http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/fbi-gets-f-in-handling-terror-watch-list-ig-finds/
Report: FBI Mishandles Terror Watch List
By Ryan Singel Email Author May 6, 2009 4:47 pm
The FBI can’t figure out the right way to add or remove suspected terrorists from the country’s unified terrorist watch list, subjecting citizens to unjustified scrutiny from government officials and possibly putting the country at risk, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog said Wednesday in a new report.
Trust us...
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/secret-apa-torture-mailing-list-archive-released.ars
Secret APA torture e-mail list not so secret anymore
Just because that mailing list that you're participating in is secret doesn't mean that it'll always stay secret. Just ask the members of the American Psychological Association who used a (formerly) secret mailing list to develop the organization's controversial stance on its members involvement in military interrogations.
By Jon Stokes Last updated May 7, 2009 8:15 AM CT
… Witness the invitation-only e-mail discussion list created by the American Psychological Association and the Pentagon in order to host a dialogue between military and civilian psychologists on the profession's role in the interrogation side of the war on terror. The APA probably didn't expect the entire list archive [PDF] would ever get leaked to the press and follow its members around on Google for the rest of their careers. But that's exactly what happened.
Are the basis for these torts merging? Can you be libelous without breaching privacy?
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20090506095325496
UK: Ian Hislop: ‘Privacy is the new libel’
Wednesday, May 06 2009 @ 09:53 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
The Culture, Media and Sport committee met yesterday in parliament where MPs quizzed key figures in the press such as Private Eye’s Ian Hislop and the Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger press standards, privacy and libel.
‘Privacy is the new libel,’ said Ian Hislop. ‘I am less sued,’ he continued. ‘There are fewer libels but each one is a lot more expensive and you can run into huge figures on one story.’ While libel is becoming harder to accuse privacy is not. Hislop attested to being sent fortnightly injunctions against privacy by the notorious Schillings law firm. He claimed to have had three privacy cases against him just this year. ‘It’s time to say: “What is privacy law?”’
Source - Katriona Lewis, on Free Speech Blog
What possible consequences? Blocking “private” email suggests some evil scenarios. Let's hope there was no lawyer-client communication...
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/05/facebooks-e-mail-censorship-is-legally-dubious-experts-say/
Facebook’s E-mail Censorship is Legally Dubious, Experts Say
By Ryan Singel Email Author May 6, 2009 5:20 pm
When The Pirate Bay released new Facebook features last month, the popular social networking site took evasive action, blocking its members from distributing file-sharing links through its service.
Now legal experts say Facebook may have gone too far, blocking not only links to torrents published publicly on member profile pages, but also examining private messages that might contain them, and blocking those as well.
“This raises serious questions about whether Facebook is in compliance with federal wiretapping law,” said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, responding to questions from a reporter about the little-noticed policy that was first reported by TorrentFreak.
Slippery slope? Oh, wait, that's pornographic in S. Carolina... If you had doubts about what was being offered, being flagged as a “paid ad” would eliminate any worries. As for the working number? Try the S, Carolina AG's office. That works.
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=7507090
Craigslist Threatened With Criminal Investigation
South Carolina AG Threatens Investigation Unless Craigslist Removes Ads That Allegedly Encourage Prostitution
By SCOTT MICHELS May 5, 2009
The South Carolina attorney general gave the management of the Web site Craigslist 10 days to remove postings that he said are pornographic or that encourage prostitution, or face a possible criminal investigation.
… Craigslist said it would take a number of steps to combat online prostitution, including charging people who post ads in the "erotic services" section $5 to $10 and requiring them to submit a working phone number to use the site. The information can be used by law enforcement to investigate suspected illegal activity.
Convergence. Somewhere there must be a legal maxim that states: “It's not the tool, it's what you do with it.” That's the only thing that keeps chef's from being arrested for possession of sharp knives. Eventually someone must realize that how you use a tool defines its taxability.
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/06/2246224&from=rss
New Irish Internet Tax?
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday May 06, @10:13PM from the new-pot-of-gold dept. The Internet The Almighty Buck
MarkDennehy writes
"The Broadcasting Bill 2009 (currently in the last stages of becoming the Broadcasting Act 2009 and then being commenced into law in Ireland) has thrown up a rather unpleasant little nugget for broadband users in Ireland. It now defines a television set as being an electronic apparatus able to receive TV signals or "any software or assembly comprising such apparatus" which would mean that even if you haven't got a television set, even if you don't watch streaming content from RTE.ie (the state broadcaster's website), you'd still have to pay 160 euro a year for a television license for your iPhone, or netbook, or laptop or desktop if you have fixed or mobile broadband."
See? It's only 12 years – not a lifetime. If you don't have contact with terrorists, don't commit crimes and don't vote for the other guy you record will be expunged.
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20090507040749844
Ministers keep innocent on DNA database
Thursday, May 07 2009 @ 04:07 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
The genetic profiles of hundreds of thousands of innocent people are to be kept on the national DNA database for up to 12 years in a decision critics claim is designed to sidestep a European human rights ruling that the "blanket" retention of suspects' data is unlawful.
The proposed new rules for the national DNA databaseto be put forward tomorrow by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, include plans to keep the DNA profiles of innocent people who are arrested but not convicted of minor offences for six years.
Source - Guardian Related - Telegraph
Hacker tools. Interesting hack one of my students gave his presentation on... Run the Revelation cursor over a password field and all those little asterisks are magically removed, revealing your “secret” password. (Very useful if you forgot the password.)
SnadBoy Software
SnadBoy Revelation
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