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Is the Government Also Monitoring the CONTENT of Our Phone Calls?

George Washington's picture




 

The Obama administration has been caught spying on the Verizon phone calls of tens of millions of Americans.

But the government has sought to “reassure” us that it is only tracking “metadata” such as the time and place of the calls, and not the actual content of the calls.

That claim is patently absurd.

The American government is in fact collecting and storing virtually every phone call, purchases, email, text message, internet searches, social media communications, health information, employment history, travel and student records, and virtually all other information of every American.

All U.S. intelligence agencies – including the CIA and NSA – are going to spy on Americans’ finances.  The IRS will be spying on Americans’ shopping records, travel, social interactions, health records and files from other government investigators.

Glenn Greenwald reported in May:

A seemingly spontaneous admission this week by a former FBI counterterrorism agent provides a rather startling acknowledgment of just how vast and invasive these surveillance activities are.

 

***

 

On Wednesday night, [CNN's Erin] Burnett interviewed Tim Clemente, a former FBI counterterrorism agent, about whether the FBI would be able to discover the contents of past telephone conversations between the two. He quite clearly insisted that they could:

BURNETT: Tim, is there any way, obviously, there is a voice mail they can try to get the phone companies to give that up at this point. It’s not a voice mail. It’s just a conversation. There’s no way they actually can find out what happened, right, unless she tells them?

 

CLEMENTE: “No, there is a way. We certainly have ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that conversation. It’s not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court, but it may help lead the investigation and/or lead to questioning of her. We certainly can find that out.

 

BURNETT: “So they can actually get that? People are saying, look, that is incredible.

 

CLEMENTE: “No, welcome to America. All of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether we know it or like it or not.”

“All of that stuff” – meaning every telephone conversation Americans have with one another on US soil, with or without a search warrant – “is being captured as we speak”.

On Thursday night, Clemente again appeared on CNN, this time with host Carol Costello, and she asked him about those remarks. He reiterated what he said the night before but added expressly that “all digital communications in the past” are recorded and stored:

 

Let’s repeat that last part: “no digital communication is secure“, by which he means not that any communication is susceptible to government interception as it happens (although that is true), but far beyond that: all digital communications – meaning telephone calls, emails, online chats and the like – are automatically recorded and stored and accessible to the government after the fact. To describe that is to define what a ubiquitous, limitless Surveillance State is.

 

There have been some previous indications that this is true. Former AT&T engineer Mark Klein revealed that AT&T and other telecoms had built a special network that allowed the National Security Agency full and unfettered access to data about the telephone calls and the content of email communications for all of their customers. Specifically, Klein explained “that the NSA set up a system that vacuumed up Internet and phone-call data from ordinary Americans with the cooperation of AT&T” and that “contrary to the government’s depiction of its surveillance program as aimed at overseas terrorists . . . much of the data sent through AT&T to the NSA was purely domestic.”

 

***

 

That every single telephone call is recorded and stored would also explain this extraordinary revelation by the Washington Post in 2010:

Every day, collection systems at the National Security Agency intercept and store 1.7 billion e-mails, phone calls and other types of communications. ***

Two Democratic Senators, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, have been warning for years that Americans would be “stunned” to learn what the US government is doing in terms of secret surveillance.

The Atlantic notes:

TSA’s surveillance of our communications is most likely much, much bigger than [metadata]. Technology has made it possible for the American government to spy on citizens to an extent East Germany could only dream of. Basically everything we say that can be traced digitally is being collected by the NSA.

 

***

 

On its face, the document suggests that the U.S. government regularly collects and stores all domestic telephone records,” The Week’s Marc Ambinder writes of Glenn Greenwald’s scoop last night. “My own understanding is that the NSA routinely collects millions of domestic-to-domestic phone records. It does not do anything with them unless there is a need to search through them for lawful purposes.” Previous reporting from many outlets suggests that’s true.”

As the top spy chief at the U.S. National Security Agency – William Binney – explained, the NSA is collecting some 100 billion 1,000-character emails per day, and 20 trillion communications of all types per year.

Binney says that the government has collected all of the communications of congressional leaders, generals and everyone else in the U.S. for the last 10 years.

Binney further explains that he set up the NSA’s system so that all of the information would automatically be encrypted, so that the government had to obtain a search warrant based upon probably cause before a particular suspect’s communications could be decrypted. But the NSA now collects all data in an unencrypted form, so that no probable cause is needed to view any citizen’s information. He says that it is actually cheaper and easier to store the data in an encrypted format: so the government’s current system is being done for political – not practical – purposes.

Binney says that if anyone gets on the government’s “enemies list”, then the stored information will be used to target them. Specifically, he notes that if the government decides it doesn’t like someone, it analyzes all of the data it has collected on that person and his or her associates over the last 10 years to build a case against him.  This includes whistleblowers, activists or even government insiders … like the head of the CIA.

Indeed, whistleblowers revealed years ago that the NSA was vacuuming up virtually all Internet communications.

The Other Types of Spying the Government Is Doing On Us

In addition, the amount of money and effort the government is putting into spying on Americans using a wide variety of other technologies tends to discredit any notion that the government is exercising restraint in monitoring our phone calls (which are already being tapped) for content.

For example, the government is flying drones over the American homeland to spy on us.

Senator Rand Paul correctly notes:

The domestic use of drones to spy on Americans clearly violates the Fourth Amendment and limits our rights to personal privacy.

Emptywheel notes in a post entitled “The OTHER Assault on the Fourth Amendment in the NDAA? Drones at Your Airport?”:

http://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Picture-7.png

***

 

As the map above makes clear–taken from this 2010 report–DOD [the Department of Defense] plans to have drones all over the country by 2015.

Many police departments are also using drones to spy on us. As the Hill reported:

At least 13 state and local police agencies around the country have used drones in the field or in training, according to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, an industry trade group. The Federal Aviation Administration has predicted that by the end of the decade, 30,000 commercial and government drones could be flying over U.S. skies.

 

***

 

“Drones should only be used if subject to a powerful framework that regulates their use in order to avoid abuse and invasions of privacy,” Chris Calabrese, a legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said during a congressional forum in Texas last month.

 

He argued police should only fly drones over private property if they have a warrant, information collected with drones should be promptly destroyed when it’s no longer needed and domestic drones should not carry any weapons.

 

He argued that drones pose a more serious threat to privacy than helicopters because they are cheaper to use and can hover in the sky for longer periods of time.

 

A congressional report earlier this year predicted that drones could soon be equipped with technologies to identify faces or track people based on their height, age, gender and skin color.

Moreover, Wired reports:

Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations….

 

The systems are being installed in San Francisco, Baltimore, and other cities with funding from the Department of Homeland Security in some cases ….

 

The IP audio-video systems can be accessed remotely via a built-in web server (.pdf), and can be combined with GPS data to track the movement of buses and passengers throughout the city.

 

***

 

The systems use cables or WiFi to pair audio conversations with camera images in order to produce synchronous recordings. Audio and video can be monitored in real-time, but are also stored onboard in blackbox-like devices, generally for 30 days, for later retrieval. Four to six cameras with mics are generally installed throughout a bus, including one near the driver and one on the exterior of the bus.

 

***

 

Privacy and security expert Ashkan Soltani told the Daily that the audio could easily be coupled with facial recognition systems or audio recognition technology to identify passengers caught on the recordings.

RT notes:

Street lights that can spy installed in some American cities

 

America welcomes a new brand of smart street lightning systems: energy-efficient, long-lasting, complete with LED screens to show ads. They can also spy on citizens in a way George Orwell would not have imagined in his worst nightmare.

­

With a price tag of $3,000+ apiece, according to an ABC report, the street lights are now being rolled out in Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh, and may soon mushroom all across the country.

 

Part of the Intellistreets systems made by the company Illuminating Concepts, they have a number of “homeland security applications” attached.

 

Each has a microprocessor “essentially similar to an iPhone,” capable of wireless communication. Each can capture images and count people for the police through a digital camera, record conversations of passers-by and even give voice commands thanks to a built-in speaker.

 

Ron Harwood, president and founder of Illuminating Concepts, says he eyed the creation of such a system after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Hurricane Katrina disaster. He is “working with Homeland Security” to deliver his dream of making people “more informed and safer.”

Cell towers track where your phone is at any moment, and the major cell carriers, including Verizon and AT&T, responded to at least 1.3 million law enforcement requests for cell phone locations and other data in 2011. (And – given that your smartphone routinely sends your location information back to Apple or Google – it would be child’s play for the government to track your location that way.) Your iPhone, or other brand of smartphone is spying on virtually everything you do (ProPublica notes: “That’s No Phone. That’s My Tracker“).

Fox news notes that the government is insisting that “black boxes” be installed in cars to track your location.

The TSA has moved way past airports, trains and sports stadiums, and is deploying mobile scanners to spy on people all over the place. This means that traveling within the United States is no longer a private affair.

You might also have seen the news this week that the Department of Homeland Security is going to continue to allow searches of laptops and phones based upon “hunches”.

What’s that about?

The ACLU published a map in 2006 showing that nearly two-thirds of the American public – 197.4 million people – live within a “constitution-free zone” within 100 miles of land and coastal borders:

The ACLU explained:

  • Normally under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the American people are not generally subject to random and arbitrary stops and searches.
  • The border, however, has always been an exception. There, the longstanding view is that the normal rules do not apply. For example the authorities do not need a warrant or probable cause to conduct a “routine search.”
  • But what is “the border”? According to the government, it is a 100-mile wide strip that wraps around the “external boundary” of the United States.
  • As a result of this claimed authority, individuals who are far away from the border, American citizens traveling from one place in America to another, are being stopped and harassed in ways that our Constitution does not permit.
  • Border Patrol has been setting up checkpoints inland — on highways in states such as California, Texas and Arizona, and at ferry terminals in Washington State. Typically, the agents ask drivers and passengers about their citizenship. Unfortunately, our courts so far have permitted these kinds of checkpoints – legally speaking, they are “administrative” stops that are permitted only for the specific purpose of protecting the nation’s borders. They cannot become general drug-search or other law enforcement efforts.
  • However, these stops by Border Patrol agents are not remaining confined to that border security purpose. On the roads of California and elsewhere in the nation – places far removed from the actual border – agents are stopping, interrogating, and searching Americans on an everyday basis with absolutely no suspicion of wrongdoing.
  • The bottom line is that the extraordinary authorities that the government possesses at the border are spilling into regular American streets.

Computer World reports:

Border agents don’t need probable cause and they don’t need a stinking warrant since they don’t need to prove any reasonable suspicion first. Nor, sadly, do two out of three people have First Amendment protection; it is as if DHS has voided those Constitutional amendments and protections they provide to nearly 200 million Americans.

 

***

 

Don’t be silly by thinking this means only if you are physically trying to cross the international border. As we saw when discussing the DEA using license plate readers and data-mining to track Americans movements, the U.S. “border” stretches out 100 miles beyond the true border. Godfather Politics added:

But wait, it gets even better! If you live anywhere in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey or Rhode Island, DHS says the search zones encompass the entire state.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have a “longstanding constitutional and statutory authority permitting suspicionless and warrantless searches of merchandise at the border and its functional equivalent.” This applies to electronic devices, according to the recent CLCR “Border Searches of Electronic Devices” executive summary [PDF]:

Fourth Amendment

 

The overall authority to conduct border searches without suspicion or warrant is clear and longstanding, and courts have not treated searches of electronic devices any differently than searches of other objects. We conclude that CBP’s and ICE’s current border search policies comply with the Fourth Amendment. We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits. However, we do think that recording more information about why searches are performed would help managers and leadership supervise the use of border search authority, and this is what we recommended; CBP has agreed and has implemented this change beginning in FY2012.***

The ACLU said, Wait one darn minute! Hello, what happened to the Constitution? Where is the rest of CLCR report on the “policy of combing through and sometimes confiscating travelers’ laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices—even when there is no suspicion of wrongdoing?” DHS maintains it is not violating our constitutional rights, so the ACLU said:

If it’s true that our rights are safe and that DHS is doing all the things it needs to do to safeguard them, then why won’t it show us the results of its assessment? And why would it be legitimate to keep a report about the impact of a policy on the public’s rights hidden from the very public being affected?

***

 

As Christian Post wrote, “Your constitutional rights have been repealed in ten states. No, this isn’t a joke. It is not exaggeration or hyperbole. If you are in ten states in the United States, your some of your rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights have been made null and void.”

 

The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the entire DHS report about suspicionless and warrantless “border” searches of electronic devices. ACLU attorney Catherine Crump said “We hope to establish that the Department of Homeland Security can’t simply assert that its practices are legitimate without showing us the evidence, and to make it clear that the government’s own analyses of how our fundamental rights apply to new technologies should be openly accessible to the public for review and debate.”

 

Meanwhile, the EFF has tips to protect yourself and your devices against border searches. If you think you know all about it, then you might try testing your knowledge with a defending privacy at the U.S. border quiz.

Wired pointed out in 2008 that the courts have routinely upheld such constitution-free zones:

Federal agents at the border do not need any reason to search through travelers’ laptops, cell phones or digital cameras for evidence of crimes, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, extending the government’s power to look through belongings like suitcases at the border to electronics.

 

***

 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the government, finding that the so-called border exception to the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches applied not just to suitcases and papers, but also to electronics.

 

***

 

Travelers should be aware that anything on their mobile devices can be searched by government agents, who may also seize the devices and keep them for weeks or months. When in doubt, think about whether online storage or encryption might be tools you should use to prevent the feds from rummaging through your journal, your company’s confidential business plans or naked pictures of you and your-of-age partner in adult fun.

Going further down the sci fi Big Brother rabbit hole, Verizon has applied for a patent that would allow your television to track what you are doing, who you are with, what objects you’re holding, and what type of mood you’re in. (And some folks could conceivably be spying on you through your tv using existing technology.)

And they’re probably bluffing and exaggerating, but the Department of Homeland Security claims they will soon be able to know your adrenaline level, what you ate for breakfast and what you’re thinking … from 164 feet away.

Indeed, technology has made pervasive spying more possible than ever before.

TechDirt notes:

In a radio interview, Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Angwin (who’s been one of the best at covering the surveillance state in the US) made a simple observation that puts much of this into context: the US surveillance regime has more data on the average American than the Stasi ever did on East Germans.

Postscript:  This is not some “post-9/11 reality”.  Spying on Americans started before 9/11

And the national security boys can choose to share U.S. civilian information with federal, state, local, or foreign entities for analysis of possible criminal behavior, even if there is no reason to suspect them.

And many say that the spying isn’t being done to keep us safe … but to crush dissent and to smear people who uncover unflattering this about the government … and to help the too big to fail businesses compete against smaller businesses (and here).

Note: Here’s a full report card on how well the government has been balancing civil liberties with other concerns.

 

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Fri, 06/07/2013 - 04:12 | 3632800 Disenchanted
Disenchanted's picture

9/11 wasn't 'prevented' because of anything other than it was on the agenda...

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:06 | 3631420 steelhead23
steelhead23's picture

Open Message to whoever reads it:

GD-it.  This has to stop.  Oh sure, we law abiding citizens have nothing to fear from our government.  After all, they're not making us wear little stars on our arms.  (No you fool, they don't have to - they know your religion, the last time you went to church or temple, how much you make, who you love, who you've lied to - and with face recognition software, could probably identify you from space - they don't need us to wear ID bracelets or dogtags.)  Given this president's willingness to serve as judge, jury, and executioner and his willingness to use the IRS as a political weapon, everyone here - FREAKIN EVERYONE is at serious personal risk.  What are we waiting for - brownshirted bullies breaking glass?  IT IS TIME TO LEAVE.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:38 | 3631500 Chupacabra-322
Chupacabra-322's picture

America has become a Criminal Nation run by Criminals for Criminals. It's not time to leave, it's time to fight, arrest, tri & execute the Criminals.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:06 | 3631417 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Even the New York Slimes is turning on the Oreo over the NSA.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/opinion/president-obamas-dragnet.html...

 

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:15 | 3631448 machineh
machineh's picture

That's the NYT's version of jumping the shark -- biting the Oreo.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:13 | 3631443 sosoome
sosoome's picture

The election is past, so they can attempt to appear objective now.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:06 | 3631415 BullyBearish
BullyBearish's picture

Our government is simply a proxy for our owners.  Their only fear is that the 300 million firearms glued to our hands may someday be used against them when they push too far.  Those symbols of freedom are all that stand between us and complete slavery.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:12 | 3631440 Chupacabra-322
Chupacabra-322's picture

Soon my friend, very very soon. Tic toc, tick toc. Their time is up and they know it.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:01 | 3631397 Rick64
Rick64's picture

Amdocs and Converse sys. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fm0_7jVqcE

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:58 | 3631372 JustObserving
JustObserving's picture

Why worry about phone calls when the state is indulging in outright murder?

The state killing of Ibragim Todashev

On May 22, Ibragim Todashev, a key witness in events related to the Boston Marathon bombings, was killed by an FBI agent in his residence in Florida. Todashev, an alleged acquaintance of bombing suspects Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was unarmed and in custody when he was shot as many as seven times, including once in the head.

This extraordinary event, which has been largely buried in the US media, stinks of a cover-up, deceit and criminality. Four or five completely different accounts of the killing have been presented by the government in the space of little more than a week. None of these accounts can be believed.

The killing of Todashev occurred just over a month after two bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing 3 people and injuring 264. Within a short period of time, the public was told that the perpetrators had been identified. Soon after, Tamerlan, 26, was shot and killed by the police. His brother Dzhokhar, 19, was severely wounded while hiding unarmed in a boat.

In the days following the bombings, the city of Boston was placed under effective martial law. In a massive and unprecedented police-military operation, the population was ordered to “shelter in place,” armored vehicles were deployed in the streets and heavily armed SWAT teams conducted house-to-house searches without regard for basic rights.

In the aftermath of the Boston events, it emerged that the elder Tsarnaev—like almost every individual who has perpetrated or attempted to perpetrate a similar act—was long known to intelligence agencies and was possibly connected with them. Detailed warnings had been provided by Russia, and these warnings had been ignored. It also emerged that a close associate of Tamerlan, along with two others, had been murdered on the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, a year and a half before the bombings.

It was under these conditions that a person who knew the Tsarnaev brothers and had potentially vital information was located in Florida. Yet before this key witness could be publicly questioned, and before he was charged with any crime, he was shot and killed by an FBI agent under extremely dubious circumstances.

On the day of Todashev's death, without a lawyer present, and presumably without regard for his Miranda rights, at least four federal and local agents spent eight hours with him in his home, supposedly seeking to extract a signed confession to the murders committed before the Boston Marathon.

Before this interrogation, Todashev told his roommate, who was also questioned, that he feared for his life.

Todashev's father, at a recent press conference in Moscow, claimed that morgue photos prove that at least some of the shots must have occurred while his son was on the ground, with the shooter standing over him. Speaking in Russian, the father described the shot to the head as a "control shot," i.e., a mafia-style point-blank shot designed to ensure that the victim is dead.

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/03/pers-j03.html

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:51 | 3631524 Oldrepublic
Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:23 | 3631406 Chupacabra-322
Chupacabra-322's picture

These lying piece of shit scumbags!! They all SWORE that they would NEVER track or record electronic communications that originated and terminated within our country! LIARS! Filthy, worthless, despicable filth – being paid, BY US to spy ON US!

This PROVES that our federal system of government is no longer worthy of any respect, as they exhibit the most immoral actions that one can envision. Every single person who reads this post – your CRIMINAL government believes that it is prudent & justified to treat you as a threat. We are NOT to be trusted. TSA grope-downs – WE PAY FOR – not by choice. We are not to be trusted. Free speech zones. We are not to be trusted, nor respected. Our RIGHT to privacy – it just doesn’t exist. We are not to be trusted. Topping it off is you wielding this enormous power that you direct at your discretion to intimidate anybody who merely disagrees with your political viewpoints : See – IRS. We are not to be trusted.
Our greatest fears about what you might become one day are manifesting as each day passes by.

We, the people, are NOT the problem. We LOVE this Republic. We aren’t the ones who casually dismiss the pillars of rules and laws – the moral fiber that is necessary for the functionality of the delicate balance of power that MUST exist or our “Experiment of Freedom” has failed. You are failing us.

You constantly lie about what you do – but when you get caught, you just lie more with impunity – with NO adverse consequences or punishment. You lie to us about what your intentions are. Your obviousness is vile. Why shouldn’t Americans be outraged?

The entire world now just scoffs at us – WE are now the punch line. Some pity us, very few revere us. This is all due to your behavior. There’s nobody to blame but yourselves. You’re disgracing everything that we are supposed to represent – the very best of mankind.

You’ve brought shame upon us all, criminals.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:31 | 3631293 Karl von Bahnhof
Karl von Bahnhof's picture

The biggest question is: why they are really doing this?

I think that economic collapse is not the answer. My guess is big war.

Fri, 06/07/2013 - 20:49 | 3635934 forexskin
forexskin's picture

you sound like the distinction between the two is OR. from our point of view, and theirs, there is no difference there - they're wrapping us risks right up. three proper uses of there, their, they're.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:29 | 3631285 rubiconsolutions
rubiconsolutions's picture

I'm no fan of the clown occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. However, does anyone really think it would have been any different if Mitt Romney was president? I doubt it. This just a continuation and escalation of the Bush doctrine. Eric Arthur Blair must be laughing somewhere.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:24 | 3631266 thisandthat
thisandthat's picture

Said this once already: if you add international airports to that map (they're borders too), the yellow area will cover pretty much the whole country.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:21 | 3631255 ThisIsBob
ThisIsBob's picture

If you are up to no good you already know or suspect this and presumably act accordingly.  If you do not, then Darwin should have his way with you.

You know they haven't busted any serious shit with all these shenanigans, because if they had, you would have seen them on a podium with lots of flags behind, telling everybody how great they are.

 

 

 

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:20 | 3631254 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Here is the real issue concerning this and no it is not a blame Bush problem. Forbes seems to be the first ones touching on this.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/06/05/nsas-verizon-spying...

The National Security Agency has long justified its spying powers by arguing that its charter allows surveillance on those outside of the United States, while avoiding intrusions into the private communications of American citizens. But the latest revelation of the extent of the NSA’s surveillance shows that it has focused specifically on Americans, to the degree that its data collection has in at least one major spying incident explicitly excluded those outside the United States.

 

In a top secret order obtained by the Guardian newspaper and published Wednesday evening, the FBI on the NSA’s behalf demanded that Verizon turn over all metadata for phone records originating in the United States for the three months beginning in late April and ending on the 19th of July. That metadata includes all so-called “non-content” data for millions of American customers’ phone calls, such as the subscriber data, recipients, locations, times and durations of every call made during that period.

Aside from the sheer scope of that surveillance order, reminiscent of the warrantless wiretapping scandal under the Bush administration, the other shocking aspect of the order its target: The order specifically states that only data regarding calls originating in America are to be handed over, not those between foreigners.

“It is hereby ordered that [Verizon Business Network Services'] Custodian of Records shall produce to the National Security Agency…all call detail records or ‘telephony metadata’ created by Verizon for communications (i) between the United States and abroad; or (ii) wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls,” the Guardian’s copy of the order reads. “This Order does not require Verizon to include telephony metadata for communications wholly originating and terminating in foreign countries.”

Though the classified, top secret order comes from the FBI, it clearly states that the data is to be given to the NSA. That means the leaked document may serve as one of the first concrete pieces of evidence that the NSA’s spying goes beyond foreigners to include Americans, despite its charter specifically disallowing surveillance of those within the United States.

....

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:24 | 3631267 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

And for the record who voted for what concerning having the 4th Amendment violated by the FISA courts concerning H.R. 5949 which is the most current reuthorization that the current phone records grab was enabled by.

House vote

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/112-2012/h569

Senate vote

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/112-2012/s236

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:10 | 3631431 machineh
machineh's picture

Here's a list of the eleven treasonous federal judges on the FISA court, who regard the constitution with depraved indifference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Court

 

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:54 | 3631375 steelhead23
steelhead23's picture

Thanks for posting that link.  It was heartening to see that both of Oregon's senator's voted Nay.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:58 | 3631381 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Ron Wyden for the most part has been consistent concerning civil liberties. Congress needs more people like him on all sides of the aisle to restore the Republic.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:16 | 3631241 holgerdanske
holgerdanske's picture

The US government is, without any doubt, the greatest, the most well funded and the most capapable -- of all terrorist organizations,-- ever.

Nice to know you are the best, still, at at least one thing!!

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:14 | 3631339 Chupacabra-322
Chupacabra-322's picture

The Act of 1871 created The Criminal UNITED STATES Corp. The Soverign American People have been subjected to bondage & enslavement through criminal fraud. The Criminal Federal Government & its three branches plus courts, representatives & officials are fully aware of this hoax.

The remedy is simple. Non compliance via taxes. Pack a gun & pay no tax. Mass arrests with public trials followed by public executions.

Their time is coming & The Global Criminal Cabal Oligarch Bankster Intelligence Crime Syndicate knows it.

Fri, 06/07/2013 - 22:17 | 3636184 PT
PT's picture

Chupacabra-322:  Re:   ...Mass arrests ...

That ain't gonna happen until the masses have a list of names, addresses and alleged crimes - both direct perpetrators and accessories whether in media or DoJ or SEC refusing to do their jobs when it comes to the "select few".  Vague descriptions are not good enough.

Also, it is difficult to rise up when the oppressors live thousands of miles away.  Time to by-pass the "oppressing machines".  If someone can oppress you from a distance and you can not retaliate, then it is time to re-arrange your affairs to eliminate that problem.  Unfortunately, I cannot be more specific than this.  How can you avoid being "oppressed from a distance"?

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:15 | 3631228 DawgAss
DawgAss's picture

All this cool shit and they can't tell us where Ass Hole BHO was born, really went to school, who really knew him where ever his schools were, etc.

Makes me feel safe, cause they apparently can't have anything on someone as low as me in the food chain!!!!

FUCK THEM ALL!!!!

 

PS Record this three or four times in case you lose one......

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:22 | 3631260 optimator
optimator's picture

When all those folks the Govt. hires to start reading some of stored data they'll somehow decipher that remark.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 21:09 | 3632130 nmewn
nmewn's picture

I'm actually looking Forward to the day when Krugman defends their firing because of the job losses and drag on the economy it would mean.

Its like a bad premise caught within its own reality ;-)

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:09 | 3631206 pine_marten
pine_marten's picture

The government is menacing.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:05 | 3631193 edifice
edifice's picture

The government has been monitoring ALL electronic communication (analog and digital) for a VERY long time.  Nothing new here and, it should not come as a surprise to anyone reading this article.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:26 | 3631272 failsafe
failsafe's picture

Perhaps you are correct. Nonetheless, I am glad to see every detailed, well-documented post such as this because it is TAKING FOREVER for this to sink in to enough people to generate a protest. Our only hope is that gradually enough people will realize the extent of their government's complete disregard for them and their freedom.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:16 | 3631172 medium giraffe
medium giraffe's picture

The question that needs more focus:

What about the unfair advantage those guys who are reading your mail get when it comes to commercial & corporate secrets?  What if I want to have a conversation with someone in the US about a new 'thingamyjig' that is going to revolutionise some sector or other, corner the market and make a tidy sum for our little start-up, bleeding edge company?  Do I trust the TLAs not to run off to their Big Business Buddies and spill all, stealing our ideas and beating us to it?

I know it's naive to think this is not happening in my country, but when it's confirmed like this, it then becomes a tangible and quantifyable risk and may very well need to be worked into my risk assesment framework.

Do I even want to do business with a US company under those circumstances?

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:19 | 3631249 Charles Bishop ...
Charles Bishop Weyland's picture

That's why it's called "INDUSTRIAL" espionage.

 You'd be better off meeting them on a streetcorner in Istanbul.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:44 | 3631341 medium giraffe
medium giraffe's picture

But it's not even targeted espionage anymore, it's the de facto standard.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 15:48 | 3631133 sosoome
sosoome's picture

Well, as long as you're not breaking the law, as long as you fall in line and say only good things about the current regime, as long as you pay them what they demand, and as long as you go along with their mandates, what's the big deal?

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 22:05 | 3632303 willwork4food
willwork4food's picture

Why not? It's MILLER TIME!

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 15:47 | 3631128 DaveyJones
DaveyJones's picture

Every morning I make the office coffee (my only job that brings satisfaction and gratitude) and I usually post a "thought for the day" on a post it above the brew. Usually some sarcastic spinoff from the themes here. Today was "I wonder if they can monitor my post its?" 

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 15:45 | 3631124 irie1029
irie1029's picture

dont like it do something about it start here or shut up.

https://www.change.org/petitions/the-united-states-government-the-nation...

 

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 17:47 | 3631517 Race Car Driver
Race Car Driver's picture

If petitions - like voting - changed anything (or were a threat to the status quo) - they'd be illegal.

But you g'head and put your name on the list.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 23:45 | 3632574 Taint Boil
Taint Boil's picture

 

 

Racecar spelled backwards is racecar.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:47 | 3631351 steelhead23
steelhead23's picture

Hmm.  I have misgivings that this may be a cointelpro front.  How do we know that signing that petition doesn't expose us to "additional scrutiny" by the NSA, IRS or other arms of Big Brother?  No thanks.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 15:43 | 3631120 CH1
CH1's picture

They are storing EVERYTHING, and are able to search through it.

Listen carefully to the video on this page: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/tim-clemente-fbi_n_3229478.html

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:47 | 3631353 Chupacabra-322
Chupacabra-322's picture

They're data mining creating personal darsia's & threat assessment's on everyone to also create false narratives on political opponents or anyone that dare pose a threat to their Criminal Enterprise.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 15:35 | 3631092 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

All of this will be used politically to silence the current and future regime's political enemies. The IRS "scandal" proves this.

"Welcome to the 'land of the monitored and the home of the cowed,' papers, laptop and phone please."

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:05 | 3631196 machineh
machineh's picture

If one compares the supine Congress and courts of today to those of forty or fifty years ago, who were willing to take a stand against the executive, it is very believable that they are kept on a short leash by the threat of blackmail.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 16:21 | 3631257 Charles Bishop ...
Charles Bishop Weyland's picture

It's a CERTAINTY. look how they are displaying their bravery in the face of..OH WAIT

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 15:56 | 3631159 DaveyJones
DaveyJones's picture

Land of the Glee, Home of the Slave

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 15:33 | 3631084 Bastiat
Bastiat's picture

What's the future of a broke empire in perpetual war with a good part of the world and terrified of its own citizenry . . . other than short.

Fri, 06/07/2013 - 01:22 | 3632679 MrPalladium
MrPalladium's picture

"What's the future of a broke empire in perpetual war with a good part of the world and terrified of its own citizenry . . . other than short."

Bingo!!

All this spying is a massive waste of resources. It is a sign of the end of the empire when the vast oceans of mindless drivel of many millions of morons are gathered and saved. The trivial clogs the arteries of the machine, and increase its costs exponentially.

Freedom is just 400 basis points away on the long bond!!!

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