Sunday, October 1, 2006

House Passes Worst Version of Wilson NSA Bill. House Passes Worst Version of Wilson NSA Bill. The full House of Representatives on Thursday passed a version of Rep. Heather Wilson's (R-N.M.) warrantless wiretapping bill (H.R. 5825) that includes the worst elements of earlier versions of the bill approved by the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. The vote was 232-191. CDT opposes this bill and its counterpart in the Senate, the Specter-Cheney bill. [Center for Democracy and Technology] 12:33:21 AM

File-sharing software firm loses US case. File-sharing software firm loses US case. Another one bites the dust Another file-sharing software maker has been found guilty of causing copyright infringement. A US judge has said the Morpheus software produced by StreamCast breaks the law. [The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs] 12:09:02 AM

House Passes Spying Bill. House Passes Spying Bill. Late last night, the House endorsed, by a vote of 232-191, a measure that legalizes the current NSA warrantless surveillance program, but it is unlikely to be sent to the president's desk before the midterm elections, according to the AP. A corresponding measure in the Senate may get a vote sometime today or tomorrow, before the Senate recesses. But since Senator Arlen Specter's bill in the Senate and Congresswoman Heather Wilson's House bill differ on enough key matters, that there is no time to reconcile the bills and resubmit them for votes by both houses. The votes are likely to be used, however, as leverage in campaign fights in the midterm elections, and depending on the outcome of those elections, could become law when Congress returns in the lame duck session after the election. Photo: hjl [27B Stroke 6] 12:07:20 AM

Judge Refuses to Stay Order Shutting Down NSA Program. Judge Refuses to Stay Order Shutting Down NSA Program. Federal judge Anna Diggs Taylor, who last month ruled that the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program was illegal and must immediately be shut down, refused to grant the government to continue the program while it asks a higher court to review her decision, according to Bloomberg. Instead, the government has one week to ask the Sixth Circuit appeals court to issue the stay. Taylor said that to prevent possible harm to the public she wouldn't order the surveillance stopped immediately, instead giving the government a week to get a federal appeals court order allowing continued surveillance. The government filed that request following the hearing. An immediate stop to the program would harm U.S. security, a government lawyer told the judge. "The terrorism surveillance program was authorized to close a gap in intelligence,'' Justice Department attorney Anthony J. Coppolino told Taylor. "A chilling effect on a small number of communicators speaking with al-Qaeda or suspected al-Qaeda does not outweigh the harm'' to the public if the program stops, he said. It is highly likely that the Sixth Circuit will reverse this decision, allowing the warrantless eavesdropping to continue until it rules on Digg Taylor's August decision.   [27B Stroke 6] 12:01:32 AM

© Copyright 2006 Paul Hardwick. Last update: 11/10/06; 3:30:18 AM.