New FBI Operations Manual Increases Surveillance

betterunixthanunix writes "The New York Times is reporting that the new FBI operations manual suggests a broad increase in surveillance. Denoted the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, the manual officially lowers the bar of acceptability when it comes to engaging in surveillance activities, including allowing agents to perform such surveillance on people who are not suspected terrorists without opening an inquiry or officially recording their actions. The new manual also relaxes rules on administering lie detector tests, searching through a person's trash, and the use of teams to follow targeted individuals. It should be noted that these guidelines still fall within the general limits put in place by the attorney general."

Comments

Re:Ugh, polygraphs

[rubycodez]

information extracted by torture is well known to be unreliable, while very effective ways of getting information and cooperation have been perfected for decades....but our government still went with the torture. Says a lot about the kind of contemptible thug scum we have running the place, doesn't it?

Re:Ugh, polygraphs

[nabsltd]

And if true, someone somewhere who has an IQ bordering on mentally disabled is sitting in a jail cell for a crime he did not commit but confessed to under false pretense

Assuming that you have been advised of your rights, police in the United States are allowed to lie or otherwise mislead you when you are being questioned.

Re:4th?

[Plugh]

Fair questions. Different FSP members are likely to give you different answers as we all have different priorities. For me, the biggest wins are:

• Elected over 1 dozen FSP members to the State legislature
• Elected dozens of FSP members to local office all over the state (including myself, FWIW)
• Outright eliminated all knife laws in NH
• Passed a law forbidding NH from participating in the Real-ID program, or any de facto national ID that may follow therefrom
• Likely to pass a resolution this year asserting state sovereignty
• Passed laws reducing regulations on various businesses: contractors, home-schoolers
• Prevented any state income tax, sales tax, or seat belt law from passing, despite intense lobbying for such from other quarters
• Started libertarian TV shows, radio programs, and newspapers all over the state -- far more media saturation than in any other state

A lot more are listed over at http://www.ronpaulforums.com/forumdisplay.php?253-New-Hampshire

Re:Ugh, polygraphs

[element-o.p.]

I had to take a polygraph for a job once (it was a Federal job that required a security clearance). It took three tries, even though I was telling the truth (I have not EVER used illegal drugs, then or since, other than a couple of drinks when I was under age -- and that was only illegal because of my age *and* I told them about that). The problem was, for as long as I can remember, I've always used various breathing and relaxation techniques to, well, relax. That caused unusual spikes and dips on the polygraph test, which caused the administrator to think I was trying to hide something. Once I figured out that 1) they were intentionally trying to create stress in the test environment, and that 2) they were picking up the wild variations between when I would start to feel any anxiety and when I would start to try to calm myself down, I figured out what I needed to do to pass: build up the stress instead of trying to keep myself calm. Once the stress level was raised, it was easy to keep it relatively constant throughout the test.