Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Six Accused of Insider Trading After Wiretapping Investigation
October 18th, 2009This case is a joke—not because the people involved aren’t crooks, but because the amounts of money involved are noise level. The Feds plucked some low hanging douche bags and put them on display for the retail investor to see as part of a confidence trick. “Behold, retail investor, we’re using ‘powerful investigative tools’ to […]
New Zealand: Proposed Powers ‘Bordering on Police State’
October 15th, 2009Via: Stuff: On the second anniversary of controversial police raids, political activists today told MPs a new bill allowing police greater powers to search and monitor could stifle freedom of speech. Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff also raised concerns and recommended a raft of beefed-up safeguards to better protect people. Parliament’s justice and electoral select committee […]
FBI Doing Facial Recognition Scans on DMV Photo Records
October 13th, 2009Via: AP: In its search for fugitives, the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver’s license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes. The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for […]
FBI Building “Multi-Modal Biometrics” Database
October 13th, 2009Voice scans. You know, in case you use a phone that isn’t registered to you. Via: ComputerWorld: The Federal Bureau of Investigation is expanding beyond its traditional fingerprint-focused collection practices to develop a new biometrics system that will include DNA records, 3-D facial imaging, palm prints and voice scans, blended to create what’s known as […]
£1 a Mile Toll’ to Drive in London?
October 12th, 2009Apologies for the Daily Mail link. Via: Daily Mail: Motorists face being charged for every mile they drive under radical new plans by London Mayor Boris Johnson. Drivers could be forced to pay to use the capital’s busiest roads as Mr Johnson seeks to plug a multi-million pound hole in the Transport for London (TfL) […]
U.S. Government Considers Dealings with Telecommunications Companies as “Intra-Agency”
October 9th, 2009att.gov? Via: Wired: The Department of Justice has finally admitted it in court papers: the nation’s telecom companies are an arm of the government — at least when it comes to secret spying. … The feds argued that the documents showing consultation over the controversial telecom immunity proposal weren’t subject to the Freedom of Information […]
NYPD Tracking Cell Phone Owners
October 9th, 2009Via: New York Post: The NYPD is amassing a database of cell phone users, instructing cops to log serial numbers from suspects’ phones in hopes of connecting them to past or future crimes. In the era of disposable, anonymous cell phones, the file could be a treasure-trove for detectives investigating drug rings and other criminal […]
NY Man Accused of Tweeting Cop Actions at Protests
October 5th, 2009Via: AP: A self-described New York City anarchist has been accused of tweeting the location of police officers to protesters trying to evade them during the Group of 20 economic summit in Pittsburgh. Elliot Madison, 41, described by his lawyer as a social worker and political activist, was arrested on charges including hindering prosecution for […]
Augmented Google Earth Gets Real-Time People, Cars, Clouds
September 30th, 2009The surveillance side of this is the chickenfeed. There’s something far more sinister than the simple surveillance… an angle we haven’t heard about yet. Tice never did tell his story to Congress about this different aspect of the program. Well, my guess is that it has something to do with providing surveillance data for this […]
U.S. Intelligence Budget: $75 Billion, 200,000 Operatives
September 28th, 2009Via: Dissident Voice: Speaking at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club September 15, Director of National Intelligence Admiral Dennis C. Blair, disclosed that the current annual budget for the 16 agency U.S. “Intelligence Community” (IC) clocks-in at $75 billion and employs some 200,000 operatives world-wide, including private contractors. In unveiling an unclassified version of the National Intelligence […]
