Surveillance

ACLU Calls on the Inspectors General of the Intelligence Agencies to Follow the Law

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:45:31 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2008

ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union calls on the Inspectors General of the Intelligence Agencies to respect the rule of law and make legally required domestic surveillance reports to Congress completely and publically available.

The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington Legislative Office of the ACLU:

Fear Has Profoundly Changed Us

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:55:17 -0400

by Leonard Pitts Jr.

Meanwhile, back at the War on Terror . . .

You remember the War on Terror, don't you? It was in all the papers. Back before presidential politics sucked the air from the room and your 401(k) shrank till it was worth maybe dinner and a movie, it was considered quite the important news story. Abu Ghraib? Extraordinary renditions? Fight 'em over there so we don't have to fight 'em over here? Surely you recall.

ACLU Demands NSA and DOJ Turn Over Spying Policy Records

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:37:18 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2008

ACLU

The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Justice Department should disclose any policies and procedures pertaining to how the NSA protects Americans' privacy rights when it collects, stores and disseminates private U.S. communications, according to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The NSA has not released a public version of its procedures for protecting the privacy of U.S. communications since 1993.

AT&T Promises Not to Spy on You... Sort Of

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:53:43 -0400

by Timothy Karr

You would think that AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner execs had turned a page and formed a new front in defense of your online rights.

Late last month, they lined up before the Senate to mouth principles that would, in their words, ensure that Internet "consumers have ultimate control over the use of their personal information and guards against privacy abuses."

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:44:34 -0400

by Sean Gonsalves

The dominant news narrative of the past few weeks has been "it's the economy, stupid," where the only things trickling down are retirement savings, stocks and gas prices – not the rising-tide-that-lifts-all-boats promised by supply-side economics.

As the Fed tries to shore up the levees against the derivative deluge – and as politicians seek to redistribute wealth upward – other equally important things are happening in the world, which is why I have a problem with bumper-sticker phrases like "it's the economy, stupid." It reduces politics to economic

ACLU Hails DHS-Funded Report Condemning Data Mining

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:33:16 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2008

ACLU

Following the release of a damning Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-funded report yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union demanded an end to the government's use of data mining. The report, "Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists," was conducted by a group of privacy and technical experts called the Committee on Technical and Privacy Dimensions of Information for Terrorism Prevention and Other National Goals.

New, Controversial FBI Guidelines Go Into Effect

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:42:52 -0400

WASHINGTON - US Attorney General Michael Mukasey has signed new guidelines for FBI operations he said are designed to better protect the country from terrorist attacks, but that raise concern of some lawmakers and civil rights groups.

"These guidelines provide more uniform, clearer and simpler rules for the FBI operations ... are designed to allow the FBI to become, among other things, a more flexible and adept collector of intelligence," Mukasey and FBI director Robert Mueller said in a statement Friday.

ACLU Demands UN Group End Secrecy Over Internet Tracking System

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:47:20 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2008

ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union and London-based Privacy International today wrote to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to express their concern over a process to draft technical standards that would allow Internet communications to be traced to their origin.

National Laboratory, Homeland Security Team Up For Surveillance Project

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:33:18 -0400

by John Trumbo

KENNEWICK, Wash. - Can high-tech infrared cameras and millimeter-wave cameras "see" terrorist threats coming from as far as 130 yards away?

Kennewick police and Hanford Patrol officers will test the effectiveness of the high-tech gear in a six-week tryout at the Toyota Center.

The experiment, which goes live Sept. 26 for six home games of the Tri-City Americans, will help the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate determine if the technologies are effective in the hands of local law enforcement.

What Illegal 'Things' Was the Government Doing in 2001-2004?

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:26:31 -0400

by Glenn Greenwald

For the second consecutive day, The Washington Post has published an excerpt from reporter Barton Gellman's new book on the Cheney Vice Presidency, and it provides still more details on the intense confrontation in March, 2004 between the