Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Electric Shock for Air Passengers?
July 6th, 2008Please tell me that this is a hoax. Via: Homeland Stupidity: You check in at the airline ticket counter. But instead of a boarding pass, you get shackled with an electronic bracelet which tracks your every move, contains all your personal information, and can shock you senseless. This vision of the future of air security […]
Judge Orders Google to Give YouTube User Data to Viacom
July 4th, 2008Via: San Francisco Chronicle: In a wide-reaching ruling that could have serious privacy implications, a U.S. district judge has ruled that the popular Internet video site YouTube must hand over details about what people are watching online. The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Louis L. Stanton on Wednesday, is part of an ongoing […]
Rights Groups Win Phone Tap Case Against Britain
July 2nd, 2008Via: Reuters: Europe’s top rights court ruled against the government on Tuesday for intercepting telephone calls between British and Irish rights groups and their clients, violating their right to privacy. Rights group Liberty and its Irish counterparts British Irish Rights Watch and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said Britain set up an eavesdropping facility […]
For Whom the Bell Tolls: More on the In-School Suspension Program in Dallas
June 30th, 2008Gazing upon the U.S. now just seems like looking at Hell as a fractal. You zoom in, and there’s more Hell. Zoom in again, more Hell. Zoom in again, GPS tracked students. Zoom in again, breakfast stick. —Texas: “In-School Suspension Program” Uses GPS Tracking Systems Attached to Students Via: Dallas Observer: AIM’s monitoring system employs […]
Telecom Amnesty Flip-Floppers Got More Telecom Dollars
June 27th, 2008People wonder, “What’s a good investment?” Corporations buy off elected representatives for bum change. It’s not quite something for nothing, but owning an elected representative for a few grand seems pretty close to it. Via: Wired: Democrats who switched from opposing to supporting legal amnesty to telecoms that aided the government’s warrantless wiretapping program received […]
U.S. Government Seizing Laptops and Cameras Without Cause
June 27th, 2008I’ve posted about this several times, but the practice is so abhorrent that it’s worth monitoring. Via: U.S. News and World Report: Returning from a brief vacation to Germany in February, Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Agents searched Hogan’s luggage and then popped […]
Five Myths About the New Wiretapping Law; Why It’s a Lot Worse Than You Think
June 26th, 2008I almost wonder what the Obama cult members must be thinking right now… Via: Slate: Here, then, is the bitter joke of the new legislation: From 2001 to 2007, the NSA engaged in a secret program that was a straightforward violation of America’s wiretapping laws. Since the program was revealed, the administration has succeeded in […]
Is Britain on the Slippery Slope to Dictatorship?
June 26th, 2008Falling headfirst into the abyss would be more accurate. Via: Guardian: Aesthetically, at any rate, it does feel as if some of our science fiction dystopias are gradually coming true. In an estate near me, George Orwell’s CCTV cameras are actually trained on the residents’ doors and driveways. Ray Bradbury’s wall-sized TVs flicker in small […]
New “Intelligent” CCTV Cameras Can See and Hear
June 25th, 2008One camera for every 14 people in the UK. Via: Telegraph: Researchers hope the smart cameras will have a dramatic impact on crime detection and prevention by cutting response times and ensuring that more incidents are caught on tape. A team at the University of Portsmouth has already developed software which enables cameras to spot […]
Photographer Documents Secret Satellites — All 189 of Them
June 22nd, 2008Via: Wired: For most people, photographing something that isn’t there might be tough. Not so for Trevor Paglen. His shots of 189 secret spy satellites are the subject of a new exhibit — despite the fact that, officially speaking, the satellites don’t exist. The Other Night Sky, on display at the University of California at […]
