WASHINGTON (AP) — "The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left open the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against FBI agents or lawyers who improperly used the USA Patriot Act in pursuit of suspected terrorists and spies.

The FBI's transgressions were spelled out in a damning 126-page audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. He found that agents sometimes demanded personal data on people without official authorization, and in other cases improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances.

The audit also concluded that the FBI for three years underreported to Congress how often it used national security letters to force businesses to turn over customer data. The letters are administrative subpoenas that do not require a judge's approval."

source : http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NATIONAL_SECURITY_LETTERS?SITE=TXSAE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT\
LARA JAKES JORDAN

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"Section 802 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Pub. L. No. 107-52) expanded the definition of terrorism to cover "domestic," as opposed to international, terrorism.   A person engages in domestic terrorism if they do an act "dangerous to human life" that is a violation of the criminal laws of a state or the United States, if the act appears to be intended to:  (i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.  Additionally, the acts have to occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States and if they do not, may be regarded as international terrorism."

"The definition of domestic terrorism is broad enough to encompass the activities of several prominent activist campaigns and organizations. Greenpeace, Operation Rescue, Vieques Island and WTO protesters and the Environmental Liberation Front have all recently engaged in activities that could subject them to being investigated as engaging in domestic terrorism."

source http://www.aclu.org/natsec/emergpowers/14444leg20021206.html

It is not unreasonable to think that, some time in the near future, this law could be used to shut down blogs and websites like Farewell Freedom.

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           "The Department of Homeland Security released long-delayed requirements for the standardization of state identification documents Thursday. States must start issuing the new internal passports by May 2008, or else their citizens will not be able to board planes or enter federal courthouses. Civil libertarians say the requirement, known as the REAL ID Act, creates a national identity card that presents significant privacy risks to Americans. Many states oppose the rule as an unfunded mandate and an encroachment on states rights."

source- http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/03/national_id_car.html

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