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ACLU lawsuit against AT&T dismissed

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posted on Jul, 25 2006 @ 09:32 PM
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In what sets a precedent in the NSA spying fiasco a federal judge dismissed charges brought against AT&T by the ACLU. As has happened before the national security card was waved and the rule to dismiss issued on the premise that confirmation or denial of the allegations would threaten our intelligence aparatus and give an advantage to our enemies.
 



news.yahoo.com
"The court is persuaded that requiring AT&T to confirm or deny whether it has disclosed large quantities of telephone records to the federal government could give adversaries of this country valuable insight into the government's intelligence activities," U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly said.


Please visit the link provided for the complete story.


So I'm trying to wrap my head around this; having AT&T deny or confirm their role with the NSA would violate national security, but the fact that there are probably hundreds of stories about the accusations brought not only by the ACLU but also the EFF don't do that? Somehow that just doesnt make sense, the cat is already out of the bag but they still insist on trying to force it back in. I can see how answering yes or no to a very specific question such as 'are you now or have you ever monitered suspected terrorist zxy12' could give away something important, but not owning up to shoveling records in bulk to the hungry black hole that is the NSA. I suspect if the ACLU's case has been shot down so easily the EFF's suit will soon meet the same fate. Most definately a scary situation when the goverment can shut up even the courts, the supposed providers of justice for the people.



posted on Jul, 25 2006 @ 10:37 PM
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having AT&T deny or confirm their role with the NSA would violate national security, but the fact that there are probably hundreds of stories about the accusations brought not only by the ACLU but also the EFF don't do that? Somehow that just doesnt make sense, the cat is already out of the bag but they still insist on trying to force it back in.




National security? My aunt Fanny's butt.

An explanation, and hopefully, another avenue:

Specter Preparing to Sue Bush in Federal Court Over Signing Statements


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posted on Jul, 25 2006 @ 11:54 PM
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Judge Matthew F. Kennelly seems to have a soft spot for extreme cases.

archive.salon.com...

June 2001
U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly caused a stir when he reduced what could have been an 18-month jail sentence in an embezzlement and wire fraud case to two years of probation, six weeks of community service and a $3,000 fine. The defendant, Elizabeth Randolph Roach, had pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly a quarter of a million dollars from Andersen Consulting, where she earned a salary of $150,000 a year.



posted on Jul, 26 2006 @ 12:13 AM
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When the Government begins willfully manipulating the law, allowing Corporations to not only breech the codiciles of their contracts (customer privacy agreements, in this case) proscribing the lawful commerce between the Corporations and the Citizens served by the Government, but to violate the civil liberties of the citizens said government is sworn to defend;

Such a government, in my opinion, has turned the corner from protector of its citizens to their Oppressor!



posted on Aug, 4 2006 @ 05:02 PM
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The time is fast approaching where we as citizens are going to have to either decide to stand up or remain silent for a long time. This government has been on a path towards authoritarian Corporatism for a long time... the current admin is just taking it to the next level.... this is fundamentally wrong and we need to stand up and change this system... either by vote(legally) or by force(illegally) either way it will be no ones fault other than our own if we stand idly by and do nothing.... Apathy is the woeful acceptance of something you would rather not think about.... are you apathetic? With the dismissal of this case i truly feel like it is no longer prudent or possible to attempt to make a redress of grievances against our government. with that being said what was a major reason for the formation of the Declaration of Independence.... we have gone backward.... we need to take back the responsibility that we have so quietly and ubiquitously ceded to our supposed elected officials.

good find....depressing but atleast we know

[edit on 4-8-2006 by Elsenorpompom]



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