Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Feds Sue to Block Disclosure of Confidential Information to PUC
The Associated Press reports, “Federal prosecutors filed suit Monday against Maine utility regulators and Verizon to block disclosure of confidential information linked to questions of whether the company broke the law by cooperating with a domestic surveillance program.” According to the report, “The U.S. District Court complaint followed an Aug. 9 order by the Public Utilities Commission that Verizon attest in a sworn statement to its previous public comments about the National Security Agency's warrantless eavesdropping program.”
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Officials Seek Broader Access to Airline Data
The New York Times reports, “United States and European authorities, looking for more tools to detect terrorist plots, want to expand the screening of international airline passengers by digging deep into a vast repository of airline itineraries, personal information and payment data.” According to the report, “A proposal by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff would allow the United States government not only to look for known terrorists on watch lists, but also to search broadly through the passenger itinerary data to identify people who may be linked to terrorists, he said in a recent interview.”
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Federal Judge Orders Halt to NSA Wiretapping
“A federal judge in Detroit ordered a halt to the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program, ruling for the first time that the controversial effort ordered by President Bush was unconstitutional.” According to The Washington Post, “U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor wrote in a strongly-worded 43-page opinion that the NSA wiretapping program violates privacy and free-speech rights and the constitutional separation of powers between the three branches of government.”
Faces, Too, Are Searched at U.S. Airports
Taking a page from Israeli airport security, the Transportation Security Administration has been experimenting with a new squad, whose members do not look for bombs, guns or knives. Instead, The New York Times reports, their assignment is to find anyone with evil intent.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Chertoff Wants US to Review Antiterror Laws
The Boston Globe reports, “Homeland security chief Michael Chertoff called yesterday for a review of domestic antiterrorism laws, saying the United States might benefit from the more aggressive surveillance and arrest powers used by British authorities last week to thwart an alleged plot to bomb airliners.”
Thursday, August 03, 2006
A Deal on Domestic Spying
The Chicago Tribune has this editorial discussing a potential deal between Senator Arlen Specter and the president on how to deal with the NSA domestic spy program in a way that would grant the president the ability to investigate terrorism while at the same time ensuring Americans’ that their civil liberties will be protected. But as the editorial points out, many believe that “the president rolled Specter.”
