Post by Woody Williams on Dec 24, 2005 7:44:48 GMT -5
WW - Considering the "Vegans" tie in with PeTa and PeTa's tie in with the terrorists groups ALFand ELF I can fully understand this. I'm sure that the FBI didn't "spy" on all the Vegans. Just the ones with ties to these groups.
'Spying' at home at issue
By MARA LEE Courier & Press Washington bureau (202) 408-2705 or leem@shns.com
December 23, 2005
WASHINGTON — When Sen. Richard Lugar read that the FBI was watching vegetarian activists at Indiana University, he thought that was too much.
Lugar said he doesn't know all the facts, but based on what he read, it looks like the FBI should not have been investigating vegans in Bloomington in 2003.
Stories about FBI surveillance of protesters and activists came out this week after the American Civil Liberties Union released documents it received after it won a lawsuit for access to files on more than 100 social groups.
This came a few days after news of domestic wiretaps without court approval.
"After 9/11 the president was given a great deal of latitude," said Lugar, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Now it's time to see where "the use or misuse" of those authorities has taken us, he said.
"And I think that's going to have to occur."
He said that like many senators, he thinks there should be public hearings about the domestic wiretapping by the National Security Agency.
Lugar was in the Senate when it passed a law in 1978 requiring warrants from a secret court when NSA eavesdrops inside the United States. That law has a provision for retroactive permission, allowing 72 hours of surveillance without a judge’s signature.
Lugar said clearly the administration is arguing that the 72-hour timeline is not enough to cover emergencies. But he questioned why the president would extend this work for years.
Lugar is hopeful the pendulum will swing back so that Congress shares more responsibility for deciding how the war on terror is conducted. He said the strong vote for the McCain amendment — which will ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners — makes him think it will.
Lugar said he hears more from constituents about the war in Iraq than any other topic. He said all representatives have a responsibility to tell the voters what they know about the war’s progress.
'Spying' at home at issue
By MARA LEE Courier & Press Washington bureau (202) 408-2705 or leem@shns.com
December 23, 2005
WASHINGTON — When Sen. Richard Lugar read that the FBI was watching vegetarian activists at Indiana University, he thought that was too much.
Lugar said he doesn't know all the facts, but based on what he read, it looks like the FBI should not have been investigating vegans in Bloomington in 2003.
Stories about FBI surveillance of protesters and activists came out this week after the American Civil Liberties Union released documents it received after it won a lawsuit for access to files on more than 100 social groups.
This came a few days after news of domestic wiretaps without court approval.
"After 9/11 the president was given a great deal of latitude," said Lugar, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Now it's time to see where "the use or misuse" of those authorities has taken us, he said.
"And I think that's going to have to occur."
He said that like many senators, he thinks there should be public hearings about the domestic wiretapping by the National Security Agency.
Lugar was in the Senate when it passed a law in 1978 requiring warrants from a secret court when NSA eavesdrops inside the United States. That law has a provision for retroactive permission, allowing 72 hours of surveillance without a judge’s signature.
Lugar said clearly the administration is arguing that the 72-hour timeline is not enough to cover emergencies. But he questioned why the president would extend this work for years.
Lugar is hopeful the pendulum will swing back so that Congress shares more responsibility for deciding how the war on terror is conducted. He said the strong vote for the McCain amendment — which will ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners — makes him think it will.
Lugar said he hears more from constituents about the war in Iraq than any other topic. He said all representatives have a responsibility to tell the voters what they know about the war’s progress.
