ACLU says Obama plan for surveillance reforms falls short, but that’s not the only problem

The US Bill of Rights

As expected, US President Obama’s proposed reforms for USA espionage fall short in many ways:

January 17, 2014

American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero said Mr. Obama fell short on hits reforms for mass collection of American data, saying that the president didn’t call directly for the end of such collection at the NSA and failed to call for an end to U.S. government collection of other American records under that same provision of the Patriot Act.

“He appears open to mending bulk data collection, but he does not commit to ending bulk data collection,” he said. “Bulk data collection and retention is the quintessential unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment.”

In addition, Mr. Obama established a new process for an annual evaluation of surveillance targets that weighs costs and benefits of stealing communications from a particular individual.

He also spelled out new protections for non-U.S. citizens, specifying that surveillance will only be done to counter espionage, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyberthreats, dangers to U.S. and allied armed forces, and transnational criminal threats.

“The bottom line is that people around the world—regardless of their nationality—should know that the United States is not spying on ordinary people who don’t threaten our national security, and that we take their privacy concerns into account,” Mr. Obama said. “This applies to foreign leaders as well.”

There are now also new limits on the length of time the U.S. can hold data of non-U.S. individuals who aren’t of foreign intelligence interest.

On the controversial practice of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s issuing so-called national-security letters that demand data and don’t require judicial review, Mr. Obama isn’t accepting the recommendation of his handpicked review panel that they require a judge’s sign-off. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304603704579326333792513314?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304603704579326333792513314.html

I agree with the position that what has been proposed will not sufficiently restore privacy rights.

Furthermore, the damage to reputation of the USA and its relationship to Europe has been done (though more revelations about USA/UK espionage could worsen this further). This is something that the Europeans will not forget. This is the bigger problem that today’s proposal will not resolve. It will also be devastating for the USA in the future (cf. Daniel 11:39).

Additionally, if the USA does stop monitoring conversations of foreign leaders, this will affect the USA’s defenses. Yet now, if it does it again and gets caught again, this will hurt the USA.

While I applaud true privacy rights, I do not believe that the proposal restores them or will stop the end time Beast power from using espionage techniques that President Obama has already said the USA will share with the Europeans to try to appease them. History has shown that appeasing various ones in Europe does not work in the long run.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Snowden Leaks are Leading to the Destruction of the USA Can what happened with the leaks of what the NSA has done help the USA to be taken over? What does the Bible teach that seems to be related to this? Here is a related YouTube video titled Are the Snowden NSA leaks leading to the destruction of the USA?
WTO/TTIP and the Babylonian Beast Will international trade agreements like WTO/TTIP/CETA lead to the fulfillment of end time prophecies concerning the Babylonian Beast power that the Book of Revelation warns against? What does the Bible teach? A related video would be WTO Trade Deal and the Rise of the European Beast Power.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.
Might German Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg become the King of the North? Is the former German Defense Minister (who is also the former German Minister for Economics and Technology) one to watch? What do Catholic, Byzantine, and biblical prophecies suggest?

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? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.

Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (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-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. A video of possible interest may be Will Will USA Spying Help the Beast Power?
Will the Anglo-Saxon 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? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?

The Final Phase of the Work What is the final phase of the work? Who will lead it? Do you have the courage to support it? Here is a related YouTube video titled The Final Phase of the Work. The written article has been translated into Spanish La Fase Final de la Obra.
Leading the Final Phase of the Work Matthew 24:14 teaches “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come ” will be fulfilled and RCG is not the group doing this. Who is leading the final phase of the work? What did Herbert Armstrong and the old WCG teach about that and about prophets? Does Bob Thiel meet the criteria that the Bible and the old WCG set? What is the proof? What has the Continuing Church of God been doing? This is a sermonette length video.
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.