If you don't know - I'm not going to tell you.

[Gary Allan]

Wiretap hard to challenge in court due to classified nature (Times subscription required)

A divided federal appeals court yesterday dismissed a case challenging the National Security Agency’s program to wiretap without warrants the international communications of some Americans, reversing a trial judge’s order that the program be shut down.


The majority in a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled on a narrow ground, saying the plaintiffs, including lawyers and journalists, could not show injury direct and concrete enough to allow them to have standing to sue.

Because it may be impossible for any plaintiff to demonstrate injury from the highly classified wiretapping program, the effect of the ruling was to insulate it from judicial scrutiny. Thus, the program’s secrecy is proving to be its best legal protection.


Talk to the hand ......

 

[Pablo]

I fail to see why people get all spun up about international wiretapping. We are at war.

IF this was domestic I'd be the first one protesting.

 

[Gary Allan]

I'm personally comfortable with any activities that our government wants to pull out of their bag of dirty tricks if it keeps me snug and warm with all my distractions of excess. It's the seeking and securing of sanctuary within the legal structure that is somewhat disturbing. It was always the liability of discovery that tempered such activities and restricted them to the niche of "wrong, but deemed necessary". Now this is no longer the case in regard to this type of surveillance .

 

[Lonnie]

We should pass a rule that terrorists have to apply for a special permit to communicate about illegal activities, and then we can have the NSA apply for wire taps with proof that they are only listening to the bad guys. You will have to wait because of the 4th of July holiday, or legislators in DC took two weeks off to celebrate because they wanted to show they are more patriotic than the average working person than only took Wednesday off.

 

[dwendt44]

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin

 

[MarkC]

Quote:

---

I fail to see why people get all spun up about international wiretapping. We are at war.

IF this was domestic I'd be the first one protesting.

---

And what makes you so certain that there is no domestic wiretapping and other tasty things going on? Do you really think anybody would admit it?

 

[Gary Allan]

Again, Lonnie, I'm all for wholesale assassinations of those who our government sees as threats to our security. Use wiretaps ..anything. Take the gloves off.

 

[Drew99GT]

They could have gone to the FISA court from the beginning and we'd be arguing what beer is tastier, but I guess history is the best predictor of the future regarding politicians actions.

 

[oilyriser]

Quote:

---

Again, Lonnie, I'm all for wholesale assassinations of those who our government sees as threats to our security. Use wiretaps ..anything. Take the gloves off.

---

That was the USSR.

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, let me rein that in a bit for you, oilyriser. I acknowledge that there will be some activities/threats that can not be coped with in a socially acceptable manner. My fear is not that these activities are (or will be) occurring ..but that they will enjoy a shield of impunity/immunity to hide behind. That is more like the USSR. They too said that they had the proletariat's best interests at heart.

 

[doitmyself]

Naive question, but, what's the difference between wiretapping and the monitoring of e-mail/internet use that occurs openly?

Why are telephone communications more sacred than the others.

 

[Gary Allan]

There's an assumption of privacy. But I think that cell phones are not covered under this.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

If they're wiretapping me, they're going to die from boredom. Poor basturds.

 

[Lonnie]

The world does not understand or respect pc or nice guys. A boot in the face works better; it's direct and understood without a language barrier. Security comes with some baggage. We are holding enemy combatants, caught in free fire zones with loaded weapons and locked them up, given them meals and dental car, vision care and religious assistance and attorneys to assist them. If we are doing that for our enemies, I think we should give equal care to our citizens, but we don’t. We’re nice guy to the point of taking services away from our citizens and giving them to an enemy that is sworn to kill us. Is something wrong here? Tell your children that have to stand in line behind that guy in the orange jump suit to get medical care.

 

[Shannow]

You could also tell them that energy security is worth more than their health or lives.

 

[Master ACiD]

no such thing as a truely free world. others will make sure of that.
tire tapping is one of the small prices we pay for the relative freedom we have.
kind of freaky to think that someone may be listening in, but i bet someone gets a kick out of it.
if only they heard me and the misses the other night on the phone.
man oh man

 

[Gary Allan]

True M.A. ..we surrendered true freedom for assured liberties. Unfortunately, as conditions change, those liberties are getting crowded. The problem that you run into when you start trimming fat off of liberty is that more and more people begin to resemble each other on either sides of the divide. You end up having more akin with those we are being protected from ..and less in common with those doing the protecting.


It's something that needs to taken very seriously.

 

[9296D21B14]

What brand of tin foil hat would be correct for this application?

 

[Gary Allan]

It's the Pacified Compliance® brand. It feels so good for so long that you never want to take it off. Even when it gets a little tight.

 

[9296D21B14]

Is this the sheeple icon?