talk.politics.misc

On Aug 15, 12:50 pm, Harry Hope wrote:
> From CBS News, 8/15/07 /stories/2007/08/15/the_skinny/ ...
>
> American Spy Satellites To Snoop On .
>
> Department Of Homeland Security OKs Expanded Domestic Use Of Spies In
> The Sky
>
> The Wall Street Journal reports that the Department of Homeland
> Security has approved a measure to allow federal civilian agencies and
> law enforcement to turn American spy satellites on their own citizens
> for the first time.
>
> Until now, the highly sensitive satellites were aimed mostly at other
> countries, usually ones we didn't really trust.
>
> Occasionally, geologists and NASA scientists got to use them to make
> things like topographical maps.
>
> Letting domestic security folks use them to spy is, the Journal says,
> "uncharted territory."
>
> Officials have been mulling the plan for a couple years, but often
> bumped up against questions about whether this kind of snooping would
> violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars military for engaging in
> law-enforcement activity within the ., since the satellites are
> built for and owned by the Defense Department.
>
> The decision was made three months ago by Director of National
> Intelligence Michael McConnel, and OKed in May by DHS chief Michael
> Chertoff.
>
> Access to the satellite will be controlled by a new Homeland Security
> branch, the National Applications Office.
>
> _______________________________________________
>
See, and some say that the government doesn't listen to it's people!
When Republicans are in power, they do more than that!