Telecom Immunity Showdown in the Senate Today 221
CPeanutG writes "A make-or-break moment for telecom immunity has arrived — after months of back-room committee-meetings, the FISA bill will finally reach the Senate floor on Monday! Unfortunately, a previously-reported version of the bill that grants telecom immunity will be presented to the Senate on Monday morning. The clock is ticking. Write your Senators now."
Re:Heard on the radio this morning (Score:3, Interesting)
All we are is farts in the wind
Re:Nice exclamation point (Score:5, Interesting)
IIRC, if the gov't asks them to eavesdrop on a citizen, they become an agent of the state, and as such cannot legally abridge 4th amendment protections. The Government cannot end-run the protections by asking someone else to do it for them. If they could, the Constitution wouldn't be worth the paper its printed upon.
If on the other hand, the telco volunteered without prompting such information, then yes, there would be no violation. That is soooooooo not the case here.
Re:no immunity? (Score:5, Interesting)
Only by these individuals being held accountable in some way, will it send a message to business that individuals acting on behalf of the organization have to act within the law. If they were 'coerced' using illegal threats, then the individuals within the Govt agency responsible should ALSO be held accountable. And this may weigh into the severity of the punishment the company reps receive.
Until INDIVIDUALS are held accountable, then Companies and large corporations will continue to break the law, presumably hoping the fine isn't too severe when/if they eventually get caught.
Re:no immunity? (Score:3, Interesting)
too late (Score:4, Interesting)
Not to say it isn't worth trying, but don't get your hopes up
Re:Senate contact info (Score:3, Interesting)
Life is not a conspiracy movie.
It works differently when there are no writers trying to make everything interesting for an audience. It's a lot more real, with people going to work and doing normal things rather than everyone either trying to take over the world or stop you from taking over the world.
You should consider joining us here in reality sometime. It's less interesting, but you get to be an adult and make your own decisions instead of following the writers' thoughts from one fictional plot point to another.
Re:There must be some industry protections (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, making these bastards answer for their crimes won't knock out the communications infrastructure. It will still be there, but AT&T, Verizon and South Central Bell will have to sell theirs for pennies on the dollar to telcos that didn't violate the law. And, if there is some disruption in communications, maybe people will for once stop watching staring at the tv all the time and actually pay attention to who is running things. It's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned.
Re:I did, but it won't matter. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Why are we concerned over the telecoms? (Score:3, Interesting)
I've studied WWI, you're right, it is interesting. But the world has changed since then. It's too interconnected for any major player to risk a world war. The risk/benefit analysis for war is totally different now. And the minor players don't have the capacity to mount something like an invasion of the American mainland. Implying that the causes of WWI could replay in today's world is an extraordinary claim, requiring extraordinary proof. I know a fair amount about WWI, so I'd like to hear your theories as to how those conditions could exist today.