USA Takes over. - Political Forum

Locke · 08-05-2007, 11:59 AM

This is truely bloody absurd.

Quote:

BBC news

writer unknown

Congress backs foreign wiretaps

President Bush welcomed the vote
Congress in the US has backed a measure allowing the government to eavesdrop on foreigners suspected of having links with terrorism.
The House of Representatives approved the bill by a majority of 44 after its approval in the Senate, with the Democratic majority split on the issue.

The bill allows taps on foreign phone and internet communications routed via the US, without prior court approval.

President George Bush says the measure is needed to combat terrorist threats.

The House voted late on Saturday 227-183 in favour of the bill, which updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"Unprecedented measure"

When the new measures come into force, the government will have the right to intercept, without warrants, communications between foreigners that are routed through equipment in the US, provided that "foreign intelligence information" is at stake.

In his first reaction, Mr Bush hailed the vote in the House, which is dominated by opposition Democrats.

This bill would grant the attorney general the ability to wiretap anybody, any place, any time without court review

Democratic Rep Zoe Lofgren

"The Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, has assured me that this bill gives him what he needs to continue to protect the country, and therefore I will sign this legislation as soon as it gets to my desk," he said.

But many House Democrats expressed strong reservations about the bill, saying it infringed constitutional rights.

"This bill would grant the attorney general the ability to wiretap anybody, any place, any time without court review, without any checks and balances," said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren during the debate preceding the vote.

"I think this unwarranted, unprecedented measure would simply eviscerate the 4th Amendment" of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

The administration introduced changes to the law after a recent ruling by the FISA court.

That decision barred the government from eavesdropping without warrants on foreign suspects whose messages were being routed through US communications carriers, including internet sites.

O The U.S. is going to get nuked now.. They have no right in any since to be able to make foreign desisions like that.

Locke · 08-05-2007, 06:47 PM

Im glad no one else thinks this is a bad thing that the United states can now completely break the 4th admenment and can wiretap every fone in the world with out and real reason and with out warrent. hmm

Icefear · 08-05-2007, 07:01 PM

I don't really think that this bill is all that necessary. I agree it could help stop terrorism but it also violates the rights of millions of people. I think it should have restrictions, rather than just free access without any reprisal. I would need more information on the specifics of the bill before I gave an opinion. There was something on the news about it a while back but I hadn't really thought about it like this...

iTaliAN_ICe · 08-05-2007, 10:09 PM

Wiretap all the foreigners you want, I don't care. Foreigners aren't protected by the US Constitution... they have no 4th amendment rights. The US government can wiretap to it's heart's content as long as it doesn't do so to it's own citizens without a warrant.

Scribbler1 · 08-05-2007, 10:20 PM

But the problem is, as usual, who is going to oversee this program? I don't think the Administration has a lot of respect for the FISA court.

apawllo · 08-05-2007, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

Im glad no one else thinks this is a bad thing that the United states can now completely break the 4th admenment and can wiretap every fone in the world with out and real reason and with out warrent. hmm

Although I agree with Italian Ice, foreigners have no rights under our constitution....welcome to the New World Order!

Kazikli Bey · 08-06-2007, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

Im glad no one else thinks this is a bad thing that the United states can now completely break the 4th admenment and can wiretap every fone in the world with out and real reason and with out warrent. hmm

Hopefully they eventually do that to the 2nd amendment, completely take those rights away. And america calls itself the land of the free!!!

Locke · 08-06-2007, 03:44 AM

Its not free at all. We just keep lozing more and more rights and we dont do nothing about it and as far as wiretapping forenghners your right they arnt protected under the 4th admement but its still absurd. They also do they same for the people in america if you haven't noticed. The second the Patriot act came into place america was no longer a meaning of any thing. Just another country that the goverment has taken care of destroying itself. Hopefully the next presidant who comes to power eares all this non-sence

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 08-06-2007, 03:51 AM

It's utterly absurd to claim that "foreigners loss of rights" (which they never had under our Constitution) means that the US is taking away the 2nd or 4th amendment.

Locke, you really don't realize that NON-AMERICANS are not guaranteed citizenship rights of AMERICAN citizens?

WEB

Alun · 08-06-2007, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D Rep. Zoe Lofgren

This bill would grant the attorney general the ability to wiretap anybody, any place, any time without court review, without any checks and balances.

Why is it that nobody is saying the same thing about this bill? If the only change was an update to allow foreign calls, routed through the U.S., to be tapped, then how can the above statement be made in good conscience? The U.S. has been listening to many foreign calls already; the only change is to cover a loophole, by which calls that are wired through the U.S. are protected by law even if no one in the U.S. is on the line.