Saturday, June 1, 2013

Judge orders Google to turn over customer data to FBI

Demo. Barbara Boxer is best Buds with this Judge, and she was nominated  by Pres. Bill Clinton for the position. Does this clarify why she would rule this way?

Judge orders Google to turn over customer data to FBI

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    AP
A federal judge has ruled that Google Inc. must comply with the FBI's warrantless demands for customer data, rejecting the company's argument that the government's practice of issuing so-called national security letters to telecommunication companies, Internet service providers, banks and others was unconstitutional and unnecessary.
FBI counter-terrorism agents began issuing the secret letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress passed the USA Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The letters are used to collect unlimited kinds of sensitive, private information, such as financial and phone records and have prompted complaints of government privacy violations in the name of national security. Many of Google's services, including its dominant search engine and the popular Gmail application, have become daily habits for millions of people.
In a ruling written May 20 and obtained Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston ordered Google to comply with the FBI's demands.
But she put her ruling on hold until the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could decide the matter. Until then, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company must comply with the letters unless it shows the FBI didn't follow proper procedures in making its demands for customer data in the 19 letters Google is challenging, she said.
After receiving sworn statements from two top-ranking FBI officials, Illston said she was satisfied that 17 of the 19 letters were issued properly. She wanted more information on two other letters.
It was unclear from the judge's ruling what type of information the government sought to obtain with the letters. It was also unclear who the government was targeting.
The decision from the San Francisco-based Illston comes several months after she ruled in a separate case brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation over the letters. She ruled in March that the FBI's demand that recipients refrain from telling anyone — including customers — that they had received the letters was a violation of free speech rights.
Kurt Opsah, an attorney with the foundation, said it could be many more months before the appeals court rules on the constitutionality of the letters in the Google case.
"We are disappointed that the same judge who declared these letters unconstitutional is now requiring compliance with them," Opsah said on Friday.
Illston's May 20 order omits any mention of Google or that the proceedings have been closed to the public. But the judge said "the petitioner" was involved in a similar case filed on April 22 in New York federal court.
Public records show that on that same day, the federal government filed a "petition to enforce National Security Letter" against Google after the company declined to cooperate with government demands.
Google can still appeal Illston's decision. The company declined comment Friday.
In 2007, the Justice Department's inspector general found widespread violations in the FBI's use of the letters, including demands without proper authorization and information obtained in non-emergency circumstances. The FBI has tightened oversight of the system.
The FBI made 16,511 national security letter requests for information regarding 7,201 people in 2011, the latest data available.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/06/01/judge-orders-google-to-give-customer-data-to-fbi/?test=latestnews#ixzz2UyFI0Qbe

Bagdad Bob?

Glenn Foden

ObamaCare criticism is not about race, it’s about facts


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    AP
State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, the head of the Louisiana Democratic Party, said on the floor of the state Senate this week that opponents of the federal health care overhaul are motivated by President Obama's race. Peterson, who is also chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, then went on to repeatedly bring up race as she railed against ObamaCare critics.
"I have talked to so many members both in the House and the Senate, and you know what? You ready? You ready? What it comes down to? It's not about how many federal dollars we can receive, it's not about that. You ready? It's about race," Peterson said. "I know nobody wants to talk about that. It's about the race of this African-American president.”
Personally, I am outraged by Peterson’s comments  – and I’m sure many opponents of the health care overhaul are as well. I am an American through and through. My roots are of Latino heritage – which I happen to be very proud of – and I will not tolerate being called a racist. I have cared for and treated minority patients throughout my career as a doctor.
My criticisms of ObamaCare are based on facts. It is a poorly executed plan, the American public was not informed and the agenda that was implemented behind the passing of this legislation is not one that I agree with. That is why I criticize ObamaCare.
If race is the best argument that a Democratic leader can come up with to explain why so many people are opposed to this new law, then they’ve got a lot of work to do.
My home is a rainbow of colors. My children have been raised in a multicultural environment and I am very proud of how we have raised them to form opinions based on fact – not emotion.
Peterson did release a statement on Thursday afternoon that was intended to clarify her remarks. However, she also seemed to defend them.
"I think we should judge a policy by its content, not the person proposing it," her statement said. "To be clear, I didn't call any person 'racist.' Rather, I was simply relaying the truth about conversations I've had with my colleagues and the factors they considered on the expansion of Medicaid. While others are using this as an opportunity to take my comments out of context in order to distract from the true issue, I think it's critical that we focus on the substance of the policy because it's the right thing to do for Louisiana."
But making a statement after the fact is easy. I don’t want an apology from State Sen. Peterson, what I want is for her to look the American public in the eye and explain her remarks.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/31/dr-manny-obamacare-criticism-is-not-about-race-its-about-facts/?test=latestnews#ixzz2Uxwe02Li

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