[Libs-Or] NSA surveillance examined by all 3 branches

[Diedre Conkling]

http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/12/nsa-surveillance-examined-3-branches/

NSA surveillance examined by all 3 branches
Posted on December 18, 2013 by Jazzy Wright

U.S. Captiol by
Jeffrey<http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeldman/9441364082/sizes/c/in/photostream/>via
flickr.

Reforms to the National Security Agency's massive unconstitutional
surveillance program may soon be underway. For the first time ever, the
surveillance reform debate can be enjoined in all branches of government.

"The District Court ruling is the first time that a court or government
agency has questioned the constitutionality of the surveillance program
since news of the NSA phone collecting program leaked in June," said
American Library Association President Barbara Stripling. "While we applaud
the Court's ruling that the program is unconstitutional, we know that more
work needs to be done. We continue to encourage library supporters to support
<http://www.ala.org/takeaction>the USA Freedom Act."
Executive Branch

Late this afternoon, President Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and
Communications Technologies released a report
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2013-12-12_rg_final_report.pdf>calling
for transparency, online security tools, and organizational reforms to the
NSA.
Legislative Branch

Today, the American Library Association joined
<https://www.eff.org/files/2013/12/18/54-orgs-against-fia.pdf>more than 50
businesses, civil liberties and public interest groups in opposing the FISA
Improvements Act, a bill that seeks to legalize and extend NSA mass
surveillance programs. Opposers to the bill include the American Civil
Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, PEN American Center,
TechFreedom, and others.
Judicial Branch

This week, the D.C. District Court judge ruled that the National Security
Agency's surveillance practices on millions of unsuspecting Americans may
be unconstitutional. In the ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon
found the surveillance practices to be an "indiscriminate" and "arbitrary
invasion" of personal data on Americans. In addition to finding that the
program violates First and Fourth Amendments guaranteed by the
Constitution, Judge Leon also examined the ineffectiveness of the NSA
program in preventing terrorism.

The American Library Association--an organization dedicated to protecting
civil liberties including First amendment and privacy rights--has called
<http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2013/06/ala-calls-national-dialogue-reform-nation's-surveillance-laws>for
more government transparency and public accountability.




http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/12/nsa-surveillance-examined-3-branches/



------------------------

And this is a rare comment on one of these postings from me.

I applaud ALA's actions in this area but we really could have gone much
further.

ALA Membership and ALA Council passed this resolution at the ALA 2013
Conference, Resolution in Support of Whistleblower Edward Snowden  (CD #39:
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.aboutala/files/content/governance/council/council_documents/2013_annual_council_docs/cd_39_edward_snowden-%28ff%29.pdf
).

This Resolution was then overturned and replaced with this resolution,
"Resolution
on the Need for Reforms for the Intelligence Community to Support Privacy,
Open Government, Government Transparency, and Accountability" which is
found the the Committee on Legislation report (CD 20.4) (
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.aboutala/files/content/governance/council/council_documents/2013_annual_council_docs/cd_20_3_COL%20report%20FINAL.pdf)
and in the Intellectual Freedom Committee report (CD #19.2) (
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.aboutala/files/content/governance/council/council_documents/2013_annual_council_docs/cd_19_1_ifc_report%20%28final%29.pdf
).

The replacement resolution was a fine resolution but was not much different
from many of the resolutions previously passed by ALA Council.  It also,
once again, put ALA in the position of not actually supporting an
individual whistleblower by name.






-- 
*Diedre Conkling*




*Lincoln County Library DistrictP.O. Box 2027Newport, OR 97365Phone & Fax:
541-265-3066Work email**:
**diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*<diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
*Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

 "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude."--Maya Angelou
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