U.S. is spying on its citizens and others

[ReeferMadness]

President Bush is getting his mojo back...after all, he does have the highest approval rating of any president since such polls were taken. I'll bet that even President Obama now has a new found respect for his predecessor as he deals with the same issues from the Oval Office.

Oh, I very much doubt that. Bush did what his handlers told him, he was just bright enough to know that he wasn't bright enough to be president. I'm sure that Cheney and Rumsfield regularly reminded him he was only a figurehead.

Of all of the things that people feel for Bush, I don't think that 'respect' would make the top 50.

[bush_cheney2004]

Oh, I very much doubt that. Bush did what his handlers told him, he was just bright enough to know that he wasn't bright enough to be president. I'm sure that Cheney and Rumsfield regularly reminded him he was only a figurehead.

Of all of the things that people feel for Bush, I don't think that 'respect' would make the top 50.

Meh.....how would you know....Bush and Obama live in a foreign country.

[sharkman]

President Bush is getting his mojo back...after all, he does have the highest approval rating of any president since such polls were taken. I'll bet that even President Obama now has a new found respect for his predecessor as he deals with the same issues from the Oval Office.

I'm sure there are days when Obama wishes he never met those big money Dem men who wanted him to run. No doubt there are days when Michelle gets a call from the White House and has to go down there and tell Barak to crawl out from under the Oval Office desk, put his big boy pants on and make some decisions. I'll bet Syria aid happened because she signed the damn papers herself and the officials concerned just went with it.

[GostHacked]

Meh.....how would you know....Bush and Obama live in a foreign country.

Awesome, keep this in mind next time we hear 'regime change' for another country.

[GostHacked]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/17/exposure-nsa-surveillance-draw-attention-to-mueller-remark-about-real-time/

With the growing scrutiny of government databases and the extent of domestic surveillance, new questions are being raised about a program FBI Director Robert Mueller once said could pull in emails from U.S. citizens on domestic soil “as they come in.”

Mueller’s comments came during a routine Senate Judiciary Oversight Committee hearing in March 2011.

He said “technological improvements” to an existing database meant the agency would not miss important investigative leads found in email traffic.

Mueller made the comment when testifying about intelligence failures that contributed to the 2009 Fort Hood massacre including email exchanged between accused shooter Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, an American citizen on U.S. soil, and cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a known overseas terrorist who was targeted and killed in 2011 by the CIA.

They have the ability to listen live. The other thing to note is that Hasan was part of the military and all military emails (aside from top ranks possibly) are monitored.

So we have a couple questions.

Do they know what to do with the large amount of data they are collecting?

If the answer to the first was yes, then why could they not prevent these incidents from happening? Incompetence?

[Shady]

Obama is only continuing a policy that was built upon by the previous administration. They don't need the apology because I would suspect Bush/Cheney supports everything he is currently doing.You can picture it now George makes the ass slap sayin 'Heckuva job Barrack!'

He owes Bush an apology for campaigning against and criticizing the very things he's now expanding.

[bush_cheney2004]

He owes Bush an apology for campaigning against and criticizing the very things he's now expanding.

Right, but far better than any personal apology is this high profile expose in spades. Welcome to the real world, President Obama.

[Hudson Jones]

So they are listening to phone calls.

NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls

National Security Agency discloses in secret Capitol Hill briefing that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. That authorization appears to extend to e-mail and text messages too.

Link

Edit: GostHacked already posted about this.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Hudson Jones

[Shady]

So they are listening to phone calls.

NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls

National Security Agency discloses in secret Capitol Hill briefing that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. That authorization appears to extend to e-mail and text messages too.

Link

Edit: GostHacked already posted about this.

That's not true. The congressman that suggested that admitted he was wrong.

[Hudson Jones]

Obama wanted a debate, here it is:

[GostHacked]

He owes Bush an apology for campaigning against and criticizing the very things he's now expanding.

And you actually believed it, even for a brief moment? I mentioned several times very early on in Obama's Presidency that he would be worse than Bush but in very different ways. People actually really thought he was going to close GITMO? It's policy that is in play here, and Obama, like Bush, had to learn what the policies were. Once Obama understood where policy was taking the USA he knew he had no chance to close GITMO or change the course for the better in the USA. Obama is a puppet, a teleprompter puppet.

This should indicate and get people to understand that being POTUS is not the most powerful position within the USA's 3 branches of government.

Obama campaigned on those things before he even knew it was impossible to change. That will be the same with the next election and who is campaigning for POTUS. The only person that knows where things are going and will completely tow the line is Hillary Clinton. She is already very familiar with the presidency and the state department.

I just hope people remember the incident at Benghazi if she decides to run. Damaged goods, she cannot be trusted.

Your partisanship is showing again.

[GostHacked]

So, I decided to start reading a book I had picked up some time ago, but now have time to get into it.

Bob Woodward's book called Obama's Wars.

It seems to indicate that the NSA can and does listen to things in real time. The technology sure is there to accomplish this. So when they say they cannot do this, are they lying now or where they lying in the book?

Only a couple chapters into it, and I don't know why I waited to read this book. A

Shady, knowing your admiration for Obama, and only a few chapters in, this book would be worth your time.

[Shady]

So, I decided to start reading a book I had picked up some time ago, but now have time to get into it.

Bob Woodward's book called Obama's Wars.

It seems to indicate that the NSA can and does listen to things in real time. The technology sure is there to accomplish this. So when they say they cannot do this, are they lying now or where they lying in the book?

Only a couple chapters into it, and I don't know why I waited to read this book. A

Shady, knowing your admiration for Obama, and only a few chapters in, this book would be worth your time.

I'll check it out. I quite enjoy Woodward's books.

[Topaz]

Question, wasn't this forum being monitored from Alberta and now its the US side and IF so, wouldn't they know what being said here? True or false?

[GostHacked]

Question, wasn't this forum being monitored from Alberta and now its the US side and IF so, wouldn't they know what being said here? True or false?

The physical location of the server that hosts this site really means nothing these days. If it is connected to the Internet, it is subject to snooping, legal and not, domestic and foreign.

[sharkman]

In watching these revelations under the Obama administration, I have even less respect for the media. Now it comes to light that the one journalist from CBS who was really going after the Benghazi story(Sharyl Attkisson) has had her home computer searched. This is really getting ugly.

[GostHacked]

In watching these revelations under the Obama administration, I have even less respect for the media. Now it comes to light that the one journalist from CBS who was really going after the Benghazi story(Sharyl Attkisson) has had her home computer searched. This is really getting ugly. [/size]

The media was complicit in all of it as well. The ONLY reason they are saying more about it, is because the media has also been a victim of these programs. So, they don't deserve any respect at all. They had over a decade to expose this program and failed.

[Topaz]

The physical location of the server that hosts this site really means nothing these days. If it is connected to the Internet, it is subject to snooping, legal and not, domestic and foreign.

I understand that but isn't it illegal to do that in Canada. Of course, the loophole, is the US only does foreigners and Canada says it only does foreigners so I guess they do it for each other??

[GostHacked]

I understand that but isn't it illegal to do that in Canada. Of course, the loophole, is the US only does foreigners and Canada says it only does foreigners so I guess they do it for each other??

Have you heard? They don't care about legality.

And yes they do it all to each other. Something that was mentioned in this thread I think about the Five Eyes, meaning Canada, USA, Britian, Austrailia and New Zealand all spy on each other and then trade the information.

No matter if it's legal or not in Canada, the other 4 will spy on us and then give those reports to the Canadian officials. We spy on the others and give that info out accordingly.

[bush_cheney2004]

I understand that but isn't it illegal to do that in Canada. Of course, the loophole, is the US only does foreigners and Canada says it only does foreigners so I guess they do it for each other??

The U.S. can do whatever it wishes and often does. The only barrier comes when it is time to submit such evidence in court for a prosecution, but the intelligence gain remains. Local police do this as well using "private dicks".

[Shady]

In watching these revelations under the Obama administration, I have even less respect for the media. Now it comes to light that the one journalist from CBS who was really going after the Benghazi story(Sharyl Attkisson) has had her home computer searched. This is really getting ugly.

Yep. You have journalists like Attkisson being targeted by the administration for pursuing stories unfavourable to them. Journalists like James Rosen being targeted by the administration and named as a co-conspirator, and you have the IRS specifically targeting conservative groups. Obama's America.

[GostHacked]

Yep. You have journalists like Attkisson being targeted by the administration for pursuing stories unfavourable to them. Journalists like James Rosen being targeted by the administration and named as a co-conspirator, and you have the IRS specifically targeting conservative groups. Obama's America.

I still ask you to look a bit deeper than blanket blaming Obama. I am no fan of him either, but like your side thing about Snowden, not everything is on Obama's head. You can thank people like Clinton for the botched Benghazi affair. Susan Rice for towing the line.

The only think that might scare you is you would have to put blame on people you actually supported. And it might shock you that the blame can be put on Reps and Dems alike.

[Hudson Jones]

Let the long process begin

US files criminal charges against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden

Charges include theft of government property and unauthorised communication of national defence information

The US has filed espionage charges against the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and reports say authorities have requested that Hong Kong detain him for extradition. Legislators in Hong Kong responded by calling for mainland China to intervene in the case.

Link

[Argus]

Not to worry, this champion of freedom, having fled to China because it's a bastion of free speech has now reportedly flown to Russia, that other champion of freedom, supposedly on his way to Venezuela. There, he'll be given all the freedom he wishes -- so long as he doesn't say or do anything critical of the government or its cronies.

[Guest American Woman]

Not to worry, this champion of freedom, having fled to China because it's a bastion of free speech has now reportedly flown to Russia, that other champion of freedom, supposedly on his way to Venezuela. There, he'll be given all the freedom he wishes -- so long as he doesn't say or do anything critical of the government or its cronies.

This says it all, IMO - and it's exactly why I have no respect for him and his one-sided criticism/revelations.