AT&T Says Spying Is Too Secret For Courts 312
The Wired blog 26B Stroke 6 reports on the arguments AT&T and the US government made to an appeals court hearing motions in the case the EFF brought against the phone giant for their presumed part in the government's program(s) to spy on Americans. In essence AT&T seems to have argued that the case against the telecom for allegedly helping the government spy on Americans is too secret for any court, despite the Administration's admission it did spy on Americans without warrants.
27B Stroke 6 (Score:5, Informative)
Re:27B Stroke 6 (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Take your pick (Score:4, Informative)
* Benjamin Franklin, "Pennsylvania Assembly: Reply to the Governor", November 11, 1755; as cited in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 6, p. 242, Leonard W. Labaree, ed. (1963)
Yup.
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:How's that for logic (Score:5, Informative)
That's not what they're claiming at all. From their brief, starting bottom of page 1:
where the quotes are from previous cases.
Contrary to the blog's claims, AT&T is NOT saying that national security prevents them from litigating ... they are saying that the Government's actions prevent both the plaintiffs AND themselves from litigating: the plaintiffs can't show they have standing without access to information AT&T doesn't have and hence can't produce, and AT&T can't obtain material is needs to defend itself. The Government, not AT&T, has claimed the state secret privilege. It's the same result perhaps, but for a very different set of reasons than the blog post claims. I'm not going to take a position on the state secrets privilege here, but a full debate on the issue needs to correctly state the facts.
Re:Need proof or it ain't true (Score:4, Informative)
That is a BIG FUCKING DIFFERENCE, and I fail to see how you can in good conscience leave that part out unless you really are trying to whip up hatred of Muslims.
Re:The darkest hour is just before the dawn (Score:2, Informative)
I'd agree with most of your comments except for Chile. Pinochet actually WAS asked to stage the coup, and VOLUNTARILY stepped down when no longer needed. I know it's not a popular position, but if you talk with many Chileans in Chile (and for the record, I actually ran a company and lived in Chile for a few years) and look at the historical record, you'll find this is the truth. If only the news would carry it.
I'd ask that you read Robert Moss' excellent book "Chile's Marxist Experiment" for some additional information:
"(i) the objective evidence that the Allende government had plunged Chile into the worst social and economic crisis in its modern history characterised by a Weimar rate of inflation; (ii) the conviction that the Marxist parties were aiming for nothing less than the seizure of absolute power; (iii) the existence of a clear popular mandate for military intervention, demonstrated by the declarations of the Supreme Court, Congress and opposition and trade union leaders; (iv) the discovery of the efforts of the extreme left to incite rebellion within the armed forces themselves. "
NOTE: The Chilean Congress and Supreme Court ruled "the government is not merely responsible for isolated violations of the law and the constitution; it has made them into a permanent system of conduct." and actually called for a military-based coup. Pinochet was, in fact, invited to rule against a corrupt and unresponsive executive. And then voluntarily stepped down when asked to do so.
My own experience was that nearly all Chileans basically summed up Pinochet as follows: He'll answer to God for his crimes, but he was good for Chile.
wrong (Score:4, Informative)