Various FISA threads

[Lazarus]

Under cover of darkness, those flippin' scumbag Democrats " compromised " and granted BushCo and the telcos immunity for their lawbreaking.
The Crypt: FISA Deal completed, House vote likely tomorrow - Politico.com

That Steny Hoyer sure is a lying sack of sh it. He denied all week long that this immunity was contained within this bill.

.........
21 ‘‘SEC. 802. PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING STATUTORY
22 DEFENSES.
23 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT FOR CERTIFICATION.—Notwith
24 standing any other provision of law, a civil action may not
25 lie or be maintained in a Federal or State court against

89
1 any person for providing assistance to an element of the
2 intelligence community, and shall be promptly dismissed,
3 if the Attorney General certifies to the district court of
4 the United States in which such action is pending that—
.................
17 ‘‘(4) in the case of a covered civil action, the as
18 sistance alleged to have been provided by the elec
19 tronic communication service provider was—
20 ‘‘(A) in connection with an intelligence ac
21 tivity involving communications that was—
22 ‘‘(i) authorized by the President dur
23 ing the period beginning on September 11,
24 2001, and ending on January 17, 2007;
25 and

90
1 ‘‘(ii) designed to detect or prevent a
2 terrorist attack, or activities in preparation
3 for a terrorist attack, against the United
4 States; and
5 ‘‘(B) the subject of a written request or di
6 rective, or a series of written requests or direc
7 tives, from the Attorney General or the head of
8 an element of the intelligence community (or
9 the deputy of such person) to the electronic
10 communication service provider indicating that
11 the activity was—
12 ‘‘(i) authorized by the President; and
13 ‘‘(ii) determined to be lawful; or
14 ‘‘(5) the person did not provide the alleged assistance.

Hereis the text of the bill.

What all that legalese boils down to is that if the BushCo says that what they asked the telcos to do was legal ( according to BushCo ),and was done to protect us ( again, according to BushCo ) that is as far as it goes - no questions asked.

These mother-****ers did this in secret, in the dark, just like the good little cockroaches that they are.

They arranged enough support for the vote to be a forgone conclusion. And two-faced Hoyer is said to be actually voting no, to continue his charade of actually giving a **** about civil liberties.

Surely there are more travesties hidden within this POS, which I intend on uncovering over the weekend.

[Michael]

I can see how the legal argument might hold that the corporations were only following the directions of the federal government. However, I am not sure a test case is still going to go forward to the Supreme Court on the Bush original sin against the constitution, in mass warrantless wiretaps of phone and internet services with no individual "probable cause" for the taps. What Bush is doing is still unconstitutional.

I am hoping that some of the telecommunication companies NOT cooperate, advertise that point, and customers simply quit the companies that are cooperating with Bush's violation of the constitution.

[Grim17]

Lawmakers Reach Deal To Expand Surveillance
By Siobhan Gorman and Sarah Lueck


After more than a year of partisan acrimony over government surveillance powers, Democratic and Republican leaders have agreed to a bipartisan deal that would be the most sweeping rewrite of spy powers in three decades. The House is likely to vote on the measure Friday, House aides said.
Removing the final barrier to action on the measure, which has been hashed out in recent weeks by senior lawmakers in both parties, House Democratic leaders decided to allow a vote on the bill, despite the opposition of many in their party.

The new agreement broadens the authority to spy on people in the U.S. and provides conditional legal immunity to companies that helped the government eavesdrop after the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to congressional aides in both parties.

The deal, if adopted, would bring the spy activities of a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program permanently under the law. That would allow the government, in certain circumstances, to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens without a specific warrant. It would also expand government spy powers to monitor communications between the U.S. and overseas to collect intelligence on topics beyond terrorism.

Full Story

All I can say is, "It's about time".

[Drakej]

Pretty much nothing has changed with FISA. This is not some grand victory for anyone. Our rights are going to be restricted just as much. And now the TelCo's have amnesty.

[Zephyr]

You're serious?

We really need a revolution.

We really do.

[Michael]

I think a new PEOPLE'S telecom should be formed with a promise to NOTcooperate with Bush. We need to let free market capitalism decide (think about running all of the Bush corporate pukes out of business).

[Drakej]

Originally Posted by Michael

I think a new PEOPLE'S telecom should be formed with a promise to NOTcooperate with Bush. We need to let free market capitalism decide (think about running all of the Bush corporate pukes out of business).

It isn't going to change with the next president either.

[Bourne]

This is excellent news in the fight against terrorism.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Friday easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government's terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country.

The bill, which was passed on a 293-129 vote, does more than just protect the telecoms. The update to the 30-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is an attempt to balance privacy rights with the government's responsibility to protect the country against attack, taking into account changes in telecommunications technologies.

"This bill, though imperfect, protects both," said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and a former member of the intelligence committee.

President Bush praised the bill Friday. "It will help our intelligence professionals learn enemies' plans for new attacks," he said in a statement before television cameras a few hours before the vote.

The House's passage of the FISA Amendment bill marks the beginning of the end to a monthslong standoff between Democrats and Republicans about the rules for government wiretapping inside the United States. The Senate was expected to pass the bill with a large margin, perhaps as soon as next week, before Congress takes a break during the week of the Fourth of July.

The Associated Press: House easily passes compromise surveillance law

[The Black Ghost]

Good to know something worked out.

Although the one thing I think is that these surveillance bills are mostly used to protect extra-national interests and allies considering the US is such a difficult target to attack being overseas and under heavy security.

This surveillance is used to protect troops abroad and US citizens in other countries though, and the record shows it has done well for the most part.

[Michael]

I have never objected to NEEDED surveillance being done by showing probable cause and asking the FISA Court for a warrant. That provides OVERSIGHT. If Bush pushes beyond that point, then you have to ask why he doesn't want any oversight - what is he hiding. NO PRESIDENT SHOULD HAVE SITUATION WHERE THERE IS NO OVERSIGHT.