Major LA TImes article: HIdden Depths to U.S. Domestic Surveillance

[DeepModem Mom]

FIVE YEARS AFTER
Hidden Depths to U.S. Monitoring
The scope of domestic surveillance has steadily expanded since 9/11. But lawmakers and privacy experts complain of too little information on it.
By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer
September 11, 2006

....In the five years since the attacks, the scope of domestic surveillance has steadily increased, according to interviews with dozens of current and former U.S. officials and privacy experts.

Some of these programs have been debated and approved by the courts and Congress — the traditional checks against intrusions on Americans' privacy, protected under the 4th Amendment.

Others have not. Some of them are operating without the knowledge or approval of judicial and legislative overseers, officials and experts say.

Two such classified programs have been disclosed by the media, over the objections of the Bush administration. One involves the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of suspicious phone calls and e-mails into and out of the United States. The other is an effort by the Treasury Department and the CIA to monitor international bank transfers.

Privacy experts and even some ranking lawmakers in Congress say their efforts to learn about other suspected surveillance efforts have been blocked.

They believe that some of the activity is so secret that none but a small circle of top administration officials and operational support personnel know about it — though notification of congressional leaders is legally required....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-surveillance11sep11,0,2490769.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Nikki Stone 1]

1. The executive branch hates us for our freedoms

:kick:

[EFerrari]

2. I find it strange that Meyer cites 9/11 as if it was the precipitating

event.

It wasn't. Bush in office was the precipitating event. I think that matters if we're to fully understand what this government is doing.

[The2ndWheel]

3. Only going to get worse

The UK is the most watched society in the western world, if not the whole planet. That was happening before 9/11.

Society requires order, and people won't stand for forced order. That would actually get people upset. If they do it so that you don't see them, it's much easier. The technology for it will only get better, and smaller. It will be a problem well after this administration is gone.

[Supersedeas]

4. UBL must be tickled by the Bush's RW reaction in Iraq and domestically

[DeepModem Mom]

5. 9/12 kick