking deeply ignorant fool. Look up the Nuremberg trials, you pea brained, lying douche.
. It would be like punishing your router for sending emails to the wrong person when you typed in the wrong name.
Your router isn't a human being. It is probably smarter than you are though. That applies to pretty much everything though, given the utter stupidity of that statement.
am i missing any metaphors?
No, you're missing common sense, basic reasoning skills, any knowledge of history, any understanding of logic, ethics, morals, and pretty much everything that puts people above insects.
That is what you have chosen to make yourself into. Far, far worse than useless.