World-News

For McCain, a Switch on Telecom Immunity?

The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman and Ellen Nakashima write: "A top lawyer for Senator John McCain's presidential campaign said telecommunications companies should be forced to explain their role in the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program as a condition for legal immunity for past wiretapping, a statement that stands in marked contrast to positions taken by President Bush, McCain and other Republicans in Congress."

http://www.truthout.org/article/for-mccain-a-switch-telecom-immunity



McCain (Mis)Speaks

Christopher Cerf and Victor S. Navasky write for TomDispatch: "The Iraq war was a disaster for Iraq, a disaster for the United States, a disaster for the Middle East, a disaster for the world community, but most of all, it was a disaster for the experts. They were wrong about its difficulty. (It was to be either 'a cakewalk' or 'a walk in the park' - take your pick.)"

http://www.truthout.org/article/mccain-misspeaks

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Immunity Likely For Phone Companies in Spy Bill
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/19/9736/

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Put Congress on notice that the American people don’t want a "compromise" that sells out our rights. Act now

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?alertId=985&pg=makeACall&JServSessionIdr009=c3j7ie5nu2.app26a

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Congress Poised to Grant Telcoms Spying Immunity

Matt Renner reports for Truthout, "After months of negotiations behind closed doors, a supposed compromise has been reached on an extremely controversial spying bill. However, critics charge that the new bill is actually a capitulation by Democrats who had previously stood up against the Bush administration and members of their own party."

http://www.truthout.org/article/congress-poised-grant-telcoms-spying-immunity



FISA Overhaul Set to Clear Senate

In Congressional Quarterly, Tim Starks reports: "Despite a deep divide among Democrats, the Senate is expected to clear legislation this week overhauling electronic surveillance rules that would grant President Bush much of what he has sought in a lengthy struggle with Congress. With no senators threatening to hold up the bill (HR 6304), one of the last hopes for opponents faded June 20 when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois announced he would vote for the legislation. Some civil liberties groups that oppose the measure had called on Obama to use his position in the party to derail it."

http://www.truthout.org/article/fisa-overhaul-set-clear-senate

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Bush’s latest powers, courtesy of the Democratic Congress

Salon
by Glenn Greenwald

06/19/08

CQ reports (sub. req.) that ‘a final deal has been reached’ on FISA and telecom amnesty and ‘the House is likely to take up the legislation Friday.’ I’ve now just read a copy of the final ‘compromise’ bill. It’s even worse than expected. When you read it, it’s actually hard to believe that the Congress is about to make this into our law. Then again, this is the same Congress that abolished habeas corpus with the Military Commissions Act, and legalized George Bush’s warrantless eavesdropping program with the ‘Protect America Act,’ so it shouldn’t be hard to believe at all...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/19/telecom/



FISA deal would shield telecom accomplices

CNN Money

06/19/08

Senior U.S. House and Senate Republicans said Thursday that civil court cases against phone companies that participated in the government’s warrantless surveillance program will be tossed out of court as a result of the deal struck between the House and White House. … The agreement announced earlier Thursday resolves a long-running dispute over whether companies like AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) could be sued for agreeing to let the government tap the phones and read the emails of customers in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks...

http://tinyurl.com/64nyjn


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

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House Members Expand Federal Police Powers in Sweeping New Bill

by NWV News

According to law enforcement experts, no where within the police function is there more potential for abuse than search and seizure. This latest bill -- if made into law -- would expand the government's surveillance abilities and grant retroactive immunity to telecoms for their role in post-9/11 mass domestic wiretapping. The Act, known more formally as H.R. 6304 and born after months of negotiations, represents a "bipartisan compromise.".......

http://www.newswithviews.com/NWV-News/news51.htm

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The Democrats Betray the Fourth Amendment

A bill essentially legalizing Bush's warrantless surveillance program just sailed through the Democratic House and is expected to sail through the Democratic Senate.

http://independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2244


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=telecoms
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=warrantless
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=eavesdropping
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=surveillance
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=spying
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=wiretapping
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Fourth+Amendment
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ACLU
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=FISA
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=habeas+corpus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Military+Commissions+Act
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Protect+America+Act
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bipartisan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jonathan+Weisman
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ellen+Nakashima
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Christopher+Cerf
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Victor+S.+Navasky
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Thomas+Ferraro
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Matt+Renner
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Glenn+Greenwald
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tim+Starks
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Anthony+Gregory