Spy Satellites to be Pointed at U.S. Citizens
The domestic wiretapping program run by the NSA was disturbing enough to privacy advocates, but a new program moving forward that would allow law enforcement and security agencies to use spy satellite imagery may give the members of the ACLU a collective embolism.
Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee have held up the the program while trying to figure out some of the more pressing legal and privacy issues, but it seems that the program is moving forward now and a legal framework has been put in place. The program will not be used to intercept voice or data communications, but to obtain satellite imagery. All law enforcement requests must be accompanied by a warrant, and a third party panel that includes Justice Department officials will thoroughly vet all requests to ensure civil liberties are not violated.
From Associate Press
Related links:
Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee have held up the the program while trying to figure out some of the more pressing legal and privacy issues, but it seems that the program is moving forward now and a legal framework has been put in place. The program will not be used to intercept voice or data communications, but to obtain satellite imagery. All law enforcement requests must be accompanied by a warrant, and a third party panel that includes Justice Department officials will thoroughly vet all requests to ensure civil liberties are not violated.
From Associate Press
Related links:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Craig @ Feb 14th 2008 7:13PM
Joe Stalin and the KGB would be proud of Bush and his continuing assault on our rights.
James @ Feb 14th 2008 8:17PM
This is a complete load of bs, they just keep finding ways to invade peoples privacy. I don't have anything to hide but what could they possibly need to point spy satellites at us for. Bush seems to be trying to meet a quota of mess ups before he leaves office.
Angela @ Feb 14th 2008 8:50PM
Muah-haa-ha!!! Like this isn't already happening.
Danny @ Feb 14th 2008 9:16PM
I think you all are stupid
How can you be mad at a man for helping keep your @$$'s safe????
If he and the congress hadnt done these things there would have been at least 10 more 9/11's
You all should be ashamed of yourselves for being mad a at a guy that is attempting to save your lives and our country
th3collapse89 @ Feb 14th 2008 9:41PM
So danny u believe taking away ur rights to keep us safe is the right thing to do? i guess ull be a "great" tyrant. and as for the 10 911's the reason y nothing has happen is because nothing has hsppened 911 was an obvious setup people are just to stupid to understand that so i guess jet fuel could "knock down" a steel building but cant burn the "hijackers passport" come on u must be the must ignorant person on earth to believe that bs plz grow a brain
Dale @ Feb 14th 2008 10:43PM
th3collapse89 You ARE brain dead
ssantoresr @ Feb 14th 2008 11:00PM
TH3COOLAPSE ARE YOU THERE???? HELLO ARE YOU HOME???? STOP DRINKING YOUR COOL AID AND PUT YOUR BONG DOWN. YOU REALLY NEED TO JUST GO TO BED AND WAKE UP WITH SOUND MIND AND JUDGEMENT. I JUST KNOW YOUR MUST BE TALKING OUT YOUR ASS BECAUSE YOUR MOUTH KNOWS BETTER.
ShellieR. @ Feb 14th 2008 11:29PM
Impeachment??? NAH!! Our government is way to busy getting the real threat to Homeland Security behind bars like Roger Clemens.
Time4change @ Feb 14th 2008 11:40PM
This BULLSHIT has got to stop! Wake the f*%k up people before it is too late.... If we all would just do some intelligent research on our own and stop believing everything that Bush and his Corporate owned Media are trying to hypnotize us into believing--- Perhaps then our brains would begin working again! We need to stop being sheep and start DEMANDING that our personal Freedoms are restored and The Bill Of Rights be REINSTATED ! (In case you were wondering The Military Commissions Act -pretty much decimated the Bill of rights-Look it up and READ IT)
It's called the Internet people.....Use it to learn before the government takes that away from us too.If you do not think it can happen just read the articles right here on AOL. Once you finishing reading what AOL reports - I would suggest you then search the Net to get a more in depth and insightful view.
If "We the people" do not stop burying our heads in the sand and dont start getting angry- then it is no ones fault but our own!
robert @ Feb 15th 2008 12:21AM
when we lose our rights the terrorists win !America is supposed to be the land of the free that's why we and our fathers and grand fathers went to war and died for , freedom !
Joanne Murphy @ Feb 15th 2008 12:29AM
Why in the world are we crying "foul"? The government doesn't need spy satellites, we yell out our "personal" conversations in public on our cell phones every day, we put the most intimate aspects of our lives on Face Book or You Tube or My Space or a blog every day. And, frankly, mose people's lives are boring, The danger is boring the eavesdroppers so that they fall asleep and miss something that might be important.
mike @ Feb 15th 2008 12:40AM
A nation that spies on itself is not a democracy! Liberty can not exist under such circumstances!
I do agree that law enforcement should have access to all technologies available to help bring criminals to justice! However, not at the expense of the principles and core freedoms that define this nation! We all know that government agencies have been highly successful in waiving requirements for "probable cause" in surveillance and apprehension. The use of spy satellites alone is not necessarily frightening, but such use combined with the current disregard of civil liberties and constitutional rights in the name of security and crime prevention is terrifying!
Julie @ Feb 15th 2008 12:45AM
Sorry Danny, but destroying the very things that make our country great in order to "save our country" is just plain self defeating. By the time the current administration gets through there won't be anything left to save.
Cecil Jones @ Feb 15th 2008 2:58AM
Bush and Putin are Soulmates? 9-11 should have never been a success. The Anthrax came from a domestic source. With the forged documents, no WMD, and endless war somebody needs to be spying on our guys. Removing Bush from the analysis loop has kept us safe all these years. Imagine what impeachment could do to improve this government?
JS @ Feb 15th 2008 5:35AM
Thats a load of BS, this isnt america if we don't have the right to our privacy. Whats the Bush Administration going to do next, declare those who hate them terrorists?
Anti-Illuminati American @ Apr 21st 2008 3:09AM
JS your sarcastic comment is right anyone who owns guns hates the gov. openly or is a christian is considered a terrorist according to the Fascist Bureau Incorperation. oops I meant FBI.
Eric @ Feb 15th 2008 6:01AM
With our instrument augmented abilities to see and hear outer space, we are "wiretapping" the universe. Sonar helped to chart oceanic movements, much like radar revealed activity in the atmosphere. As Alexander Gramm Bell might have first said on a telephone. "WHAT!?"
Elliott @ Feb 15th 2008 6:23AM
How long do you think it will take law enforcement to figure out the spy satellites can be used for issuing traffic tickets? Why not under the new powers granted under these new laws.
Naron @ Feb 15th 2008 6:32AM
Don't worry, now the spy satellites are failing
and they are planning on shooting one down.
There is also "imformation overload". I still don't know where some of my mail is. How many satellites do you think are looking for Osama and the missing Weapons of Mass Destruction.
wlliam wise @ Feb 15th 2008 6:35AM
wake up america do you not realize this is just
another step towards the new world order
do you want to live under a ditactorship?