[Wikimedia-l] PRISM

[Fred Bauder]

> On Sat, Jun 15, 2013 at 10:16 AM, Fred Bauder
> <fredbaud at fairpoint.net>wrote:
>
>> > (Yes, you can speculate that they're probably doing this too, but
>> this
>> > particular scandal is the NSA getting information from computer
>> networks
>> > with the permission of the computer owners, not despite the owners
>> > actively
>> > trying to keep them out.)
>>
>> Actually, there is a small attached CIA unit to do just that. The story
>> is a bit bigger than what The Guardian has published so far.
>
>
> Did you read what I said?  Yes, you can speculate that that's what
> they're
> doing.  But that's not what was published.
>
> The fact of the matter is that there would be a much bigger uproar if the
> NSA were caught doing what Aaron Swartz did, on American soil against an
> innocent American company.  If NSA were caught breaking into wiring
> closets
> and hacking into computer networks, the 4th Amendment violation would be
> way more obvious and incontrovertible.
>

Within the United States the FBI, has the authority, in appropriate
cases, with a warrant, to engage in such activity. If there was a valid
finding by a Federal District Court judge that the was a valid reason it
would not be a 4th amendment violation. There is more than one source,
not just what happens to be on the front page this week. Additionally, we
are not bound by the canon of generally accepted knowledge in our
discussions. That is our rule for encyclopedia articles, not our rules
for thinking.

Fred