Chertoff finalizing plans for domestic spy satellite program

[tekisui]

Congress has not been updated since civil liberties concerns delayed satellite spying

A plan to dramatically widen US law enforcement agencies' access to data from powerful spy satellites is moving toward implementation, as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff expects to finalize a charter for the program this week, according to a new report.

Chertoff insists the scheme to turn spy satellites -- that were originally designed for foreign surveillance -- on Americans is legal, although a House committee that would approve the program has not been updated on the program for three months.

"We still haven't seen the legal framework we requested or the standard operation procedures on how the NAO will actually be run," House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie G. Thompson tells the Wall Street Journal. Thompson was referring to the National Applications Office -- a new DHS subset that would coordinate access to spy-satellite data for non-military domestic agencies, including law enforcement.

Civil liberties concerns delayed the program after lawmakers and outside activists wondered how the program would be structured to protect Americans from unconstitutional surveillance from the powerful satellites, which can see through cloud cover, trees and even concrete buildings.

more at link: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/DHS_finalizing_plans_for_domestic_spy_1220.html

[Ganja Ninja]

1. And what happens if our enemies tap into this system?

Think al Qaeda or China or the Russians might find a way to gain access to the data from these satellites? You can bet your ass they'll try.

[tekisui]

2. China has been practicing hacking into US's system.

And been quite successful.

[mac2]

4. Crack into computers?

China doesn't need to do that. We give them everything they want...weapon technology (remember that spy plane in the first year of King Bush?), sell them weapons, allow them to spy on us without accountability, and buy up America. We even borrow money to pay our huge debt thanks to Bush illegal wars and bad tax bills.

Illegals from China flow into our cities without notice. They get jobs in the Energy and Defense Departments, etc. Ever since Nixon the Neo Cons have betrayed us for profit.

[mac2]

3. Spy satellite find fires?

Billions of acres of forest have burned just by arson and they are spying on Americans?

We should be spying on our government leaders since they lie and steal from us not the other way around? There should be cameras and recorders everywhere they go. They meet in secret which makes me very uncomfortable. They do damage to change the political landscape (from Democratic to Republican) in a state such as Louisiana.

We pay them to do a job which they have completely failed to achieve. What if we haven't been attacked again but that the attacks of 911 were by our own government? The motive and missing information is there for all to see. They refuse to investigate any disaster properly and even withhold information. Those people who failed us (such as Bush, Rice, Checkoff, Brown, and Rumsfeld) not held accountable. Even Bush knew it was coming. Apparently the airlines did too (even had security measures and procedures prior to 911).

The "terrorists" of 911 were not who they said they were (as reported soon after by the FBI). They weren't even on the passenger lists of the planes. Some are still alive. So if they can't do that what good are they?

The NASA programs and spying is all for profit. They build spy satellites and space weapons (such as HARP). Even the weather now controlled and manipulated by NOAH. Did Bin Laden do that? Did Bin Laden remove our democracy and put us in huge debt making us targets by our enemies who want to destroy us?