Orwellian

X-ray full-body scanners to be taken out of U.S. airports

"According to Bloomberg News, OSI Systems, the company that makes the scanners, was unable to write a software program that would cover passengers’ genitals. The TSA has terminated its $5 million contract with OSI’s Rapiscan unit, which was awarded to the company with a software fix in mind. The TSA removed 76 of the Rapiscan machines from the nation’s busiest airports in 2011. The remaining 174 machines will now be decommissioned. The TSA plans to switch over to scanners manufactured by a company called L-3 Communications Holdings, which use radio signals rather than X-rays to scan passengers for weapons." Continue reading →

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Can the DEA Hide a Surveillance Camera on Your Land?

"A case that began with reports of suspicious activity in northeast Wisconsin forest land last spring may be headed for the US Supreme Court. That's because a US district court judge ruled in the case last fall that it was okay for the DEA to enter the rural property without a warrant and install surveillance cameras that were used to help convict five members of a family on charges they were growing marijuana." Continue reading →

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DOJ sends bundle of completely censored documents in response to ACLU lawsuit

"Responding to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Department of Justice (DOJ) turned over a bundle of documents that are completely blacked out. The lawsuit was filed after the DOJ ignored a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information on how the agency interpreted a 2011 Supreme Court decision that bans law enforcement from using GPS technology to track Americans without a warrant. The Department responded to the lawsuit with 111 pages of attorney memos, but only two pages are legible. The rest are covered by large black rectangles that blot out all useful information." Continue reading →

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France adopts words of war by vowing to ‘destroy terrorists’

"With its talk of 'destroying' enemies and confronting 'jihadi terrorists', France has adopted a language of war for its intervention in Mali that few expected from Socialist President Francois Hollande. As French warplanes carry out airstrikes and French troops clash with Islamist rebels in the West African country, Hollande and his ministers seem to have taken a page from former US president George W. Bush’s playbook on war-time communications. French media reported that ministers have been banned from using the words 'Islamist fighters' in statements on the conflict and must always refer to rebels as 'terrorists'." Continue reading →

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German activists start campaign to destroy surveillance cameras

"German activists are attempting to destroy security cameras in anticipation of the European Police Congress in Berlin in February, according to Michael Ebeling, an opponent of public surveillance writing for France 24′s The Observers. The group organizing the actions, CAMOVER, believe such cameras lead police to discriminate and use stereotypes in search of criminals and criminal activity. They are encouraging people to participate in the 'game' until Feb. 19, when the congress convenes. The country’s Interior Ministry claims the cameras have been shown to reduce crime by almost 20 percent." Continue reading →

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The Death of Privacy

"If the War on Drugs was an erosion of the Fourth Amendment, the 'War on Terror' sounded its death knell. The NSA’s warrantless domestic spying program has turned America into the most surveilled society in history, eclipsing conditions of East Germans under the Stasi. The government is illegally monitoring (in real time) activities not tethered to any suspicious or illegal conduct—for example, phone calls, purchases, email, text messages, Internet searches, social media communications, health information, employment history, travel, and student records—and creating dossiers on everyone (even senators, congressmen, and decorated generals)." Continue reading →

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Rapid DNA analyzers coming to every police station and TSA checkpoint in America

"According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, 'In the amount of time it takes to get lunch, the government can now collect your DNA and extract a profile that identifies you and your family members' using a device called a Rapid DNA Analyzer, which can 'process DNA in 90 minutes or less.' The EFF says these machines are not the imagination of science fiction writers. Rather, the group says they are 'an operational reality' and are currently being marketed to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies all around the nation. Well, what's the big deal? After you, you haven't done anything wrong - have you?" Continue reading →

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List of Printers Which Do or Do Not Display Tracking Dots

"This is a list in progress of color laser printer models that do or do not print yellow tracking dots on their output. We have employed three sources of information. We looked at printer output under a blue light and/or a computer microscope; we consulted press reports about printers (e.g. at Druckerchannel); we relied on printer manuals and other manufacturer statements. We welcome additional statements by manufacturers, resellers, or technicians." Continue reading →

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Fraudulent Certificate for Google Domains Found After Mistake by Turkish CA

"Google has pushed out an update that blocks an intermediate digital certificate for *.google.com after discovering that a Turkish certificate authority had mistakenly issued intermediate certificates to two organizations that should only have gotten normal SSL certificates. That error gave those two organizations the power to issue certificates that carried the same authority as the CA itself. One of the groups that obtained the intermediate certificate is a Turkish government agency and at least one of the major browser vendors said there was evidence the ceritificates had been used in an active attack." Continue reading →

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America Is Setting A Dangerous Precedent For The Drone Age

"Micah Zenko of the Council of Foreign Relations makes this argument in a new report: 'A major risk is that of proliferation. Over the next decade, the U.S. near-monopoly on drone strikes will erode as more countries develop and hone this capability. In this uncharted territory, U.S. policy provides a powerful precedent for other states and nonstate actors that will increasingly deploy drones with potentially dangerous ramifications.' Jim Michaels of USA Today reports that 75 countries, including Iran and China, have developed or acquired drone technology in the wake of America's prolific program." Continue reading →

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