] The Pentagon office that was developing a vast
] computerized terrorism surveillance system would be
] closed and no money could be spent to use those high-tech
] spying tools against Americans on U.S. soil, House and
] Senate negotiators have agreed. But they shifted some of
] the high-powered software under development to different
] government offices, to be used to gather intelligence
] from U.S. citizens abroad and foreigners in this country
] and abroad.

More good news!

Terrorism spying project to end

] Congress moved Wednesday to delay the planned takeoff of
] a controversial new airline passenger-profiling system
] until an independent study of its privacy implications
] and effectiveness at stopping terrorism can be completed.

Good news!

Wired News: Congress Puts Brakes on CAPPS II

] There's something you can do *right now* that will stop
] pending abuses of air travelers' private data. And your
] chance to do it will expire this coming Tuesday (Sept 30).

[Politech] JetBlue privacy woes: my column and John Gilmore's request [priv]

] According to ACLU legal papers, local police, acting at
] the direction of the Secret Service, violated the rights
] of protesters in two ways: people expressing views
] critical of the government were moved further away from
] public officials while those with pro-government views
] were allowed to remain closer; or everyone expressing a
] view was herded into what is commonly known as a
] protest zone, leaving those who merely
] observe, but express no view, to remain closer.  

American Civil Liberties Union : Secret Service Ordered Local Police to Restrict Anti-Bush Protesters at Rallies, ACLU Charges in Unprecedented Nationwide Lawsuit

] Patriot Act II would give the government broad powers to
] seize documents and force testimony without a court
] order, expand use of the death penalty and make it harder
] to be released on bail. None of these tools are necessary
] to fight terrorism, and each threatens to infringe on the
] civil liberties of Americans.
]
] The most troubling part of the new plan is the call for
] expanding government access to private data, allowing
] federal agents to issue subpoenas for private medical,
] financial and other records, without a court order. The
] lack of judicial oversight removes an important check on
] government misconduct. Record holders would be required
] to comply, or face prison, and would be barred from
] telling anyone about the subpoena.

Patriot Act, Part II - Fucking Insane

] JetBlue Airways confirmed on Thursday that in September
] 2002, it provided 5 million passenger itineraries to a
] defense contractor for proof-of-concept testing of a
] Pentagon project unrelated to airline security -- with
] help from the Transportation Security Administration.

1. Jet Blue is so fucked. They violated their privacy policy. There are passenger social security numbers in the pdf file linked from this story. The law suits should start flying any minute now.

2. The PDF is worth checking out. Its a nice example of the things you can learn from trolling a database like this.

3. These consultants seem to recommend that if you don't own your home or you change residency too frequently, you ought to be given additional scrutiny at the airport.

This is the future we are heading towards. We have total access to all your purchasing, credit, and other demographic information, and if we determine that you don't fit into a popular demographic group, or that you fit into a demographic group we often have trouble with, you can look forward to getting hassled endlessly.

Remember that you live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we employ omnipotent surveillance to keep us safe from danger.

Wired News: JetBlue Shared Passenger Data

] In the two years since law enforcement agencies gained
] fresh powers to help them track down and punish
] terrorists, police and prosecutors have increasingly
] turned the force of the new laws not on al-Qaida cells
] but on people charged with common crimes.

Didn't take long...

Yahoo! News - New Terror Laws Used Vs. Common Criminals

This is the first time I've ever recommended a TV show. (Like an actual episode rather then a program in general.)

1. This is illegal as hell.
2. If the ads are included there is no good reason for ABC to have a problem with this.
3. This looks like an interesting program.
4. The ensuing discussion is exactly why I want to connect mythtv to memestreams.
5. If it is legal, and it is, for me to save television programming off the wire, and view it at any time, why should it not be legal, and it isn't, for someone else to download television programming, and provide it to me. This is assuming we aren't talking about cable, and we aren't cutting out the ads. Seems to me that people who make television like this, which is entirely ad supported, could simply increase their viewers, as well as revenue, by posting the archives online. There might even be some money to be made in selling access to complete archives. I think there is a short term strategic advantage for the company that does this first....

(U: Its about 20 minutes of video. No commercials (hrmph). Comstock does a good job of defending the act. She handles Koppel well. Its clear that the "enemy combatent" issue is more serious then the Patriot act. Its clear that the level of secrecy makes it difficult to know if the FBI is abusing the law. They clearly state that they can't discuss specifics, and then they offer specific examples about notification timeframes for "sneak and peek" warrants that are probably reasonable. I.E. The secrecy allows the FBI to only release information that is politically useful to them, and they clearly take advantage of that here. Can we say "I rest my case" yet? When Koppel comes back for his closing remarks, however, he lets them have it. Its totally worth watching to see him come back and tear into them.)

On Lisa Rein's Radar: Ted Koppel On The Dangers Of The Patriot Act

The first time I went to the dekalb county webpage it was to determine why it was illegal to practice golf in a public park. I live next to a public park. People play frisbee, they play volleyball, they play basketball, they play baseball. Why the fuck can't I go down there with a bunch of whiffle balls? Its not safety. Baseballs are bigger, faster, and they go further then my little whiffle balls. Its revenue. They want the golfers to pay to access state golf ranges where they charge you $10 to hit a bucket of balls.

Tonight I learned that you cannot buy beer in Dekalb on any day after midnight. I ended up having to drive to Fulton, through the stalled morass of blingers at buckhead, all the way down to a gass station near Peidmont hospital. My quick trip to get beer took an hour.

I realise that these things are minor. I have lovely county run golf courses to play on. I can buy beer during the day. The thing is, that when and where I buy beer, and when and where I practice golf, are none of your damn business. This is not a nessecary and useful purpose for government. The minor details of your personal life are, in fact, minor. Not a big deal. But if the government feels compelled to stick its nose into issues that are so trivial, then there really are few limits to what they may feel the right to stick their nose into. This is not freedom.

Fuck Dekalb County

This is worth noting. CAPS II was halted two months ago so that it could get a privacy overhall. Now its back, and there has been no privacy related improvements that I can see. Whats critical is that its mission has already expanded beyond terrorism. You will now get a general warrant check for violent crimes every time you fly.

] Only a few months ago TSA officials were issuing public
] assurances that CAPPS II would remain confined to
] searching for foreign terrorists.  Now it has been
] expanded to include domestic terrorists and violent
] criminals -- all before the program is even
] officially launched.  And the definition of
] "domestic terrorist" is being steadily expanded
] far beyond the everyday meaning, potentially encompassing
] political protesters and, if recent proposals are
] accepted, even suspects in the "war on
] drugs." And how long before the system is expanded
] to search for con-artists, drug dealers, deadbeat dads,
] and so on down the scale of wrongdoing until it becomes a
] comprehensive net for enforcing even the most obscure
] rules and regulations? 

American Civil Liberties Union : The Five Problems With CAPPS II: Why the Airline Passenger Profiling Proposal Should Be Abandoned