NSA spying on us & Cheney reviving cold war

Did anyone else see Cheney on the news tarring Russia for human rights' abuses? What an idiot. Who would fall for this stuff? Certainly not Putin who compared him to "Comrade Wolf."

Now, today we learn that Comrade Wolf et al. are spying on all of us. Whoa! Wonder what this will do to the Bushies' approval ratings? Or will the wingnuts keep supporting him? I've already read it on blogs..."I don't have anything to hide/ I'm a patriot, so go ahead and tap my phones!"

Meanwhile, an ex-Homeland Security aide is freed on bail and Hillary Clinton thinks Bush is charming and has charisma!

Feds Create Massive Database of Phone Calls
Companies Turn Over Domestic Records to National Security Agency
By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY
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"The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.
"The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.
"It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.
"For the customers of these companies, it means that the government has detailed records of calls they made — across town or across the country — to family members, co-workers, business contacts and others.
[…]
"Among the big telecommunications companies, only Qwest has refused to help the NSA, the sources said. According to multiple sources, Qwest declined to participate because it was uneasy about the legal implications of handing over customer information to the government without warrants.
"Qwest's refusal to participate has left the NSA with a hole in its database. Based in Denver, Qwest provides local phone service to 14 million customers in 14 states in the West and Northwest. But AT&T and Verizon also provide some services — primarily long-distance and wireless — to people who live in Qwest's region. Therefore, they can provide the NSA with at least some access in that area.
[…]

"The sources said the NSA made clear that it was willing to pay for the cooperation. AT&T, which at the time was headed by C. Michael Armstrong, agreed to help the NSA. So did BellSouth, headed by F. Duane Ackerman; SBC, headed by Ed Whitacre; and Verizon, headed by Ivan Seidenberg.

[…]

"Trying to put pressure on Qwest, NSA representatives pointedly told Qwest that it was the lone holdout among the big telecommunications companies. It also tried appealing to Qwest's patriotic side: In one meeting, an NSA representative suggested that Qwest's refusal to contribute to the database could compromise national security, one person recalled.

"In addition, the agency suggested that Qwest's foot-dragging might affect its ability to get future classified work with the government. Like other big telecommunications companies, Qwest already had classified contracts and hoped to get more.

"Unable to get comfortable with what NSA was proposing, Qwest's lawyers asked NSA to take its proposal to the FISA court. According to the sources, the agency refused.

Robert Scheer: Hayden: The Spook in Your Phone
Michael V. Hayden, nominated by President Bush to head the CIA, is the man responsible for the most extensive attack ever on the privacy of U.S. citizens. As USA Today reveals, it was during the six years that Hayden ran the ultra-secret National Security Agency that the Feds gained access to the phone calling records of most Americans.
By cross-checking those phone record against other readily available databases, the Feds are now in a position to profile the intimate daily lives of the citizenry--providing a tool that no Big Brother could ever have dreamed of obtaining before the advent of modern telecommunications technology. Yet this assault on our freedom was never disclosed to the public, debated by our elected representatives or tested by the courts.
Most disturbing is the revelation by USA Today that leading members of Congress-- Democrats as well as Republicans--had been told of this ghastly assault on our freedom but did nothing to thwart it. They must now be held accountable. So too General Hayden, who obviously should not be trusted with running the CIA spy agency after having engineered such massive spying on the American public. As my Wednesday column, reproduced bellow indicates, there were already sufficient reasons to reject this nominee, but the latest charge dwarfs previous concerns.

Posted to the web on: 11 May 2006
Putin warns on ‘fortress America‘
Richard Balmforth

Reuters
"MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin appealed to nationalist sentiment in his annual Kremlin address yesterday, saying Russia faced growing military competition with “fortress America”, and offered financial incentives to boost Russia’s falling birthrate.
"In his seventh annual keynote address to the nation, Putin said Russia would develop a stronger army and that the US cared more about its own interests than for democracy or human rights.
"Russia, which has amassed almost $300bn in savings in the past eight years, was rearming its military to meet growing global threats as defence spending by former Cold War foes soared, Putin said.

[…]
"US-Russian relations hit their coldest moment last week when US Vice-President Dick Cheney, speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, accused Moscow of backsliding on democracy and using its vast energy resources as a tool for “intimidation and blackmail” against its neighbours.
"Putin went on to take a swipe at US foreign policy and Washington’s criticism of Russia’s human rights record. He said Washington’s commitment to human rights was secondary to US national interests.
“We see what’s happening in the world. As the saying goes, comrade wolf knows who to eat and he eats without listening to others,” he said.
"US President George Bush, due to meet Putin in St Petersburg in July at a Group of Eight summit, stepped in to the fray, telling a German newspaper recently that Russia was sending mixed signals on democracy.
"Turning to Iran, Putin sidestepped open criticism and issued a veiled warning to Washington not to take military action against Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/04/dhs.sex.charge/index.html
Ex-Homeland Security aide freed on bail
Official to return to Maryland after hearing on child sex charges
Thursday, May 4, 2006; Posted: 4:18 p.m. EDT (20:18 GMT)
Defense attorney Barry Helfand said Doyle will return to his home in Maryland to be examined by two psychiatrists who specialize in sexual dysfunctions.
Helfand said Doyle remains "very depressed" since his April 4 arrest at his Silver Spring, Maryland, home as he allegedly communicated with a Polk County detective posing on the Internet as a 14-year-old girl. (Full story)
The detective, Sandy Scherer, testified during Thursday's hearing that authorities moved quickly on arresting Doyle because of his position and high security clearance. She also said that Doyle indicated he had spoken to other

Hillary Clinton Says Bush Has Charm and Charisma
By DEVLIN BARRETT, AP
"He is someone who has a lot of charm and charisma, and I think in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, I was very grateful to him for his support for New York," Clinton said Tuesday night during a talk at the National Archives about her life in politics.
"Clinton, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, said that despite their "many disagreements about many, many issues," she has always had a good personal relationship with the president."