rsine69
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Government seeks to redefine privacy
Government seeks to redefine privacy By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A top intelligence official says it is time people in the United States changed their definition of privacy.
Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, a deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguards people's private communications and financial information.
Kerr's comments come as Congress is taking a second look at the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act.
Lawmakers hastily changed the 1978 law last summer to allow the government to eavesdrop inside the United States without court permission, so long as one end of the conversation was reasonably believed to be located outside the U.S.
The original law required a court order for any surveillance conducted on U.S. soil, to protect Americans' privacy. The White House argued that the law was obstructing intelligence gathering.
The most contentious issue in the new legislation is whether to shield telecommunications companies from civil lawsuits for allegedly giving the government access to people's private e-mails and phone calls without a court order between 2001 and 2007.
Some lawmakers, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appear reluctant to grant immunity. Suits might be the only way to determine how far the government has burrowed into people's privacy without court permission.
The committee is expected to decide this week whether its version of the bill will protect telecommunications companies.
The central witness in a California lawsuit against AT&T says the government is vacuuming up billions of e-mails and phone calls as they pass through an AT&T switching station in San Francisco.
Mark Klein, a retired AT&T technician, helped connect a device in 2003 that he says diverted and copied onto a government supercomputer every call, e-mail, and Internet site access on AT&T lines.
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11/11/2007, 6:25 am
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Kourtesan
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Re: Government seeks to redefine privacy
This scares me. It is way Big Brother, and offensive to think the govenment can change the definition of a word to suit itself.
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11/11/2007, 10:50 am
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MaximusDementis
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Re: Government seeks to redefine privacy
Words constantly change meaning over time. When I was a teen ager being gay meant being happy, now it doesn't. 
Rocket used to mean a kind of firework, now it doesn't.
The reason that the King James Bible is so obtuse and hard to understand is because English has changed somewhat in over 400 years. I could spend hours showing differing meanings of words from then to now.
On the privacy bit, we have to be very vigilent with the government and keep them the hell out of our homes and private conversations. However, during times of war, when people are getting maimed and killed, the majority of people in the USA have always opted for security over privacy and constitutional rights.
If you examine the behavior of the government in every war crisis from the war of 1812 to the present, you will see an erosion of these rights. People get thrown in jail without the benefit of a jury, etc etc. Now is no exception, it goes right along with the general principle. After the war fever dies down, then the courts and congress reassert themselves and take back the rights taken away by the executive branch during the hot period.
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11/11/2007, 1:21 pm
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Lesigner Girl
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Re: Government seeks to redefine privacy
I have half a mind to email the White House directly and tell them:
"You like to intercept emails so much, I thought I'd save you the trouble and email you directly to tell you what a bunch of fascists you are. You are very anti-American, and it makes me sick that people like you are allowed to run this great country."
If I do that, I should bcc it to a bunch of media outlets. 
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11/14/2007, 8:43 pm
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MaximusDementis
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Re: Government seeks to redefine privacy
Be sure to throw in a few "Bombs", "Iraq", "AL Chaeda" etc.
Did you see 30 Rock this week? It had an hilarious bit about the a neighbor of the Tina Fey character is a morose looking muslim who refuses to speak to Fey. She sees maps with stick pins through their door, sees him and a friend practicing in an obstacle course in a local park and sees them rushing to the airport. So after seeing all the DHS posters about if you see it, report it. She reports it. It turns out the guys were just shy around women, and they were practicing to get on the Amazing Race as contestants! Too funny.
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11/16/2007, 3:18 pm
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Lesigner Girl
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Re: Government seeks to redefine privacy
It's too bad I missed that.  Not only does it sound funny, but it makes a great point! 
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11/16/2007, 10:13 pm
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