The Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.

Feds push for tracking cell phones | Politics and Law - CNET News

And the geek shall inherit the earth:

On the outskirts of Ghana's biggest city sits a smoldering wasteland, a slum carved into the banks of the Korle Lagoon, one of the most polluted bodies of water on earth. The locals call it Sodom and Gomorrah.

All your information are belong to us.

FRONTLINE/World Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground | PBS

North Korea's "dear leader"North Korea's "dear leader", Kim Jong-il, has life-threatening cancer, South Korean media claimed today, prompting fears for the country's long-term stability.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. If they ever get their nukes together we're doomed.

Kim Jong-il 'has pancreatic cancer' |World news |guardian.co.uk

In the late '90s, pop-culture historian Bill Geerhart had a little too much time on his hands and a surfeit of stamps. So, for his own entertainment, the then-unemployed thirtysomething launched a letter-writing campaign to some of the most powerful and infamous figures in the country, posing as a curious 10-year-old named Billy.

To his surprise, replies soon started pouring in. Everyone from Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld (on tree-fort diplomacy) to Oprah Winfrey, Mister Rogers, Janet Reno, and members of the Supreme Court had words of wisdom for Billy. ("I like the Egg McMuffin," wrote Justice Clarence Thomas when asked about his favorite McDonald's food. "Actually, I like almost everything there.") Responding to Billy's idea for a "Hustler for kids," Larry Flynt wrote back encouraging the fourth grader to "Hang in there. You'll be 18 before you know it."

These are amusing.

From The Magazine : Radar Online : What better mentor for a 10-year-old than Charles Manson? Little Billy seeks life advice, and America's most notorious killers are happy to oblige

Customs and Border Patrol at the Department of Homeland Security was just given the green light to search and seize laptops at the border, without probable cause, by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. They can deny entry to anyone who refuses to give up their laptops and password. This is an affront to our progressive values of privacy and protection from unwarranted search and seizure.

This is the CAP Action Campaign I mentioned during my talk at the Last HOPE. You can use this form to request that Customs perform a privacy impact assessment on the practice.

I Am Progress - Hands Off My Laptop

The city s policy to use the method, which calls for the injection of a drug into a person, came as a total surprise to people most would expect to know all about it.

For almost two years, Metro police have had the option of calling for a needle loaded with a strong sedative to control the most unruly people they encounter on the street.

Why not just get them stoned? If we're going to resort to using drugs to fight crime, why not let the criminals drug themselves and let the cops find something real to do for a living?

I-Team: Injection Used To Subdue Prisoners - Nashville News Story - WSMV Nashville

It's a scientific fact: Pets can't be trusted. Oh sure, they look like little angels, but they're just buttering you up so you'll feed them. It's time you found out what they aren't telling you! We suggest you try the Pet's-Eye-View Digital Camera. This lightweight, water-resistant, digital camera snaps photos every 1, 5, or 15 minutes and will give you an idea what your four-legged friend has been up to while you were at work. Don't just wonder if your dog has been digging up the lawn. Find out with this awesome device!

Who wants a pack of spy-dogs?

Pet Eye View Digital Camera - Uncle Milton - Science - Educational Toys at Entertainment Earth

ABC News highlights a predictable effect of supply shortages: gas thieves. Even before the price at the pump escalated significantly this year, gas thefts accounted for more than $130 million in losses for station owners — almost entirely family-owned businesses, with only 2% of stations in the US owned and operated by the oil companies. Thefts range from a few gallons to covert operations involving thousands of gallons, as ABC helpfully demonstrates in its report:

Maybe it would have been better to leave out the how-to on getting free gas from the pumps.

All we need is biker gangs and a toecutter.

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Gasoline thieves

Google has just launched Lively, a new social network built around the concept of each user creating an avatar and a personal virtual room that can be embedded anywhere on the Web. In essence, Google is looking to create a massive distributed virtual world, where every Google account can have its own avatar that can be used wherever a Lively virtual room is present – for example, on a blog, a social networking profile, or a Web page.

Here’s a closer look at what Google is launching, how it works, and how it might fit into Google’s larger social networking plans:

Getting Started

To use Lively, you do need to sign up using a Google account and download a browser plug-in. From there, you are able to create your own avatar – starting from a “template” character which then has customizable attributes like skin tone, hair color, and eye colors. You can also dress your character with clothing and accessories. In turn, you’re now ready to use Lively wherever you encounter a room on the Web by signing into it with your virtual account.

Google Launches Lively to Create a Virtual World Across Social Networks

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. military is looking for a contractor to patrol cyberspace, watching for warning signs of forthcoming terrorist attacks or other hostile activity on the Web.

...

"The purpose of the services will be to identify and assess stated and implied threat, antipathy, unrest and other contextual data relating to selected Internet domains," says the solicitation.

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The solicitation says the successful contractor will "analyze various Web pages, chat rooms, blogs and other Internet domains to aggregate and assess data of interest," adding, "The contractor will prioritize foreign-language domains that relate to specific areas of concern … (and) will also identify new Internet domains" that might relate to "specific local requirements" of the command.

Officials were keen to stress the contract covered only information that could be found by anyone with a computer and Internet connection.

Analysis: U.S. military to patrol Internet - UPI.com