Government spies could scan every call, text and email

(Telegraph.co.uk) - The huge eavesdropping programme would involve the creation of a mammoth central computer database to store hundreds of billions of individual pieces of communications traffic.

Supporters say it would become one of the security services’ most comprehensive tools in the fight against terrorism but critics described it as “sinister”.

MI5 currently has to apply to the Home Secretary for warrants to intercept specific email and website traffic but, under the new plan, internet and mobile phone networks could be monitored live by GCHQ, the Government listening post.

The Home Office said no decision had been taken but security officials claim live monitoring is necessary to pick up terrorist plots.

It would allow them to capture records like chat room discussions on password-protected Islamic extremist websites.

The annual number of phone calls and other electronic communications in the UK is predicted to nearly double from 230 billion in 2006 to 450 billion by 2016.

Last year 57 billion text messages, or 1,800 a second, were sent. That rose from one billion in 1999.

The number of broadband internet connections rose from 330,000 in 2001 to 18 million last year. Three billion e-mails are sent every day, or 35,000 every second.

One of the spurs for a central database is a concern over how that electronic communications data is currently stored by hundreds of different internet service providers and private telephone companies.

Records may only be held for limited periods of time and are then lost which makes it impossible for police and the security services to establishing historical links, or so-called “friendship trees”, between terrorists.

If all communications information was centrally stored then links could be made between terrorist cells and other sympathisers could be identified.

The telephone and internet companies are currently required to give records of calls or internet use to law enforcement agencies if a senior officer authorises that it is needed for an inquiry.

Last year there were more than half a million such requests.

The cost of monitoring everything, and keeping it on a central database, has been estimated at £12 billion and would dwarf the proposed cost of the identity cards programme.

Critics also claim it would be virtually impossible to keep such a vast system secure and free from abuse by law enforcement agencies.

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: “It would mark a substantial shift in the powers of the state to obtain information on individuals.

“Given the Government’s poor record on protecting data, and seeing how significant an increase in power this would be, we need to have a national debate and the Government would have to justify its need.”

The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, has already called for a public debate about Government proposals for the state to retain people’s internet and phone records.

A spokesman for the commissioner said: “He warned that it is likely that such a scheme would be a step too far for the British way of life. Proposals that threaten such intrusion into people’s lives must be properly debated.”

Richard Clayton, a security expert at Cambridge University, said the proposal would mean installing thousands of probes in telephone and computer networks which would re-route data to the central database.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Nick Allen, Oct 5, 2008 ]

Government will spy on every call and e-mail

(TimesOnline.com) - Ministers are considering spending up to £12 billion on a database to monitor and store the internet browsing habits, e-mail and telephone records of everyone in Britain.

GCHQ, the government’s eavesdropping centre, has already been given up to £1 billion to finance the first stage of the project.

Hundreds of clandestine probes will be installed to monitor customers live on two of the country’s biggest internet and mobile phone providers - thought to be BT and Vodafone. BT has nearly 5m internet customers. READ MORE HERE

U.S. agents can seize travelers’ laptops: report

(StopThePropaganda.com) - Careful what you keep on your laptop or even your iPod when travelling to the United States.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to seize travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold them for unspecified periods the Washington Post reported on Friday.

 

Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, the newspaper said, quoting policies issued on July 16 by two DHS agencies.

 

Agents are empowered to share the contents of seized computers with other agencies and private entities for data decryption and other reasons, the newspaper said.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Reuters ]

Welcome To The 21st Century Police State

(Rogue Government) - It is becoming increasingly clear that we are living in a police state the likes of which Adolf Hitler would have approved of. In the past week, a couple of disturbing news stories detailing extreme police brutality has been reported. In Arkansas a young man was tasered 19 times while he was incapacitated on the ground injured with a broken back. The young man had fallen off a bridge and instead of the police helping him, they decided it was necessary to taser him multiple times despite the fact that it was obvious he couldn’t be any sort of threat. In New York City, a cowardly police officer brutally assaulted a bike rider for no reason and to add insult to injury, the police charged the bike rider with assault and other crimes. The police officers who have engaged in this behavior are cowardly pieces of trash who need to be taken away to prison. If these cops think they are so tough, we should give them the opportunity to pick fights with hardened criminals in a maximum security prison.

READ MORE HERE [ Source:  Rogue Government, Lee Rogers ]

Bill C-51, Codex and the SPP

(IntelStrike.com) - On April 8, 2008, Canada’s Health Minister introduced Bill C-51 which proposed sweeping changes to the Food and Drugs Act. The Canadian government has since been forced to make amendments because of intense grassroots pressure. There are fears that this Bill could lead to some vitamins, herbs, minerals, and dietary supplements no longer being available in the country. Through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), Canada, the U.S., and Mexico are already busy harmonizing food and drug regulations into a North American Union structure. Some have suggested that this Bill would also bring Canadian law into compliance with the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Bill C-51 has the potential to take away the rights of people to freely choose natural medicine as an alternative to expensive drug-based products and treatments.

Bill C-51 will further encroach on civil liberties and increase police state measures. There is reason for concern because of the Bills ambiguous language in regards to raids and seizures. It has been referred to as a police state bill masquerading as a health bill.  It will make it easier for Canadian officials to seize natural health products and remove them from store shelves. It grants inspectors the power to raid homes and businesses without a warrant and the power to seize bank accounts and property. Some might recall that in the early 90’s, the FDA engaged in paramilitary raids on American health food stores, holistic treatment centers, and other nutritional supplement businesses. This behavior created such a public outcry and backlash, leading Congress to pass the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) to protect the right of American consumers to purchase and use nutritional supplements.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: IntelStrike.com ]

What a Police State Looks Like…

(BuzzFlash.net) - The day after a video emerged of a cop knocking a cyclist to the ground, a second video alleging police brutality surfaced today in which an NYPD officer is seen whaling away at a man's legs with a baton. Cephus [the victim] says he wasn't drinking that day and denies having gotten physical with the officers. "I was with some friends at a cookout," he said. "I stepped out of the park to get some ice. The officers told me I couldn't return because they said I had alcohol. I told them it was only ice. "They thought I was drunk and they just came at me. They started swinging and hitting me with the batons." Cephus was charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and resisting arrest. Note: So what if the man was drunk? Lock him up without excessive force.

» original news

OPP officer posed as journalist during 2007 Mohawk protest

(CBC.ca) - An OPP officer pretended to be a news reporter at a Mohawk protest that prompted the closure of a major rail line and Highway 401 in eastern Ontario during last year’s Aboriginal Day of Action, CBC News has learned.

The officer’s tactics have emerged from testimony recently made public when a judge overturned a publication ban on the preliminary hearing for Mohawk protester Shawn Brant.

Observers and media organizations, including the CBC, are protesting the tactic of police posing as journalists, saying it makes reporters’ jobs more difficult and more dangerous.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: CBC.ca ]

News You Might Have Missed: Court Confirms President’s Dictatorial Powers

(Alternet.org) - A 5 to 4 ruling in the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri legitimizes the president's right to indefinitely imprison "enemy combatants."

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Alternet.org ]

Get your hands off my iPod!

Big brother is watching you and your iPod. Think about it. If customs officials can inspect the contents of your laptop and your iPod, they might as well see what else is in there.

(Guardian News and Media Limited ) - An agreement on intellectual property rights to be ratified by the G8 heads of government highlights conflicts between ownership and privacy.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Guardian News and Media Limited, Charles Arthur ]

Senate Approves Telecom Amnesty, Expands Domestic Spying Powers

(Wired Blog Network) - The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to grant retroactive amnesty to the telecoms that aided the President Bush's five-year secret, warrantless wiretapping of Americans, and to expand the government's authority to sift through U.S. communications, handing a key victory to the Bush administration.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired Blog Network, Ryan Singel, ryan@ryansingel.net ]

Analysis: NSA Spying Judge Defends Rule of Law, Congress Set to Strip His Power

(Wired Magazine) - Just days before the Senate will convene to give a final blessing to President Bush's secret, warrantless wiretapping program, a federal court judge ruled that his legal justification for the surveillance has no legal merit.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired Magazine Blogs, Ryan Singel, ryan@ryansingel.net ]

Judge: President’s ‘State Secrets’ Privilege Can’t Shield Wiretapping

(Wired Magazine) - U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled late Wednesday that the government cannot assert the so-called "state secrets" privilege to automatically dismiss a lawsuit challenging President Bush's secret spying program adopted in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired Magazine Blogs, David Kravets, dkravets@wired.com ]

DoJ Policy Would Sanction Racial Profiling, Let FBI Target Americans Without Cause

(Wired Magazine) - The Justice Department is considering establishing a new policy that would allow the FBI to target Americans for investigation even in the absence of evidence or other compelling indications that the person was breaking a law, according to the Associated Press.

The policy, being considered as part of the attorney general's guidelines to the FBI, would allow the agency to conduct racial profiling -- potentially singling out Muslim- and Arab-Americans -- and to open preliminary terrorism investigations against targets simply on the basis of patterns established through data mining public records and other information.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired Magazine Blogs, Kim Zetter, kzetter@gmail.com ]

European Lawmaker Sues U.S. Agencies to Obtain Travel-Related and Other Personal Information

Washington, D.C. - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit on behalf of a member of the European Parliament today, demanding that the U.S. government release records about her “risk assessment” score and other information gathered about her during her international travels. The lawsuit comes just days after the disclosure that the U.S. and the European Union may soon finalize an agreement authorizing the transatlantic exchange of large amounts of personal data.

Sophia In ‘t Veld represents the Netherlands in the European Parliament and serves on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs. She has been actively engaged in developing policies concerning the exchange of travelers’ data between the U.S. and the European Union (EU).

During the ongoing and contentious debates between the U.S. and the EU over travelers’ records and the privacy rights of EU citizens, the U.S. government has repeatedly claimed that any person can obtain her records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. To test those assurances, In ‘t Veld filed FOIA requests with the Homeland Security, Justice, and State Departments, asking for any information about her that is included in the various U.S. programs and systems used to track international travelers. However, the agencies have failed to comply with the requests as required by federal law.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation ]

Telecom Amnesty Foes On the Move

ya really notes a blog posting up at Wired reporting that foes of the Telecom Amnesty Bill have mounted a campaign on Barack Obama's own website. Though the group was created only days ago, on June 25, it has grown to be the fifth largest among 7,000 such groups, just short of Women for Obama. Although it is widely known that Obama changed his stance from opposing telecom immunity to supporting it, many have not given up hope of getting him to switch once again. Meanwhile, left-leaning bloggers and libertarian activists have joined forces to raise $325,000 in the fight against the legislation.

"Their Blue America PAC is already targeting House Democrats who voted for the bill, including placing a full-page ad in the Washington Post [an image appears in the Wired story] slamming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who claimed credit for creating the so-called compromise bill. The coalition plans to follow-up with a Ron Paul-style money bomb, which will be used to target key Senators..."

READ MORE HERE at Slashdot.

US To Get EU Private Citizen Data

An anonymous reader writes "In a case of 'all your data are belong to us,' the US government is close to coming to an agreement with the EU that allows it to get private citizen data on EU citizens to 'look for suspicious activity.' So, now we know what step three is: setup a security agency in US to resell otherwise unavailable data."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Senate Hearing On Laptop Seizures At US Border

suitablegirl writes "As we have discussed, Customs and Border Patrol is allowed to seize and download data from laptops or electronic devices of Americans returning from abroad. At a Senate hearing tomorrow, privacy advocates and industry groups will urge the lawmakers to take action to protect the data and privacy of Americans not guilty of anything besides wanting to go home."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Airport Tyranny: The Introduction of “behavior detection” technology at major US airports

It’s been at least five years since I’ve flown commercial, and for good reason: I don’t wish to be arrested for questioning actions by often arrogant, rude Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. Two years ago, my decision was reinforced by my daughter’s experience when going through airport security with her two lovebirds. Having shown her ticket and ID to security personnel, and walking toward the metal detector, they started shouting to her, “Miss, you’re going to have to take them birds out of the cage.’ I watched with incredulity as she approached the metal detectors. Fortunately, a TSA worker took the cages and my daughter followed without further incident. Had it been I traveling with the birds, I might have told the TSA workers something that would have gotten me arrested.

James Bovard has an article titled “Federal Attitude Policy” that appears in Freedom Daily (June 2008), a publication of the Fairfax, Va.-based Future of Freedom Foundation. According to the February 2002 Federal Register, people can be arrested if they act in a way that “might distract or inhibit a screener from effectively performing his or her duties … A screener encountering such a situation must turn away from his or her normal duties to deal with the disruptive individual, which may affect the screening of other individuals.’ That means it is a federal offense, and a fine of up to $1,500, for any alleged “nonphysical interference” that makes a TSA screener “turn away” from whatever he was doing.

READ MORE HERE

Giveaway of Fourth Amendment Rights: House Approves Unconstitutional Surveillance Legislation

Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a “probable cause” to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

Washingon DC – Following a vote in the House of Representatives sanctioning warrantless wiretapping and handing immunity to telecommunications companies for their role in domestic spying, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at representatives who voted for the unconstitutional legislation. The bill, H.R. 6304, or The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed the chamber by a vote of 293 (yes) -129 (no), and is expected to be voted on in the Senate next week.

READ MORE HERE

US and European Union grant unlimited powers to police and secret services

Under the cover of the ” war against terror “, the United States and the European Union have granted unlimited powers to secret services and police. Emergency measures which were introduced on a provisional basis in 2001, outside any judiciary control, have become permanent. Since September 2001, at least 80,000 people, mainly Muslim, would have been kidnapped, kept in secret prisons, and tortured by CIA and FBI agents. Hundreds of others have been put on the UN « black list ». That’s what happened to the businessman Youssef Nada, 77 years old, an Italian citizen of Egyptian origin, accused by U.S. President, G.W Bush of financing Al-Qaeda. Two judiciary investigations resulted in a non-suit, but Mr. Nada didn’t get his name deleted from the UN « black list » (*). His assets remain frozen; he is barred from travelling to or transiting in any country. He can’t go outside the tiny enclave of Campione - an Italian enclave inside Swiss territory - where Silvia Cattori went to meet him.

 

18/07/08 “ICH” — -Silvia Cattori : Once he knew, in detail, your incredible story, Mr. Dick Marty denounced the injustice which is inflicted on you. He reported on your case, 19th March 2007 to the Council of Europe [1]. Despite his report, you remain on the « black list » of people suspected of assisting terrorism, deprived of freedom because my country continues to uphold the UN sanctions against you. You are living in Italy, yet being kept as hostage by Switzerland?! I want to tell you that many of us are outraged by the martyrdom that Switzerland continues to inflict on you. 

READ MORE HERE [ Source: GlobalResearch.ca ]

The New Surveillance Bill: The Worst of Both Worlds

On fundamental matters of privacy and accountability, the new FISA Amendments Act reduces the separation of powers to a check-the-box exercise.

Months of troubled negotiations over new surveillance legislation ended in the House of Representatives today, with the approval of the so-called FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Hailed in some quarters as a "compromise" after the capitulation of the Protect America Act of 2006, the new surveillance bill is nothing of the kind: on core issues of privacy and accountability, there is no compromise, since little in the measure honors those two values.

Since the New York Times's revelation of massive illegal surveillance by the NSA, electronic privacy has been a battlefield for claims of executive power and civil liberties. In 2006, the Administration used the shadow of midterm Congressional elections to stampede both Houses into temporary authorization of sweeping new powers in the Protect America Act (PAA). The measure's grants of new authority had sunset clauses, which expire either immediately before or after the 2008 elections.

READ MORE HERE

‘Orwellian law must be stopped’

Despite some cosmetic changes, Sweden’s proposed surveillance law is still a monster, writes Pär Ström from the independent New Welfare Foundation.

“The critics won”, is the messgage from certain media outlets after it emerged that the FRA (Försvarets Radioanstalt - Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment) surveillance bill would be sent back to the parliamentary defence committee to enable the inclusion of certain “privacy guarantees”.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: GlobalResearch.ca ]

Bush Wants Your Eyeballs

George Bush just issued a directive to expand the acquisition of biometric information from citizens, and may share it with foreign governments.

Big Brother wants your irises.

George Bush just issued a directive to expand the acquisition of biometric information, and to ensure that agencies across the executive branch share it.

And the Bush Administration may give it to foreign governments, too.

READ MORE HERE

Wiretaps “R” Us: Is the FBI Tracking Your Cellphone?

Under broad powers handed the Federal Bureau of Investigation by Congress in 2001 after it passed the Orwellian USA Patriot Act, the rights of ordinary citizens have progressively been stripped away by America’s national security state.

With a history of domestic counterinsurgency operations against the left, and despite bruising attacks after 9/11 on its (undeserved) reputation as the nation’s premier “crime fighting agency,” the FBI nevertheless, remains a formidable organization when it comes to repressing dissent.

READ MORE HERE