-Caveat Lector- http://www.lp.org/press/archive.php?function=view&record=210 Libertarian Party Press Release June 11, 2001 Supreme Court's thermal imaging decision is just the start of high-tech privacy battle WASHINGTON, DC -- If you think the Supreme Court's decision curbing the use of thermal imaging devices means you're safe from government surveillance, think again, the Libertarian Party warned today: Police still have a frightening arsenal of high-tech "Peeping Tom" devices they can use against you. "Don't celebrate yet," said Steve Dasbach, the party's national director. "Police can still employ an appalling array of science fiction-style devices, including X-rated X-rays that display your naked body; radar guns that see through walls; and ion sniffers that detect traces of drugs in the air. "Yes, police now need a search warrant before using a thermal imager. But the government is like a compulsive voyeur. If you pull the curtain in one window, Uncle Sam just peers in another. That's why the battle over the Fourth Amendment in a high-tech world has just begun." On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that police violated the Fourth Amendment when they used a thermal imaging device -- which monitors heat patterns through the walls of a house -- without a search warrant. Such surveillance is legally a "search," the court ruled, since it allows police to "explore details of the home that would previously have been unknowable without physical intrusion." The case involved an Oregon man convicted of growing marijuana after police scanned his home with an Agema 210 thermal imager, and detected the signature heat patterns of high-intensity growing lamps. The ruling is a victory for privacy, acknowledged Dasbach. But it won't be the end of the debate over high-tech surveillance versus privacy. "A whole stampede of Tom Clancy-style spying devices are running headlong into the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable search," he said. "Most Americans would be shocked at the intrusive surveillance equipment now being used by law enforcement." According to news reports, state governments and federal agencies are using or developing the following exotic, high-tech surveillance devices: * A radar gun that allows police to "see" through concrete walls. The handheld device, about the size of a large hair dryer, shoots radio waves through walls and displays movement on a graph. The device will be in police hands by October. * High-tech scanners -- dubbed "X-rated X-rays" by critics -- that can show a clear image of your naked body under your clothes. The machine, called the BodySearch, has already been installed by the FAA in airports around the nation, and is used to examine suspected smugglers. * An ion sniffer, developed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center. The device analyzes the chemical makeup of the air, and can detect, for example, trace molecules of cocaine through the skin. It's being used to scan truck drivers for possible drug use. A "walk-though" model of the device is now being developed. * NASA spy satellites, which have been employed by state governments in North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona. Satellite photographs are used to search for unreported improvements that might increase property taxes; to check for water-use permits; and to find improper timber cutting. And currently under development by the Justice Department: A "super X-ray" -- combining X-ray technology, ultra-sound imaging, and computer-aided metal detectors -- to reveal items hidden under clothes from up to 60 feet away. What do all these devices have in common? "Technology is vastly expanding the power of the police to spy on you," said Dasbach. "Unreasonable search has become unbelievable search. "That's why the Supreme Court ruling on thermal imagers was a good first step -- but it was not enough. We need the Supreme Court to unequivocally declare that there is no high-tech exemption to the Fourth Amendment. Not for thermal imagers. Not for super X-rays. Not for the next dreadful device that police develop. "In short, we need a Fourth Amendment that is even more powerful than the high-tech surveillance equipment that police are using to pulverize our privacy." ======================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh,, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ======================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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