Spy satellite launch delayed

[seafan]

Source: UPI

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced plans to delay the scheduled launch of a surveillance satellite.
The House of Representatives' Homeland Security Committee made several request to the DHS calling for a moratorium on what is seen as a controversial use of spy satellite imagery for domestic purposes, according to a release from the committee.

The satellite was scheduled to launch Oct. 1. The DHS also announced plans to delay the new National Applications Office.

Homeland Security Committee officials applauded the decision and urged the DHS to address privacy and civil liberties concerns cited in the committee’s Sept. 6 hearing.

“While we are pleased by the Department’s decision to go back to the drawing board and get it right, we are troubled by its silence on the second part of our request: that Congress also be provided ‘a full opportunity to review the NAO’s written legal framework, offer comments, and help shape appropriate procedures and protocols,’" said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, in a statement.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Briefing/2007/10/02/spy_satellite_launch_delayed/5396/

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It ought to be very clear by now that the reason for this delay, with Chertoff in charge, is that there IS NO legal framework to protect people's privacy rights.