Privacy SOS

The ACLU has published a number of so-called ‘Suspicious Activity Reports’ from the Los Angeles fusion center, one of tens of spy centers established with DHS funds in the years after the 9/11 attacks. Fusion centers were set up to facilitate the production and sharing of intelligence among state, local, and federal security agencies. One of the major roles these spy centers perform is to handle suspicious activity reports, which are filed either by individuals or security agencies. Once the fusion center receives the tips, they are processed by analysts and sent to the FBI for further investigation.    Continue reading “On photography, suspicious activity, and how surveillance stifles creative expression”

Privacy SOS

Something very fishy happened this week. The Justice Department tried to get aUSA Today reporter to drop a story that would embarrass the government, and when he wouldn’t, gave the reporter a quote implying that the story is a non-story. The tl;dr is: There’s nothing to see here, but we’d really prefer it if you didn’t publish it!

What happened, exactly?   Continue reading “Justice Department official sets out to kill ‘USA Today’ story by claiming that it is a non-story”

KSL_COMMENTS-3.jpgKSL.com – by Officer Anonymous

SALT LAKE CITY — First off, I am not talking about those silly wild haired dolls with jewels in their belly buttons. I am also not speaking about the ones that live under bridges and eat small children. I am speaking about the spineless bottom feeders who sit at their computer all day bullying other people with inflammatory comments and remarks.

A troll’s sole purpose in life is to comment about an article, statement, question in a forum or other Internet venue so that comment will upset the target person or persons to the point where they are yelling at their computer and punching the monitor. The upset person will even go so far as to Google search the user name “wizardslayer7” to see if somehow there is an address associated with it.   Continue reading “Ask a cop: Trolling should be illegal”

The Daily Caller – by Eric Owens

The Ohio State University Department of Public Safety has acquired an armored military vehicle that looks like it belongs in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Gary Lewis, a senior director of media relations at OSU, told The Daily Caller via email that the “unique, special-purpose vehicle is a replacement” for the “police fleet.” He called the armored jalopy “an all-hazard, all-purpose, public safety-response vehicle” with “obviously enhanced capabilities.”   Continue reading “The cops at Ohio State have an armored fighting vehicle now”

Cyrptome

From: Bo Chen <bochen7e7[at]live.com>
To: “cryptome[at]earthlink.net” <cryptome[at]earthlink.net>
Subject: Cryptome : Help, I’ve been charged with a crime for using encryption, please make this into a news story!
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 09:38:00 -0500   Continue reading “Addison, Texas police charge Bo Chen with a crime for using encryption on his computer”

imagesThe Daily Sheeple – by James Smith, Prepper Podcast Radio Broadcast

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.   Continue reading “Documents Prove That Homeland Security Is Being Armed By US Military”

MassPrivateI

A man who goes by the internet handle“Puking Monkey,” did an analysis of the many ways his car could be tracked and stumbled upon something rather interesting: his E-ZPass, which he obtained for the purpose of paying tolls, was being used to track his car in unexpected places, far away from any toll booths.   Continue reading “EZ-Pass is being used to track your movements far away from any toll booths”

MassPrivateI

Richland, Washington – Hockey fans at the season opener of the Tri-City Americans will have a chance to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security improve its facial recognition capabilities.

Video will be taped by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at the Sept. 21 game in a portion of the Toyota Center in Kennewick.    Continue reading “DHS begins using facial recognition technology at sporting events claims its for research”

The Washington Post – by Neil Irwin

Five years after Lehman fell, taking the global economy along with it, a roll call of Wall Street CEOs serving time for their role in the crisis looks something like this:   Continue reading “This is a complete list of Wall Street CEOs prosecuted for their role in the financial crisis”

Sen. Charles SchumerLA Times – by David G. Savage

WASHINGTON — Journalists and bloggers who report news to the public will be protected from being forced to testify about their work under a media shield bill passed by a Senate committee Thursday.

But the new legal protections will not extend to the controversial online website Wikileaks and others whose principal work involves disclosing “primary-source documents … without authorization.”   Continue reading “Bill to protect journalists clears Senate panel”

Bi-Partisan Policy Center – by Abby Brandon

Washington, D.C. – A new report released by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Homeland Security Project today found that the most imminent threat to the United States is from individuals who are radicalized over the Internet, often inspired by al-Qaeda’s jihadist message. While these lone wolves might not be able to kill in mass numbers, the Boston Marathon bombings and the Fort Hood slayings show that alienated persons influenced partially by online messaging can cause great damage.

The report, Jihadist Terrorism: A Threat Assessment, provides a comprehensive review of al-Qaeda and its affiliates and provides legislative and executive recommendations on how best to counter the threat and protect the homeland. The report was authored by several members of BPC’s Homeland Security Project, which is led by former 9/11 Commission Co-chairs former Governor Tom Kean and former Representative Lee Hamilton.   Continue reading “New Assessment Finds the Threat at Home Has Shifted from Radicalized Groups to Radicalized Individuals”

Las Vegas Installs 37 DHS Surveillance Cameras on the StripThe New American – by Joe Wolverton, II, J.D.

What happens in Vegas will be recorded by cameras provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

All along the storied Las Vegas Strip, 37 surveillance cameras watch and record every movement.

Such an expensive purchase might surprise citizens of Sin City given that the Metropolitan Police Department is in the middle of a hiring freeze and has laid off dozens of officers all over the city.    Continue reading “Las Vegas Installs 37 DHS Surveillance Cameras on the Strip”

Marissa MayerThe Guardian – by Dominic Rushe

Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook struck back on Wednesday at critics who have charged tech companies with doing too little to fight off NSA surveillance. Mayer said executives faced jail if they revealed government secrets.

Yahoo and Facebook, along with other tech firms, are pushing for the right to be allowed to publish the number of requests they receive from the spy agency. Companies are forbidden by law to disclose how much data they provide.   Continue reading “Yahoo CEO Mayer: we faced jail if we revealed NSA surveillance secrets”

MassPrivateI

How does the Fourth Amendment apply to deleting a picture from a digital camera? InBurch v. City of Florence, Ala., 913 F.Supp.2d 1221 (N.D.Ala. 2012), the police had received various complaints that the plaintiff  John Wesley Burch was causing concern because he was taking pictures of lots of people and cars in town. Burch has performed a variety of odd jobs, including sometimes working since 2004 as a freelance private investigator, or as an assistant to a private investigator.   Continue reading “Court ruled police can grab and delete pictures from your camera during a traffic stop”

MassPrivateI

Der Spiegel today published a new story about NSA spying on smartphones, which includes the following PowerPoint slides. They are illustrative if only because they demonstrate the degree to which the super-secretive agency has profound disrespect for the public. A particularly classy slide calls iPhone users ‘zombies’ and makes fun of us for paying for the services that enable the NSA to track our physical locations.   Continue reading “The NSA: iPhone users are “zombies” who pay for their own surveillance”