Who Ya Gonna Call?
To recap some events:
- The Bush administration assures us in the breaking "domestic wiretapping" scandal — later and more accurately dubbed "domestic spying" — that they're only out to get the bad guys and they're only listening to limited phone conversations that have at least one terminus outside the US.
- The Administration lied. We now know that the NSA, at the administration's direction, was trying to amass a database of records of as many domestic phone calls as they could assemble, regardless of whether terrorist activity was indicated.
- Meanwhile, the big telecoms like AT&T are doing the full-court press with Congress to abolish the idea of "net neutrality" so that 1) they can peek inside all digital packets passing along their wires; and 2) charge a premium for "improved" service. Many old-timey network farts, myelf included, strongly believe that the network should remain as democratic as it has and that Congress should not sell out to the interests of big telecom.
- Now we learn that the big telecoms, like AT&T and Verizon, sold out to the Administration and simply gave up as many records as they could. Fortunately, some smaller companies like T-Mobile, and Qwest, still have some integrity.
- Now we learn from AmericaBLOG, in a surprising turn of events, that a bill to address the issue of wireless telecom companies selling phone-call records without customers' knowledge "suddenly disappeared" from the house agenda. As John Aravosis put it: "Legislation that no one disagreed with – legislation to protect your cell phone records – suddenly disappears from the House floor on the very day that we find out George Bush is spying on – what? – our phone records!"
- At this point, do we need reminding that the big telecoms are pushing real hard to scuttle net neutrality by saying "trust us", and that it might not be the best thing to do?
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To thwart spam, comments by new people are held for moderation; give me a bit of time and your comment will show up.
I welcome comments -- even dissent -- but I will delete without notice irrelevant, rude, psychotic, or incomprehensible comments, particularly those that I deem homophobic, unless they are amusing. The same goes for commercial comments and trackbacks. Sorry, but it's my blog and my decisions are final.
on Friday, 12 May 2006 at 23.42
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What I trust the telecoms to do is whatever they perceive will gain them even one more dollar than doing the opposite thing would gain them. Mom, home and apple pie are all up for grabs, "whatever" meaning exactly what it says.
on Friday, 12 May 2006 at 23.42
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Shoot, I meant to add that's a great headline.