Monday 12-31-12

Getting ready to start the new year and things are still the same, what if government would turn over a new leaf as far as letting people have their freedoms and privacy back.   Why is it that it is under reported in the states but to get the news you have to go across the pond to get it?

Activists voice dismay as Senate renews government surveillance measure

Two amendments that would have provided basic oversight for US government's warrantless surveillance program

Civil rights campaigners voiced dismay on Friday over the US Senate's re-authorization of the government's warrantless surveillance program, and the defeat of two amendments that would have provided for basic oversight of the eavesdropping.
The Senate voted 73-23 to extend the law, called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act, for five years. The House of Representatives has already passed the measure, which President Obama has said he will sign.
But while the program was extended as expected, campaigners saw a silver lining in that the vote was closer than when the legislation was first introduced in 2008.
"We're incredibly disappointed, not just that it passed, but that they rejected some very moderate amendments that wouldn't have interfered with the collection of intelligence," said Michelle Richardson, an ACLU expert on surveillance issues.
An amendment by senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon would have required the secret court that oversees surveillance requests to disclose "important rulings of law." It failed 37-54. An amendment by Merkley's fellow Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden would have required the government to estimate the number of US citizens it had spied on. It fell by a narrower margin, 43-52.
"We're actually pleased that so many [Senate] members today want more transparency," Richardson said, pointing to the 43 votes for Wyden. "There were more members voting for transparency and accountability than there were in 2008. The amendments did better this time."
The amended FISA Act was passed in 2008 to retroactively cover Bush-era domestic surveillance. The law permits the National Security Agency to track communication between foreign targets and people inside the United States without obtaining a warrant. Critics say it violates fourth amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. NSA whistleblower Bill Binney has estimated that the agency, under protection of the law, has "assembled" 20 trillion transactions between US citizens.
Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, said in debate on the Senate floor that the surveillance program provides useful intelligence and does not target US citizens. She opposed both oversight amendments but agreed in principle to release unclassified summaries of actions taken by the secret court.
The Obama administration has already begun reviewing FISA court decisions to see what can be released, Richardson said.
"I think we have a long and slow fight on this, but we'll eventually get there," Richardson said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/28/senate-approves-government-surveillance-measure

Only common sense to those that have it.

California gun sales jump; gun injuries, deaths fall


Gun deaths and injuries have dropped sharply in California, even as the number of guns sold in the state has risen, according to new state data.


Dealers sold 600,000 guns in California last year, up from 350,000 in 2002, according to records of sale tallied by the California Attorney General's office.

During that same period, the number of California hospitalizations due to gun injuries declined from about 4,000 annually to 2,800, a roughly 25 percent drop, according to hospital records collected by the California Department of Public Health.

Firearm-related deaths fell from about 3,200 annually to about 2,800, an 11 percent drop, state health figures show.

Most of the drop in firearm-related injuries and deaths can be explained by a well-documented, nationwide drop in violent crime.

The number of California injuries and deaths attributed to accidental discharge of firearms also has fallen. The number of suicide deaths involving firearms has remained roughly constant.

Two caveats: State figures track gun sales, not ownership. They treat a family's first gun purchase the same as a collector's twelfth. Second, gun sales in California peaked in the early 1990s, as violent crime also peaked.

These charts show gun injuries, deaths and sales trends over the last ten years.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/27/5079151/california-gun-sales-increase.html#storylink=cpy