It's the Technology, You Cretinous Nimrod

Image courtesy NSA/AT&T Joint Venture Partners, LLC

In case any one was wondering why all this NSA/Homeland Security/CIA/FBI/You Fuckin' Name It fuss about immunity for telecommunications cos. that help the gov't. insure "our" Nazional Security: The Intelligence Establishment is no longer able to send someone up the 'phone pole down the street from you & clamp a couple of alligator clips on your 'phone line. They need the telcos' help to get all your dirt, due to fiber-optics. Thus the assistance/complicity of the telcos is required. As in Room 641A. As hinted in the AP story linked above:

The White House wants a permanent rewrite of FISA, contending that changes in telecommunications technology have made the law an obstacle to intelligence gathering. FISA requires the government to obtain court approval before conducting electronic surveillance on U.S. soil, even if the target is a foreign citizen in a foreign country.

However, many purely international communications are now routed through fiber-optic cables and computers in the United States.

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