Google intelligence cooperation reprise
Something strange happened over the weekend. A story I wrote over eight months ago about Google’s quiet cooperation with the U.S. intelligence community suddenly got picked upall over the Internet. While I’d like to comment individually at all of the sites which have picked up the story, that would unfortunately be far too time-consuming. Even
Homeland security grants cut
The numbers for homeland security grant money for fiscal year 2006 are out, and while the budget for the program was cut by $120 million, nearly all of that cut was absorbed by New York and Washington, D.C. Now the politicians are out crying to the press because they won’t get all the pork-barrel projects
Google in bed with U.S. intelligence
Even while Google presents a public image of vigorously protecting its users’ privacy, it has quietly provided assistance to several U.S. intelligence agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency, as the U.S. prosecutes its war on terrorism. In addition, Google may be providing assistance to the National Security Agency.
Get your TSA Secure Flight file
As you may be aware, the Transportation Security Administration, in testing its new Secure Flight program, secretly gathered data on millions of Americans, not only from airlines, but from commercial sources such as credit reports. When they were caught violating the Privacy Act, they then tried to retroactively change their privacy notification. And when that
Customs Service computers shut down
Updated A U.S. Customs computer system used for processing passengers arriving on international flights shut down for several hours Thursday, resulting in lengthy delays for arriving travelers. At one point Miami International Airport had over 2,000 passengers waiting to clear immigration. The airport, along with airports in the New York area, were clearing passengers by
Homeland Stupidity Threat Advisory System
The threat of homeland stupidity: The color-coded Homeland Stupidity Threat Advisory is used to communicate with the public at large through a threat-based, color-coded system so that protective measures can be implemented to reduce the likelihood or impact of homeland stupidity. Now you too can display the Homeland Stupidity Threat Advisory System on your web
TSA brands schoolteacher as terrorist
It seems that the Transportation Stupidity Admistration has branded a 57 year old schoolteacher a terrorist after she inadvertently packed a bread knife in her carry-on bag. It seems she was chaperoning 37 students on a trip to California, and had made sandwiches for all of them on the return flight and misplaced one of
Homeland Security wants more surveillance cameras
Bruce Schneier points to an article from EPIC titled “Spotlight on Surveillance’ which analyzes the growing use of surveillance cameras in the U.S. (Some PDF links follow.) Later on I’ll show you a few of these cameras. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested more than $2 billion to finance grants to state and
U.S. Border Patrol ordered not to arrest illegal aliens
Via The Jawa Report: U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned. You heard it right. The U.S. thinks it’s more
