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US Government Monitoring Associated Press Phone Records
Picass0 writes with distressing news from the AP wire, about the AP: "The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a 'massive and unprecedented intrusion' into how news organizations gather the news."
They obtained call records from a number of desk phones, and the personal phones of many news editors. The DOJ has not commented, but it may be related to the possibility that the CIA director leaked information on a foiled terror plot in Yemen last year.
No one could be worse than Bush!
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
Doesn't Obama know history repeats on a 70-80 year cycle?
Laws are for plebeians, not patricians.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Ah yes, the good ol' US of A... showin' everyone how it's done with their abject lack of journalist shield laws. Well, it's not like anyone ever said freedom of the press was essential for democracy. *cough*
If you ask me, shield laws are kinda pointless. I mean, the EU, the UN, and many countries have made statements about how important they are, but they didn't have to worry about terrorists. We should trust that our government knows best here; I mean, if the Director of the CIA develops a conscience, it could compromise national security.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
It is time to fire the Attorney General. If he knew of this then he is a criminal. And if he didn't then he is an idiot. Neither are acceptable.
Hey! We're the press here! We're the only ones allowed to lie to phone companies to obtain illicit access to phone records!
As long as we all agree that "Good" is framed by ideology not behavior.
We're protecting everyone's freedom - by looking very closely at how everyone exercises it and categorising every result.
This is, because we all agree, that America was founded on the principle of Safety Assured - and we are guaranteed any freedom that promotes this.
Do not support terrorism and discuss the validity of these arguments. Your freedom is not a license to be unorthodox in civil or economic matters.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Yeah some real change from the John Ashcroft days...
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
Media not disclosing sources is a form of being accessory to a crime and/or obstruction of justice. I don't want to defend shady law enforcement tactics, but I'm sort of surprised that certain media outlets can consistently and legally get away with hiding evidence and key witnesses and seldom get subpoenaed.
"Vast Right Wing Conspiracy."
How is there no mention of if there was or was not a warrant for this in the summary? More over, how the hell does the TFA not even use the word once?
It's actually worse than you thought (tm)
I would mod this 'Funny', but there are so many people who actually believe nonsense like this that I can't be sure.
It's actually worse than you thought (tm)
Fixed.
Seriously, the press is all over things like wiretapping, political intrigues, what kind of corn was in the president's bowel movement today (was it GMO corn!?), etc, and seems to think that this kind of 'microscope up the ass' intrusiveness is not only 'news!' But also "the public has a right to KNOW!"
But, when somebody turns around and investigates one of THEM, "oh loaurd Jeezuz it's a fiar!".
What's good for the goose, is good for the gander AP. When you shamelessly cram the microscope up asses, don't act insensed or surprised when you get the microscope colonoscopy too. Simply because your shiny little badge says "news", does not make you immune to the law, and you are *not* people of priveledge.
Don't get me wrong, sunshine is good, and breaking stories about govt wrongdoing is healthy and good. Just don't foster an image of sweeping disregard for privacy, and due process while doing so, unless you want the same treatment for yourselves.
Enjoy your DoJ probing. You enjoyed probing others, so its surely right up your alley, AP.
We have specific problems right now with presidential overreach by Obama and Bush, and the solution is political change and discussion. Cynicism like yours is part of the problem, not part of a solution. The solution is to kick out politicians responsible for this.
Yes, such a sharp contrast to his predecessor. Clearly.
Oh yeah. You have a "work within the system" and "hope and change" response. Because that works out, so very well.
See this: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3745845&cid=43715361
The system is corrupted beyond the imaginings of Eisenhower - with his famous warning.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
they want to protect there buds....ya knwo the rich people
that stole 500 bucks form every man women and child on earth
Benghazi scandal. Leaked by Biden camp to tar Hillary so she won't run in 2016.
IRS scandal. Intentionally leaked to distract from Benghazi.
AP scandal. Intentionally leaked to distract from IRS scandal.
What's next?
'Welcome to the Second Term, Mr. President'
- Tom Brokaw
Eisenhower did not heed his own famous warning... too bad
are there enough poiliticans left after you kick out the bad ones to run the country? which party would you propose should the president be from next election? They are equally bad.
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP! "No limitations, no boundaries, there is no reason for them."
Awww, the press is upset that someone checked over their phone records. At least they obtained a warrant. The FBI appears to think that no such thing is needed when it's a common citizen that they want records for. How come the press is upset when it happens to them but seems to ignore the FBI doing it to others?
Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
Where have you been? It's alright we know where you've been.
I remember watergate very well...was 14 years old. That summer, you couldn't flip a channel (we only had four tv channels then) without wall to wall 24/7 coverage of the watergate hearings. NOTHING was on but that it seemed. The newspapers, tv, radio stations were all slamming the cover ups, lies, burglary of the watergate issue. Not one person died as a result. Juxtapose that with today, Benghazi, 4 people died, there are lies & cover ups all over the place, the IRS was being used as a 600 pound gorilla to intimidate people, and the press has been focused on the stupid lady that stabbed her boyfriend/husband 27 times, and those 3 missing women who were held for 10 years. Where's the 24/7 wall to wall coverage? Where are the calls for resigning over lies? Whispers of impeachment? Well, has something to do with the majority of the media being a bunch of in the tank liberals who will throw anyone under the bus to protect the "image" of the hope & change guy. They will call this a political witch hunt, GOP grandstanding etc. The press still doesn't get it. If the politicians in DC, both GOP & DEM get their way, the first amendment will go by the way side & will end up with the media, who are almost doing it anyway, being nothing more than a propaganda machine for the government.
Look at you. Above the fray, criticizing both Obama and Bush. Bush never did anything like this. You can't take your vote for Obama back, so when confronted with an undeniable scandal you make sure to always mention the predecessor in the same breath. You took sides when you voted. It's your bed. Sleep in it. Own it.
The over-reach is equally enabled by Congress with their great ideas like FISA, the Patriot Act and so on.
It's a disgusting situation.
The solution is to dissolve *all* of the executive branch orgs created via the executive order process, then plug the executive order hole.
Then, retract all of the legislation that has enabled these overreaches of authority over the past 50 years.
But that won't happen. Tyrants *never* tie their own hands.
"But you have to pass the bill so you can, uh, find out what's in it...." - Nancy Pelosi, March 9th, 2010 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-05TLiiLU
Look forward to big brother telling me when I can piss and shit.
What did people expect when Obama took Mayor Daley's goon and thug squad to DC?
Modded Troll for being a dipshit.
Where you stop kicking? Things were pretty clear last presidential election, and still one of the 2 candidates that were assuring that everything will still be in the same way or worse were elected. If having the chance nothing was done, even when plenty of evidence of the trend, why you think it will be done next time?
The only possibility is that the Lesters choose someone that will actually fix things for all, not following their goals. And even if by some miracle it happens, all those heavy investors and all their high paid consultants get fooled and choose the wrong guy, still remains the rest of the goverment.
You can keep playing lotto and hope that next time you will hit the big prize. But odds are high that things will never be fixed, the system is just too rigged.
An interesting video.
Bush never did anything like this? Torture? The Patriot Act (he and Obama love this one)? The TSA? He didn't do anything? Really?
Each day brings a new revelation of the lawlessness of the Obama Government.
And yet Obama's thrust for absolute power knows now bound.
In the coming days Obama is address the nation signaling the state of Marshal Law, suspension of the USA Constitution, suspension of each State's Constitution, Suspension of Congress, Suspension of the Judicial Branch, nationalization of each State's National Guard, suspension and sequestration of private bank accounts, suspension and sequestration of corporate bank accounts, and a public declaration that USA citizens are enemy combatants exclusive of trusted Federal Executive Department's employees.
And all this on the anniversary of President Richard M. Nixon's impeachment hearings by Congress in 1973.
Washington warned us that partisanism will be the downfall of American Politics. We haven't learned from the first Farewell Address, why would we have learned from a later one? At least Washington stood by his principles during his term. Eisenhower sold out, starting the Vietnam war before ducking out and blaming the military industrial complex. And we didn't listen to him either.
Learn to love Alaska
Every US president has sought to expand presidential powers for at least the last 50 years. Overreach is not new.
This is not a good thing, but it is fact. Don't just blame the current and last administration. Blame them all, regardless of party.
Why did they bother?
They already record every phone call, every email, every tweet, every text in America. All they had to do was roll back through their own logs.
What's interesting is that all of this is breaking at once.
Is there a reason for that or is it just coincidence?
Very curious...
"and the solution is political change and discussion"
Voting out the president and changing the party doesn't deliver significant change though. You still have the majority of congress sitting in safe seats.
You may have something with torture, because that's the only executive action you listed. Show me the legal definition and I'll consider it.
Never give up, never surrender!
maybe we should try some hybrid of parliament and out executive branch...some system that forces more political parties, but doesn't end up in the government "collapsing" when the Prime Minster gets a speeding ticket...
Well warrants have been purely optional, at least at the federal level for the last decade.
Where you stop kicking? Things were pretty clear last presidential election, and still one of the 2 candidates that were assuring that everything will still be in the same way or worse were elected. If having the chance nothing was done, even when plenty of evidence of the trend, why you think it will be done next time?
Once you get to the general election, it is already too late. Start in the primaries by rallying behind a candidate that runs on a platform of freedom and civil rights. Do it on both sides of the aisle. Don't care about other stuff too much. If she's a democrat and supports copyright extension ad infinitum, so be it. If she's a republican and wants to slash Medicare, so be it. Do the same in races for congress, on the state level, etc. Even if your candidate doesn't end up winnng the general election, you'll raise visibility for your issue, which will change things for the better in the long run.
OS Reviews: Free and Open Source Software
That the media has so long been the suck up lapdogs of government misconduct, often engaging in misconduct themselves, that this is really just hilarious karmic blowback. Fun shit to watch!
The root cause isn't the president, the root cause is Congress; the president is little more than a janitor for the nation. His job is to implement what the people tell him to do, subject to constitutional constraints and judicial oversight. It's Congress's job to limit and direct presidential power, but they haven't been doing their job. It should be a lot easier to make change happen in Congress, because we can do that one district and one representative at a time.
The problem isn't with the president; we rarely get good presidents, and they are mostly interchangeable.
The problem is with Congress having abdicated much of its responsibility to the president, and with voters having unrealistic expectations of the president. The president can't fix the economy, he can't protect us from terrorism, and he can't make sure everybody gets a pony.
As for Lessig, his obsession with money in politics is the wrong focus. The problem isn't that rich people somehow remote control mindless voters, the problem is that voters are getting what they are asking for, they simply are asking for the wrong things and don't understand the consequences.
Where have you been? Of course, Bush did something like this, from lying about WMDs in Iraq to torture, funneling money to religious organizations, and numerous violations of due process and invasions of privacy.
Yes, I did vote for Obama the first time around, both because he promised to end the abuses of the Bush era, and because the alternative was a doddering fool. The second time around, I voted for neither, because it turned out Obama had been lying through his teeth, and both had come right out saying that they didn't give a damn about the Constitution or limits on executive power. I don't apologize for my votes, they were correct given the information we all had.
And, no, I didn't "take sides" with my vote, no matter how much blind and dumb partisans like you want to turn a rational choice into some kind of childish us-vs-them game.
Oh yeah. You have a "work within the system" and "hope and change" response. Because that works out, so very well.
It's been working for hundreds of years, with degrees of success changing over time, in both the US and UK, and way better than the sort of socialist (or is that communist?) revolution you would prefer*. Why don't you try that in your native Canada first, so we can watch the results before it gets tried in the US?
A big part of the problem is that the news media isn't doing its job. They put their thumb on the scales in favor of Obama, and they still haven't really taken it off. Now, they are reaping their reward - multiple scandals breaking out at once, including the AP incident. It is a simple fact that about 90% of journalists in the US media contribute to Democrats, and probably vote the same. And that should be OK, as long as they report accurately and fairly even on policies they personally desire. But they aren't doing that. They are letting their personal political preferences interfere with their professional obligation. As a result, they cover for the Obama administration, ask friendly questions, continually post stories about "unexpected" outcomes that are bad when they can't otherwise be minimized. It is hard to make good choices for a country when the people and leaders aren't getting good, accurate, information, and that isn't happening. Well, their support of the Obama administration has become a bit strained recently, and it might very well turn shortly. When it does, it won't be pretty for the administration.
It may be already starting.
Obama knee-deep in Nixon-esque scandal (Note: As of posting, this is a front page story on the Boston Herald.)
Republicans could not even have scripted this one. The agency most hated by voters, the Internal Revenue Service, admits to going on a Nixonian witch hunt against Tea Party and conservative groups during the re-election campaign.
This is a story even the most partisan Massachusetts liberal cannot defend. It’s so bad that even Ed Markey is calling for heads to roll.
Now we learn that the Justice Department has secretly obtained the phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors in what appears to be an investigation of an AP story that disclosed details of a CIA operation that stopped a terrorist attack.
Going after the Tea Party is one thing, but the media? What an outrage. Who knows, the press may get so mad they won’t laugh at Obama’s jokes during the next White House Correspondents’ Dinner. . .more
*No, this isn't a troll. The man is very left of centre.
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
Relax, citizens. Stasi has only your best interests at heart.
Congress can do that. And the way to make that happen is to put people in Congress with the balls to stand up to the president.
...and are totally controlled and underwritten by scumbags like the Koch Brothers. This is why the IRS was investigating them; shame they don't have the courage of their convictions to say it loud and plainly.
NY Times Editor Margaret Sullivan quoting Robert Heinlein.
http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/transparency-secrecy-and-retaliation-emerge-as-major-issues-in-benghazi-coverage/
``The failures of government transparency, too,
cross party lines. Rooted in political expediency,
those failures of transparency know no color,
neither red nor blue. And they need to be pointed
out and resisted. As author Robert A. Heinlein
wrote, ``Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.' ''
(my thanks to Danny Burstein for bringing this to my attention or usent:rec.arts.sf.written.)
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens, torture, indefinite detention, war crimes, arbitrary assassinations, gun smuggling to drug cartels, facilitating financial fraud, etc. etc.
And who gets punished for these crimes? The whistle-blowers who reveal the criminal activity to the American people.
Government is a giant extortion racket with the same moral principles as organized crime.
I meant what I said a while ago. Get out of the US, while you still can.
And people wonder why I hold ACs in such low regard.
Good thing you're AC, else when those things do not happen (and they won't), you'd be derided to the end of your days here.
FYI, the executive branch cannot do those things. True, it could attempt, but it does not have that authority and they would be thrown out ASAP if for no other reason than to avoid immediate and armed revolt. This is why we have gun rights in this country.
Thank you for pointing that out.
Let's get Bush out thus ending cynicism.
Clearly the problem is cynicism and Bush.
Again, thanks for the clarification.
Yes, such a sharp contrast to his predecessor. Clearly.
I know you're trying to be sarcastic, but you're actually correct.
We need a car analogy here:
Dubya pointed the front end of the vehicle (the USA) toward the ultimate cliff and put it in gear and eased out on the clutch and started casually rolling off towards disaster.
Obummer then got behind the wheel, stomped the pedal to the floor, revving the engine up to redline, then sidestepped the clutch, lifting the front wheels off the ground and boiling half the rubber off the back tires , taking off like a rocketship towards the cliff.
I'd call that a sharp contrast indeed, even though the ending will be the same.
"It is a simple fact that about 90% of journalists in the US media contribute to Democrats..."
It could be that if you are informed and on top of things politically, as journalists are, you are all too aware of the odious cynicism of Republican ideology. Hence, you support the less evil party.
If you post it, they will read.
Who advocated any kind of revolution?
I am skilled at identifying the problem. Prescribing a solution is a different matter. The validity of an analysis is NOT dependent on pairing it with a viable alternative. That's a frequently invoked challenge, by defenders of status quo - no matter how abhorrent.
My interim solution proposal is to let it all fall apart, over the next, several unsustainable decades.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
For the benefit of you and the AC (other AC, that is), the US waterboarded a total of 3 (three) people, the most recent of which was 10 years ago. This is easy information to find. It should also be noted that the US has done the exact same thing to thousands or tens of thousands of its pilots and special forces soldiers to help mentally prepare them in case they are captured. Coercive? Yes. Torture? Not under US law at the time. That seems to be pretty weak broth to base long term contempt or hatred for the US.
Government is corrupt and self serving. Film at 11.
I'm in agreement. As far as I know torture still has not been legally defined by congress. If waterboarding is torture, then SERE training is against the law.
In all fairness that war was already underway, but he certainly did bring the US into the conflict, albeit in a very limited way. Kennedy ratcheted up our involvement and Johnson went full-retard.
The first American soldier death in Vietnam was under Eisenhower. When the French left and Eisenhower stepped in and blocked the democratic elections because it was feared the communists would win a fair election, the civil war started. Caused by Eisenhower, who was the president who sent the first American to his death in Vietnam.
You can argue about who went full retard first, but "started" was when we didn't pull out with the French, and instead started the civil war. At least we didn't do what we did in Russia and give support to the White Army, then when the Whites and Reds actually started fighting, pulled out so the Whites would die and the Reds would hate us for 100 years. Yes, the US started the cold war, and started the vietnamese civil war as well.
Learn to love Alaska
Obama was totally not going to be like Bush. At all. He had it azll written down in his day-planner, swear. But them he was sowrn in and handed the super secret book of bad things that would happen to us if he allowed freedoms to go on unabated. One of those things was a terrorist attack. So we don't get media shield laws or any of that and in exchange there's been ZERO terror attacks on the soil of the US. Let me repeat that. ZERO.
I used to be