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NSA Metadata Collection Gets 90-Day Extension
schwit1 sends word that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has authorized a 90-day extension to the NSA's ability to collect bulk metadata about U.S. citizens' phone calls. In April, the House of Representatives passed a bill to limit the NSA's collection of metadata, but the Senate has been working on their version of the bill since then without yet voting on it. Because of this, and the alleged importance of continuing intelligence operations, the government sought a 90-day reauthorization of the current program. The court agreed. Senator Patrick Leahy said this clearly demonstrates the need to get this legislation passed. "We cannot wait any longer, and we cannot defer action on this important issue until the next Congress. This announcement underscores, once again, that it is time for Congress to enact meaningful reforms to protect individual privacy.
What the fuck? Just how much are these scumbags being paid off? I have difficulty believing someone could be that corrupt just for the hell of it, so I'm certain there's a big bribe--I mean, "campaign contribution," in it for them.
The real problem is we shouldn't even need to pass these laws in the first place and whether it becomes the law or not I don't see them stopping anytime soon. When the law screws up they get a paid vacation.. When we screw up we get prison time.
Umm.. the 4th amendment has never been extended. Advances in technology were finally found to be covered by it but that was not an extension of the 4th, just a leap of common sense by the courts. The 4th does already cover electronic communications and it is still unconstitutional (person, papers, and effects).
The problem is that the so called metadata is being considered separate from personal papers and effects and considered to not fall within the constitutional provisions of the 4th amendment. Congress attempted to claim it was and proscribed a means of getting a warrant mostly for a dog and pony show and this extension is simply that warrant. However, because it doesn't describe the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized, it is still just lip service with slight of hand tricks to appease some people.
Fuck you and fuck no!
That's the spirit. Things have got to change, But first, you gotta get mad!
All of this furor is over call and subscriber data being sent to the NSA directly on a regular basis. If I wanted to build a computer platform capable of storing and doing queries on this information for the whole United States I could probably assemble one off the shelf for a couple grand.
I would not need a water-cooled data center in Utah, centrally located so you can lease dark fiber to carry multiple terabit streams into it. Among other data centers in other parts of the country which are in planning, already constructed, or just manage to stay under the radar because they were built from the black ops budget. I would not need secret agreements (negotiated voluntarily or by threat) with service providers to tap and split optic cables.
This issue of NSA bulk metadata collection is a straw man, a distraction to divert attention from NSA's full content backbone tapping capability. It is a little duck set loose for Congress to shoot down, so they can hold up the dead duck as they pose for a group photo, leaning on their rifles.
The horrifying truth is -- if and when, possibly now -- NSA has enough backbone taps in place, they would already have access to this data that is being sent to them. In the modern world there are but a few major telecoms and their call data converges at central billing and collection points. The telecoms would gladly keep these links unencrypted or leave the keys in the mailbox for a nudge nudge wink wink absolving them of public ire.
Even the judges are stalking this duck and believe me, they are relieved when the topic of conversation fixes on call data rather than bulk content interception. That is because there is legal precedent for law enforcement collection of so-called 'pen trace data' without warrants, and they have a leg to stand on.
I'll serious money that if YOU were to ask any member of Congress a very specific and impeccably worded question about bulk content collection and backbone taps, you would get a clumsy response about call metadata. And move on to the next question. It is that insidious.
NSA has crossed the line. It needs to be completely disbanded, its secret assets colocated at Tier 1 and Tier 2 exchanges completely disconnected, dismantled and sold at auction. Its employees sent home. Or we're all fucked.
LYNCHPIN of warrantless spying: Hepting v. AT&T
Clap on! Clap off! Clapper's PRISM DISINFO Gambit
RAISE CONGRESS, while you still can!
A fable: NSA and the Desolation of Smaug
<blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
...as a limited time approval of the FISA courts.
You never know...
Bullshit. The Supreme Court damn well knows the 4th Amendment (and the rest of the Bill of Rights) should be interpreted broadly, so as to limit the government as much as possible. They just don't give a fuck because they're partisan, totalitarian bastards!
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz