Re: [privacy] NSA Has Massive Database of Americans' Phone Calls

[harriet () note com]

I called Verizon's Exec. Office (my service) and here's what I got:

They had a 'prepared' statement that they would not e-mail me nor was
it anywhere on their website. It was 'read-only.'
The gist of it was that any dealings with NSA were classified and they
couldn't even comment on the accuracy of the USAToday article.
They went on to say that they 'cooperate with government authorities'
and that cooperation is within all applicable statutes.
Ok .. they 'cooperate' .. first ominous clue. And 'applicable statutes' are
any provisions, written or otherwise, that the Bush administration wants
to enforce or discard at will.
Since my service was with the wireless division, I also called them. Not
that I trust the response, but I was told that division was *not* included.
On the face of it, that's stupid .. terrorists, real or imagined, are more
likely to use cell phones.
Hmmm .. if the wireless division says they weren't included .. then
doesn't that take the wind out of the residential/business division's
statement and *confirm* the USAToday article is, in fact, correct?


On 11 May 2006 at 13:03, Fergie wrote:

> "We're from the government, and we're here to help you."
>
> "Us, too." - Your friendly neighborhood telco
>
> Via USA Today.
>
> [snip]
>
> The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone
> call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by
> AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the
> arrangement told USA TODAY.
>
> The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by
> amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of
> whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the
> NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is
> using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect
> terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.
>
> "It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one
> person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's
> activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The
> agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within
> the nation's borders, this person added.
>
> [snip]
>
> More here:
> http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa_x.htm
>
> - ferg
>
>
> --
> "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
>  Engineering Architecture for the Internet
>  fergdawg () netzero net or fergdawg () sbcglobal net
>  ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/



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