"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind" - George Orwell
You can call it the privatization of the FBI
-- though it is better described as the creation of a private KGB.
New York Times : Telecoms Play Bigger Role In NSA Surveillance Than Previously Known / For months, the Bush administration has waged a high-profile campaign, including personal lobbying by President Bush and closed-door briefings by top officials, to persuade Congress to pass legislation protecting companies from lawsuits for aiding the National Security Agency's warrantless eavesdropping program. The N.S.A.'s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before.
The 'Orwellian' Bush administration continues to insist that it alone must decide whether a judge is allowed to hear a case that might harm national security. When Judge Harry Pregerson, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, listened to Deputy Solicitor General Gregory Garre telling him that, he responded: "The bottom line here is the government declares something is a state secret, and that's the end of it. The king can do no wrong."
AT&T Whistleblower Urges Congress Not To Give Telecoms Immunity / Former AT&T technician Mark Klein "They were copying everything flowing across the Internet cables, and the major Internet links between AT&T's network and other company's networks, and it struck me at the time that this is a massively unconstitutional, illegal operation. It affects not only AT&T's customers but Sprint, Qwest, a whole bunch of other companies
"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind" - George Orwell


