NSA illegally and unconstitutionally collected data on US residents
In an announcement that to me does not contain surprising information, it was revealed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) illegally collected data on US residents:
22 August 2013
The U.S. National Security Agency has released a 2011 court opinion that ruled it unlawfully gathered as many 56,000 emails and other electronic communications of Americans each year between 2008 and 2011…
U.S. intelligence officials told reporters the NSA discovered in 2011 that it had inadvertently collected communications between U.S. citizens under a program aimed at monitoring foreign communications. The agency revealed its discovery to a secret court that oversees the NSA’s activities, which ordered the agency to revise the program to keep domestic communications from being mixed in with overseas communications.
But in an 85-page ruling issued in October 2011, Judge James Bates concluded that the government had engaged in a pattern of misleading statements when it sought authorization to conduct the program. Judge Bates also suggested the NSA may have violated the U.S. constitution’s prohibition against against “unreasonable searches and seizures” http://www.voanews.com/content/documents-reveal-nsa-collected-thousands-of-americanbased-emails/1734565.html
22 August 2013
“Contrary to the government’s repeated assurances, N.S.A. had been routinely running queries of the metadata using querying terms that did not meet the standard for querying,” Judge Bates recounted. He cited a 2009 ruling that concluded that the requirement had been “so frequently and systematically violated that it can fairly be said that this critical element of the overall … regime has never functioned effectively.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a free speech and privacy rights group, sued to obtain the ruling after Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, fought last summer to declassify the basic fact that the surveillance court had ruled that the N.S.A. had violated the Fourth Amendment.
In a statement, Mr. Wyden — an outspoken critic of N.S.A. surveillance — said declassification of the ruling was “long overdue.” He argued that while the N.S.A. had increased privacy protections for purely domestic and unrelated communications that were swept up in the surveillance, the collection itself “was a serious violation of the Fourth Amendment.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/2011-ruling-found-an-nsa-program-unconstitutional.html
22 August 2013
The foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court ruling stemmed from what intelligence officials told reporters on Wednesday was a complex technical problem, not an intentional violation of American civil liberties.
In his 86-page opinion, declassified on Wednesday, Judge John Bates wrote that the government informed the court that the “volume and nature of the information it has been collecting is fundamentally different from what the court had been led to believe”. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/nsa-illegally-collected-thousands-emails-court
21 August 2013
A secret federal court found that the National Security Agency violated the civil rights of Americans when it collected thousands of emails and other digital messages between Americans, according to a 2011 opinion released Wednesday.
The FISA court ruled parts of the program to be unconstitutional and ordered them to be revised. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/21/214212847/nsa-culled-tens-of-thousands-of-u-s-emails-yearly-fisa-opinion-says
Despite being deemed unconstitutional, the espionage program was simply ordered to be revised to be in less technical violation of a judge’s opinion of the US Constitution. And more espionage has occurred since.
Oddly, only 11 days ago, the head of the NSA said that it was not violating the privacy of US residents (see What will likely come from the NSA debate?).
I disagreed then, and I disagree now.
There have been a lot of government lies (see Area 51, surveillance denials, and other government lies), and lying is wrong (cf. Revelation 21:8). The USA is most definitely NOT “the land of the free.” It is the land of the regulated and spied upon. It is more and more becoming NOT “the home of the brave,” but the home of the “politically correct.”
One day, those associated with the US government will very likely get various Church of God-related websites, such as this one in particular, shut down (cf. Amos 8:11-12). Reasons such as opposing homosexuality will likely be considered “hate speech” and/or telling what the rising King of the North is up to will likely be considered to treasonous and/or violate some aspect of the improperly named “Patriot Act.” Certain COG groups have already gone into massive self-censorship mode to avoid making certain statements on media such as television (for one example, see also the article on The Final Phase of the Work).
Until we are kicked-off, or suspended, from the internet, I expect that the government will take steps to make its data collection and espionage more ‘legal’ in the views of the constitutionally-devoid. I still also believe that the US President Barack Obama will likely put some highly limited restrictions on some of what NSA does. But overall, the US government will end up with more data, at least in total. This is consistent with a lot of other “privacy rights” that the US government has had involvement with in the past decade or so.
I also believe that once there is some type of terrorist attack in the USA that it will be used as an excuse to change the rules again and allow more data collection and espionage. Various government officials in the past have said that they should not ‘waste’ a ‘good crisis.’
Because of what the USA has done, and the fact that its President Obama has declared that he would share espionage secrets, techniques, and findings with the Europeans in general and the Germans in particular, this is setting the stage for even greater surveillance which will come from the emerging Beast power in Europe (cf. Revelation 13:16-18).
Watch.
Will USA Spying Help the Beast Power? Various allegations have surfaced about the United States government spying on its own citizens as well as its supposed allies in the European Union. Whether or not all the espionage allegations are true, and the main ones have not been publicly denied by the government of the USA, the reality is that this does have prophetic ramifications and will help the Beast of Revelation. This video provides quotes from the Bible showing how this is so. The USA is placing itself in a position to be taken over and its response to the allegations will make it easier for the Europeans to do so.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe?
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West?
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.
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