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marc
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Posted: Thu Dec 22nd, 2005 07:16 pm |
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US lawsuit could dent global war-contractor boom
By Bernd Debusmann
An unprecedented lawsuit stemming from the gruesome killing of four American civilians in Iraq is slowly making its way through the U.S. legal system, closely watched by companies estimated to field up to 100,000 contractors alongside the U.S. military.
Lawyers and military experts say the case highlights legal gray zones, a lack of regulation and little oversight of a booming global industry believed to bring in more than $150 billion annually. Civilian military contractors now perform scores of functions once restricted to regular troops, and a trend toward "privatizing war" has been accelerating steadily.
The suit was brought by the families of four civilian contractors shot last year by Iraqi insurgents, who burned their bodies and hung the charred remains from a bridge across the Euphrates river in the city of Falluja.
The four -- Stephen Helveston, Mike Teague, Jerko Zovko and Wesley Batalona -- worked for Blackwater Security Consulting LLC, one of the companies fielding armed civilians in Iraq under contract with the Pentagon. All four had military experience and signed contracts assuming all risks and waiving their right to sue.
The suit against Blackwater says the company broke explicit terms of its contract with the men by sending them to escort a food convoy in unarmored cars, without heavy machine guns, proper briefings, advance notice or pre-mission reconnaissance, in teams that were understaffed and lacked even a map.
"Sending four men out on the security mission instead of the required six essentially took away the team's ability to defend itself," the suit says. "Not having one driver, one navigator and a rear-gunner with a 180 degree field of fire, the team never had a chance...the insurgents were literally able to walk up behind the vehicles and open fire upon them at close range."
Alleging wrongful death and fraud, the suit is the first of its kind in the U.S. The way it is resolved, experts say, could have major implications for the future of military contracting and result in more rules and regulations.
Blackwater, which declines comment on the suit, filed motions this week to have the case moved to a federal court from a state court in North Carolina where it originated in January. Blackwater's headquarters are in Moycock, North Carolina.
Marc Miles, an attorney for the families, said he expected the suit to come to trial next year.
WILD WEST
"This is an important case," said Jeffrey Addicott, director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University in San Antonio. "While the volume of contractors pouring into Iraq has been enormous, there has been very little effort at regulation or standardizing training. It's the Wild West out there."
Addicott, a retired Special Forces officer, estimates that the number of civilian contractors in Iraq surpassed 100,000 this year. "That takes into account not only people specifically hired to provide armed security, but also those in transportation, construction, food services, housing, laundry etc. Americans and non-Americans."
Other experts agree with that estimate.
Despite the large sums of money and large numbers of civilians paid by the Department of Defense, the Pentagon does not have a precise tally of either. The estimate of contractors it gives - around 20,000 - dates back to a remark by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld almost two years ago.
Such estimates cover what is known as "arms-bearing contractors" who work for firms including Blackwater, Triple Canopy, Aegis Defense Services and Military Professional Resources Incorporated (MPRI) - all run by retired military officers.
There are about 173,000 U.S. and allied troops now in Iraq, led by the United States with 155,000.
ARMY DEPENDS ON CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS
U.S. armed forces can no longer function without civilian contractors, neither in combat nor in the post-combat stability and reconstruction operations that the Pentagon last month declared a "core mission," experts say.
According to Peter Singer of Washington's Brookings Institution, private companies that sell warfare-linked services to governments represent "the corporate evolution of the age-old profession of mercenaries."
The firms involved bristle at the term "mercenary," which evokes images of white guns-for-hire working for African dictators and staging coups and countercoups on behalf of the highest bidder.
Civilian contractors say they provide protection and support personnel rather than war fighters, but the line is often thin. Some of the most advanced weapons systems used in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq were manned by civilians.
But while "mercenary" has been replaced by "private military firms" or "private military companies" - PMFs or PMCs -- there is no doubt that the driving force is money.
PMFs have operated in more than 100 countries. In 1990, revenues from their activities were estimated at around $55 billion, a sum thought to have tripled by this year.
OUTSOURCING
The government's rationale for outsourcing military services is that it saves cost and increases flexibility - similar to corporations which cut their work forces then outsource functions to contractors working without health or pension benefits.
There are no recent studies, however, on the long-term cost benefit of replacing regular troops with contractors.
The downsizing of the U.S. armed forces has been substantial and relentless - from 2.1 million when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the Cold War ended to 1.4 million today. More cuts are under consideration.
One tricky consequence is the free-market competition between the military and the private sector for people who have been trained - often at considerable cost - by the military. PMFs pay up to 10 times more than the military for very similar functions.
Special Forces expertise is in particular demand, and operators can make more than $200,000 a year, a good part of it not subject to U.S. income taxes.
To counter the lure of private contractors, the army has begun to offer re-enlistment bonuses of $150,000 for special forces soldiers who agree to stay on an additional six years.
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Randy in Pensacola
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| Joined: | Wed Nov 3rd, 2004 |
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| Posts: | 916 |
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Posted: Thu Dec 22nd, 2005 02:28 pm |
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| If thats the case then.........I want to sue Shikira for thinking sexy thoughts of me.....We can settle out of court........LOL
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Dave
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Posted: Thu Dec 22nd, 2005 02:19 pm |
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Talk about a Nut-Case. Not sure who's worse though, the fan or the judge...
Letterman subject of restraining order
Woman says TV host courted her with code words, gestures
SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) -- Lawyers for David Letterman want a judge to quash a restraining order granted to a Santa Fe woman who contends the CBS late-night host used code words to show he wanted to marry her and train her as his co-host.
A state judge granted a temporary restraining order to Colleen Nestler, who alleged in a request filed last Thursday that Letterman has forced her to go bankrupt and caused her "mental cruelty" and "sleep deprivation" since May 1994.
Nestler requested that Letterman, who tapes his show in New York, stay at least 3 yards away and not "think of me, and release me from his mental harassment and hammering."
Lawyers for Letterman, in a motion filed Tuesday, contend the order is without merit and asked state District Judge Daniel Sanchez to quash it.
"Celebrities deserve protection of their reputation and legal rights when the occasional fan becomes dangerous or deluded," Albuquerque lawyer Pat Rogers wrote in the motion.
Nestler told The Associated Press by telephone Wednesday that she had no comment pending her request for a permanent restraining order "and I pray to God I get it."
Sanchez set a Jan. 12 hearing on the permanent order.
Letterman's longtime Los Angeles lawyer, Jim Jackoway, said Nestler's claims were "obviously absurd and frivolous."
"This constitutes an unfortunate abuse of the judicial process," he said.
Nestler's application for a restraining order was accompanied by a six-page typed letter in which she said Letterman used code words, gestures and "eye expressions" to convey his desires for her.
She wrote that she began sending Letterman "thoughts of love" after his "Late Show" began in 1993, and that he responded in code words and gestures, asking her to come East.
She said he asked her to be his wife during a televised "teaser" for his show by saying, "Marry me, Oprah." Her letter said Oprah was the first of many code names for her and that the coded vocabulary increased and changed with time.
Her letter does not say why she recently sought a restraining order.
Rogers' motion to quash the order contends the court lacks jurisdiction over Letterman, that Nestler never served him with restraining order papers, and that she didn't meet other procedural requirements.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/21/people.letterman.restraining.ap/index.html
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Dave
Supporter
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Posted: Wed Dec 21st, 2005 02:04 pm |
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Classic Video: Blitzen Gets Romantic On TV
Yes, with another holiday approaching, here is an encore presentation of a popular holiday video.
In 2003, an NBC reporter doing a live report from North Pole, Alaska, got quite a shock when Blitzen the reindeer got "friendly" with her on a live TV report.
As you know, Santa's reindeer are cooped up all year long, saving their energy to pull St. Nick's sleigh all around the world.
This, of course, gives the reindeer all a serious case of cabin fever and reporter Meghan Stapleton from NBC station KTUU learned that the hard way.
As she was squatting down next to "Blitzen," he got spooked when Meghan put a hand on his shoulder.
The reindeer jumped on top of Stapleton on camera and knocked her down. But to her credit, Stapleton never let go of the reins. (This is coincidentally what Santa trains his own elves to do.)
Stapleton was not hurt. Blitzen's handler said that the reindeer wasn't attacking her, instead getting a little "frisky."
Stapleton said as she was going off camera, "I didn't even get time to propose!"
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/5588802/detail.html
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marc
Supporter
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Posted: Tue Dec 20th, 2005 04:56 pm |
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Iranians Shrug Off Ban on Western Music
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's ban on Western music fell on deaf ears Tuesday, as shop owners and music enthusiasts in the Iranian capital continued selling, buying and listening to everything from hip-hop to country rock.
The official IRAN Persian daily reported Monday that Ahmadinejad, as head of the Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council, ordered the enactment of an October ruling by the council to ban all Western music, including classical music, on state broadcast outlets.
"This president speaks as if he is living in the Stone Age. This man has to understand that he can't tell the people what to listen to and what not to listen to," said Mohammed Reza Hosseinpour as he browsed through a Tehran music shop.
The shop's owner said he did not expect the president's ban to be implemented.
"Clerics and officials speak about imposing restrictions every other day. I don't think it's going to be enforced," said Reza Sadeghi as he counted some bills he received from the sale of an Eric Clapton tape.
The order was an eerie reminder of the 1979 Islamic revolution, when popular music was outlawed as "un-Islamic" under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In the revolution's early years, police stopped cars to search for Western music tapes, destroying any they found and sometimes arresting those caught listening to them.
But little seems to have changed in Tehran since Monday's ruling.
State radio and TV stations sometimes play Western music — without lyrics — in the background of newscasts and other programs, but more often they play Iranian pop or traditional music. On Tuesday, there was only Iranian music, but it was not immediately clear if that was because of the ban.
The ban applies only to state-run radio and television. Tehran residents, accustomed to the relaxed rules and rare enforcement of such restrictions in the past 10 years, seemed unconcerned that it might signal a return to the wider restrictions imposed during the revolution.
"Don't take this man (Ahmadinejad) seriously," said Pari Mahmoudi, a teen driving in the capital, as the Eagles' "Hotel California" blared from the car speakers.
The expectation among many was that the new ban would fall by the wayside as others have recently. Iran's government has banned the sale of music by female singers in the past and has forbidden women from wearing heavy makeup. Neither order has been enforced.
As the revolutionary fervor started to fade, some light classical music was allowed on Iranian radio and television, and some public concerts reappeared in the late 1980s. Since Khomeini's death, pop music has been creeping into Iranian shops.
In the 1990s, particularly during the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami, authorities began relaxing restrictions further. These days in Iran, Western music, films and clothing are widely available. Bootleg videos and DVDs of films banned by the state can be found on the black market.
Also, Iranians with satellite dishes can get broadcasts originating outside the country. Satellite dishes are banned but the government currently does not harass citizens whose equipment can be seen on the rooftops.
Ahmadinejad's ban required the "blocking of indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting," according to a statement on the Web site hard-line Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council. The council's members are hand-picked by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to rule on cultural issues.
The ban also includes censorship of content of films.
"Supervision of content from films, TV series and their voice-overs is emphasized in order to support spiritual cinema and to eliminate triteness and violence," the council said on its Web site.
Ahmadinejad's latest order means the state broadcasting authority must execute the decree and prepare a report on its implementation within six months, according to the government-owned IRAN daily newspaper.
Ahmadinejad was elected in August on a platform of reverting to ultraconservative principles, following the eight years of reformist-led rule under intellectual Khatami.
During his presidential campaign, Ahmadinejad promised to confront what he called the Western cultural invasion of Iran and promote Islamic values.
Since then, he has jettisoned Iran's moderation in foreign policy and pursued a purge in the government, replacing pragmatic veterans with former military commanders and inexperienced religious hard-liners.
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Randy in Pensacola
Supporter
| Joined: | Wed Nov 3rd, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 916 |
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Posted: Tue Dec 20th, 2005 04:07 pm |
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I wonder if he can be prosicuted under American law now?
Mikey wrote:
Well...this took some brains....what the hell are they thinking????
Germany Frees Terrorist Who Killed U.S. Navy Diver
Man Was Serving Life Sentence For Hijacking, Killing
POSTED: 8:22 am CST December 20, 2005
BERLIN -- A man serving a life sentence for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA jetliner and for killing a U.S. Navy diver has been paroled by a German court.
A spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said Mohammed Ali Hamadi has been released from prison and has left Germany. She said she doesn't know where he's headed.
Hamadi served 19 years of his sentence when his case came up for a mandated review.
The hijacked flight was supposed to go from Athens to Rome, but instead went to Beirut, where Robert Stethem was shot and his body dumped on the tarmac.
He was the only casualty during the hijacking ordeal, in which 39 Americans were held hostage for 17 days.
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zippo
Supporter
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Posted: Tue Dec 20th, 2005 02:46 pm |
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Mikey wrote: Well...this took some brains....what the hell are they thinking????
Probably like the French Middle east policy, just sucking up, trying to not get attacked. We ought to let most of Europe suck air. F'_EM
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Mikey
Supporter
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Posted: Tue Dec 20th, 2005 01:28 pm |
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Well...this took some brains....what the hell are they thinking????
Germany Frees Terrorist Who Killed U.S. Navy Diver
Man Was Serving Life Sentence For Hijacking, Killing
POSTED: 8:22 am CST December 20, 2005
BERLIN -- A man serving a life sentence for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA jetliner and for killing a U.S. Navy diver has been paroled by a German court.
A spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said Mohammed Ali Hamadi has been released from prison and has left Germany. She said she doesn't know where he's headed.
Hamadi served 19 years of his sentence when his case came up for a mandated review.
The hijacked flight was supposed to go from Athens to Rome, but instead went to Beirut, where Robert Stethem was shot and his body dumped on the tarmac.
He was the only casualty during the hijacking ordeal, in which 39 Americans were held hostage for 17 days.
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Dave
Supporter
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Posted: Tue Dec 20th, 2005 11:01 am |
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I can understand George Michaels and Kenny G... But, Eric Clapton and The Eagles?
Iran bans Western music
Ruling takes country back to Khomeini days
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has banned Western music from Iran's radio and TV stations, reviving one of the harshest cultural decrees from the early days of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Songs such as George Michael's "Careless Whisper," Eric Clapton's "Rush" and the Eagles' "Hotel California" have regularly accompanied Iranian broadcasts, as do tunes by saxophonist Kenny G.
But the official IRAN Persian daily reported Monday that Ahmadinejad, as head of Iran's Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council, ordered the enactment of an October ruling by the council to ban Western music.
"Blocking indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is required," according to a statement on the council's official Web site.
Ahmadinejad's order means broadcasters must execute the decree and prepare a report on its implementation within six months, according to the newspaper.
"This is terrible," said Iranian guitarist Babak Riahipour, whose music was played occasionally on state radio and TV. "The decision shows a lack of knowledge and experience."
Music was outlawed as un-Islamic by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini soon after the revolution. But as the fervor of the revolution started to fade, light classical music was allowed on radio and television. Some public concerts reappeared in the late 1980s.
Western music, films and clothing are widely available in Iran, and hip-hop can be heard on Tehran's streets, blaring from car speakers or from music shops. Bootleg videos and DVDs of films banned by the state are widely available on the black market.
After eight years of reformist-led rule in Iran, Ahmadinejad won office in August on a platform of reverting to ultraconservative principles promoted by the revolution.
Since then, Ahmadinejad has jettisoned Iran's moderation in foreign policy and pursued a purge in the government, replacing pragmatic veterans with former military commanders and inexperienced religious hard-liners.
He also has issued stinging criticisms of Israel, called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map" and described the Nazi Holocaust as a "myth." (Full story)
International concerns are high over Iran's nuclear program, with the United States accusing Tehran of pursuing an atomic weapons program. Iran denies the claims.
During his presidential campaign, Ahmadinejad also promised to confront what he called the Western cultural invasion and promote Islamic values.
The latest media ban also includes censorship of content of films.
"Supervision of content from films, TV series and their voice-overs is emphasized in order to support spiritual cinema and to eliminate triteness and violence," the council said in a statement on its Web site explaining its October ruling.
The council has also issued a ban on foreign movies that promote "arrogant powers," an apparent reference to the United States.
Whose music would you most like to ban?
The Eagles - 6% - 2311 votes
Eric Clapton - 4% - 1784 votes
(I have trouble believing the numbers above)
George Michael - 38% - 15596 votes
Kenny - 52% - 21625 votes
Total: 41316 vote
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/19/iran.music.ap/index.html
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weasle
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 07:27 pm |
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| first i heard it was a non citizen that this stink is all about . guess it is gray if they were spying on him and not the american.
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zippo
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 07:13 pm |
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weasle wrote: zippo wrote: You know, if the frickin phone calls were international maybe its a gray area. Personally, I don't have an issue with it as long as one end is foreign. 1978 foreighn surveillance act , makes it illegal to spy on us citizens in the us without court approval. aint any grey i can see. We were spying on the foreign guy wit ties to Al Quida, he just happened to be talking to a US citizen. Could be gray to me.
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weasle
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 07:04 pm |
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zippo wrote: You know, if the frickin phone calls were international maybe its a gray area. Personally, I don't have an issue with it as long as one end is foreign. 1978 foreighn surveillance act , makes it illegal to spy on us citizens in the us without court approval. aint any grey i can see.
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Mikey
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 07:00 pm |
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Eminem Music Allegedly Used As U.S. Torture Device
POSTED: 11:04 am CST December 19, 2005
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A human rights group is alleging the United States operated a secret prison near Afghanistan's capital as recently as last year.
The group claims that music by Eminem and Dr. Dre were used as instruments of torture.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has issued a report saying the United States operated a secret prison in Afghanistan and tortured detainees. The report quoted an Ethiopian-born detainee as saying he was kept in a pitch-black prison and forced to listen to Eminem and Dr. Dre’s rap music for 20 days before the music was replaced by "horrible ghost laughter and Halloween sounds."
The report said detainees at the facility -- known as "Dark Prison" -- were deprived of sleep, chained to walls and forced to listen to loud music in total darkness for days.
The group said its report is based on the accounts of several detainees at the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. Human Rights Watch hasn't been allowed to speak with the detainees directly, but said it obtained the detainees' accounts from their lawyers.
The group said the allegations are credible enough to warrant an official investigation.
American officials say the United States doesn't engage in torture. CIA officials have no commented on the allegations.
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empty
Supporter
| Joined: | Tue Jun 28th, 2005 |
| Location: | Plano, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1634 |
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 05:29 pm |
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Dave wrote: Dave wrote:
Talk about a screwed up way of thinking....
'Tookie' Williams To Be Memorialized In LA Tuesday
I'm waiting for his last book, "Tookie Takes a Dirt Nap" I don't care who ya are: That's funny right there!
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Dave
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 05:21 pm |
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Dave wrote:
Talk about a screwed up way of thinking....
'Tookie' Williams To Be Memorialized In LA Tuesday
I'm waiting for his last book, "Tookie Takes a Dirt Nap"
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zippo
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 04:45 pm |
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empty wrote: zippo wrote: You know, if the frickin phone calls were international maybe its a gray area. Personally, I don't have an issue with it as long as one end is foreign.
If it is true that this is an issue over foreign calls only, I feel a slight bit relieved ...though it doesn't say that.
The quote that bothered me was;
The president had harsh words for those who revealed the program to the media, saying they acted improperly and illegally. The surveillance was first disclosed in Friday's New York Times.
I heard excerpts from W's speach this morning and he said concerning the NYTimes disclosing the information that as an example in the late 1990's a paper reported we were following OBL because of a certain cell phone he was using. Once it was exposed of course OBL changed communication methods.
Yes, I read the foreign connection in a nother paper, I wouldn't expect the NY Times to report that.
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Randy in Pensacola
Supporter
| Joined: | Wed Nov 3rd, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 916 |
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 04:20 pm |
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Dave wrote: Talk about a screwed up way of thinking....
'Tookie' Williams To Be Memorialized In LA Tuesday
Williams' friend, Barbara Becnel, who edited the children's books he authored from prison, is expected to attend the service, as will the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan from the Nation of Islam, rapper Snoop Dogg and Bruce Gordon, executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME TO HAVE A SUICIDE BOMBER SHOW UP, ITS THERE.........
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Dave
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 04:17 pm |
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Motorcyclist Fleeing CHP Killed In High-Speed Crash
POSTED: 8:09 am PST December 19, 2005
LA TUNA CANYON, Calif. -- A motorcyclist was killed early Monday when he crashed while being chased by California Highway Patrol officers, authorities said.
The 19-year-old Tujunga man died at the scene of the crash, which occurred at about 12:45 a.m. on La Tuna Canyon Road, west of Ledge Avenue, said CHP Sgt. K.J. Olson. Authorities withheld his name, pending family notification.
A CHP officer saw the 2003 Honda CBR600 motorcycle on the westbound Foothill (210) Freeway and tried to pull it over, but the rider kept going, Olson said.
"At times, the motorcycle was well in excess of 100 mph, and the CHP unit was unable to overtake and stop the motorcycle," Olson said.
"A short time later, the CHP unit spotted the motorcycle westbound on La Tuna Canyon road, again at a high rate of speed," Olson said.
"The CHP unit initiated an enforcement stop. The motorcyclist rapidly accelerated and left the CHP unit behind," Olson said. "The CHP unit quickly lost sight of the motorcycle.
"After rounding a curve west of Ledge Avenue, the CHP unit saw the motorcycle had been involved in a solo traffic collision, resulting in fatal injuries to the rider," Olson said.
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Dave
Supporter
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 04:15 pm |
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Talk about a screwed up way of thinking....
'Tookie' Williams To Be Memorialized In LA Tuesday
POSTED: 8:12 am PST December 19, 2005
LOS ANGELES -- A public viewing will take place Monday for Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the convicted multiple murderer executed at San Quentin State Prison last week.
The 51-year-old Williams, who co-founded the Crips gang but advocated against gang life after he was sent to prison, was put to death by lethal injection Dec. 13 after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to commute his sentence.
The governor cited Williams' failure to admit to the four 1979 robbery slayings for which he was convicted and express remorse. Williams argued he was innocent of the killings.
A memorial service for Williams will take place Tuesday at Bethel A.M.E church at 7900 S. Western Avenue in Los Angeles, beginning at noon.
Williams' friend, Barbara Becnel, who edited the children's books he authored from prison, is expected to attend the service, as will the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan from the Nation of Islam, rapper Snoop Dogg and Bruce Gordon, executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Williams was sentenced to death in 1981 after he was found guilty of murdering four people two years earlier.
He was convicted of fatally shooting Albert Owens during a February 1979 robbery at a 7-Eleven in Pico Rivera and of murdering South Los Angeles motel owners Yen-I Yang and Tsai-Shai Chen Yang and their daughter, Yu Chin Yang Lin, a month later.
While behind bars, Williams crusaded against gangs and authored several children's books. His efforts earned him Nobel Prize nominations -- for peace and in literature -- but he was never a finalist for the honor.
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/5576530/detail.html
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empty
Supporter
| Joined: | Tue Jun 28th, 2005 |
| Location: | Plano, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1634 |
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Posted: Mon Dec 19th, 2005 04:04 pm |
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zippo wrote: You know, if the frickin phone calls were international maybe its a gray area. Personally, I don't have an issue with it as long as one end is foreign.
If it is true that this is an issue over foreign calls only, I feel a slight bit relieved ...though it doesn't say that.
The quote that bothered me was;
The president had harsh words for those who revealed the program to the media, saying they acted improperly and illegally. The surveillance was first disclosed in Friday's New York Times.
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