----- Original Message ----- From: EFFector list Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 10:58 AM Subject: EFFector 22.10: Obama Administration Embraces Bush Position on Warrantless Wiretapping EFFector Vol. 22, No. 10 April 10, 2009 [email protected] A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 505th issue: * THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS EMBRACED BUSH'S POSITION ON WARANTLESS WIRETAPPING, and goes one step further than the previous administration. In a motion to dismiss Jewel v. NSA, the Obama Administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) made two deeply troubling arguments. First, they argued, exactly as the Bush Administration did on countless occasions, that the state secrets privilege requires the court to dismiss the issue out of hand. They asserted that simply allowing the case to continue "would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security." As in the past, this is a blatant ploy to dismiss the litigation without allowing the courts to consider the evidence. Second, the DOJ claimed that the U.S. Government is completely immune from litigation for illegal spying because the USA PATRIOT Act renders the U.S. immune from suit under the two remaining key federal surveillance laws: the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act. This is a radical assertion that is utterly unprecedented. No one -- not the White House, not the Justice Department, not any member of Congress, and not the Bush Administration -- has ever interpreted the law this way. This isn't change we can believe in. This is change for the worse. For the full blog post: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obama-doj-worse-than-bush For the press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/04/05 For Kevin Bankston on "Countdown With Keith Olbermann": http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/bankston-on-olbermann For Keith Olbermann on Obama and Wiretapping: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/keith-olbermann-obama-and-wiretapping * EFF AND OTHERS HAVE CALLED FOR OBAMA TO DIVERSIFY IP APPOINTMENTS. Several of the president's recent appointees to positions that oversee intellectual property policy have represented the recording industry or other industries that support overly broad IP protection. But many positions with IP policy responsibilities have not yet been filled. The coalition urged the administration to appoint individuals representing the diversity of stakeholders involved in IP issues, and also called on the president to create new positions dedicated to promoting innovation and advancing the cause of progress in sciences and the useful arts. For the full press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/04/02 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ Social Network Sites "Monitored" in UK The UK government proposed rules that would allow the use of social networking sites to monitor criminal activity. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7962631.stm ~ Freedom on the Net Freedom House takes comprehensive look at government tactics for controlling communications around the world. http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=383&report=79&group=19 ~ snip --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ShadowGovernment" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ShadowGovernment -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
