Posts tagged fbi
Paintings Without Fish
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting one in a fruit salad.
Senator says Patriot Act is "Worse than you think"
Well, that is certainly worrisome. He is on the Intelligence Committee, too, which means he really knows what he is talking about. We should be concerned.
The dark (truth?) inside the NSA
It is quite frightening the powers the federal government wields today, particularly in the field of domestic espionage. Though the National Security Agency, which is three times the size of the CIA, was intended to protect the country from external threats, much of its resources are now focused within, spying on US citizens without warrant or probable cause through an array of advanced tools. Much of this spying is done automatically through computer algorithms which analyze all forms of electronic and telecommunications data.
This article from the New Yorker examines the controversial and often conflicted testimony of several individuals formerly and currently in the intelligence community. What they say is often muddled, with some of them denying events took place at all, or recasting them in a different light. That itself is telling.
Regardless of your stance on national security and the right to privacy, accurate knowledge on just what our government is doing is vital to your civic status. You need to know what the government feels it has the right to do to you, in your name, and voice your opinion.
I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes, which is becoming all the more pertinent over time:
“He who would give up liberty for security deserves neither and shall lose both.”
-Benjamin Franklin
But do you really want to know?
From: http://www.everything2.com/title/How+to+Get+a+Copy+of+Your+FBI+File
The Freedom of Information Act is a powerful thing. If you’ve ever wanted to know just what those guvmint bastards have on you, anyway, here’s your chance. Just fill in the italics in this form letter with the appropriate information, get your signature notarized, send it off, and you’re in business!
This should be free, though if your search returns reams of information, you may be charged 5 cents per page in duplication fees. The law says that your request must be responded to within 10 days, but you can expect something closer to 2 or 3 months for a definitive answer with the current backlog of paperwork.
Your Name Today’s Date
Your Address
Line 2 of Your Address
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Records Resources Division - Attn.: FOIA/PA Office
J. Edgar Hoover Building
9th & Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20535
This is a request for records under both the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
I request a copy of any and all records at the FBI that mention me, such as documents, reports, memoranda, letters, electronic files, “See Also” files, “Do Not File” files, “Official & Confidential” files, “Personal & Confidential” files, photographs, audio tapes & videotapes, electronic or microphone surveillance (ELSUR or MISUR), or photographic surveillance, “June mail”, “Obscene” Files, “Subversive” Indexes, bulkies, mail covers, trash covers; and any index citations relating to me or referencing me (“see also”) in other files. Please search all your indexes, and interpret this request broadly. This should include an ELSUR search. I also request a copy of the “FOIA Search Slip” generated as a result of this request.
My full name is: Your Name. My date of birth is: Your Date of Birth. My place of birth is: Your Place of Birth. Optional: My social security number is: Your SSN.
FOIA/PA statutes provide that even if some of the requested material is properly exempt from mandatory disclosure, all segregable portions must be released. If the requested material is released with deletions, please mark each deletion to indicate the exemption(s) being claimed to authorize each particular withholding. In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to release records which may be technically exempt, but where withholding serves no important public interest.
I hereby agree to pay reasonable costs associated with this request up to a maximum of $30. Please notify me if the fees are expected to exceed this amount. I am aware that this request may take slightly longer than the time limit of 10 working days provided by law.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Printed Name
Notary Stamp and Signature
