Bush wins protection for 'super snoopers'

The Bill would shield these firms from potentially billions of dollars in damages from privacy lawsuits and implement the biggest overhaul of US spy laws in three decades. The Star reports that the Senate has approved the measure, previously passed by the House of Representatives, and prepared to send the legislation to Bush to sign into law. With Bush's term set to end in January, the vote marked perhaps one his final major triumphs on Capitol Hill and drew a firestorm of criticism from civil liberties groups. The measure would replace a temporary spy law that expired in February and modernise the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to keep pace with changing technology. The Bill authorises US intelligence agencies to eavesdrop, without court approval, on foreign targets believed to be outside the US. Critics complain this allows warrantless surveillance of the phone calls and e-mails of Americans who communicate with them. The Bill seeks to minimise such eavesdropping on Americans, but foes say the safeguards are inadequate. Full report in The Star

Staying in the US, the Democratic-controlled House has passed legislation to tighten controls over electronic messages sent through federal agencies. The House had charged that the Bush Administration had deleted hundreds of thousands of e-mails, including some relevant to congressional investigations. 'Despite the importance of these records, serious deficiencies exist in the way e-mails are preserved, both by the White House and federal agencies,' said Bill sponsor Henry Waxman who is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Los Angeles Times reports that the White House responded with a veto threat, saying the measure would result in 'an excessive and inappropriate' intrusion into the activities of an incumbent president and his or her staff. Democrats, in explaining the need for the legislation, cited the use by White House officials, including former senior adviser Karl Rove, of Republican National Committee e-mail accounts to conduct government business. They said that resulted in the potential destruction of hundreds of thousands of e-mails. The Bill requires the archivist of the US to establish standards for the capture, management and preservation of White House and other federal agency e-mails. Full Los Angeles Times report