Govt obtains wide AP phone records in probe

reply to post by Carreau


Is that sarcasm or sincerity?

reply to post by Carreau

Originally posted by Carreau
Obviously there's a perfectly good explanation for this. I'll just wait patiently for the more left leaning members of ats to give a logical answer.

Every so often I read a post that makes me in real life. This was one of them.

Seriously though, the latest on Benghazi, the IRS targeting conservative groups, now this - its been a bad past few days for the administration.

reply to post by thesungod


Sorry, we've never run across each other on the boards, otherwise you would've known I was being facetious.

Is it a co-incidence Bloomberg got caught snooping and spying on its financial clients?

www.news.com.au...

BLOOMBERG News has apologised for an "error" that allowed its journalists to access private client data through its financial terminals, saying it would "strive to continue to uphold the highest standards" in its reporting.

"Our reporters should not have access to any data considered proprietary," Bloomberg editor-in-chief Matthew Winkler said in a statement posted on the news website.

"I am sorry they did. The error is inexcusable. Last month, we immediately changed our policy so that reporters now have no greater access to information than our customers have."

The Bloomberg financial terminals, which are operated separately from the news service, allow banks and other financial professionals the ability to research virtually any type of financial asset and carry out trades.

Gathering intel.. you only need to take 1 snapshot to gather more than enough info.
If you get caught, plead ignorance and walk away from the issue... you have your intel.. you already got more than you need.

Welcome to western democracy!

reply to post by SQUEALER

On the one hand, I see everybody complaining that the main stream media is reporting all this false info, participating in the false flag cover ups, and forcing us to turn to alternative media and sites like ATS to get some real truth.

You bring a thought to mind...a what if...

In that, what if this is all just a clever ruse so as to allude to the Govt not actually controlling the media...a sort of "reverse psychology" style tactic by the AP and TPTB (being they're one of the leaders, if not THE leader in what is delivered to mainstream media). Food for thought.

reply to post by Agit8dChop


Yup - and you gotta figure they (almost any "they") are going to peek. Its like - ooohh I know we have this sexy, secret, valuable, personal information of yours that we could use to our advantage. But we would never, ever, take even the slightest peek at it. You can trust us.

That seems to pretty much be the motto of all the government agencies and corporations these days. Of course, its all a load of bovine manure and they all peek all day long and act innocent and outraged when caught.

If people can't see an abrupt and radical shift in this country in the last 5 years, I don't know how to get them to open their eyes. It's gone way past what has been normally played down as dirty politics in the past, it's something new, something terrifying and something tyrannical.

This administration and the one before it are criminals, the laws that have been passed since 9/11 don't belong to America or it's people, they belong to tyrants who hate freedom and liberty. They are trying to pull our country out from under us and their being found out. Like rabid dogs, they are even turning to bite the hand that feeds them because absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Americans have had enough, at least the majority of people I know and I'm sure there are plenty more. Tired of the scandals, the lies, the taxes, the blatant waste and bloat of government spending. Tired of renting your own land and houses from the government for the rest of your natural life. Tired of being offered nothing but liars and either side of the same coin in elections, Americans don't want more of the same, it's time for something different.

reply to post by Helious


Thank you Helious.

That was perfect.

Could this be a warning that any reporting of actual meaningful details, instead a tabloid type reporting, is no longer going to be allowed.

Who is signing off on this type of a breach of rights. Bet the government won't actually admit that fact. One of those things that a citizen need not be bothered with.

Originally posted by roadgravel
Could this be a warning that any reporting of actual meaningful details, instead a tabloid type reporting, is no longer going to be allowed.

Who is signing off on this type of a breach of rights. Bet the government won't actually admit that fact. One of those things that a citizen need not be bothered with.

It's a warning alright. It's a warning to States that they had better start looking into forming well regulated militias and passing laws to block federal intrusion if they care to stay sovereign.

I'm pretty sure Obama thinks that every law that he gets pushed through to "protect us" can be regulated by the interstate commerce clause and falls under federal regulation and authority.

For some reason I feel the AP might not have been a good target. I see why the government wanted to act although I don't see it as something the government could or should do.

I hope the AP ramps up real reporting in a pay back mode over this incident.

reply to post by nenothtu

Note to the Feds: If YOU no longer are bound to obey the law, what makes you think WE, The People, are bound to obey it? Ignore the law at your own peril, for in doing so you make yourselves irrelevant, useless, and even worse, dangerous to the public order.

Best way I've heard it stated. The corruption within government at all levels is becoming dangerous to the public order. Simple and to the point.

Unfortunately this is the intent.

A Modern Way of Describing Fabian Society Philosophy:
Sometimes you gotta knock the system down to reboot it the way you see fit.
www.awakeandarise.org...

They don't care that they are the source of the disorder within the society, just as long as they are the ones who are in power when it happens. Which I sadly assure everyone, they will be.

reply to post by thesungod


This intrusion is horrible and bodes ill. Especially since journalism is an injured beast. Without the eyes of a free press watching for everyone, the country we knew will be truly gone.

NewsCorp started the end, our complacency and tolerance of acts like this will complete the death of journalism.

Government intimidation of journalists is nothing new, but something this high up, in the U.S., is noteworthy. For all their talk of sunshine and openness, this administration is disappointing.

I'm not going to jump off the deep end into paranoia, but it's depressing and reenforces my belief that our two party choice is no real choice at all. The lesser (or less moronic) of two evils is a nasty rational for voting for one party over the other.

We should expect and work for better.

The AP releases classified information and the government begins to monitor the AP to find out who, in the government, is leaking classified information.

I think it's less of a issue of 'rights' and more of an issue of national security. I get what you're all saying about the 'free' press and whatnot. I have to wonder though, what you all would suggest this nation keep classified.

Do we work to protect classifed information or do we work to keep the right of the press to report on whatever it deems necessary, classified or not?

Originally posted by links234
The AP releases classified information and the government begins to monitor the AP to find out who, in the government, is leaking classified information.

I think it's less of a issue of 'rights' and more of an issue of national security. I get what you're all saying about the 'free' press and whatnot. I have to wonder though, what you all would suggest this nation keep classified.

Do we work to protect classifed information or do we work to keep the right of the press to report on whatever it deems necessary, classified or not?

It's called transparency, something the current administration ran on. As someone who holds a clearance I can tell you this. Half of what they keep classified is thier dirt.

Personally I don't remember reading anything about the Government's right to keep secrets in the Bill of Rights or the the Constitution that our country was founded on. Do you?

Originally posted by links234
The AP releases classified information and the government begins to monitor the AP to find out who, in the government, is leaking classified information.

I think it's less of a issue of 'rights' and more of an issue of national security. I get what you're all saying about the 'free' press and whatnot. I have to wonder though, what you all would suggest this nation keep classified.

Do we work to protect classifed information or do we work to keep the right of the press to report on whatever it deems necessary, classified or not?

But at what point does the exposure and revealing of government corruption become a matter of national security?

The Benghazi cover up was to hide weapons smuggling which is a violation of international law. Surely uncovering that would send the Russians and Syrians straight to the UN with evidence of an international US crime, hence threatening our international security, and therefore legitimizing the necessity of lying to the media and tampering with congressional investigations into the matter.

Does anyone see what the slippery slope of tampering with and intimidating the media, even for national security purposes, can lead to? We the people NEED whistle blowers, and we need to stand by them when they do speak up, and respect their anonymity if they feel they require it to continue their pursuit of happiness. Though I think more would come out publicly with out anonymity if they thought the people would have their backs and not convict them of a crime against U.S. national security.

Is this a concept we can all agree on regardless of our left/right/center leanings?

It's my feeling that if we can not agree on this in large regard as a people then we will never know the truth about anything our governments do, nor would we morally deserve to know the truth.

Reporting that the CIA stopped a bombing. If true then the bad guys know it was stopped. They know more details about it then we will. How big of a national security issue is it.

Seems to me it is more about having the government operate without US citizens knowing what is really going on. The national security issue is now a giant catch all for keeping us in the dark.

My first couple of posts were made for wit and what I could post coherently on a smartphone, but I'd like to mention a couple of things now that I have my full keyboard.

I'm thinking a subpoena for the phone records of an association like the AP would require approval of the Attorney General in addition to whatever judge signed off on the subpoena. I'd like to know the approval flow process, and I'm sure that certain members of Congress will as well. Though I think it's possible that knowledge of this investigation could have ended at Holder, I find it highly unlikely if for no other reason than the White House would like to know about things capable of causing a large political fallout.

You could scarcely pick a worse time for a story like this to break, though it may in its own twisted way be fortuitous to the Admin in that it might turn out to be a legitimate investigation on National Security grounds while drawing resources and airtime from Benghazi and the IRS scandals.

Regardless, the Obama Administration is now juggling three scandals at the same time.

I think the coverup is the bigger story in Benghazi as there is no doubt in my mind our intelligence agencies were active at the annex in Libya and well bad stuff on occasion happens in that type of government service, and sometimes the difference between intelligence operations and diplomacy is hazy, but there is no excuse for saying its one thing done for one reason when the whole world can see its something else is inexcusable.

The IRS story is outrageous. No one in the administration is even trying to say any difference. I expect someone is being prepared to resign in disgrace or maybe even face prosecution for it. Either the admin is truly trying to punish and prevent this from happening again or they are trying to purge any trace of the involvement of anyone tied to the higher echelons of the administration and get their scapegoat.

This AP story by itself would probably be easily manageable, as they could easily hide behind national security considerations. However, with the other two scandals still pretty front of mind, it might cause some uncomfortable realizations in the few true journalists left, who mostly still carry water for this administration.

reply to post by thesungod


There's a distinct difference between transparency and revealing classified information.

The government can show that it spent money on the development of new weapons but will likely not reveal how other countries can develop those weapons themselves. Think nuclear here.

I'm sure your next clearance investigator will be happy to hear your opinion on state secrets not being included in the constitution. You should bring that up.

reply to post by links234


My clearance is limited and has directly to do with weapons. Compartmentalization is the name of the game.

As for my clearance checks, let's just say I've been asked about my involvement with ATS and I follow all my SCGs.