for3????? turn the desert into glass
Posted on 02/06/2006 5:09:09 AM PST by HAL9000
Excerpt -
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Three major U.S. telephone companies cooperated with the National Security Agency's wiretapping program without court warrants, USA Today reports.Executives who asked not to be named told the newspaper AT&T, MCI and Sprint granted access to their systems without warrants or court orders, and acted on the basis of oral requests from senior government officials.
[snip]
The simple truth of the matter is that any expectation of privacy in your "private" life has been history for over a decade. I am NOT judging whether it is right or wrong (I lean towards wrong), but it is the reality of the situation.
in a wartime situation it is what is to be expected.
Thank you president Bush, and I really mean that. Just one caveat. Lets keep it clean and aimed squarely at the enemy and no one else.
if someone would have questioned the Roosevelt administration about counter espionage during WW 2, the people and the news media would have clobbered them...guess when one fights the enemy of the Soviet Union, the press throw out their rule book. Funny
Wow, who would have thunk the phone companies were involved in tapping...uh...phones.
I've installed about 50 Mobile Telephone Switching Offices, or MTSO's, in the past 18 years or so and worked in several dozen pretty large Central Offices for various telco's around the country and I've never heard or seen anything about this. Perhaps it's done at the telco's large routing centers. One thing I have learned, though, never, ever say anything on a phone that you don't want heard. People are listening whether you like it or not and regardless of the legality.
I heard a news bite that carped that of the 5,000 or so warrantless taps, only 10 or so were actively pursued. They thought it was terrible; I tend to think it shows that they are really only after the scoobies on the bad guys - once the computers kick out the potential items of interest, only the true possibilities are pursued.
I'm guessing they tapped these switches at the international gateway points. For landline calls I don't even know if domestic to domestic could even be captured at those switches. For cell to landline or cell to cell, I don't have any idea how they would work that out if a 'foreign' cell phone ends up in the U.S. and makes a domestic call.
It reminds me of a scene in the movie "Heat", when DeNiro is planning a bank robbery. His accomplice states that "all this information is out there, flying through the air (microwaves, I assumed). You just have to know how to catch it".
I know if they (the Feds) tapped my landline all they would get is static (and an occasional profanity laced diatribe by my wife when the cable goes out).
I'm all for the President's program, by the way.
The Senate Hearing today should be interesting.
Please tell us 1. Specifically who we are at war with. 2 Their governmental leadership, national capital, GNP, military status, etc. 3. Precisely how they will be conquered in a military sense and legally surrender.
I agree with you and I just heard on FOX they only tapped on the average of 10 phones a year....
For many years now, the truth of the matter is if you were to either receive or make a phone call to a known enemy of our country, someone who is charged with defending this country would most likely be very interested in your traitorous conversation.
for3????? turn the desert into glass
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