USA Today:

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren’t suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.

Here’s the story they don’t tell you.  Using the simple data of who called who and the times of the calls some very interesting conclusions can be made.  Out of billions of calls individual groups as small as ten people can be identified and their organizational structure mapped.  For example they can determine who the leader is and who will take his or her place if they were removed.  This was several years ago so I imagine the results are better now.  The same sort of information can be derived from email traffic as well.

I’m not sure how I stand on this.  My inclination is that if the companies who own the data are compelled to turn it over without probable cause then I’m against it.  But if it is optional and they get paid to share the information then I’m annoyed but don’t have a strong objection.

Other opinions include Michelle Malkin and Alphecca.

I haven’t been following the story very closely but my intial inclination, were I at Microsoft in charge of dealing with the socialists in Europe, would be to tell them “We are suspending sales of products to your country.  All future versions, including updates to existing products, will refuse to operate if the IP address of the computer is within your country.  Language support for the dominate languages in your country will be disabled if it doesn’t affect other countries who are friendly to us.  We can chose whether to do business in your country or not.  We chose NOT.”

Of course, short term, this would be harmful to the stockholders of Microsoft but it would get my (a very, very minor stockholder) approval.  Here’s the story that pushed me over the edge:

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s antitrust chief says Microsoft (MSFT) cannot charge licensing fees for software blueprints that it is offering to share with competitors unless it can prove the computer code is innovative.

Neelie Kroes also told European lawmakers on Tuesday that she has not yet received all information on Microsoft’s offer to share software code and comply with a 2004 EU antitrust ruling.

Microsoft has until Feb. 15 to meet European Commission demands from December that it provide complete and accurate information on code that would allow competitors’ products to communicate smoothly with servers running Microsoft operating systesms.

EU antitrust regulators have threatened Microsoft with daily fines of 2 million euros ($2.36 million), retroactive to mid-December, if it fails to comply by the deadline.

In December, Microsoft provided EU officials with thousands of documents but an independent monitor said they were “fundamentally flawed” and required a drastic overhaul to make them workable.

Last week, Microsoft offered to let competitors examine some server source code, calling it the “ultimate documentation” which might address regulators’ concerns. Kroes said the first she heard of that offer was via a Microsoft press release.

The EU has never asked Microsoft to supply source code. Backers of open source alternatives to Microsoft’s proprietary operating systems called last week’s offer a “poisoned apple,” as the terms of access to the code were unclear.

EU officials and an independent monitor held talks Monday at Microsoft’s U.S. headquarters to discuss improvements to the technical documentation that the software company has so far supplied.

Interesting… using google.cn I get very similar results to google.com for the searches “Boomershoot”, “Joe Huffman”, “Freedom”, and “want some help building a bomb”.

I suppose the “Great Firewall of China” probably will block access for some of that but still it highlights the difficulty government types have in restricting information.

Also of interest is that by setting up a proxy on the outside of the firewall and encrypting the traffic between the browser on the inside of the firewall and the proxy on the outside it is trival to bypass the firewall and get access to all the internet.  The firewall would have to block all proxies or all forms of encryption and stegonography (very tough problem) to be effective.

As with illegal recreation drugs in the U.S., illegal handguns in the U.K., and all other goods if there is a market it will be supplied by someone making a profit.  Information in China will be the same.

There is a new tool for remotely searching your body even while you are moving.  Haven’t these people heard of the 4th Amendment?

Wednesday, January 25, 2006  E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

New US security device spots weapons under clothes

By Christian Wiessner

At its first public demonstration on Monday in New York, the device was able to detect a mock gun and a bomb replica, which the company said, was similar to that used by Al Qaeda

A new surveillance device using radio waves to look under peoples’ clothing for concealed guns, bombs or other weapons may be coming soon to a security checkpoint near you.

But the modest need not worry about screeners sneaking a voyeuristic peek because the system only identifies non-human material tucked inside clothing and does not convey images of the naked form underneath, the maker of the device – Brijot Imaging Systems Inc. of Orlando, Florida – said on Monday.

The BIS-WIDS Prime is the first and only surveillance camera that immediately detects and identifies the exact location of objects hidden beneath a person’s clothing while the person is in motion, the company said.

At its first public demonstration on Monday in New York, the device was able to detect a mock gun and a bomb replica the company said was similar to that used by Al Qaeda.

“The software in the machine itself actually looks at the person, looks at the objects, and actually tells you what it is and, most importantly, where it is on the body,” said Brijot Chief Executive Brian Andrew. “It doesn’t just go ‘bing’ like a metal detector. We can identify weapons’ shapes.”

The device uses computer panels that display images of the body to the security screener, with dark patches marking the location of hidden objects.

The invention was described by company officials as basically a small radio telescope that “sees” radio waves transmitted by the body. If a portion of the body is covered by something underneath clothing, no waves will transmit from that part of the body, raising a red flag to screeners.

“Our bodies radiate radio waves just like a cell phone does, and our camera sees that,” Andrew said.

Since when has the 4th Amendment been about voyeurs?  It’s about preventing a police state.  The use of this by the government or under the direction of government on the general public (in a prison situation, sure, that would be appropriate) fails my Jews In The Attic Test in a big way.

I helped design and build a device using similar technology that was intended to guiding a missle on it’s terminal descent to take out a tank when I worked at Boeing.  I made a simple change in the test unit such that it with the flip of a switch it would track humans instead of a tank.  It was rather creepy to have the seeker point at you as you walked across the room.

One way to defeat it is to create lots of false positives.  A sheet of aluminum foil will block these emissions from your body just as a firearm or other object will.  Sew them into your coat.  Cut them into shapes and make it appear as if you are carrying dozens of guns, drop them into the coat pockets of others, and put them into books and magazines in airport stores.

Real ID Act (National ID cards with a different name) are a
waste of time and money as well as being a source of high risk to
liberty.  A year ago I wrote about the flaws that would show up.  Now the AP has an ‘exclusive’ on the story of the problems the states are having:

AP Exclusive: National ID, State Nightmare

By BRIAN BERGSTEIN AP Technology Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

An anti-terrorism law creating a national standard for all driver’s
licenses by 2008 isn’t just upsetting civil libertarians and
immigration rights activists.

State motor vehicle officials nationwide who will have to carry out the
Real ID Act say its authors grossly underestimated its logistical,
technological and financial demands.

In a comprehensive survey obtained by The Associated Press and in
follow-up interviews, officials cast doubt on the states’ ability to
comply with the law on time and fretted that it will be a budget buster.

“It
is just flat out impossible and unrealistic to meet the prescriptive
provisions of this law by 2008,” Betty Serian, a deputy secretary of
the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said in an interview.

…

In a comprehensive survey obtained by The Associated Press and in
follow-up interviews, officials cast doubt on the states’ ability to
comply with the law on time and fretted that it will be a budget buster.

“It is just flat out impossible and unrealistic to meet the
prescriptive provisions of this law by 2008,” Betty Serian, a deputy
secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said in an
interview.

…

“If you take any one of these things individually, you see a
significant problem,” Steinhardt said. “There are literally hundreds of
these problems embedded in Real ID, and the statute doesn’t give you a
way out. It’s black and white. No exceptions, no reality check.

“In many respects it’s a statute that ignores reality.”

Like I said in my post from last year.  It’s as
if the congress critters had tried to legislate that PI equals
3.0.  They are out of touch with reality.