Bush Shields AT&T From Lawsuit

[Newby]

http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/

That is fucked up. AT&T reports ALL traffic through the NSA, they get sued, and Bush steps in to defend AT&T.

I have lost all respect for AT&T as well as Bush.

[Sidoh]

Weren't you fine with the US government tapping phone calls a few months ago?

  "If you've got nothing to hide, what's wrong with it?"

[Newby]

Weren't you fine with the US government tapping phone calls a few months ago?

  "If you've got nothing to hide, what's wrong with it?"

That was an attack ON the government.

When it's an attack on an ISP, and the government intervenes, it's an entirely different subject.

Especially since I do have stuff to hide.

[igimo1]

Weren't you fine with the US government tapping phone calls a few months ago?

  "If you've got nothing to hide, what's wrong with it?"

It's normal extremist behavior, changing sides as they deem fit...

[Newby]

I am sorry if I find tapping phone lines to be so much less extreme than tapping internet connections.

[Nate]

Stop posting this garbage.  NSA is the most technologically advanced entity in the world, I think it goes something like "give us access to your databases or we will give ourselves access to your databases".

[Newby]

Stop posting this garbage.  NSA is the most technologically advanced entity in the world, I think it goes something like "give us access to your databases or we will give ourselves access to your databases".

I will go with the latter.

As for "posting this garbage" I simply posted it to hear what others thought about it. Not what you thought about my posts. Thanks for your input though, it was valued. Almost.

And as for the government defending phone calls, they said they only tapped those who were known to be in direct contact with al Qaeda.

This is a much larger scale (all AT&T customers it would appear), and there is no single reason for why they were listening to all internet traffic. And when presented with a lawsuit, the government simply drops it? Bullshit.

[Nate]

You make it sound like AT&T is walking on your rights.  AT&T got straight stomped on.  The only thing the NSA does not monitor without their help is communications run exclusively through landlines.  The listening posts in MD and WA pick up all satelite and broadcast transmissions in the US.

[Newby]

So the EFF is going to sue AT&T and no other ISPs because....

[GameSnake]

A court battle would have been fair, he has something to hide or what? This seems illegal.. We have checks and balances of power for a reason..

[Sidoh]

Yeah, I misread your statement (though you didn't make it very clear this was the case by choosing the words you did :P).  Yeah, this is pretty foolish, in my opinion.

I guess I don't really understand why Bush would defend them.  I'll admit that I didn't read the article -- I don't have time, but from pure intuitive deductions, it seems illogical, considering it was a direct violation against law.

[GameSnake]

Well for Sidoh's sake, since he didn't read it, the goverment has the right to step into civil lawsuits when information of national security might be leaked.. This action is very rarely used and is the equal to a nuclear bomb in the legal system.

[trust]

I think it is the governments job to protect AT&T. They were doing what they were asked to by the government.

[rabbit]

There's a difference between "protecting a company" and "breaking the law to protect self interests".  If the government had nothing to hide they would have provided legal support, etc.. to AT&T instead of completely negating the case.

[Nate]

The case is blocked because once it goes to trial everything involved in the case becomes a matter of public record, and appearently the DOJ feels some of that information is too sensitive for the case to go through.  Basically if there are specific names of people they were watching then they would become a matter of public record.