This is on ABC's "World News Tonight" this evening. This is their national evening news broadcast with Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas (who replaced Peter Jennings), not to be confused with your local hometown news show.
Cool, they did a good job.
Why Are Your Cell Phone Records for Sale?And let me say again what a stand-up guy General Wesley Clark has been on this issue. We really didn't intend to drag him into all this. We put in for the records of a number of famous Washington political types, including George Stephanopoulos of ABC, Dana Milbank at the Washington Post, but General Clark's records were the first ones we got a hit on. And rather than respond by suing us (our fingers remain crossed), or simply refusing to talk about the issue, the general is now taking the lead in advocating for change.
by Ned Potter
Gen. Wesley Clark — former presidential candidate and the former head of NATO — is a busy man.
He makes a lot of cell phone calls, as documented by the Internet blogger who got his complete bill.
It may be the last thing you think of when using your cell phone, but online information "brokers" have been providing the name and address connected to a cell phone number, an individual's phone number, and even the complete record of outgoing and incoming calls — all for a nominal fee.
"It's a bad feeling," Clark said. "It's like having someone say, you know, 'Here's your wallet. I've been through all of it, and I think we ought to show what all of your credit cards are and how much money you carry around.' It's just a feeling of your privacy is invaded, and it feels that something that is personal, that belongs to you, is just thrown out there."
John Aravosis, the blogger who found Clark's bill, says he's surprised how easy it was. For $89.95, he was able to go to a Web site and get the bill in a single day — no questions asked.
"I wanted to show people that if you can get a general and a presidential candidate's phone records, anybody's privacy could be violated," Aravosis said....
That was never our intent, for him to end up an advocate, but it says something about his character that he chose to become one.
