More (including reference links):
Welcome to the Precious Metals Bug Forums
Welcome to the PMBug forums - a watering hole for folks interested in gold, silver, precious metals, sound money, investing, market and economic news, central bank monetary policies, politics and more. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.
Why not register an account and join the discussions? When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, market data/charts, access to trade/barter with the community and much more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!
More (including reference links):
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Challenging NSA Surveillance
<p>The Supreme Court declined to hear Wikimedia v. NSA, Wikimedia’s challenge to the NSA’s mass surveillance of Internet communications under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires at the end of 2023.</p>
epic.org
Another take on the SCOTUS (non-)decision:
reason.com
SCOTUS says domestic spying is too secret to be challenged in court
Officials shield government abuses from litigation by claiming “national security.” The Supreme Court declined to weigh in.
reason.com
How do you think it got this way?Another take on the SCOTUS (non-)decision:
SCOTUS says domestic spying is too secret to be challenged in court
Officials shield government abuses from litigation by claiming “national security.” The Supreme Court declined to weigh in.
Edited to add:...and by "this way", I mean, where the gov is known to violate the Constitution and then say that it cannot be challenged on it. When did that start?
Last edited:
I would say right around the time the three towers fell.
Sadly, it was long before that.
It started before that.
When do you think it started then?
The Strange Career of ‘National Security’
When the two-word phrase became a national obsession, it turned everything from trade rules to dating apps into a potential threat to the United States.
~~~
More:
Reforming 702: Strengthening FISA Amici
<p>While amici have been incorporated into FISA Court review on a limited basis, they continue to have a narrowly circumscribed role and lack authority to truly advocate on behalf of the public, severely limiting their value. This is particularly true in the context of programmatic surveillance...
epic.org
It started in 1933 when the gov declared an emergency and added American citizens to the list of enemies to be regulated by the Trading With the enemies Act of Oct 6th 1917, and then began operating extra-constitutionally.
Ever since then, the gov has continually expanded its extra-constitutional actions, right up to today where those who run the gov think that gov can do whatever it wants and the majority of people just accept it, Constitutional limits on power be damned. Many today even see limits on gov power as harmful.
Why do most just accept it? Because they do not know any better and have never been taught about it. All they've ever known is a gov that operates outside of its limits on power.
Every monetary and financial issue we (as a nation) have had over the past 90 years has that act in '33 as its root.
POTUS announced a National Cybersecurity Strategy that says (bold emphasis is mine):
What does that mean in practice?
What does that mean in practice?
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
The Year of Section 702 Reform, Part I: Backdoor Searches
Requiring a warrant for U.S. person queries honors the balance between security and liberty struck in the Fourth Amendment.
www.justsecurity.org
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
Attorney General Merrick Garland Testifies on the Reauthorization of Section 702 of FISA
A read-out of Garland's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the reauthorization of Section 702 of FISA.
www.justsecurity.org
Section 702’s Unconstitutional Domestic Spying Program Must End
A few months ahead of its expiration this fall, the Biden administration has announced its intention to seek renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)—an invasive and unconstitutional law that cannot continue to exist in its current form. On its face, Section 702...
EPIC Launches Campaign to Reform or Sunset FISA Section 702
<p>Ahead of the potential sunset of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) at the end of 2023, EPIC has launched a campaign to significantly reform the sweeping surveillance authority or let it sunset.</p>
epic.org
Campaign page:
FISA Section 702: Reform or Sunset
epic.org
What I was referring to is the fact that everything in this thread is about unConstitutional Acts of our government.
The "warrantless backdoor searches" referenced in the title are clear violations of the Constitution that the gov does not want aired in a regular Article 3 Court.
It's no different than the Drug Enforcement Act that was weaseled into existence, and that they continue to prevent from being adjudicated as to its Constitutionality.
Ie: because they know it is unConstitutional and don't want their good deal gettin' screwed up by pesky Constitutional issues.
The patriot act and everything else they did as a result of 9/11, is unConstitutional.
.....but the game plan has been to keep it going as long as possible in order to allow it to come to be seen as the normal way of gov conducting its business. They want us to forget that it is at the the expense of some of our Constitutionally guarenteed Rights.
.....and that's the same as what happened in '33. Ie: it was the first time that the People permanently lost some of their Rights that had been previously guarrenteed to each one of us by our Constitution.
Edited to add: the warrantless searches and other 4th Amendment violations are johnny-come-lately's in that regard.
Last edited:
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
Internal Documents Show How Little the FBI Did to Correct Misuse of Section 702 Databases
BY MATTHEW GUARIGLIAAPRIL 25, 2023
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released internal documents used to guide agency personnel on how to search the massive databases of information collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, including communications collected without a warrant under Section 702. Despite reassurances from the intelligence community about its “culture of compliance,” these documents depict almost no substantial consideration of privacy or civil liberties. They also suggest that in the years before these guidelines were written, even amidst widespread FBI misuse of the databases to search for Americans’ communications, there were even fewer written guidelines governing their use. Above all, FBI agents can still search for and read Americans’ private communications collected under Section 702, all without a warrant or judicial oversight.
More:
Internal Documents Show How Little the FBI Did to Correct Misuse of Section 702 Databases
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released internal documents used to guide agency personnel on how to search the massive databases of information collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, including communications collected without a warrant under Section 702. Despite...
More:
At Congressional Hearing, PCLOB Members Suggest Bare Minimum of 702 Reforms
Last week, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held a hearing on “Fixing FISA: How a Law Designed to Protect Americans Has Been Weaponized Against Them,” ahead of the December 2023 expiration of the Section 702 surveillance authority. The three witnesses,...
^^^^ However, they were not nearly as skeptical as we are of the necessity of domestic law enforcement’s use of these powers–especially when the information collected under 702 could be obtained by law enforcement with a warrant through more traditional avenues.
That's because doing it the right way, the Constitutional way, takes longer and requires more effort on their part.
....and involves someone(s) who might say "no".
That's because doing it the right way, the Constitutional way, takes longer and requires more effort on their part.
....and involves someone(s) who might say "no".
^^^^ “Fixing FISA: How a Law Designed to Protect Americans Has Been Weaponized Against Them,”
It's called mission creep. Anything new the gov gives itself power to do, always ends up morphing into something used against the People.
There's too many examples to even list.
The biggest is war powers. Everything else pales in comparrison.
It's called mission creep. Anything new the gov gives itself power to do, always ends up morphing into something used against the People.
There's too many examples to even list.
The biggest is war powers. Everything else pales in comparrison.
More:
New ODNI National Security Transparency Report Reveals Steady Increase in Section 702 Surveillance, Continued Warrantless Querying Issues
<p>On April 28, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released its Annual Statistical Transparency Report Regarding the Intelligence Community’s Use of National Security Surveillance Authorities, which shows a steady increase in targeting under Section 702 of the Foreign...
epic.org
^^^ "Further, according to the report, the FBI continues to flout a very narrow requirement that it obtain a court order prior to conducting certain queries, a requirement with which the FBI has never complied."
That's because the fbi has become an anti-America organization.
If they weren't, they would willingly seek to comply with the law.
That's because the fbi has become an anti-America organization.
If they weren't, they would willingly seek to comply with the law.
Newly Released FISC Opinion Reveals FBI Misused FISA Section 702 to Search for Racial Justice Protestors, Activist Groups, and Political Campaign Donors
<p>The FISC detailed the FBI’s “pattern of conducting broad, suspicionless queries” of information collected under Section 702, a sweeping warrantless foreign intelligence surveillance authority. </p>
epic.org
They've (fbi) have been doing it for so long, that they don't want to do their job without taking the short cuts that fisa courts allow.Newly Released FISC Opinion Reveals FBI Misused FISA Section 702 to Search for Racial Justice Protestors, Activist Groups, and Political Campaign Donors
<p>The FISC detailed the FBI’s “pattern of conducting broad, suspicionless queries” of information collected under Section 702, a sweeping warrantless foreign intelligence surveillance authority. </p>
Which is why they (fisa courts and patriot act) shouldn't been created in the first place. They are an abomination to the Constitution.
The answer to 9/11 wasn't to create new ways for the gov to do things unConstitutionally. (un-patriot act) What should have been done was to kick the foreigners out and only allow in a number of them the fed.gov has the ability to keep up with. The only reason those guys could do what they did, was because they let in huge numbers of people, to the point that many of them fell through the cracks.
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant
MAY 30, 2023With United States v. Smith (S.D.N.Y. May 11, 2023), a district court judge in New York made history by being the first court to rule that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border, “absent exigent circumstances” (although other district courts have wanted to do so).
EFF is thrilled about this decision, given that we have been advocating for a warrant for border searches of electronic devices in the courts and Congress for nearly a decade. If the case is appealed to the Second Circuit, we urge the appellate court to affirm this landmark decision.
More:
Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant
With United States v. Smith (S.D.N.Y. May 11, 2023), a district court judge in New York made history by being the first court to rule that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border, “absent exigent circumstances” (although other district courts have wanted to do so).EFF is...
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Has Made a Mockery of the Constitutional Right to Privacy
JUNE 1, 2023The latest evidence that Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA) must be ended or drastically reformed came last month in the form of a newly unsealed order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) detailing massive violations of Americans’ privacy by the FBI.
The FISC order is replete with problems. It describes the government’s repeated, widespread violations—over a seven-year period—of procedures for searching its databases of internet communications involving Americans, all without a warrant. These searches included especially sensitive people and groups, including donors to a political campaign. And it shows the FISC giving the FBI all-but-endless do-overs, each time proclaiming that the executive branch has made “promising” steps toward compliance with procedures that are largely left up to government attorneys to design.
Perhaps most shocking, however, is the court’s analysis of how the Fourth Amendment should apply to the FBI’s “backdoor searches” of Americans’ communications. These searches occur when the FBI queries Section 702 data that was ostensibly collected for foreign intelligence purposes without a warrant but includes a person on U.S. soil in the communication.
More here:
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Has Made a Mockery of the Constitutional Right to Privacy
The latest evidence that Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA) must be ended or drastically reformed came last month in the form of a newly unsealed order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) detailing massive violations of Americans’ privacy by the...
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
From the link:
ANALYSIS US Senators have told intelligence agency officials that they are unlikely to renew authorization to use Section 702 of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without setting stricter limits on how and when government snoops can wield its powers.
A key point of contention between the lawmakers and intelligence agencies is that the surveillance powers conferred by the Act – which are supposed to be used against foreign targets who pose a threat to the United States – are also used to allow warrantless snooping on US citizens' communications.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, representatives from the CIA, NSA, FBI and Justice Department repeatedly told lawmakers that Section 702 is a critical national security tool.
www.theregister.com
ANALYSIS US Senators have told intelligence agency officials that they are unlikely to renew authorization to use Section 702 of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without setting stricter limits on how and when government snoops can wield its powers.
A key point of contention between the lawmakers and intelligence agencies is that the surveillance powers conferred by the Act – which are supposed to be used against foreign targets who pose a threat to the United States – are also used to allow warrantless snooping on US citizens' communications.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, representatives from the CIA, NSA, FBI and Justice Department repeatedly told lawmakers that Section 702 is a critical national security tool.
US senators, spies spar over Section 702 surveillance
'Appropriately pissed off' lawmakers won't renew without safeguards
Odds are that anything done about it will end up being so watered down as to be virtually meaningless. Too many of those in dc support the use of such unConstitutional powers.
They see Constitutional limitations on their power as a hinderance, and something to be creatively overcome.
...and a truly astounding number of the People do too. We're fortunate that any semblance of what the Founders intended has even latest this long.
It's a fact that if all powers that should have been ruled as being unConstitutional (when measured against the original intent of the DOI and Constitution) were removed from the govs playbook, 95% of the people who work for the government would have nothing to do.
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
ODNI Report on Intelligence Agencies’ Data Purchases Underscores Urgency of Reform
ODNI Report on Intelligence Agencies’ Data Purchases Underscores Urgency of Reform
<p>The report found that the IC is collecting increasing amounts of CAI—including sensitive information like location data—but does not know how much CAI it is collecting, what types, or even what it is doing with that data.</p>
epic.org
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
Deja Vu: The FBI Proves Again it Can’t be Trusted with Section 702
JULY 27, 2023We all deserve privacy in our communications, and part of that is trusting that the government will only access them within the limits of the law. But at this point, it’s crystal clear that the FBI doesn’t believe that either our rights nor the limitations that Congress has placed upon the bureau matter when it comes to the vast amount of information about us collected under FISA Section 702.
The latest exhibit in this is in yet another newly declassified opinion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). This opinion further reiterates what we already know, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation simply cannot be trusted with conducting foreign intelligence queries on American persons. Regardless of the rules, or consistent FISC disapprovals, the FBI continues to act in a way that shows no regard for privacy and civil liberties.
Read the rest:
Deja Vu: The FBI Proves Again It Can’t be Trusted with Section 702
The FBI doesn’t believe that either our rights or the limitations that Congress has placed upon them matter when it comes to the vast amount of information about us collected under FISA Section 702. The latest exhibit in this is in yet another newly declassified opinion of the Foreign...
They proved that 7 years ago when they willfully lied to the fisc to illegally go after Trump for fabricated allegations of him "colluding" with Putin. Half the nation ate it up and cheered on thei fbi's witch hunt using the same process you are now pointing out as being wrong.the Federal Bureau of Investigation simply cannot be trusted with conducting foreign intelligence queries on American persons. Regardless of the rules, or consistent FISC disapprovals, the FBI continues to act in a way that shows no regard for privacy and civil liberties.
Read the rest:
Deja Vu: The FBI Proves Again It Can’t be Trusted with Section 702
The FBI doesn’t believe that either our rights or the limitations that Congress has placed upon them matter when it comes to the vast amount of information about us collected under FISA Section 702. The latest exhibit in this is in yet another newly declassified opinion of the Foreign...www.eff.org
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
This one is a bit different.
The end result of the government’s efforts over the past 60 years is a country where nothing ever really changes, and everyone lives in fear.
Race wars are still being stoked by both the Right and the Left; the military-industrial complex is still waging profit-driven wars at taxpayer expense; the oligarchy is still calling the shots in the seats of government power; and the government is still weaponizing surveillance in order to muzzle anti-government sentiment, harass activists, and terrorize Americans into compliance.
This last point is particularly disturbing.
Starting in the 1950s, the government relied on COINTELPRO, its domestic intelligence program, to neutralize domestic political dissidents. Those targeted by the FBI under COINTELPRO for its intimidation, surveillance and smear campaigns included: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, the Black Panther Party, John Lennon, Billie Holiday, Emma Goldman, Aretha Franklin, Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway, Felix Frankfurter, and hundreds more.
Read the rest:
tenthamendmentcenter.com
How the Government Weaponizes Surveillance to Silence Its Critics
Ever since Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his groundbreaking “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963, the Deep State has been hard at work turning King’s dream into a living nightmare.The end result of the government’s efforts over the past 60 years is a country where nothing ever really changes, and everyone lives in fear.
Race wars are still being stoked by both the Right and the Left; the military-industrial complex is still waging profit-driven wars at taxpayer expense; the oligarchy is still calling the shots in the seats of government power; and the government is still weaponizing surveillance in order to muzzle anti-government sentiment, harass activists, and terrorize Americans into compliance.
This last point is particularly disturbing.
Starting in the 1950s, the government relied on COINTELPRO, its domestic intelligence program, to neutralize domestic political dissidents. Those targeted by the FBI under COINTELPRO for its intimidation, surveillance and smear campaigns included: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, the Black Panther Party, John Lennon, Billie Holiday, Emma Goldman, Aretha Franklin, Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway, Felix Frankfurter, and hundreds more.
Read the rest:
How the Government Weaponizes Surveillance to Silence Its Critics | Tenth Amendment Center
Advances in technology have enabled the government to deploy a veritable arsenal of surveillance weapons in order to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” perceived threats to the government’s power.
tenthamendmentcenter.com
More:
Government watchdog calls out dangers in Section 702 surveillance
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board says it "poses significant privacy and civil liberties risks, most notably from U.S. person queries and batch queries."
reason.com
Lawmakers propose better privacy protections for Americans before reauthorizing federal snooping powers
The bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act would stop a lot of warrantless collection of domestic data.
reason.com
EPIC is supporting the new bill:
epic.org
EPIC Statement on the Introduction of the Government Surveillance Reform Act (GSRA)
<p>Today, Senators Ron Wyden and Mike Lee, as well as Representatives Warren Davidson and Zoe Lofgren, introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act (GSRA), a sweeping bipartisan, bicameral bill that would rein in the growing ecosystem of warrantless government surveillance authorities as...
epic.org
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
Nov 7
A bipartisan group of lawmakers rolled out legislation Tuesday that includes a warrant requirement for certain information collected under a foreign surveillance authority, as it remains unclear how Speaker Mike Johnson will handle the controversial program’s end-of-year expiration date.
The legislation is the first major proposal unveiled for reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to collect the digital communications of foreigners who are located outside the country.
But the law also allows U.S. authorities to search through the foreign surveillance data for information on Americans, without a warrant, using information such as an email address.
More:
rollcall.com
A bipartisan group of lawmakers rolled out legislation Tuesday that includes a warrant requirement for certain information collected under a foreign surveillance authority, as it remains unclear how Speaker Mike Johnson will handle the controversial program’s end-of-year expiration date.
The legislation is the first major proposal unveiled for reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to collect the digital communications of foreigners who are located outside the country.
But the law also allows U.S. authorities to search through the foreign surveillance data for information on Americans, without a warrant, using information such as an email address.
More:
Lawmakers unveil bipartisan bill to add privacy protections to surveillance law - Roll Call
A bipartisan group of lawmakers rolled out legislation Tuesday that includes privacy protections for certain surveillance information.
- Messages
- 11,712
- Reaction score
- 2,562
- Points
- 238
From the link:
I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO BE MORE WRONG about a FOREVER WARS edition.
Later this year, the NSA and FBI's legal wellspring for mass digital surveillance, Section 702, will expire if Congress does nothing for eight more weeks. Saving it is the U.S. intelligence community's highest legislative priority. Christine Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, recently invoked the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres to urge Congress to "preserve [counterterrorism] fundamentals"—i.e., 702—"to ensure constant vigilance." Now, everyone who has been a sane voice in the fight to preserve privacy since 9/11 sees that as a unique opportunity.
Earlier this week, an unlikely figure, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), introduced a measure that would save Section 702. That surprised me. Both times 702 has come up for reauthorization, in 2012 and 2018, Wyden voted against it. He voted no on the bill to create Section 702 in the first place. (So, by the way, did Joe Biden.)
foreverwars.ghost.io
I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO BE MORE WRONG about a FOREVER WARS edition.
Later this year, the NSA and FBI's legal wellspring for mass digital surveillance, Section 702, will expire if Congress does nothing for eight more weeks. Saving it is the U.S. intelligence community's highest legislative priority. Christine Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, recently invoked the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres to urge Congress to "preserve [counterterrorism] fundamentals"—i.e., 702—"to ensure constant vigilance." Now, everyone who has been a sane voice in the fight to preserve privacy since 9/11 sees that as a unique opportunity.
Earlier this week, an unlikely figure, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), introduced a measure that would save Section 702. That surprised me. Both times 702 has come up for reauthorization, in 2012 and 2018, Wyden voted against it. He voted no on the bill to create Section 702 in the first place. (So, by the way, did Joe Biden.)
The Anti-Surveillance Coalition's Highest-Stakes Gamble
They're leveraging the renewal of Section 702 for by far the most sweeping surveillance reform since 9/11. But won't 702 immediately be used against Palestinians and their allies?
foreverwars.ghost.io