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  • Posted by Igniting 9 years, 3 months ago
    Most of the ABC departments are illegal, of no help or aid to citizens and could be eliminate IF it weren't for the fact that they are there to control the slaves. None of them are concerned or care about the law and or what our country needs, In face we are openly (those that resist the criminal actions and follow the real law of the land) demonized as domestic terrorist. As partially explained here. http://leb.fbi.gov/2011/september/sovere... We are in trouble folks, and worse, much worse, is on the way.
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  • Posted by freedomforall 9 years, 3 months ago
    If I was a cynic (ahem) I might think that the recent move of the Mentalist scripts from CBI to FBI was an attempt to improve the rep of the FBI using an already popular TV show. (Maybe the CBI was beyond help;^)
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years, 3 months ago
    "no reasonable expectation of privacy" could mean
    any time you're not in your bunker with the damned
    thing turned off and the battery removed. -- j

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  • Posted by RobertFl 9 years, 3 months ago
    Sorry, I have to agree. The courts have already clearly said, you have no expectation of privacy in public places. Further, you have no rights to privacy when transmitting over the airwaves. Airwaves are free.
    Where one might be able to beat them is with your use agreement with your cell carrier. You are paying for your "secure" connection to your service providers cell tower. If the FBI is hijacking that towers service, then that might be the crime.
    But, from the privacy angle, and needing a search warrant, I would have to agree, as the courts have ruled, and as the Constitution says, they can listen.
    We don't have to like it. We can choose not to use cell phones.
    On a side not, it is odd that cell signals are prevented from being received on commercial receivers (radios, ham equipment, etc.). One could also argue, if the gov't can listen, then we can as well, or, if we can't listen, then the gov't can't either.
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    • Posted by khalling 9 years, 3 months ago
      The Constitution trumps what the court says. The 4th Amendment does not discuss an expectation of privacy. This is a non-sensical standard made up by the courts to expand police powers.
      The 4 th Amendment states "people shall be secure in their person, their houses, their papers, their effects..." Clearly that includes one's conversations.
      The Constitution must be consistent with natural rights, Police cannot target you not individually or en masse, unless they have a reasonable suspicion that you have broken the "law." Their only legit use of their power is in a very specific retaliatory force. Clearly this is the govt stealing your conversations in an act of force to be used against you when they want to target you.
      The only sense one can make out of this expectation of privacy is for example, I am a robber and I'm in a bar and I talk about having robbed the 7 Eleven down the street. Police would have to coincidentally overhear me. Then it's not invalid to use in a court of law. There is no analogy between that scenario and these receptors.
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      • Posted by $ blarman 9 years, 3 months ago
        I completely agree that a warrant should be required regardless, but being a licensed amateur radio operator, I can tell you that it is REALLY easy to listen in on an unencrypted transmission. I think that wireless communications providers ought to be able to encrypt communications. That way if a law enforcement official wants to snoop, they have to present the warrant to the communications vendor and obtain the encryption key (specific to their suspect) in order to conduct their investigations.

        I think that the real problem is the untargeted and intentionally deceptive nature of these tactics, because they treat anyone out in public as a potential offender - a presumption of guilt. I find them reprehensible.
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      • Posted by RobertFl 9 years, 3 months ago
        "public" broadcast. That is true with hams (I to am a ham), CB Radio, and cell phones. The air waves are public domain.
        Just like I can peer into your windows with a telescope.
        I would agree, cell phone should be allowed to be encrypted. Just because something becomes wireless doesn't mean we should have to give up privacy across that transmission.
        I don't know if that should apply to the ham band. but, since the cell towers use a leased frequency, those owners should be able to encrypt their use of those frequencies.
        there will be a time when our internet connections will be wireless. But, should we have to pay a service to have encrypted transmissions? Why not have a public, encrypted broadcast. Just like Bitcoin is a public ledger, we should be able to have a public broadband...encrypted.

        >> "people shall be secure in their person, their houses, their papers, their effects..."
        Conversation, yes, in a private location. Transmitting it over the airwaves is not private.
        I cannot enter your property. the airwaves are not your property.

        >>...Constitution must be consistent with natural rights,

        I have a right to listen to the wind. That cell phone is no different then you shouting across the street to a neighbor. How can I not hear that? Very different then me having to physically tap onto your phone line to listen to you.

        I'm not evaluating the purpose, or intent of "eavesdropping". I'm only saying, in this regard, it's public.
        The FCC rules say we can't encrypt broadcasts. Change that, and the FBI can listen to the non-sense buzz all they want, it won't matter.

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        • Posted by ewv 9 years, 3 months ago
          Use of specific radio frequencies should be private property. Government decreed them to be "public", then declares that you have no right to privacy. Arguing that you have no right to privacy because government can ban private property begs the question and only illustrates the importance of private property rights. There is no reason why government could not observe privacy over 'public' frequencies, but sanctioning 'public' frequencies surrenders the right to it.
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        • Posted by khalling 9 years, 3 months ago
          the difference here is not that something you say can be overheard. The difference is, police, without cause, have no business following you around listening. Note: private citizens can (P.I.s) As well, the drones capture data en masse. That is Unconstitutional. You cannot follow him around based on where his cell phone is at all times either. -not safe in my person. Undoubtedly, police and judges try to push the concept of making it easier to catch criminals. But they do not always use those resources that way. I saw a small video short of the FBI trying to track down a kidnapper/pedophile. Time was of the essence, and they showed some of the ways they can find people. You wanted them to catch the bad guy, but by the time they demonstrated their tools(I bet they only showed some) I was amazed and appalled at what they can do to make your privacy moot. Just think what can happen when they start saying things like someone in that tea party event is going to harm someone on capital hill. follow all of them! listen in to all of them! Use xray cameras to see what people have hidden under clothes! It's why I hate Google glass
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 9 years, 3 months ago
    The reality is that we haven't had real privacy of communications since the first relay of "land lines" by microwave tower. The FBI and state and local law enforcement have been able to intercept such communications without warrant for decades. Ironically, it's now only coming to light because we have come to rely on wireless communications almost exclusively. Before widespread cell phone use, the NSA was intercepting "radio phone" signals (the kind you used to see in the old movies installed in cars) and using voice recognition to select who they wanted to listen to. The only comfort I can offer is that the government agencies still face the "Gestapo problem", which is that while it's easy to collect lots of data, it can swamp your ability to analyze all of it, even with supercomputers.
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  • Posted by $ rainman0720 9 years, 3 months ago
    George Orwell had it right, he just missed the date by a few decades.

    Our laptops can be used to spy on us, instead of our television sets. And there are surveillance cameras everywhere.

    Instead of the Thought Poolice, voice analysis can be performed to determine who is lying and who is not.

    And instead of the Ministry of Love, the IRS is being used as a tool to suppress anyone and any actions that dare to challenge the government in general, and the political party and president in particular.

    And this administration even has its own Ministry of Truth. It's called the Mainstream Media.
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