Senate OKs Immunity for Telecoms and so do I!

[Eduardo]

The Associated Press: Senate OKs Immunity for Telecoms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted Tuesday to shield from lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on their customers without court permission after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

After nearly two months of stops and starts, the Senate rejected by a vote of 31 to 67 a move to strip away a grant of retroactive legal immunity for the companies.

President Bush has promised to veto any new surveillance bill that does not protect the companies that helped the government in its warrantless wiretapping program, arguing that it is essential if the private sector is to give the government the help it needs.

About 40 lawsuits have been filed against telecom companies by people alleging violations of wiretapping and privacy laws.

The Senate also rejected two amendments that sought to water down the immunity provision.

One, co-sponsored by Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, would have substituted the government for the telecoms in lawsuits, allowing the court cases to go forward but shifting the cost and burden of defending the program.

The other, pushed by California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, would have given a secret court that oversees government surveillance inside the United States the power to dismiss lawsuits if it found that the companies acted in good faith and on the request of the president or attorney general.

Full telecom immunity must still be approved by the House; its version of the surveillance bill does not provide immunity.

At issue is the government's post-9/11 Terrorist Surveillance Program, which circumvented a secret court created 30 years ago to oversee such activities. The court was part of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law written in response to government abuse of its surveillance authority against Americans.

The surveillance law has been updated repeatedly since then, most recently last summer. Congress hastily adopted a FISA modification in August in the face of dire warnings from the White House that changes in telecommunications technology and FISA court rulings were dangerously constraining the government's ability to intercept terrorist communications.

Shortly after its passage, privacy and civil liberties groups said the new law gave the government unprecedented authority to spy on Americans, particularly those who communicate with foreigners.

That law expires Feb. 15, the deadline against which the Senate is now racing to pass a new bill.

In a separate voice vote Tuesday, the Senate expanded the power of the court to oversee government eavesdropping on Americans. The amendment would give the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court the authority to monitor whether the government is complying with procedures designed to protect the privacy of innocent Americans whose telephone or computer communications are captured during surveillance of a foreign target.

The bill would also require FISA court orders to eavesdrop on Americans who are overseas. Under current law, the government can wiretap or search the possessions of anyone outside the United States_even a soldier serving overseas_ without court permission if it believes the person may be a foreign agent.

"You don't lose your rights when you leave American soil," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in an interview. Wyden wrote the provision into the bill when it was still being considered by the Senate Intelligence Committee. "In the digital age, an American's rights shouldn't depend on their physical geography."

The House approved its own update last fall. If the Senate passes its bill, differences between the two versions remain to be worked out, approved by both houses, and delivered to the president for his signature.

And of course Dictator Bush has said he will veto any bill that attempts to reduce or remove immunity. Why the 'and so do I!' in the thread title? Cause I can imagine that most people will argue here that it is somehow a good thing, and it was a parody on that thought. In other news, a lot more related shit that maybe one or two of you would care about but you could find at another forum more privy to this type of thing so I won't waste any more of your time, maybe ever. Except this:

Did I mention I believe in some form of exo-genesis and that we are going to help Israel fuck up Iran this year, and that a large false flag attack on American soil might be used to introduce martial law and that if you thinking voting is going to change anything when they are all puppets you are the smartest fucking person on the face of the sun and that I love Millie and that the fractional reserve system can eat a fucking dick and that our birth certificates are issued by the department of labor and are worth ~$600,000 if you turn it in and claim sovereignty and that aliens are definitely coming back by 2012 but most of us will already be dead and that one time at band camp we put a clarinet on a treadmill and took bets if it would take off? (the overwhelming consensus of idiots said no it wouldn't. but due to the fact that it achieves lift through electromagnetic field effects and not the pink midget under it...) Oh, was that off topic? Actually, parts if it are very related, but I'm not going to tell you which parts. (hey it was better than giving no commentary at all, I could have just boringly linked the article...)

Anyhow, stay on topic please, this thread is about wiretapping and 1984 type society... Sorry I mean wiretapping and how it is necessary to prevent all sorts of bad things from happening that we should all be afraid of because fear is calming and war is peace.

[Khorum]

Did you take a vacation or something?

[Malakriss]

Impeachable offense? We wish.

[brekk]

All hail USSA.

[Astrocreep]

dictator bush? the dems are marching right in line with him. dont expect any of this stuff to get reversed any time soon even after Pres Bush leaves office.

[chaos]

Originally Posted by Astrocreep

dictator bush? the dems are marching right in line with him. dont expect any of this stuff to get reversed any time soon even after Pres Bush leaves office.

As convienient as it is to blame Bush, the reality is that all of our leaders have been complicite in the limitations of our freedoms in exchange for the illusion of safety. Hey, I haven't been killed by terrorists though so it must be working!

Bush is horrible for many reasons but he does not share the sole responsibility for his bullshit.

[FulorianC]

The Democrats have been complicit in limitations of freedoms since the progressive era. The Republicans party was always the party of freedom, they just switched sides in 2001 and became the 'compassionate conservative' neocons of today. There's really very little differences between a neocon and a liberal, and almost no fiscal differences. The only difference is that the neocon does so legislating from the Bible rather than the liberal legislating from the bleeding heart. The legacy of Bush...

[chaos]

I see through your dirty tricks. So many trolls out today.

[FulorianC]

That doesn't even make sense.

Speaking the truth =/= trolling.

[Soriak]

Maybe you're a Troll of Truth?

[Eduardo]

Surely you guys know by now that I would never place the entire blame at the feet of one puppet... By stating Dictator Bush I was not placing all blame on him, just calling him by his proper name. A Dictator can still be a puppet, and all the puppets work in unison to some extent. Also I hope you didn't mistake my humor for just plain trolling, was just trying to get a smile out of you who already think I'm 'batshit insane' as the great Fulorian Cavestomper once said.