NSA Reading and Listening to EVERYTHING

It doesn't seem to matter what Congress thinks or what the Constitution says anymore, if that's any kind of surprise. They're spying on us all, in everything we do. Does anybody care?

My biggest question is, has any terrorist been stopped, arrested, tried and convicted legitimately using these tactics? OK, no, even bigger. Has any American been arrested, tried and convicted of something other than terrorism using these tactics?

[Excerpt]

NSA quietly expands domestic spying program, even as Congress balks

"According to current and former intelligence officials, the spy agency now monitors huge volumes of records of domestic emails and Internet searches as well as bank transfers, credit-card transactions, travel and telephone records," Gorman adds. "The NSA receives this so-called 'transactional' data from other agencies or private companies, and its sophisticated software programs analyze the various transactions for suspicious patterns. Then they spit out leads to be explored by counterterrorism programs across the U.S. government, such as the NSA's own Terrorist Surveillance Program, formed to intercept phone calls and emails between the U.S. and overseas without a judge's approval when a link to al Qaeda is suspected."

Read more at: Raw Story

Say Goodbye to Your Privacy

Shhhh.... Big Brother is probably watching you read this... try not to look them in the eyes... and pull up your pants for Pete's sake. Remember this is all just for your safety.
Its 1984... and Orwell is this century's Nostradamus.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A top intelligence official says it is time people in the United States changed their definition of privacy.

Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguards people's private communications and financial information.

"It's like schizoidparanoia... It's Existential Blues." -Tom 'T-Bone' Stankus (Good Monkey)

AT&T Whistleblower vs. Telecom Immunity

Photo from source, TPMMuckraker

I saw this guy earlier on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. He is not a telegenic presence, but what he has to say is important. As an insider from AT&T, he was in a position to know exactly what the government was asking for, and what AT&T seemingly willingly provided.

[Excerpt]

AT&T Whistleblower: Telecom Immunity Is A Cover-Up

"The president has not presented this truthfully," said Klein, a 62-year old retiree. "He said it was about a few people making calls to the Mideast. But I know this physical equipment. It copies everything. There's no selection of anything, at all -- the splitter copies entire data streams from the internet, phone conversations, e-mail, web-browsing. Everything."

Read the rest at: TPMMuckraker

Government Deploying Robot Spy Bugs?

Photo from source, WashingtonPost.com

Put on your tinfoil hat, folks. This one is creepy. . .but a little bit cool, too.

[Excerpt]

Dragonfly or Insect Spy? Scientists at Work on Robobugs.

Vanessa Alarcon saw them while working at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square last month.

"I heard someone say, 'Oh my god, look at those,' " the college senior from New York recalled. "I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?' They looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters. But I mean, those are not insects."

Read the rest at: WashingtonPost.com

More Spying. . .Surprise!

Image from source, RawStory.com

Hey, if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to hide, right? Right? Honestly, how does anybody trust this administration any more?

[Excerpt]

Pentagon acted with little oversight in spying on Americans, documents show

The Department of Defense has conspired with the FBI to "circumvent the law" in accessing hundreds of Americans' telephone, e-mail and financial records, say two civil liberties groups that released reams of new documents obtained in a contested public records request.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which has challenged the Bush Administration's post-Sept. 11 spying authority, says the Pentagon has issued 455 National Security Letters in concert with the FBI to obtain Americans' private information it is not entitled to receive. . .

Read more at: RawStory.com

Darcy Burner on the FISA Bill

This is Darcy Burner on the FISA Bill. I totally concur.