ECrimes document clueless on 802.11b
Stand-Alone and Laptop Computer Evidence d. Check for outside connectivity (e.g., telephone modem, cable, ISDN, DSL). If a telephone connection is present, attempt to identify the telephone number. http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/187736.pdf -- Better bombing through chemistry. -John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org on use of speed by US pilots
ECrimes document clueless on 802.11b
Stand-Alone and Laptop Computer Evidence d. Check for outside connectivity (e.g., telephone modem, cable, ISDN, DSL). If a telephone connection is present, attempt to identify the telephone number. http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/187736.pdf -- Better bombing through chemistry. -John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org on use of speed by US pilots
Colin plays dumb, Russians don't want Peace CorpSpies
MOSCOW (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell made no progress in discussions with his Russian counterpart in overcoming Moscow's unexplained refusal to grant visas to Peace Corps volunteers, a U.S. Embassy official said Tuesday. U.S. officials are negotiating with the Foreign Ministry and the Education Ministry, but the visa problem - which has forced Washington to cancel plans to send a new batch of volunteers to Russia this year - remains unresolved, said an embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity. http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAI0B8XT4D.html Goodness! You mean the US is stuck with only embassy staff, no Peace Corp Spies in the field? -- Better bombing through chemistry. -John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org on use of speed by US pilots
Polio, DES Crack, and Proofs of Concept
In the most recent _Science_ some biologists gripe that the scientists who synthesized infectious poliovirus from its description were not doing anything novel, just a prank. Any biologist would have known that, since you could concatenate nucleotide strings, and since polio needs nothing besides DNA (eg no enzymes) to be infectious, obviously you can synth polio. This is *remarkably* similar to cognescenti reactions to the DES Crack project. Yes, it was obvious it would work, and it was largely unnecessary (from a security-planning perspective) to actually do it. But it was proof-of-concept. Like synthesizing polio. -- Better bombing through chemistry. -John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org on use of speed by US pilots
Polio, DES Crack, and Proofs of Concept
In the most recent _Science_ some biologists gripe that the scientists who synthesized infectious poliovirus from its description were not doing anything novel, just a prank. Any biologist would have known that, since you could concatenate nucleotide strings, and since polio needs nothing besides DNA (eg no enzymes) to be infectious, obviously you can synth polio. This is *remarkably* similar to cognescenti reactions to the DES Crack project. Yes, it was obvious it would work, and it was largely unnecessary (from a security-planning perspective) to actually do it. But it was proof-of-concept. Like synthesizing polio. -- Better bombing through chemistry. -John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org on use of speed by US pilots
politicians vs. bill of rights (your legislature on drugs)
SACRAMENTO -- Dismayed by new disclosures of the use of steroids in Major League Baseball, a state senator wants to force most professional sports teams to test athletes for performance enhancing drugs if they play games in California. State Sen. Don Perata (D-Alameda) said the Legislature must do what baseball and the National Hockey League have not: Mandate random drug testing to ensure players do not compete while juiced. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-41818jun14.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia If politicians have this little respect for the prohibition on unreasonable search, perhaps they will have more respect for the noose due traitors...
spouse-spying software -d.i.r.t.@home?
Looks like someone else is selling a trojan for paranoid monogamists: http://www.cheating-spouse-check.com/netobserve.htm With 128-bit encryption, even... yawn
spouse-spying software -d.i.r.t.@home?
Looks like someone else is selling a trojan for paranoid monogamists: http://www.cheating-spouse-check.com/netobserve.htm With 128-bit encryption, even... yawn
Re: Cow Obscenity and Pornography
What does this law say about computer-generated images of farm animals? JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Taking aim at animal rights activists and undercover reporters, the Missouri House has passed a measure that would make it a crime to take pictures of animals in barns without an owner's permission. The ban would apply to still or motion pictures of farm animals in barns or other areas where they are housed. Photographers could be sentenced to up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. *boggle*
AP: nuances of threats
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-051602abortion_wr.story Court: Abortion Activists Created 'True Threat' By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court reversed course today and ruled that anti-abortion activists who created Wild West-style posters and a Web site condemning abortion doctors can be held liable because their works amounted to illegal threats, not free speech. However, the sharply divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a lower-court judge to reduce the $108.5 million in punitive damages a Portland, Ore., jury awarded to four doctors who sued the abortion foes. At issue was whether the posters and Web sites violated a 1994 federal law that makes it illegal to incite violence and threaten abortion doctors. In its 6-5 decision, the appeals court called the works a true threat. The same court had come to an opposite decision last year. Many members of Congress and others had said if the court's original ruling were allowed to stand, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act would be gutted. The anti-abortion activists had depicted various doctors on Old West-style wanted posters passed out at rallies and on a Web site called the Nuremberg Files, which listed abortion providers' names and addresses and declared them guilty of crimes against humanity. The name of Dr. Barnett Slepian was crossed off the list after he was killed by a sniper's bullet at his home near Buffalo, N.Y., in 1998. Four doctors, claiming they feared for their lives, sued under racketeering laws and the 1994 law. And a federal jury found in 1999 that the Web site and some of the posters amounted to threats to kill. The anti-abortion activists had argued the posters were protected under the First Amendment because they were merely a list of doctors and clinics that they hoped to put on trial some day, just as Nazi war criminals were at Nuremberg. The appeals court today, however, disagreed. Circuit Judge Pamela Ann Rymer wrote that there was substantial evidence the posters were distributed to intimidate doctors. Holding the abortion foes accountable does not impinge on legitimate protest or advocacy, Rymer wrote. In a dissent, Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski wrote that the evidence in the record does not support a finding that defendants threatened plaintiffs. The appeals court instructed the trial judge to reconsider the $108.5 million in punitive damages in light of the court's 2001 ruling in the Exxon Valdez case. In that case, the 9th Circuit said that the $5 billion punitive damages verdict against Exxon for the 1989 oil spill in Alaska was excessive. It said that for every dollar in compensatory damages awarded, the judge should allocate about $4 in punitive damages. In the abortion case, a jury awarded $12 million in compensatory damages, but nine times as much in punitive damages, well beyond the ratio specified in the Exxon Valdez ruling. Among the defendants was Michael Bray of Bowie, Md., author of a book that justifies killing doctors to stop abortions. Bray went to prison from 1985 to 1989 for his role in arson attacks and bombings of seven clinics. The case was widely seen as a test of a Supreme Court ruling that said a threat must be explicit and likely to cause imminent lawless action. During the trial, U.S. District Judge Robert Jones had told the jury the posters and Web site should be considered threats if they could be taken as such by a reasonable person. Jones also had instructed the jury to consider the history of violence in the anti-abortion movement, including the slayings of Slepian and two other doctors whose names had appeared on the list.
Osama Gump
At MIT, they can put words in our mouths http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/135/metro/At_MIT_they_can_put_words_in_our_mouths+.shtml By Gareth Cook, Globe Staff, 5/15/2002 AMBRIDGE - Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created the first realistic videos of people saying things they never said - a scientific leap that raises unsettling questions about falsifying the moving image. In one demonstration, the researchers taped a woman speaking into a camera, and then reprocessed the footage into a new video that showed her speaking entirely new sentences, and even mouthing words to a song in Japanese, a language she does not speak. The results were enough to fool viewers consistently, the researchers report. The technique's inventors say it could be used in video games and movie special effects, perhaps reanimating Marilyn Monroe or other dead film stars with new lines. It could also improve dubbed movies, a lucrative global industry. But scientists warn the technology will also provide a powerful new tool for fraud and propaganda - and will eventually cast doubt on everything from video surveillance to presidential addresses. 'This is really groundbreaking work,'' said Demetri Terzopoulos, a leading specialist in facial animation who is a professor of computer science and mathematics at New York University. But ''we are on a collision course with ethics. If you can make people say things they didn't say, then potentially all hell breaks loose.'' The researchers have already begun testing the technology on video of Ted Koppel, anchor of ABC's ''Nightline,'' with the aim of dubbing a show in Spanish, according to Tony F. Ezzat, the graduate student who heads the MIT team. Yet as this and similar technology makes its way out of academic laboratories, even the scientists involved see ways it could be misused: to discredit political dissidents on television, to embarrass people with fabricated video posted on the Web, or to illegally use trusted figures to endorse products. ''There is a certain point at which you raise the level of distrust to where it is hard to communicate through the medium,'' said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. ''There are people who still believe the moon landing was staged.'' Currently, the MIT method is limited: It works only on video of a person facing a camera and not moving much, like a newscaster. The technique only generates new video, not new audio. But it should not be difficult to extend the discovery to work on a moving head at any angle, according to Tomaso Poggio, a neuroscientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, who is on the MIT team and runs the lab where the work is being done. And while state-of-the-art audio simulations are not as convincing as the MIT software, that barrier is likely to fall soon, researchers say. ''It is only a matter of time before somebody can get enough good video of your face to have it do what they like,'' said Matthew Brand, a research scientist at MERL, a Cambridge-based laboratory for Mitsubishi Electric. For years, animators have used computer technology to put words in people's mouths, as they do with the talking baby in CBS's ''Baby Bob'' - creating effects believable enough for entertainment, but still noticeably computer-generated. The MIT technology is the first that is ''video-realistic,'' the researchers say, meaning volunteers in a laboratory test could not distinguish between real and synthesized clips. And while current computer-animation techniques require an artist to smooth out trouble spots by hand, the MIT method is almost entirely automated. Previous work has focused on creating a virtual model of a person's mouth, then using a computer to render digital images of it as it moves. But the new software relies on an ingenious application of artificial intelligence to teach a machine what a person looks like when talking. Starting with between two and four minutes of video - the minimum needed for the effect to work - the computer captures images which represent the full range of motion of the mouth and surrounding areas, Ezzat said. The computer is able to express any face as a combination of these faces (46 in one example), the same way that any color can be represented by a combination of red, green, and blue. The computer then goes through the video, learning how a person expresses every sound, and how it moves from one to the next. Given a new sound, the computer can then generate an accurate picture of the mouth area and virtually superimpose it on the person's face, according to a paper describing the work. The researchers are scheduled to present the paper in July at Siggraph, the world's top computer graphics conference. The effect is significantly more convincing than a previous effort, called Video Rewrite, which recorded a huge number of small snippets of video and then recombined them.
burbclave tech
TCM Wrote: The second is my favorite, by far. Robinson captures the essence of OC's crowds, the surfers, the burbclaves (years before Stephenson's Snow Crash, _also_ set in California!). Hmm. My OC burbclave just installed a laser-barcode scanner to admit cars. (The barcodes are discrete black on black in the visible and work in the IR; in my night vision device the barcode is quite visible.) I haven't seen pizza-carrying teens use dupes of the barcodes to skate inside, but its possible...
burbclave tech
TCM Wrote: The second is my favorite, by far. Robinson captures the essence of OC's crowds, the surfers, the burbclaves (years before Stephenson's Snow Crash, _also_ set in California!). Hmm. My OC burbclave just installed a laser-barcode scanner to admit cars. (The barcodes are discrete black on black in the visible and work in the IR; in my night vision device the barcode is quite visible.) I haven't seen pizza-carrying teens use dupes of the barcodes to skate inside, but its possible...
Brinworld: residents use UAV to bust County for eco violations
Folks around Trabuco Canyon insist they're not rebellious by nature. It's just that the stakes are high in their fight against a neighbor who bulldozed four acres of oaks and coastal sage scrub without state and federal permits. To assess the extent of the grading, they hired a biologist to videotape the work. After all, the residents said, the area was possible habitat for endangered or threatened species. But the biologist was shooed off the property. Undaunted, the residents borrowed an idea from the war in Afghanistan and hired Larry Fleming, who strapped a 35-millimeter camera to a remote-controlled model airplane and flew it over what residents consider a battle zone. The images were not CIA quality, but residents were happy with their reconnaissance drone. And they succeeded in getting the grading stopped. http://latimes.com/editions/orange/la-33909may13.story?coll=la%2Deditions%2Dorange
power punks (was Tesla)
No, we have AC because AC works better than DC in home wiring situations. Hmmm. I always thought the reason we went with AC was because at the time, DC power couldn't cut it. Hard to believe one has to explain this, but: You can send electricity far without losing much to resistive losses if you crank the voltage up. There are some HV DC lines actually used today, between major grids, IIRC. But AC, unlike DC, is readily convertible to different voltages via simple, passive transformers. So you send it at high voltage, down convert at the local substation, and down convert further at the pole pigs on your street. That's why AC won. The higher the AC frequency the more you lose to radiation --the US's 60 Hz broadcasts more than the UK's 50 Hz. Airplanes use 400 Hz, so they can save weight by using smaller transformers --the higher the freq, the smaller the transformer can be.
USGov censorship of domain names + content
This is precisely why some of us distrust the USG's involvement in any naming scheme. They intend to decide acceptable content and applications, and to require full true-name IDs (DNA too?) on operators. Oppressive regimes always license the printing presses and xerox machines. Will they also control any permutation of .kids, and any typewriter-hamming-distance perturbation, just in case users misspell things? - Other additions in the bill call for collection of detailed contact data from operators of dot-kids sites and the right to pull the plug on the domain or transfer oversight to another company if it isn't working out as planned. Right now, the legislation calls for Washington, D.C.-based NeuStar to oversee .kids.us, a second-level domain within .us. The legislation's supporters originally hoped to create a separate .kids domain that would function as a top-level domain similar to .com or .org. However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN (news - web sites)), which oversees administration of such domains, put the kibosh on the proposal. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=73ncid=73e=2u=/zd/20020412/tc_zd/5106116 Some legislators need their plugs pulled, with extreme prejudice.
power punks (was Tesla)
No, we have AC because AC works better than DC in home wiring situations. Hmmm. I always thought the reason we went with AC was because at the time, DC power couldn't cut it. Hard to believe one has to explain this, but: You can send electricity far without losing much to resistive losses if you crank the voltage up. There are some HV DC lines actually used today, between major grids, IIRC. But AC, unlike DC, is readily convertible to different voltages via simple, passive transformers. So you send it at high voltage, down convert at the local substation, and down convert further at the pole pigs on your street. That's why AC won. The higher the AC frequency the more you lose to radiation --the US's 60 Hz broadcasts more than the UK's 50 Hz. Airplanes use 400 Hz, so they can save weight by using smaller transformers --the higher the freq, the smaller the transformer can be.
USGov censorship of domain names + content
This is precisely why some of us distrust the USG's involvement in any naming scheme. They intend to decide acceptable content and applications, and to require full true-name IDs (DNA too?) on operators. Oppressive regimes always license the printing presses and xerox machines. Will they also control any permutation of .kids, and any typewriter-hamming-distance perturbation, just in case users misspell things? - Other additions in the bill call for collection of detailed contact data from operators of dot-kids sites and the right to pull the plug on the domain or transfer oversight to another company if it isn't working out as planned. Right now, the legislation calls for Washington, D.C.-based NeuStar to oversee .kids.us, a second-level domain within .us. The legislation's supporters originally hoped to create a separate .kids domain that would function as a top-level domain similar to .com or .org. However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN (news - web sites)), which oversees administration of such domains, put the kibosh on the proposal. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=73ncid=73e=2u=/zd/20020412/tc_zd/5106116 Some legislators need their plugs pulled, with extreme prejudice.
The right to control what you see: digitally removed adverts = lawsuit
[Ed: will these building-owners sue Steve Mann when he wears his goggles which eliminate advertising? ] http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAJW671XZC.html NEW YORK (AP) - The owners of several Times Square buildings have filed a lawsuit against the makers of the upcoming Spider-Man movie for digitally altering a sign appearing in the motion picture. In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, the owners of 2 Times Square allege that Columbia Pictures digitally replaced a Samsung advertisement on the side of the building with one for USA Today. The sign appears three times in the film, according to court papers. Samsung is a competitor of Sony, which owns Columbia Pictures. We think it's inappropriate to substitute your own image for the one that exists, Anthony Costantini, a lawyer for building owners Sherwood 48 Associates, told the Daily News in Thursday's editions. Heidi Henderson, a spokeswoman for USA Today, said the paper was not paid for having its name appear in the movie; she said the filmmakers simply picked the newspaper's logo to place on the building.
Bill Stewart is an alpha cat?
Quoth Bill: At 06:53 PM 04/10/2002 -0700, and a number of other times, Tim May wrote: --Tim May Dogs can't conceive of a group of cats without an alpha cat. --David Honig, on the Cypherpunks list, 2001-11 I've got three cats, and one of them very definitely is the alpha cat. You mean *you're* not their alpha? You can learn to flatten your ears if you practice, and you might be able to raise the hair on the back of your neck with effort. Perhaps your cats see you as needing to perceive structure, so in front of you they act deferentially towards one of theirs. A ruse for the benefit of the benevolent feeder. On the other hand, there's a T-shirt slogan that says If you're not the lead dog, the view's always the same. Cats just don't have that problem, even groups of cats that do have an alpha cat. The actual meaning, less succintly phrased, is that those who define themselves by their position in a hierarchical organizational chart cannot conceive of a social structure (such as a discussion group) which is without a leader. The cypherpunks movement fnord and all that. (If there is a cp movement, it is the raising of the middle finger above the closed fist, in the direction of oppression.) --- Have you heard the news? The dogs are dead! You better stay home And do as you're told. Get out of the road if you want to grow old.
The right to control what you see: digitally removed adverts = lawsuit
[Ed: will these building-owners sue Steve Mann when he wears his goggles which eliminate advertising? ] http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAJW671XZC.html NEW YORK (AP) - The owners of several Times Square buildings have filed a lawsuit against the makers of the upcoming Spider-Man movie for digitally altering a sign appearing in the motion picture. In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, the owners of 2 Times Square allege that Columbia Pictures digitally replaced a Samsung advertisement on the side of the building with one for USA Today. The sign appears three times in the film, according to court papers. Samsung is a competitor of Sony, which owns Columbia Pictures. We think it's inappropriate to substitute your own image for the one that exists, Anthony Costantini, a lawyer for building owners Sherwood 48 Associates, told the Daily News in Thursday's editions. Heidi Henderson, a spokeswoman for USA Today, said the paper was not paid for having its name appear in the movie; she said the filmmakers simply picked the newspaper's logo to place on the building.
LATimes misuse of 'hacker' for saboteur
[Unfortunate that a paper llike the Times would confusing hacking and simple sabotage by a fired sysop. Since lost time is part of the damages, why isn't spam illegal?] Hacker Gets 16 Months for Crashing Firm's Computers [*] By JEAN GUCCIONE, TIMES STAFF WRITER A disgruntled former employee was sentenced Tuesday to 16 months in state prison and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution for hacking into a defense contractor's computer and crashing the system. snip In February 2000, a month after being fired, Oganesyan tapped into H.R. Textron's computer and caused the system to crash for a day, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Fairtlough. Seven hundred employees at company offices in Valencia, Pacoima and Ohio were unable to use their computers, causing $211,000 in lost labor costs, Fairtlough said. http://latimes.com/editions/valley/la-25622apr10.story?coll=la%2Deditions%2Dvalley
Teaching contempt of authority in mandatory youth education camps
I don't want to live in a country where I can be searched without grounds just because someone suddenly decides it's OK. The plan has divided this remote ranching town of 2,900 residents between those who think suspicionless testing is a small price to pay and those who decry it as a government Gestapo tactic. Students complain that the entire debate demonstrates how little adults trust them to do what's right. I didn't realize the 4th Amendment gives kids the right to do illegal things, he [school district gestapo McDonald] said. http://latimes.com/news/local/la-040902modoc.story Drug Tests for Entire School Weighed
RE: mil disinfo on cryptome
Oh, and I can't believe I almost forgot--I'm sure you'll be tickled pink to learn that ever having had anything to do with you can be the kiss of death as far as getting clearance is concerned. From the adjudication guidelines: http://www.dss.mil/training/adr/adjguid/adjguidF.htm Conditions that could raise a security concern and may be disqualifying include: d. Any foreign, domestic, or international organization or person engaged in analysis, discussion, or publication of material on intelligence, defense, foreign affairs, or protected technology. However Faustine neglects to include the simple solution, that you simply renounce playing with Johnny: Conditions that could mitigate security concerns include: b. The individual terminates the employment or discontinues the activity upon being notified that it is in conflict with his or her security responsibilities. More interestingly, s/he neglects to include this disqualifier from State Secrets: Allegiance to the United States Conditions that could raise a security concern and may be disqualifying include: d. Involvement in activities which unlawfully advocate or practice the commission of acts of force or violence to prevent others from exercising their rights under the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any state. How many Congressvermin, police w/ NCIS access, FBI, judges, domestic spooks of all flavors, etc are guilty of this?
Press sues Utah gov for shredding his email
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAS2NLE1ZC.html Listrelev: accountability, email vs. paper, disappearing ink News Organizations Sue Utah Governor for Deleting His E-Mail, Contending It Is Public Record The Associated Press Published: Mar 20, 2002 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Four news organizations have sued Gov. Mike Leavitt, contending he is illegally destroying his e-mail. Leavitt's deletion of electronic documents amounts to destroying public records, the lawsuit filed Tuesday contends. The governor is depriving the public of its constitutional right of access to information concerning the conduct of the public's business, The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City Weekly and television stations KUTV and KTVX said. Leavitt spokeswoman Natalie Gochnour said the governor had not had time to review the lawsuit, but, We believe we are abiding by the law. We basically view e-mail much like a conversation. In 1998, a federal judge ruled that the White House cannot erase computer files, including e-mail, without first announcing its intentions and giving researchers at the National Archives time to protest. The Utah dispute started last year when the Tribune asked for paper and digital correspondence from the governor's office concerning congressional redistricting. Leavitt's lawyer, Gary Doxey, turned down the request and said he advised the governor to routinely destroy e-mails, many of which Doxey said were personal. The governor told The Tribune in November that he deleted all his e-mail after three days. It's something I decided several years ago after conferring with my counsel, Leavitt said. In this job, I just deal with too many sensitive issues. City Weekly Managing Editor Christopher Smart said the demand that Leavitt save official records is common sense and reasonable. ... It's clear we don't seek to know about his personal communications. Rebecca Daugherty of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Arlington, Va., said whether the e-mail should be preserved depends on its content. If these are records that have to do with conduct of government, they ought to be preserved the same way paper records are preserved, Daugherty said. She said it wouldn't apply to a governor's e-mail asking a staffer to bring him or her a cup of coffee.
Supremes likely to suspend 4th amendment
http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-032002scotus.story Drug Tests at Schools Argued at High Court Choice excerpts: If there's a [drug] problem of a serious sort, why can't they do this? Breyer asked a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. Because of the 4th Amendment and its ban on unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, replied the lawyer, Graham Boyd of New Haven, Conn. The requirement of individualized suspicion is a figment of the past, Breyer suggested, especially when the police are not involved.
state censorship, copyright: My Life, in Arabic
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,48341,00.html The Arabic Translation of Hitler's anti-Semitic manifesto Mein Kampf, which has been a bestseller in the Palestinian territories for some time, has begun to turn up in bookshops in London where they are said to be selling well. The London Telegraph quotes a local bookstore clerk in an area heavily populated by Arabs as saying, People are interested in it. The Telegraph notes that the Bavarian state government in Germany, which holds the book's copyright, has tried to stop its publication around the world. But the Arabic version, with a picture of Hitler and a swastika on its cover, became the sixth best selling book in areas controlled by the Palestinian authority. --- To those who gripe about posting list-relevant news clips: what is the problem? You might not have encountered these bits -they're not all slashdot pointers. They are relevant to the list. Occasionally they draw a response; occasionally an interesting conversation. But hey, its your killfile.
US sued for lying
U.S. Deceit at Issue Before Supreme Court Law: The plaintiff says officials are liable for alleged lies about her husband's plight before he died in Guatemala. http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-20108mar19.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation%2Dmanual By DAVID G. SAVAGE, TIMES STAFF WRITER WASHINGTON -- A lawyer for President Bush on Monday defended alleged lying by the Clinton administration in a Supreme Court case that centers on whether government officials can be sued if they lie to cover up crucial facts. The case has nothing to do with Paula Corbin Jones or Monica S. Lewinsky but instead concerns the Clinton administration's support for the Guatemalan military. It also marked one of the rare instances in which the victim of alleged government wrongdoing argued her own case in the high court. The government cannot engage in intentional deceit in order to prevent [you] from going to a court of law, Jennifer Harbury, a lawyer and widow of a Guatemalan guerrilla fighter, told the justices. For more than a decade, Harbury has carried on a one-woman crusade against U.S. policy in Central America. In 1991, she met and married Guatemalan rebel Efrain Bamaca Velasquez. snip listrelev: bigbro, govt deceipt, govt secrecy, govt accountability
Catholic Taliban spews on the Net
The Roman Catholic Taliban writes: The ideology of radical libertarianism is both mistaken and harmful not least, to legitimate free expression in the service of truth Tell Galileo Galilei about free expression of truth, bub The error lies in exalting freedom to such an extent that it becomes an absolute, which would then be the source of values The irony of the Vatican Taliban decrying sources of absolutes and values oh, that's right ---*competing* sources Never mind http://wwwvaticanva/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_20020228_ethics-internet_enhtml
Bugging religious college radio stations
The infiltration begins: Listening device discovered in the QC office by Rebecca Wolf, QC Managing Editor http://web.whittier.edu/qc/bug.htm A maintenance worker discovered an electronic eavesdropping device inside an electrical outlet behind a sofa in the Quaker Campus (QC) newspaper office Thursday, Feb. 21. Maintenance searched all outlets and light switches in the QC on Monday, Feb. 25 and on Tuesday, Feb. 26, the outlets in the Student Union and the offices of the Council of Representatives (COR), the Acropolis and Whittier College Radio were searched. Director of Student Activities Barnaby Peake also searched the phones in the QC office on Wednesday, but no other devices were found. There are no suspects or leads as to who placed the device or why it was placed. As far as I know, this is the first bug confirmed in a student newspaper office, Mike Heistand of the Student Press Law Center based in Washington D.C. said in the College Media Advisors online message board. The maintenance department and the Security and Spy Outlet store in Puente Hills believed the device was homemade using parts bought at a local store and took no more than 10 minutes to install inside the QC. However, Private Investigator Thomas Barnes of Thomas Barnes and Associates in Whittier said that the device was too intricate to be homemade. [The device] works like a mini FM radio station, said an employee of the spy outlet store, who wished to be identified only as Paul. Whoever built it could have been listening live or could have set up a tape recorder to record everything to listen to later. According to Paul, the device was designed to last no more than a year because the individual components would burn out. He tested the device at the store but it did not work, and he believes the device was not functioning at the time it was discovered. We dont yet know why that device was there, said Barnes, a retired detective. There would be no lawful reason, because anything recorded would not be admissible [in court] ... its definitely illegal. The Whittier Police Department (W.P.D.) was called to the scene on Monday but initially chose not to file a report because of a lack of any real leads. However, after pressure from local councilman Bob Henderson, W.P.D. Chief David Singer said that there would be an investigation into why a report was not initially filed. Whenever a crime appears to have occurred, a report should be taken, Singer said. We will investigate what occurred with whether a report should have been taken. Assistant Chief of Campus Safety John Lewis later took the bug to the W.P.D. and a report was filed Wednesday night. Singer said he did not know what could be done in the investigation of the bug at this time. Without a doubt the W.P.D. should have filed a report, Barnes said. This is not a civil case; this is a criminal case. Hiestand said that installing a bug in a private area is illegal in California, and there is a federal law that prohibits government intrusion into newsrooms. Clearly what has happened here is reprehensible, Heistand said. This is a violation of our rights on innumerable levels, junior QC Editor-in-Chief Amy Stice said. Not only does it infringe on our rights as a free press, but also as human beings entitled to a right to privacy. Weve been threatened, and at a level we find impossible to comprehend. President Katherine Haley Will was off-campus at a conference this week and could not be reached for comment. Assistant Dean of Students Tracy Poon-Tambascia believes the bug was placed by someone who had more than a casual conflict with the newspaper. This is a level of sophistication beyond general tension, Tambascia said. Whoever installed the device wanted to monitor [the QCs] activity for a long period of time. They wanted to keep tabs on who [the QC] was talking to and probably wanted to neutralize stories before they came out, Barnes said. Campus Safety believes the device could have been placed in the QC office by a group wanting to know the stories the newspaper planned to publish, an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend of a former employee, or even by a former reporter who wanted to scoop another reporter on a story. The devices locationbehind the sofais the location for staff conferences. According to QC Advisor Gary Libman, that area of the office has been a meeting area for the staff since he has been its advisor, which has been for 17 years. The QC walls were painted last August and the paint seal was broken by Armando Renteria, the maintenance electrician, when he removed the device, indicating the device has been in the wall at least since August. Campus Safety and Paul estimate the device to be a few years old because of the size of the components and the dust collected on it. Newer devices are smaller in size and can transmit farther. The outlet that the device was installed on is a newer model that was not sold until the 1990s, according to Renteria.
Re: Recruiting Agents
Quoth John Young: Did I believe the US had enemies I said yes Did I believe it was my responsibility to protect the nation I said maybe As John has said, many of the enemies of the US claim to legitimately represent it Many are found along the Potomac And what John is doing *is* protecting the nation Esp from those domestic enemies of the constitution
Prosecutor Schmidt: New Yorkers don't know how to change the channel
What's with these fascist NYC censor types? First EBay, now CBS Some N'Yorkahs just need killing --- http://storynewsyahoocom/news?tmpl=storyu=/nm/20020228/tv_nm/documentary_1 CBS urged not to show graphic footage in 9/11 film Wed Feb 27, 8:54 PM ET HACKENSACK, NJ (Reuters) - The CBS television network was urged Wednesday not to show graphic footage of the World Trade Center attacks in a documentary it plans to air next month Any media event that indiscriminately broadcasts the graphic horrors of that day will disrupt the healing process, said a letter to CBS from Bergen County prosecutor William Schmidt, head of an advisory board for victims' families Schmidt, writing on behalf of the American Red Cross, United Way and other groups assisting victims' families in Bergen County since the attacks, also asked CBS to air the program at a later date instead of March 10, almost the six-month anniversary of the attacks While we do not object to the showing of the documentary, we are particularly concerned about the potentially negative psychological effects that graphic details of death and destruction may have on the thousands of individuals who have been traumatized by the events of September 11th, Schmidt said in the letter Some of the nearly 3,000 victims of the World Trade Center attack lived in Bergen County across the Hudson River from Manhattan Gil Schwartz, CBS spokesman in New York, said he had not received the letter and would respond when he did But he defended the two-hour film as responsible and sensitive and said there was no footage of people being killed He said rumors of such footage were the result of misinformation and misapprehension French brothers Gedeon and Jules Naudet, the filmmakers, were recording firefighters' training exercises about 14 blocks from the Trade Center when the attacks began They kept their cameras running and recorded the planes' approaches to the twin towers and scenes inside the buildings of rescues and escaping workers
Some southerners jus' need killin': Georgia tries to censor games
Georgia attacks violent-game sales Mon Feb 18, 1:43 PM ET By Trey Walker, ZDNet News Four lawmakers in Georgia submitted a bill yesterday that would make it a criminal offense to sell or furnish violent interactive video games to minors. The bill, known as the Violent Video Game Protection Act, would make it a misdemeanor offense to sell games that contain depictions of graphic violence as determined by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to anyone under 18. snip http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=73u=/zd/20020218/tc_zd/5103349
bovines of mass destruction
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/86256B51006BC7AB86256B6C0074E61C?OpenDocumenthighlight=2%2Cfarmers%2Cfbi?opendocumentheadline=FBI+agents+tells+Missouri+farmers+to+keep+alert+for+terrorism FBI agents tells Missouri farmers to keep alert for terrorism By Tim Higgins Associated Press Writer 02/26/2002 03:23 PM JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Farmers are the nation's first line of defense against terrorist attacks on the food supply through contamination of crops or livestock, an FBI agent told Missouri farmers Tuesday. David Cudmore, Kansas City coordinator of the FBI's unit in charge of fighting weapons of mass destruction, told a Missouri Farm Bureau conference that farmers must be alert to suspicious developments. ``If you suspect something, report it and tell them why: 'There's something weird with my crops. They're turning a color I've never seen before,''' Cudmore said. Beyond wiping out a herd, the deliberate exposure of animals to a biological agent such as foot-and-mouth disease would hurt the nation's economy and send waves of fear across the country, Cudmore said. He said it would be easy for a person to bring a piece of infected material into the United States and spread it to livestock. ``If a person takes a rag, puts it on the nose of a cow with foot-and-mouth disease, then puts it in his pocket, keeps it wet, gets on a plane, flies over to the Midwest -- if he just shook a farmer's hand, boom!'' Cudmore said. Cudmore said he was more worried about biological attacks against agriculture than anthrax attacks against people. Still, the FBI in Kansas City has responded to 45 anthrax scares, Cudmore said. No person has been charged with a crime. Anthrax was discovered last fall at a Kansas City postal facility. About 250 people were advised to take antibiotics as a precaution but no one became ill, and the facility reopened after two weeks. Authorities field a lot of calls about nothing more than a white powdery substance on a kitchen counter or garage floor, Cudmore said. He told farmers that if they detect something amiss, they should first try to gather information about it. ``If you can't figure out the explanation for why something is going on, you've got to report it,'' Cudmore said. And cover those udders! You're embarressing Ashcroft!
stopping traffic
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=676u=/usatoday/20020226/ts_usatoday/3892978 Suppose, he wrote, Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) loaded a biological weapon into a container and shipped it through foreign ports to the USA. The container, unnoticed in the day-to-day bustle of trade, could then be put on a rail car at Long Beach destined for Newark, N.J. Somewhere along the 2,800-mile route, it is detonated. As bad as the destruction such an attack might cause, the chaos that would follow could devastate the nation's economy. The nation's shipping system could shut down, as airports did after Sept. 11. ''The economic damage would be incalculable,'' Flynn says. ''It would accomplish what a terrorist group wants to do, which is to disrupt this country's economic structure.'' --- No, dipshit, they want you to get out of Mecca. Now go back to sleep.
NYT has SSNs but gave them away to crackers
N.Y. Times hack exposes sensitive data Wed Feb 27, 3:02 PM ET Margaret Kane CNET News.com The New York Times Co. on Wednesday confirmed that the internal network of its flagship newspaper was hit by a security breach. The breach that hit The New York Times was first reported by SecurityFocus Online, a site that contains content about security issues. An article there said a hacker gained access to data ranging from employee names and social security numbers to delivery records. The report also said the hacker was able to tap into a database of sources and see the Social Security numbers and home phone numbers for luminaries including former U.N. weapons inspector Richard Butler and actor Robert Redford. snip http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=70u=/cn/20020227/tc_cn/n_y__times_hack_exposes_sensitive_data
Interesting new cipher patent
Cipher mixer with random number generator Abstract An encryption device has a random number generator whose output is combined by exclusive-or with plaintext input which has been encrypted by a first block cipher. The combined exclusive-or output is encrypted with a second block cipher mechanism which produces a second enciphered output. The output of the random number generator is also encrypted by a third block cipher mechanism which produces a third enciphered output. The first and second block cipher mechanisms differ from each other. United States Patent 6,351,539 February 26, 2002
private infiltration of private groups
The pro-abortion anti-choice folks are privately acting like the Feds and WTO protesters, or Feds and militias, or Feds and cypherpunks: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26611 Abortion-rights group trains activists to 'investigate' CPCs By Allyson Smith ) 2002 WorldNetDaily.com As New York crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, rally to fight subpoenas issued last month by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer demanding information about their business practices, the National Abortion Rights Action League, which supported Spitzer's election, is training pro-abortion-rights activists to investigate California CPCs. On Feb. 7, NARAL's California state affiliate, the California Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League held a special training session on Unmasking Fake Clinics at the Westside Pavilion shopping center in West Los Angeles. An Internet announcement for the event promised, During the training, CARAL will expose the hidden agendas and activities that take place behind the doors of CPCs. The session will also equip you with the necessary information and training needed to take action against CPCs in your community.
FLA zoning laws don't apply to net
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=73u=/zd/20020226/tc_zd/5103755 Voyeurdorm sees major court win Tue Feb 26, 2:43 PM ET By Lisa M. Bowman, ZDNet News The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) said Monday it will not hear a case involving an attempt to shut down an adult Web site by the city of Tampa, Fla. The city had tried to shut down exhibitionist site Voyeurdorm.com, which provides 24-hour live Webcasts of a residence full of women while they study, work out, bathe and live the lives of college co-eds. The city said the Tampa residence violated city zoning ordinances regulating the location of sexually oriented businesses. It's the second time a court has refused to consider the issue, paving the way for the Voyeurdorm to remain open for business. In November, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) refused to grant a full-court hearing of the case. The city had asked for the full court review after a three-judge panel of the court ruled that city ordinances do not apply to the Web site, which operates primarily in cyberspace. Entertainment Network (ENI), which runs Voyeurdorm and other exhibitionist sites, praised the Supreme Court's move. This is a victory for anyone operating a legitimate Internet site, whether or not it has adult content, ENI Chief Executive David Marshlack said in a statement. It is obvious that the Internet should not be regulated under zoning laws written long before the Web was even dreamed of. ENI was also in federal court last year during an unsuccessful attempt to get permission to Webcast the execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh (news - web sites). Tampa officials said a lower court may still issue a ruling on other parts of the case. The Court's determination not to hear this case does not mean the case is over, said Assistant City Attorney Jerry Gewirtz. Gewirtz said the city will abide by any court rulings.
Some southerners jus' need killin': Georgia tries to censor games
Georgia attacks violent-game sales Mon Feb 18, 1:43 PM ET By Trey Walker, ZDNet News Four lawmakers in Georgia submitted a bill yesterday that would make it a criminal offense to sell or furnish violent interactive video games to minors. The bill, known as the Violent Video Game Protection Act, would make it a misdemeanor offense to sell games that contain depictions of graphic violence as determined by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to anyone under 18. snip http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=73u=/zd/20020218/tc_zd/5103349
bovines of mass destruction
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/86256B51006BC7AB86256B6C0074E61C?OpenDocumenthighlight=2%2Cfarmers%2Cfbi?opendocumentheadline=FBI+agents+tells+Missouri+farmers+to+keep+alert+for+terrorism FBI agents tells Missouri farmers to keep alert for terrorism By Tim Higgins Associated Press Writer 02/26/2002 03:23 PM JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Farmers are the nation's first line of defense against terrorist attacks on the food supply through contamination of crops or livestock, an FBI agent told Missouri farmers Tuesday. David Cudmore, Kansas City coordinator of the FBI's unit in charge of fighting weapons of mass destruction, told a Missouri Farm Bureau conference that farmers must be alert to suspicious developments. ``If you suspect something, report it and tell them why: 'There's something weird with my crops. They're turning a color I've never seen before,''' Cudmore said. Beyond wiping out a herd, the deliberate exposure of animals to a biological agent such as foot-and-mouth disease would hurt the nation's economy and send waves of fear across the country, Cudmore said. He said it would be easy for a person to bring a piece of infected material into the United States and spread it to livestock. ``If a person takes a rag, puts it on the nose of a cow with foot-and-mouth disease, then puts it in his pocket, keeps it wet, gets on a plane, flies over to the Midwest -- if he just shook a farmer's hand, boom!'' Cudmore said. Cudmore said he was more worried about biological attacks against agriculture than anthrax attacks against people. Still, the FBI in Kansas City has responded to 45 anthrax scares, Cudmore said. No person has been charged with a crime. Anthrax was discovered last fall at a Kansas City postal facility. About 250 people were advised to take antibiotics as a precaution but no one became ill, and the facility reopened after two weeks. Authorities field a lot of calls about nothing more than a white powdery substance on a kitchen counter or garage floor, Cudmore said. He told farmers that if they detect something amiss, they should first try to gather information about it. ``If you can't figure out the explanation for why something is going on, you've got to report it,'' Cudmore said. And cover those udders! You're embarressing Ashcroft!
http://www.jail4judges.org/ --AP for pacifists
Executive Summary J.A.I.L. is a proposed amendment to the California Constitution as a check against judicial misconduct and abuse of power. The initiative creates three statewide Special Grand Juries in California for the sole purpose of investigating complaints against judges. The Special Grand Juries will have the power to sanction judges by levying fines and forfeitures against them; and for third-time offenses, removal from the bench. The Special Grand Juries will also have the power to indict judges and subject them to criminal proceedings before special trial juries who may sentence as well as convict the offending judge.
French nazis bust seller of Osama T-shirts
Bin Laden T-shirt seller in terror rap http://www.expatica.com/france.asp?pad=278,313,item_id=19472 PARIS, Feb 8 (AFP) - A 25 year-old Frenchman who was caught trying to import 40 Osama Bin Laden T-shirts via Paris's Charles-De-Gaulle airport could face terrorism-related charges, police said Friday. The man, who has not been named, was stopped on Tuesday after getting off a flight from Thailand. He told customs officials he intended to sell the T-shirts around his home in the western Paris suburb of Cergy. On Wednesday the man was taken before a judge, who is to decide whether to place him under formal investigation on a charge of justifying terrorism, police said. Bin Laden, the head of the extremist Islamic group al-Qaeda, has been widely blamed for the attacks which killed over 3,000 people in the United States on 11 September last year.
C4 commercial web page
http://www.ribbands.co.uk/prdpages/C4.htm -nice pix of a guy pulling C4 taffy A high quality, very high velocity military plastic explosive. Our C4 is supplied in bulk drums, in a slightly powdery form. Upon manipulation the material immediately consolidates into a rubbery fully plasticised mass which may be kneaded and pressed into any shape. The material has excellent mechanical and adhesive properties, and may be stretched into long strands without breakage. In its original powdery form the explosive may be poured into charge containers, then pressed into intimate contact with the liner. Substantial price discounts are available on full shipping containers (16 tonnes plus). Please enquire. UN No. 0084 - HazCat 1.1D Packaging: 25kg bulk drums Trade price: #15/kg ex-works UK Stock level: Small stock held. Large quantities (500kg plus) available to order, delivery approximately 90 days. Control Status: Very strictly controlled. Explosives authorisation and End User Certificate required MilSpec: MIL-C-45010A UK HSE Serial number: 32-A-68450 RDX content: 91 1 1% Polyisobutylene plasticiser: 9 1 1% Moisture: 0.1% max Velocity of Detonation: 8092 1 26 m/s Density: 1.63 g/cm3 Colour: Nominally white TNT equivalence: 118% Chemical marking for detection: Marked Shelf life: At least 10 years under good conditions
Utah go boom, not in the public domain
One report currently being investigated by U.S. intelligence officials came from Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence sources who had conducted an interrogation of a terrorist suspect in early November. Under coercion, the suspect said that agents of bin Laden had smuggled two portable nuclear weapons into the United States, according to the report seen by a U.S. government expert. The government expert, who has had access to the Pakistani investigation, said ISI provided the highest levels of the U.S. government with materials from the ISI interrogation including a summary of the suspect's confession, which this source had seen. The summary did not give the specific dates of the smuggling, the method, or time of entry. The suspect said only that the smuggling had been carried out, the U.S. government expert said. The sources of the report were current ISI officers who had kept contact with U.S. counterparts they had known from the 1980s, this U.S. government expert said. The summary was accompanied by collateral or supporting documents, he said. The package was given to senior U.S. officials in mid-November. The ISI had not rated the report's credibility but felt it important enough to alert the U.S. government, this source said. What was disconcerting about the (suspect's) information was that he knew details of the activation of the weapons and their construction that are not in the public domain, the U.S. expert analyst said. ... Coercion is a nice word for raping his wife? -- foo
Utah go boom, not in the public domain
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20122001-09-5310r One report currently being investigated by U.S. intelligence officials came from Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence sources who had conducted an interrogation of a terrorist suspect in early November. Under coercion, the suspect said that agents of bin Laden had smuggled two portable nuclear weapons into the United States, according to the report seen by a U.S. government expert. The government expert, who has had access to the Pakistani investigation, said ISI provided the highest levels of the U.S. government with materials from the ISI interrogation including a summary of the suspect's confession, which this source had seen. The summary did not give the specific dates of the smuggling, the method, or time of entry. The suspect said only that the smuggling had been carried out, the U.S. government expert said. The sources of the report were current ISI officers who had kept contact with U.S. counterparts they had known from the 1980s, this U.S. government expert said. The summary was accompanied by collateral or supporting documents, he said. The package was given to senior U.S. officials in mid-November. The ISI had not rated the report's credibility but felt it important enough to alert the U.S. government, this source said. What was disconcerting about the (suspect's) information was that he knew details of the activation of the weapons and their construction that are not in the public domain, the U.S. expert analyst said. ... Coercion is a nice word for raping his wife? -- foo
All your MicrosoftOSes are belong to us
All your MicrosoftOSes are belong to us and we don't have to do squat. WASHINGTON Microsoft's newest version of Windows, billed as the most secure ever, contains several serious flaws that allow hackers to steal or destroy a victim's data files across the Internet or implant rogue computer software. The company released a free fix Thursday. A Microsoft official acknowledged that the risk to consumers was unprecedented because the glitches allow hackers to seize control of all Windows XP operating system software without requiring a computer user to do anything except connect to the Internet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7050-2001Dec20.html -- foo
US neglects to include Saudi responsibility in 'translation' of OBL tape
A new ABCNEWS translation of the Osama bin Laden videotape released last week reveals information that may be embarrassing to Saudi Arabia, a very important U.S. ally. Bin Laden Hunt Strains U.S-Saudi Relations Excerpts of the Bin Laden Video Weigh In Poll: Americans Believe Toughest Battles Ahead When the videotape of Osama bin Laden talking about the Sept. 11 terror attacks was released by the United States government on Dec. 13, administration officials spoke at length about the extensive effort to achieve a full and accurate transcript. The translation commissioned by ABCNEWS, however, reveals new elements that raise questions about what the government left out of the official version and why. The new translation uncovers statements that could be embarrassing to the government of Saudi Arabia, a very important U.S. ally. Bin Laden's visitor, Khalid al Harbi, a Saudi dissident, claims that he was smuggled into Afghanistan by a member of Saudi Arabia's religious police. He also tells bin Laden that in Saudi Arabia, several prominent clerics some with connections to the Saudi government made speeches supporting the attacks on America. Right at the time of the strike on America, he gave a very moving speech, Sheikh Abdulah al Baraak, bin Laden said on the tape. And he deserves thanks for that. Sheikh al Baraak, to whom the visitor refers, is a professor at a government university and a member of an influential council on religious law. It shows that bin Laden's support is not limited to the radical side of Islam but also among the Saudi religious establishment, says Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College. And that is bad news for Saudi Arabia. . US protecting foreign tyrants, but hey, gas is cheap, and it only cost a spook, a marine's foot, a few thou newyorkers (and some of them were traders ferchrissakes, like NYPD corpses they're divine payback) and look at how the flag industry stimulated the economy and enhanced trade with WTO-China Inc another great bunch of freedom loving folks
feds were warned, but asleep
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1576/913687.html Published Dec 21 2001 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When a Twin Cities flight instructor phoned the FBI last August to alert the agency that a terrorist might be taking lessons to fly a jumbo jet, he did it in a dramatic way: Do you realize how serious this is? the instructor asked an FBI agent. This man wants training on a 747. A 747 fully loaded with fuel could be used as a weapon! The aviation student he was talking about was Zacarias Moussaoui, who was arrested the following day and last week was charged in a federal indictment with conspiring with Osama bin Laden and others to carry out the Sept. 11 attacks. New details of how Moussaoui raised suspicions at the Pan Am International Flight Academy in Eagan -- and the company's eerily prescient tip -- are emerging from the briefings the school recently gave to congressional offices. The still-unidentified flight instructor became wary of Moussaoui immediately, according to Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar and others with direct knowledge of the briefings. Moussaoui first raised eyebrows when, during a simple introductory exchange, he said he was from France, but then didn't seem to understand when the instructor spoke French to him. Moussaoui then became belligerent and evasive about his background, Oberstar and other sources said. In addition, he seemed inept in basic flying procedures, while seeking expensive training on an advanced commercial jet simulator. Besides alerting the FBI about Moussaoui, the school's Phoenix office called the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) early this year about another student -- Hani Hanjour, who was believed to be the pilot of the plane that flew into the Pentagon on Sept. 11. The school had raised questions about Hanjour's limited ability to speak English, the universal language of aviation. An FAA representative sat in on a class to observe Hanjour, who was from Saudi Arabia, and discussed with school officials finding an Arabic-speaking person to help him with his English, said Oberstar and others with direct knowledge of the school's briefings. Oberstar and Minnesota Rep. Martin Sabo, who also was briefed by the school, praised Pan Am for its efforts to safeguard the skies and for passing federal authorities clues to possible terrorist activities before Sept. 11. They said that, with the benefit of hindsight, it appears that the FBI and the FAA could have responded more vigorously. From what I've heard, the school was clearly more alert than federal officials, Sabo said. - Whose more incompetent, the politicos who made us such enemies or the feds who can't protect against them?
how to subpeona Quest for ISP records
[Found on Morpheus as WritingSubpeonas.pdf, not found on cryptome's search, so here it is] How to Write Subpoenas Kathy Hines, Manager - Security Services Qwest Law Enforcement Internet Security Seminar Qwest Internet Solutions Minneapolis, MN October 19, 2000 Agenda Examples of subpoena problems Examples of well written subpoenas Child Pornography Available Information The Security Technical Analyst Team Botched userids - they were probably forged anyway. Please provide address, phone number, billing information, and connection records for the userid john a peterson @u s west. net for 7/ 23 - 7/ 30/ 2000. Legitimate userid formats would be: john. peterson@ uswest. net or john_ peterson@ uswest. net. Please provide address, phone number, billing information, and connection records for the userid h@ ckez 133 @u s west. net for 8/ 19/ 2000. Can not have two @ symbols in an e- mail address. Occasionally it makes sense to issue a subpoena with a userid as evidence. Please provide connection records and caller- id for the userid larryboy@ qwest. net for 12: 01 a. m. on 9/ 17/ 2000 through 11: 59 p. m. on 9/ 17/ 2000 MDT. The criminals had stolen a car that contained computer equipment and used one of the laptops to connect to the Internet. The police were looking for the caller- id of the accounts connections on 9/ 17. Stolen car with a laptop in it. Send me everything for the last millenium. Please provide all subscriber information from 1995 through the present for IP address 216. xxx. xx. 227; also referred to as cxxppp227. ptld. uswest. net. Grand Jury Subpoena Send me everything but the kitchen sink. Please provide all subscriber information for candigirl, including, but not limited to, true name, date of birth, SSN, address, all phone numbers, credit card numbers, connection logs, e- mails, chat sessions, web sites visited, and connections to other ISPs. We have the customers account information but not everything theyve ever done on the Internet. Send me the kitchen sink too! Preservation of Evidence Request This letter is to request that Qwest Communications take all necessary steps to preserve any and all records and any other evidence in its possession pending the issuance of a court order or other legal process in regard to all telephone and Internet conference connection information on September 11, 2000 between 8 pm through 4 am Pacific Standard Time (PST). This request also covers preservation of all records, including call details, for the Qwest connection telephone number (111) 222- during the above period of time. Typo the IP address and we can start an international investigation! The IP address 63.14.69.108 is for a qwest. net connection. The IP address 63.147.69.108 trace routes through a uu. net connection. The IP address 163.14.69.108 trace routes through an att. net connection. The IP address 263.14.69.108 does not exist. No IP numbers go over 255. A very well written subpoena. information about the subscriber to IP address 216.161.69. xxx, account holders name, address, phone number, and connection records for this ISP account. The intrusion occurred on Sat. 12 Aug. 2000 at 22: 54: 59 hrs. to Sat. 12 Aug. 2000 23: 30: 20 hrs. C. D. T. I dont have to play guessing games with any of this data. Another good subpoena. Please provide all available account information for IP address 63.1xx. 69. xxx on 8/ 16/ 2000 from 11: 56 a. m. to 12: 18 p. m. MST including any and all screen names and E- mail addresses along with telephone numbers of the account holder, any caller ID information maintained for any connection made from this account including true names and addresses. I wont have additional screen names, but I can provide the rest of the data. excerpted logs Subpoena Submission Process Qwest uses the C T Corporation as a receiving agent for subpoenas C T Corporation has offices in all 50 states - use the one in your state to send subpoenas to Qwest Address the subpoena to Qwest Communications The Minnesota address for C T Corporation is C T Corporation System 405 Second Avenue, South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Copyright Qwest Internet Solutions, 2000 Available Information We do not keep copies of our customers e- mail messages We do not monitor our customers Internet traffic We do not surf through our customers web pages looking for offending material We strive to maintain our computer logs for one year We can provide name, address, telephone number( s), and secondary userids for an account We have, in the past, retained copies of customers current e- mail when provided with a court order Security Technical Analyst Team We currently have seven people on the team They handle approximately 11,000 e- mail complaints from the Internet to abuse@ qwest. net each month They have fulfilled approximately 130 subpoenas so far in 2000 They have fielded several warrants, court orders, and one
Academic freedom dead in Fla
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011219/ts/attacks_professor_1.html Wednesday December 19 12:19 PM ET South Fla. Professor May Be Fired By VICKIE CHACHERE, Associated Press Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - University of South Florida's trustees agreed Wednesday a Palestinian professor linked to known terrorists should be fired for disrupting university operations. Sami al-Arian, a tenured computer science professor at the public university, has been the subject of continuous death threats because of his support for anti-Israeli interests. Al-Arian's appearance on a national television talk show after the Sept. 11 attacks prompted a stream of threats against him and the university. Al-Arian has been on paid leave as a security risk since, but in recent weeks his continued employment has prompted alumni and university donors to withdraw their support, university President Judy Genshaft said. Genshaft has the power to dismiss Al-Arian and has advocated the move, but she sought guidance from the trustees before proceeding. The next step would be a letter of notice of the pending dismissal that would give him 10 days to respond. Al-Arian, who has been at the school since 1986, was not immediately available for comment, according to staffers at an Islamic school and community center that he runs. The recommendation prompted concern that academic freedom was being threatened and Al-Arian was being fired because of his unpopular views. Al-Arian once headed an academic think tank on Islamic issues, World and Islam Studies Enterprises, later connected to fund raising for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. His brother-in-law, Mazen al-Najjar was jailed for three years on secret evidence as a threat to national security. The think tank was raided by the FBI (news - web sites) in 1995 and its assets were frozen. Another former head of the think tank, Ramadan Abdulah Shallah, left it in 1995 and resurfaced as the head of a terrorist organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Al-Arian has never been detained or charged with a crime, but the institute and a related charity for Palestinians had been accused by the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service agents of being a fund-raising front for terrorists. He was videotaped at some of the institute conferences a decade ago rallying the crowd with shouts of ``death to Israel.'' He now says he was making a political statement regarding the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and what he considers Israeli oppression, not advocating deaths of people. Al-Arian appeared on a Sept. 26 segment of Fox News Channel's ``The O'Reilly Factor'' and was questioned about his links to known terrorists as the television screen displayed the university's logo. A barrage of threats by telephone and e-mail the next day forced university police to shut down the computer science department where Al-Arian worked, a day later he was banned from campus.
FBI wants worm's keycapture data
http://www.dailyrotten.com/articles/archive/189387.html December 17, 2001 FBI wants access to worm's pilfered data A ROTTEN.COM EXCLUSIVE The FBI is asking for access to a massive database that contains the private communications and passwords of the victims of the Badtrans Internet worm. Badtrans spreads through security flaws in Microsoft mail software and transmits everything the victim types. Since November 24, Badtrans has violated the privacy of millions of Internet users, and now the FBI wants to take part in the spying. Victims of Badtrans are infected when they receive an email containing the worm in an attachment and either run the program by clicking on it, or use an email reader like Microsoft Outlook which may automatically run it without user intervention. Once executed, the worm replicates by sending copies of itself to all other email addresses found on the host's machine, and installs a keystroke-logger capable of stealing passwords including those used for telnet, email, ftp, and the web. Also captured is anything else the user may be typing, including personal documents or private emails. Coincidentally, just four days before the breakout of Badtrans it was revealed that the FBI was developing their own keystroke-logging virus, called Magic Lantern. Made to complement the Carnivore spy system, Magic Lantern would allow them to obtain target's passwords as they type them. This is a significant improvement over Carnivore, which can only see data after it has been transmitted over the Internet, at which point the passwords may have been encrypted. After Badtrans pilfers keystrokes the data is sent back to one of twenty-two email addresses (this is according to the FBI-- leading anti-virus vendors have only reported seventeen email addresses). Among these are free email addresses at Excite, Yahoo, and IJustGotFired.com. IJustGotFired is a free service of MonkeyBrains, a San Francisco based independent Internet Service Provider. In particular, [EMAIL PROTECTED] began receiving emails at 3:23 PM on November 24. Triggering software automatically disabled the account after it exceeded quotas, and began saving messages as they arrived. The following day, MonkeyBrains' mail server was sluggish. Upon examination of the mail server's logs, it quickly became apparent that 100 emails per minute to the suck_my_prick alias were the source of the problem. The mails delivered the logged keystrokes from over 100,000 compromised computers in the first day alone. Last week the FBI contacted the owner of MonkeyBrains, Rudy Rucker, Jr., and requested a cloned copy of the password database and keylogged data. The database includes only information stolen from the victims of the virus, not information about the perpetrator. The FBI wants indiscriminant access to the illegally extracted passwords and keystrokes of over two million people without so much as a warrant. Even with a warrant they would have to specify exactly what information they are after, on whom, and what they expect to find. Instead, they want it all and for no justifiable reason. One of the most basic tenets of an authoritarian state is one that claims rights for itself that it denies its citizens. Surveillance is perhaps one of the most glaring examples of this in our society. Accordingly, rather than hand over the entire database to the FBI, MonkeyBrains has decided to open the database to the public. Now everyone (including the FBI) will be able query which accounts have been compromised and search for their hostnames. Password and keylogged data will not be made available, for obvious legal reasons. The
judge, law ignored by INS
[reformatted for legibility] http://www.usnews.com/usnews/usinfo/press/1207detain.htm Muslim behind bars, despite a judge's order A Turkish Muslim from White Plains, N.Y., held in a New Jersey jail for more than two weeks, remains behind bars, despite a judge's order that he be released. Atila Kula, a 27-year-old former computer student, was picked up by the FBI on Nov. 20, and questioned about the September 11 terrorist attacks. Kula's lawyer Kerry Bretz insists his client has no knowledge of the incidents. Bretz, who is based in New York, says Kula was likely singled out when the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted a review of soon-to-expire student visas. Kula finished classes at Baruch College on October 17. Unlike other foreign nationals detained by the government, Bretz says, Kula was legally in America. Students are permitted to stay 60 days after classes end. Kula's wedding--which was to have been December 1--would have made him eligible for a work permit. This week, in a hearing closed to the public, an immigration judge ordered Kula immediately released. But when immigration lawyers said they intended to appeal the decision, the judge's order was automatically stayed, and Kula was sent back to jail. Immigration officials say they cannot discuss the specifics of Kula's case; they will say only that they have not picked up people randomly and do not appeal cases without good reason. Russ Bergeron, an INS spokesman, says that detainees' rights have not been abridged. He also noted that Kula could get married in jail. Last week, Denise Cordovano, Kula's fiancee, asked for just such a ceremony. The local sheriff turned her down.
US adopts piracy as policy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces have warned shippers to cooperate with maritime searches for al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan (news - web sites) by sea or risk being sunk, defense officials said on Friday. The U.S. Fifth Fleet and coalition forces are monitoring commercial vessels in the North Arabian Sea, ``particularly those operating off the Pakistani coast'' in the hunt for Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and members of his al Qaeda network, as well as fighters of the collapsing Taliban militia that formerly ruled Afghanistan, a defense official said. ``Anyone suspected of assisting or transporting bin Laden and/or al Qaeda leadership should expect to be boarded and will risk the sinking or seizure of the vessel and will be detained and jailed,'' the defense official said. snip http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011207/ts/attack_military_ships_dc_2.html
speak against the US, get investigated in AU
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0112/07/text/national12.html Shock as columnist investigated for un-American activity Phillip Adams, defender of the rights of man, is in an unexpected spot of bother, Pilita Clark reports. It sounds too strange to be true. Warren Beeby, the group editorial manager of News Ltd, publisher of The Australian newspaper, says he can barely believe it himself. But yesterday he confirmed that one of the paper's better-known columnists, the ABC broadcaster Phillip Adams, is under investigation for alleged racial vilification by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Adams is such a vigorous opponent of racism, discrimination and all manner of oppression that the Prime Minister once famously urged the ABC to find a right-wing Phillip Adams to balance its political output. But Mr Beeby said an American citizen had complained to the commission over a column Adams wrote in October about Australia's blank cheque support of the United States's war against terrorism. In the column, Adams argued that US history was replete with racial violence at home and flawed foreign policy abroad, including the bombing of Cambodia, complicity with the Pinochet regime in Chile and one-time support for Iraq's Saddam Hussein. If Australia is to be a true friend of the American people, we must try to rein them in, not urge them on, he wrote. The US has to learn that its worst enemy is the US. Mr Beeby said the commission wrote to News Ltd in late November asking for a response to a complaint it had received about Adams and the column. We're in the process of replying on behalf of the newspaper and Phillip is in the process of thinking what he will say as well, he said. Mr Beeby first raised the complaint, without naming Adams, in a speech on press freedom to the Commonwealth Press Union earlier this week. He told the Herald yesterday he found it hard to believe the commission could take such a complaint seriously. I've never heard of an American being racially vilified before. I think this is one of the great tragedies of our time. He said it was of deep concern to all Australian media organisations when bodies such as the commission used their powers to stifle debate critical to the public interest, such as Adams's column. It was a clinically argued case, whether you agree with it or not, and an important part of the debate about what is going on, and suddenly it's racial vilification of Americans. A spokeswoman for the commission said it never commented on complaints before it. All I can say is the normal procedure for complaints is to ask for a response [from those being complained about]. We would then examine the complaint and if it is lacking in substance we would terminate it. Phillip Adams could not be reached last night.
Delta airlines doesn't allow sick person to carry their meds
Delta for Kicking Him off Flight Because He Was Carrying the Drug The Associated Press Published: Dec 6, 2001 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A man who legally uses marijuana for medicinal purposes is suing Delta Air Lines for kicking him off a plane because he was carrying the drug. Irvin Rosenfeld, a stockbroker from Boca Raton, filed suit Wednesday in federal court, claiming the airline violated federal protections for people with disabilities. Rosenfeld, 48, suffers from a rare and painful bone disease and finds relief in smoking marijuana, which is prescribed by a doctor and grown for the government. Every day, he smokes up to 12 marijuana cigarettes to fight tumors. In March, he was kept from boarding a Delta flight from Fort Lauderdale to Washington, D.C., where he was to attend a U.S. Supreme Court session on possible expansion of medicinal marijuana use. Officials told him he had to leave the marijuana behind or get written permission from every state he was flying over. Rosenfeld's attorney, Christopher Sharp, said refusing to seat his client on the airliner was like kicking a diabetic off the flight for carrying hypodermic needles and insulin. We're not putting any price tag on this, but Delta's exposure in this is considerable, Sharp said. Rosenfeld is one of a handful of people in the country receiving marijuana from the federal government because of unusual diseases. He has smoked government-provided marijuana for nearly 30 years and says without the drug, his condition would become so painful that he could not walk and could hemorrhage. Under the federal Air Carriers Access Act of 1986, Delta had to specify in writing why Rosenfeld could not board the airplane and why he was thought to be a threat to the safety of those on board, Sharp said. The airline did not do that, he said. A Delta spokeswoman said she was unaware that any Americans were permitted to smoke marijuana. Under federal law, marijuana is an illegal drug, and I'm not aware of any medical use exception of the nature he claims or of any private citizen having a right to possess it in the United States, Katie Connell said. Rosenfeld said that when Delta turned him away, he had to find a flight on another airline and did not get to Washington until the following afternoon. http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA3X79RWUC.html
state governors want to design OSes now..
[ If I were Bill G. I'd double the price of an OS sold to one of these States. Since I'm not, but still resent these States, I hope they get all the Windows OS they deserve. ] http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011205/tc/microsoft_settlement_dc_1.html States May Ask for Unbundled Version of Windows By Peter Kaplan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - State attorneys general pressing the antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) may ask a judge to order the company to offer a cheaper, stripped-down version of its Windows operating system, a source familiar with the case said on Wednesday. The nine states still suing Microsoft are eying the requirement as part of a proposed antitrust remedy they are scheduled to submit to U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Friday. Requiring an ``unbundled'' version of Windows is one of several ideas the states are considering as they try to come up with sanctions that will be tougher than those agreed to by Microsoft, the U.S. Justice Department (news - web sites) and nine of the other states who have signed on to a settlement of the case. The draft remedy also would strike down a long list of loopholes in the current settlement deal and do more to ensure that Microsoft discloses key source code in Windows to other software makers, the source said. The draft also contains a provision that would require Microsoft to include Sun Microsystems Inc.'s (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) Java programming language in its new Windows XP (news - web sites) operating system and ensure that its Office software is compatible with other software platforms, the source said. Microsoft had included Java in its operating system for years but dropped it from Windows XP because of legal problems with Sun Microsystems. Lawyers representing the hold-out states held meetings today with antitrust experts and industry officials to get feedback on a draft remedy proposal, sources said. 'GETTING AN EARFUL' ``They're getting input from lots of different players, and they're getting an earful,'' the source said. The hold-out states are California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, West Virginia and Utah. Representatives of those states declined to comment on what kind of remedy they will propose. In addition, the draft remedy proposal would require Kollar-Kotelly to appoint a ``special master'' to oversee the remedy, according to the same source. Under the current settlement, that task would go to a three-person technical committee. ``I think they're seriously committed to getting an effective remedy,'' said another source who has met with the attorneys general lawyers. The hold-out states will present their remedy proposal as an alternative to the settlement reached by the Justice Department. In the settlement, Microsoft has agreed to take steps to give computer makers more freedom to feature rival software on their machines. The deal also requires the company to share parts of the inner workings of its Windows operating system with other software makers. The settlement would be enforced by a three-person technical committee and would stay in effect for at least five years. The department says the existing settlement terms are strong enough to stop the company's monopolistic practices and would provide ``the most effective and certain relief in the most timely manner.'' ABUSED MONOPOLY A federal appeals court ordered the remedy hearings in a June 28 ruling, having concluded that the company abused its monopoly in personal computer operating systems. Continuing to litigate could drag the case out for another two years, the department says. But Microsoft rivals and some consumer groups have panned the deal as weak and ineffectual. They say the agreement will not stop Microsoft from retaliating against personal computer makers that promote non-Microsoft software. Critics also worry the settlement does not ensure that Microsoft will allow a level playing field for other companies' add-on ``middleware'' products; and does not ensure that Windows will work well with computer servers running non-Microsoft software. Kollar-Kotelly has scheduled a hearing for March to determine what--if any--further--sanctions should be imposed against the company. Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler declined to comment specifically on what might be in the remedy proposal on Friday. But he said
CERT DoS'd
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/cn/20011205/tc/national_computer-security_site_attacked_1.html National computer-security site attacked By Robert Lemos CNET News.com The Computer Emergency Response Team's Coordination Center, an important national clearinghouse for computer-security information, came under attack Wednesday, leaving its main Web site only intermittently reachable. The so-called denial-of-service attack didn't affect the group's ability to push security incident information to its members, but made public access to its sites a crapshoot. We are working with our service providers to resolve this problem, Bill Pollak, public relations coordinator for the CERT Coordination Center, said in a statement. A denial-of-service attack can take one of two forms: a flood of data that overwhelms the Web server or the bandwidth leading to the server, or a specific command crafted to disable critical servers or Internet routers. The CERT Coordination Center (news - web sites) would not identify which type matched the attack it was suffering from. The group, based at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., coordinates the communications among the myriad response teams scattered among U.S. universities, companies and government agencies. It has public Web sites to inform both members and non-members of threats but also has private networks capable of alerting members to high-priority computer-security incidents. Officials at the CERT Coordination Center would not give details of the attack but earlier acknowledged that such attacks are not uncommon. In May, the group suffered a similar attack. We get attacked every day, Richard D. Pethia, director of the Networked Systems Survivability Program at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute, said in a May interview. The lesson to be learned here is that no one is immune to these kinds of attacks. They cause operational problems, and it takes time to deal with them. The CERT Coordination Center is part of Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute.
F.B.I. officials said foreigners normally did not have privacy rights
F.B.I. officials said foreigners normally did not have privacy rights unless they have achieved permanent resident status. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nyt/20011206/ts/justice_dept_bars_use_of_gun_checks_in_terror_inquiry_1.html
Ashcroft afraid of terrorists corrupting education
``They are a chilling daily chronicle of the hatred of Americans by fanatics, who seek to .. corrupt education.. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011206/pl/ashcroft_senate_12.html Has the entire Cabinet gotten into JFK's cache of IV amphetamine? Is the military trying out BZ on Seventh Day Adventists in staff?
multicasting w/ cell phones (Acad ref)
Integrated Multicast for Ad-Hoc Networks The IMAHN project is investigating multicast protocols in ad-hoc networks. Ad-hoc networks are collections of mobile nodes communicating using wireless media, without any fixed infrastructure. Conventional routing is inadequate in these scenarios, as the mobility aspect can cause rapid and frequent changes in network topology. Moreover, each mobile host must be able to act both as a network router and an endpoint, because limited transmission ranges necessitate forwarding packets over multiple hops. Existing multicast protocols fall short because node mobility causes conventional multicast trees to rapidly become outdated. Frequent state changes require constant updates, reducing the already limited bandwidth available for data, and possibly never converging to accurately portray the current topology. Instead, a stateless multicast protocol is proposed for the above scenario. This is based on flooding the network with packets of the multicast stream. Adaptive flooding is introduced to enhance multicast reliability in the face of high mobility. http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/~kumarv/imahn.html
ashcroft still buggering freedom
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nyt/20011201/ts/ashcroft_seeking_to_free_f_b_i_to_spy_on_groups_1.html Saturday December 01 09:01 AM EST Ashcroft Seeking to Free F.B.I. to Spy on Groups By DAVID JOHNSTON and DON VAN NATTA Jr. The New York Times Attorney General John Ashcroft is considering a plan to relax restrictions on the F.B.I.'s spying on religious and political organizations. WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 Attorney General John Ashcroft is considering a plan to relax restrictions on the F.B.I.'s spying on religious and political organizations in the United States, senior government officials said today. The proposal would loosen one of the most fundamental restrictions on the conduct of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and would be another step by the Bush administration to modify civil-liberties protections as a means of defending the country against terrorists, the senior officials said. The attorney general's surveillance guidelines were imposed on the F.B.I. in the 1970's after the death of J. Edgar Hoover and the disclosures that the F.B.I. had run a widespread domestic surveillance program, called Cointelpro, to monitor antiwar militants, the Ku Klux Klan, the Black Panthers and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., among others, while Mr. Hoover was director. Since then, the guidelines have defined the F.B.I.'s operational conduct in investigations of domestic and overseas groups that operate in the United States. Some officials who oppose the change said the rules had largely kept the F.B.I. out of politically motivated investigations, protecting the bureau from embarrassment and lawsuits. But others, including senior Justice Department officials, said the rules were outmoded and geared to obsolete investigative methods and had at times hobbled F.B.I. counterterrorism efforts. Mr. Ashcroft and the F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, favor the change, the officials said. Most of the opposition comes from career officials at the F.B.I. and the Justice Department. A Justice Department spokeswoman said today that no final decision had been reached on the revised guidelines. As part of the attorney general's reorganization, said Susan Dryden, the spokeswoman, we are conducting a comprehensive review of all guidelines, policies and procedures. All of these are still under review. An F.B.I. spokesman said the bureau's approach to terrorism was also under review. Director Mueller's view is that everything should be on the table for review, the spokesman, John Collingwood, said. He is more than willing to embrace change when doing so makes us a more effective component. A healthy review process doesn't come at the expense of the historic protections inherent in our system. The attorney general is free to revise the guidelines, but Justice Department officials said it was unclear how heavily they would be revised. There are two sets of guidelines, for domestic and foreign groups, and most of the discussion has centered on the largely classified rules for investigations of foreign groups. The relaxation of the guidelines would follow administration measures to establish military tribunals to try foreigners accused of terrorism; to seek out and question 5,000 immigrants, most of them Muslims, who have entered the United States since January 2000; and to arrest more than 1,200 people, nearly all of whom are unconnected to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and hold hundreds of them in jail. Today, Mr. Ashcroft defended his initiatives in an impassioned speech to United States attorneys. Our efforts have been deliberate, they've been coordinated, they've been carefully crafted to not only protect America but to respect the Constitution and the rights enshrined therein, Mr. Ashcroft said. Still, he added, there have been a few voices who have criticized. Some have sought to condemn us with faulty facts or without facts at all. Others have simply rushed to judgment, almost eagerly assuming the worst of their government before they've had a chance to understand it at its best. Under the current surveillance guidelines, the F.B.I. cannot send undercover agents to investigate groups that gather at places like mosques or churches unless investigators first find probable cause, or evidence leading them to believe that someone in the group may have broken the law. Full investigations of this sort cannot take place without the attorney general's consent. Since Sept. 11, investigators have said, Islamic militants have sometimes met at mosques apparently knowing that the religious institutions are usually off limits to F.B.I. surveillance squads. Some officials are now saying
Reichstag Anthrax: not just greenpeace suggesting it..
excerpt from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/03/national/03POWD.html The preliminary analysis of the powder shows that it has the same extraordinarily high concentration of deadly spores as the anthrax produced in the American weapons program. While it is still possible that the anthrax could have a foreign source, the concentration is higher than any stock publicly known to be produced by other governments. The similarity to the levels achieved by the United States military lends support to the idea that someone with ties to the old program may be behind the attacks that have killed five people. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently expanded its investigation of anthrax suspects to include government and contractor laboratories as a possible source of the deadly powder itself, or of knowledge of how to make it.
Portland police refuses to ask FBI's illegal questions
We hereby call for publication of the list of (possibly illegal) questions that the FBI wants local cops to ask the swarthies... http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-113001port.story Now Portland Comes In for Questioning Probe: Oregon city and its police chief catch flak for refusing to interview foreigners on a U.S. list. By LYNN MARSHALL and TOM GORMAN , Times Staff Writers PORTLAND, Ore. -- Even after a 32-year career with the Los Angeles Police Department and two years here, Police Chief Mark Kroeker says he has never experienced the pummeling he is taking these days. Law enforcement officers in the rest of the nation are questioning foreigners about their possible knowledge of terrorist activities. But Kroeker, worried about civil rights violations, has said his officers will not join in this task. His is the only police agency in the country to refuse to cooperate for such reasons, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department. Because of that decision, based on advice from Portland's city attorney, Kroeker is winning plaudits from civil libertarians. But he is catching flak from all over the country. By Thursday, City Hall computers contained more than 1,000 e-mails. Half came from outside Oregon and were, one staffer said, universally critical of the city's position. From within Oregon, 60% of the electronic mail chastises the city for refusing to aid the investigation. I am appalled and embarrassed to be an Oregonian, wrote one local man. You . . . have completely lost perspective and what appears to be any remnant of common sense. And another: We are disgusted and saddened. . . . We consider the city of Portland and the state of Oregon to be a haven for terrorists. We will discontinue traveling there as a company. The director of the Citizens Crime Commission said he worries that the city attorney's ruling besmirches the city. Now it's a national story: Portland isn't cooperating, said Ray Mathis. It makes the city look bad. Criticism also is coming from within the ranks of the Police Bureau. We're embarrassed by the city's decision, said Leo Painton, an officer with the Portland Police Assn. We're in a state of war, and we want to go out and do our part, to help solve the 4,000 murders they're investigating. Chief Kroeker is reeling from the broadsides. I'm surprised by the reaction . . . and, to some extent, I feel I've been vilified, he said Thursday. I've never experienced anything like this. I must say, it has been discouraging to hear the level of uninformed criticism and the lack of knowledge of all the work that we have done and are continuing to do to investigate terrorism, he said. The uproar stems from a request earlier this month by U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft that law enforcement agencies help an overwhelmed FBI to interview about 5,000 men of Middle Eastern descent who have entered the country in the last two years. The men can decline to be interviewed. The Justice Department identified 23 residents for questioning in Portland, a city of 503,000. The Oregon state attorney general and the local district
how voluntary this really is
What's next, a voluntary arab visitor DNA database? from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/29/national/29DEAR.html The Detroit Free Press reported on an Immigration and Naturalization Service memorandum that said those who were interviewed could be held without bond if investigators developed an interest in them. The memorandum, dated Friday, was written by Michael A. Pearson, executive associate commissioner of the immigration service, and was sent to all regional offices. It said requests by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to detain immigration violators under `no bond' should be honored and will be handled in the same manner as all prior cases with a direct nexus to the Sept. 11 investigation. Noel Saleh, an immigration lawyer with many Arab clients, said of the memorandum, It just confirms our suspicion that what they've been saying was to be a friendly encounter is not going to be a friendly encounter. ... I think it is going to make some people not even show up, he added. Then they will go looking for them. And then we will see how voluntary this really is.
Publicizing CDC officials' home phone nos, stalking
poorly excerpted from http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-95027nov29.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia On Wednesday, San Francisco law enforcement officials agreed. Police arrested Michael Petrelis and ACT UP San Francisco spokesman David Pasquarelli on charges of criminal conspiracy, stalking and making terrorist threats against newspaper reporters and public health officials. The pair, who are allies, are accused of calling reporters and health officials at home repeatedly past midnight, making threats and leaving obscene sexual messages. Together, they are charged with 27 felonies and misdemeanors. Both men have acknowledged making or encouraging late-night calls, sometimes using foul language, but have denied making threats. They cite the need for a new phase of activism to combat what they call false public health studies and biased news articles that have scared the gay community and discouraged gay sex. I did not make any death threats. I did not make any bomb threats, Petrelis said. Was I using abusive language? Well, yeah. The men were held in lieu of $500,000 bail. Petrelis has acknowledged publicizing the home phone numbers of top officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. And, on posters and the ACT UP San Francisco Web site, Pasquarelli's group has superimposed swastikas and other Nazi insignia on a picture of a top San Francisco public health official, Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, calling for his ouster.
Health bill endangers civil rights
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/11/25/MN232750.DTL Health bill endangers civil rights The administration wants all 50 states to adopt a law allowing public health authorities to take over hospitals, seize drug supplies, quarantine people exposed to infectious pathogens, draft doctors to treat them, force patients to be vaccinated, and order police to restrain residents from leaving contaminated areas. ... Civil rights protections, however, are exactly what opponents find lacking. The kind of public health emergency that would trigger extraordinary powers for health officers is defined so broadly that it could include AIDS, HIV infection or a severe flu epidemic, said Tanya Ehrmann, director of public policy at the activist group AIDS Action in Washington, D.C. Annas said that under the legislation, people could be detained without a court order and isolated in stadiums or clinics without an adequate process to challenge the decision. The proposed law would also shield health officers from liability, along with anyone working at their direction, for deaths or health damage suffered by quarantined bioterror victims, he said. Under the measure, if you kill people or hurt them, that's tough, said Annas, one of 10 New England health law scholars urging Thompson to change the draft law. The families can't sue, nobody can sue.
All your mentally ill children are belong to us
I think people have not quite gotten their hands around the speed at which information can be disseminated online. -Monica Lewinsky, LATimes 9 may 01 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-110701private.story November 7, 2001 Web Mishap: Kids' Psychological Files Posted By CHARLES PILLER, Times Staff Writer Detailed psychological records containing the innermost secrets of at least 62 children and teenagers were accidentally posted on the University of Montana Web site last week in one of the most glaring violations of privacy over the Internet. The 400 pages of documents describe patient visits and offer diagnoses by therapists of mental retardation, depression, schizophrenia and other serious conditions. In nearly all cases, they contain complete names, dates of birth and sometimes home addresses and schools attended, along with results of psychological testing. Unlike a medical file left open on a counter in a doctor's office, these electronic medical records, once placed on the Internet, were exposed to a potentially vast audience. You're talking about sensitive information that could scar a child for life being available to anyone for any purpose, said Evan Hendricks, editor of Privacy Times newsletter. The mother of an 11-year-old, whose records of an attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder were posted on the university's Web site, was appalled. He's just a kid, and he shouldn't have his whole life splattered around for the whole world to know. It makes me sick, she said. The mother declined to be identified. She recalled attending her son's therapy sessions and watched the therapist taking notes in her book, and [I] thought maybe that was the extent of it. I guess I was kind of naive about that. The medical files were placed on the University of Montana Web site Oct. 29 and were available for eight days. The files were removed Monday after a local paper, the Missoulian, reported the story, university officials said. The records were for patients at clinics mainly in Minnesota, as well as in Montana and other states. A University of Montana student or technical employee may have accidentally placed these private files on the Web site, officials said. It is unclear how many people viewed these records. The Montana case is the latest in a series of unauthorized disclosures of medical data over the Internet. Earlier this year, Eli Lilly Co., maker of the antidepressant Prozac, inadvertently divulged the names and e-mail addresses of 600 psychiatric patients in a mass e-mail. Similarly, Kaiser Permanente last year sent e-mails with confidential medical information to the wrong Kaiser members. That's the danger with having all of these electronic records, said Daniel B. Borenstein, a former president of the American Psychiatric Assn. and a UCLA professor. If you push the wrong button or put something in the wrong spot on your Web site, it [can mean] immediate distribution of a massive amount of private medical information, Borenstein said. Last year, a Nevada woman bought a used computer only to find that its previous owner, a drugstore, had left the pharmacy records of thousands of patients on the machine's storage drive. But the buyer did not publicly disclose the records. Also last year, a computer hacker broke into the medical records system at the University of Washington Medical Center and gained access to some 4,000 patient records--although these were not made public. What sets the Montana incident apart is the youth of the patients, the amount of detail disclosed and its placement on a public Web site that allowed complete access to private records. The detailed accounts by therapists
Bahamas biz registry suffers for lack of anonymity
Anonymity Lifted, Fewer Companies Registering in the Bahamas By Samantha JosephAssociated Press Writer Published: Nov 1, 2001 NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) - The number of international companies registering in the Bahamas dropped steeply following tightened regulations that ended anonymous ownership, the attorney general says. Only 4,148 international business companies registered to do business between January and September of this year, Attorney General Carl Bethel said Wednesday. Some 14,500 registered in the same period last year. Earlier this year, the Bahamas was removed from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force's blacklist of countries deemed uncooperative in fighting money laundering. To get off the blacklist and avoid any sanctions, the Bahamas passed nine laws to strengthen regulations in the offshore sector. One of the new measures eliminated anonymous ownership of international business companies, so-called shell companies, by requiring the names of two directors and the office address on the registration. Any loss in business, however, was worth it to improve the reputation of the Bahamas as an international financial center, Bethel said. There has been some falloff in this area, he said. But we think, on balance, the financial services sector is better off. Still, there are some 45,000 international business companies that renewed their licenses this year, Bethel said. If the registrations had been at the same level as last year, the Bahamas would have brought in another $1.5 million in incorporation fees. Bethel said the drop would not have a dramatic effect on the country's overall revenues, because offshore banking and investment services are a more economically vital sector. http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAY95MWITC.html
Sony uses DMCA to harass Aibo user group http://www.aibohack.com
http://latimes.com/business/la-86726nov01.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dbusiness%2Dmanual Sony Dogs Aibo Enthusiast's Site Courts: The company uses a controversial law to stop owners from altering the robotic pet. Some consumers balk. By DAVE WILSON and ALEX PHAM, TIMES STAFF WRITERS Sony Corp. is using a controversial U.S. law aimed at protecting intellectual property to pull the plug on a Web site that helps owners of Aibo, Sony's popular and pricey robotic pet, teach their electronic dogs new tricks. Aibo owners are outraged, and hundreds have vowed to stop buying Sony products altogether until the company backs off. Sony has sold more than 100,000 Aibos worldwide since 1999, at prices ranging from $800 to $3,000. The dogs have spawned a community of enthusiasts who fuss over the mechanical marvels as if they were real canines. Last week, Sony executives sent a letter to the operator of a Web site, http://www.aibohack.com, alleging that much of the site's contents-programs and software tools that can modify the Aibo's behavior--was created and distributed in ways that violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The 1998 law was designed to combat the duplication of digitized materials, which can be easily distributed instantaneously worldwide on the Internet. Violators can face monetary damages and even prison time, depending on the nature of the violation. In a prepared statement, Sony officials said they asked only for removal of material it considered illegal and encouraged the distribution of Aibo-related materials that they did not believe infringed the company's rights. Sony sells a number of software kits, usually for about $150, that allow Aibo users to modify the dog's behavior. The software tools removed from the Web site are easier to use and more powerful, according to users--and are available for free. We do not support the development of software that is created by manipulating existing Sony Aibo-ware code, copying it and/or distributing it via the Internet, the company said. This is a clear case of copyright infringement, something that most Aibo owners can appreciate and respectfully understand. Critics of the DMCA say the law upsets the delicate balance between the rights of copyright holders to protect their intellectual property and the rights of everyone else to use such items to develop their own works. That has sparked increasing concern in Congress as scientists, librarians, researchers and consumer groups have voiced opposition to the law. On the surface, Sony appears to be using portions of the DMCA in an attempt to keep people from putting the company's product to new and interesting uses, said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil rights group. This is exactly the sort of thing we've been concerned about. Cohn said that if Congress does not act, the courts will eventually have to repair the situation. Sooner or later, this is going to come to a head, she said. This is a critical societal problem. If we can no longer stand on the shoulders of giants, take a cool thing somebody has made and make it a little bit cooler, progress is stunted, perhaps irreparably. Bob Harting, a Santa Monica potter, has programmed his three Aibos--Sparky, Agent Aibo and Aibojangles--to perform a syncopated dance routine to Madonna's Vogue. It's just impossible to do this sort of thing with the Sony tools, he said, as the dogs danced to the music in his living room. I have bought every accessory made for the Aibo, and nearly every bit of equipment in my apartment--television, VCRs, computers--is from Sony, Harting said. But I'm not
Osama uses Oracle DB
DCF Quoth: The name came into use when Osama used his cash to bankroll a series of bases in Pakistan to assist fighters on their way Afghanistan to fight the Commies. He used the opportunity to collect a rather valuable direct marketing list of somme 40,000 names and addresses of dedicated Musselman Warriors for future use. Wonder what dbase software he uses? *Obviously* Osama uses Oracle, because he and Larry Ellison are Well-Known Evil Persons.
NYT DOS'd
Tuesday October 30 7:21 PM ET NY Times Computers Shut Down by Apparent Attack NEW YORK (Reuters) - Internet connections at the New York Times Co (NYSE:NYT - news) were interrupted for several hours on Tuesday afternoon after the paper's computers were flooded with bogus information in an apparent attack. ``We don't know that it was malicious, but there seems to be no innocent explanation,'' wrote network administrator Terry Schwadron in an e-mail to newsroom employees. The Times computers ``started receiving a huge amount of electronic transmission that flooded the machinery that protects the paper from hacker attacks,'' according to Schwadron's e-mail, in what he called ``denial of service activity.'' In a denial of service attack, thousands of fake messages are sent to server computers, tying up the recipient's network. The main White House Web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov) was hit with a similar attack in May. The New York Times Web site (http://www.nytimes.com) was online as of Tuesday evening. A spokeswoman for the company, reading a statement, said: ''Some New York Times employees are experiencing difficulty accessing the Internet through their computers. Our technical staff is trying to determine the reason for this. At this time, we do not know the cause.'' The spokeswoman did confirm the contents of Schwadron's e-mail. The New York Times has gone through two anthrax scares since Oct. 12, but tests came up negative for the bacteria. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20011030/wr/media_newyorktimes_computers_dc_1.html
Re: NOTAM: GA prohibited w/in 10 miles of nuke plants
Quoth John Young: Sure. Don't go for the hard-headed containment structure, knock out the soft-shelled control facility which regulates cooling pumps. The reactor will do the rest just as effectively as planes weakened the towers so they would self-destruct. ... Nuclear power plants are likely a feint as well, with so many soft-shells ready to eat The reactors have such a nice chewy center that its worth it to try to breach the crunchy shell. Whacking the cooling or control will take out the power generation[1] but will not spread the spicy isotopes on the happy fun people. [1] Creating a power deficit which might not be picked up by the Grid, and so felt e.g., by Californians during certain seasons. --- my cat has a box of bentonite. should I turn him in?
Napster execs needing culling
Napster Wants License to License By Michael Stroud 2:00 a.m. Oct. 30, 2001 PST LOS ANGELES -- Napster CEO Konrad Hilbers says the government should consider compulsory standards requiring music labels to license music at a fair price if they don't close deals with Napster and other independent distributors. Like any other business person, I'm hesitant to bring government in, Hilbers said. But government has an obligation to set standards. If there's no agreement, the government should consider compulsory licensing. snip http://wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,47977,00.html Compulsory licensing = theft, buddy.
acting in self-defence; this is your CIA on AP
The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, confirmed reports of such a move yesterday by telling CNN that the US would be acting in self-defence in carrying out such missions. acting in self-defence sounds better in Hebrew...
US exporting abuses of 'detainees'
A short, sharp shock, they'll never do it agin' http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAA97MDETC.html Scotland Yard Gets More Time to Questions Terrorism Suspect The Associated Press Published: Oct 29, 2001 LONDON (AP) - Scotland Yard said Monday it has gained court permission to continue questioning an Egyptian man suspected of involvement in terrorism. The 38-year-old man, identified in press reports as Yasser al-Sirri, was arrested at his home in London last week. Tuesday would mark the end of the seven-day period permitted by the Terrorism Act for questioning a suspect without bringing charges, but authorities were granted more time to question al-Sirri. Al-Sirri runs a center that acts as a public relations contact for Islamic fundamentalist groups, and recently circulated a statement by Mohammed Atef, third-ranking leader of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Al-Sirri has declined to discuss how he obtained that statement.
Al-Jazeera Guide in English
This link http://www.cursor.org/aljazeera.htm has stories about censorship satellites and a link to a site that translates Al-Jazeera's site. (That link seems slow but the site is up.)
Ministry of truth: ABC anchor regrets remarks
[Yes ABC is a nominally private entity (modulo their govt license and use of spectrum) but note that she was speaking on her own time.] Friday October 26 02:16 AM EDT By Andrew Grossman NEW YORK (The Hollywood Reporter) --- ABC anchorwoman Carole Simpson on Thursday said she regretted some of the remarks she made at an Oct. 16 conference that led to her two-week suspension from Sunday's World News Tonight. The network took that action in the wake of her speech to the International Women's Media Foundation in New York where she revealed various details about the 7-month-old infant who contracted anthrax and his mother, a producer at ABC. Simpson's comments were particularly ill-timed because network executives had announced the illness only the night before and were still trying to communicate information to the media and ABC employees about the situation. In her speech, Simpson gave away the sex of the child -- a boy -- and revealed the producer's identity -- she was Simpson's producer. Executives were also upset about Simpson telling the conference that This Week co-host Cokie Roberts had received a suspicious letter postmarked Trenton, N.J., in the Washington bureau, where Simpson also works. But the letter proved innocent and it did not come from Trenton, leaving officials livid that Simpson had bypassed the network's process for disseminating anthrax information. In her statement, Simpson said she regretted sharing the erroneous information, saying: When any of us in this profession makes a mistake, it's important to say so. But she made no mention of her revelations about the mother's and baby's identities. ABC News declined to comment, saying it was a personnel matter. Chris Bury replaced Simpson on Oct. 21. Simpson is due back Nov. 4. - Propoganda outlets are military targets -NATO during FRYwar
Google bends for feds
Dozens of government agencies have rushed to pull sensitive information off their websites and Google has backed their efforts by clearing the cache of shuttered websites from its search engines, a Google spokeswoman said. Suppression Stifles Some Sites http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47835,00.html
Starium patents?
Declan writes: I happened to hear from Lee Caplin of Starium today. ... Also, Lee says Starium has filed for patents on a desk phone, answering machine and conference phone. One wonders what they have that is patentable. Given that we've been using laptops with PGPfone/Nautilus/SpeakFreely for a while. Maybe the concept of an answering machine with PK exchange? Is this supposed to be nonobvious?
Where the torture never stops..
Wednesday October 24 2:24 PM ET Pakistani Held in Attack Probe Dies in U.S. Jail NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - A Pakistani arrested on immigration charges in the U.S. probe of last month's suicide plane attacks has been found dead in his jail cell in New Jersey, but the cause of death is not yet known, a state official said on Wednesday. The body of the 55-year-old man, whose identity was not released, was found in his cell on Tuesday at the Hudson County jail in Kearny, said Jacob Delemos, a spokesman for the Hudson County executive's office. Delemos said officials administered a nasal swab on the body to test for anthrax and the result was negative. Anthrax, a potential germ warfare agent, has killed at least three people in the United States this month and the government fears its spread may be the work of those responsible for the Sept. 11 plane attacks. He said the man was arrested on Sept. 19 ``along with others in that aggressive approach of the FBI'' after the attacks on the 110-storey twin towers of the World Trade Center, Washington and Pennsylvania that killed more than 5,000 people. He said the man was being held on immigration charges. Delemos said more than three weeks ago the man had complained of gum pain and showed signs of gingivitis, according to the county medical examiner. He was treated with an antibiotic between Oct. 1 and Oct. 6. Representatives of the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service were not immediately available to comment. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20011024/ts/attack_newjersey_detainee_dc_1.html Flies all green and buzzin', in this dungeon of despair. Prisoners grumble and piss their clothes, and scratch their matted hair. A tiny light, from a window hole, a hundred yards away, is all they ever gets to know about the regular light in the day. And it stinks so bad, the stones been chokin', and weepin' greenish drops. In the room where the giant fire puffer works, and the torture never stops. The torture never stops. Slime and rot, rats and snot, and vomit on the floor. Fifty yoogly soldiers, man, holdin' spears by the iron door. Knives and spikes, and guns and the likes of every tool of pain. And a sinister midget, with a bucket and a mop, where the blood goes down the drain. And it stinks so bad, the stones been chokin', and weepin' greenish drops. In the room where the giant fire puffer works, and the torture never stops. The torture never stops. The torture.. the torture.. The torture never stops. Flies all green and buzzin', in this dungeon of despair. An evil prince eats a steaming pig, in a chamber right near there. He eats the snouts and the trotters first. The loins and the groins is soon dispersed. His carvin' style is well rehearsed. He stands and shouts: All men be cursed! All men be cursed! All men be cursed! All men be cursed! And disagree? Well, no one durst. He's the best, of course, of all the worst. Some wrong been done, he done it first. And it stinks so bad, his bones been chokin', and weepin' greenish drops. In the night of the iron sausage, where the torture never stops. The torture never stops. The torture.. the torture.. The torture never stops. Flies all green and buzzin', in this dungeon of despair. Who are all those people, that he's locked away down there?
Is there a subway in DC?
And why are NYC prison^H^H^H^H^H^Hinhabitants still taking subways? http://books.nap.edu/books/0309068495/html/223.html#pagetop
Vietnam to US: charge your citizens with terrorism
First Israel, now Vietnam. Only Vietnam wants the US to charge US citizens with terroristm against Vietnam. Curiouser and curiouser. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-102101viet.story Excerpts: As the United States presses its war against terrorism, Vietnam is demanding that American officials extend the crackdown to an immigrant group they say has sponsored Southeast Asian bombing attempts from its headquarters in a nondescript Garden Grove office building. .. Vietnam has asked the U.S. to stop harboring, tolerating or supporting that group. It should punish those who commit terrorist acts on Vietnam . . . like Nguyen and his group. .. Though it is not illegal for U.S. citizens to call for the overthrow of a foreign government, it is against the law for Americans to become involved in the effort to do so. - Domestic terrorism is the only way to remind Americans that they are responsible for what their government does.
French Nazis charge student with speaking freely
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011019/aponline151310_000.htm French Teen Leads Bin Laden Cheer The Associated Press Friday, Oct. 19, 2001; 3:13 p.m. EDT STRASBOURG, France A French teen-ager was placed under investigation after he allegedly organized a demonstration at his junior high school where students called out Long live bin Laden, judicial officials said Friday. A juvenile court judge in Strasbourg placed the 15-year-old under formal investigation one step short of being charged on Thursday for justifying acts of terrorism, the officials said. The judge ordered the student to remain under the surveillance of a teacher. For adults, the charge of justifying acts of terrorism can carry up to five years in prison and a $42,000 fine. The teen-ager is believed to have organized a demonstration Monday at the Lezay-Marnesia school in Strasbourg, in eastern France. About 100 students gathered in the courtyard, burned a pair of red-white-and-blue underwear and cried out Long live (Osama) bin Laden, down with the Americans. Bin Laden is suspected in the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Ridge is lying, spores are pro
Consider these two reports: Bozo Ridge downplaying the weaponization of the spores, contradicted by another source; and the Feebs questioning NJ-mailbox-locals about knowing chemists. Makes one think the Quality is Very High and Ridge is lying. We have always been at war with Oceania bin Laden. In Washington, Ridge told reporters the anthrax analyzed in the United States had not been ``weaponized,'' meaning it had not been manipulated to facilitate inhalation by potential victims. Even so, one participant in a conference call for lawmakers said Robert Gibbs, a Defense Department official, reported the anthrax was of ``relative high quality'' and that ``there is an effort to downplay and not promote the abilities of the people doing this.'' The participant spoke on condition of anonymity. Samantha Pae, 34, said she, her fiance, and her fiance's mother were interviewed by FBI officers, who asked them how long they had lived in the area and whether they had noticed any suspicious activity or observed vehicles with out-of-state plates. The agents also asked them to provide their Social Security numbers, she said. They hit every house in the development area today, she said, adding that she had not seen any strange people or unusual behavior. Charlotte Kaplan Piepszak, who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, said FBI agents asked similar questions of her. And then they asked if I knew any chemists, she said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011020/ts/attacks_anthrax_95.html http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-102001anthrax.story
Nasal Discharge Reporting (commercial benign interrogation)
How to be a sensitive journalist (US style) Crying If the interviewee cries, this is not necessarily a bad or harmful thing. Carry paper tissues at all times, and offer them as a caring gesture. One reason people feel self-conscious about crying is nasal discharge, and offering them a paper tissue can help. A friendly touch on the arm is also often good. http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/10/04/nmed104.xmlsSheet=/news/2001/10/04/ixhome.html
FBI's database of anonymous letters
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/page2.htm Anonymous Letters The Anonymous Letter File (ALF) is an image-oriented database housed in the Questioned Documents Unit of the FBI Laboratory. The repository houses letters from anonymous sources, categorizing entries based on target (recipient of letter), method of preparation, and content. Established in the 1930s, the original ALF was a unique and useful resource for law enforcement. Originally, index card-sized sections of a note's text was from a photograph of the original anonymous letter and entered to the database with the written portion of its envelope. The entry was filed based on its geographic origin (determined by the post mark), nature (hate or demand note) and the method of communication (hand-written, typed, etc.). During a search, when a Laboratory Technician detected similarities between two or more entries, the available content of those notes would be further examined (remember, only an index card-sized portion was initially used). If an association still appeared likely, an Examiner would then conduct a more thorough comparison including an examination of handwriting characteristics. In the early 1980s, the database was upgraded to include video-camera-captured images of letters. The images were stored on disk and the text of the entire letter was retyped for comparison. The new system also enabled special attention to be given to vocabulary, spelling habits, and the topic that a letter addressed. Even with this more advanced system, a Questioned Documents Examiner still studied the hand writing or printing methods of the associated letters looking for a stronger connection. The Laboratory's current ALF system, updated in the 1990s, is even more advanced. Instead of capturing an image of a letter by video camera, images are scanned onto a computer hard drive with back-ups made on compact discs. Comparison is then conducted based on target, method of preparation, and content. The associations that result from ALF searches can prove invaluable in FBI and other law enforcement investigations. Frequent topics of anonymous letters include bomb threats, environmental concerns, abortion politics, and gun control.
USG muscles Arab TV stations to present its view
Note that the offending Arab TV station has a tendency to run interviews with analysts who argued U.S. foreign policy had brought about the recent attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As if there were another reason. Oh sorry, its about democracy, right. US to Qatar: rein in Al-Jazeera Tuesday, 2 October 2001 20:14 (ET) http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=226316 US to Qatar: rein in Al-Jazeera By ELI J. LAKE WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Embassy in Doha has filed a formal complaint to the Qatari government about the partly state-owned Al-Jazeera satellite network's coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes on New York and the Pentagon, State Department officials told United Press International Tuesday. Last week, U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, Maureen Quinn, delivered a demarche from Washington regarding Al-Jazeera's broadcasts to Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani. Quinn asked the Qataris to investigate what the United States says is the station's tendency to run interviews with analysts who argued U.S. foreign policy had brought about the recent attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The ambassador also expressed concern about the station's repeated airing of an interview with Osama bin Laden, the man the United States says is behind the Sept. 11 attacks, State Department sources said. They are running this thing four times a day, one State Department official told UPI. It's like giving him a free forum to justify his beliefs with no filter. All we are asking is for balanced reporting, another official said Tuesday. They were airing interviews from the right of center and the far right. There are plenty of other people who speak Arabic who have condemned these attacks. Although Al-Jazeera is partly owned by the Qatari government, its editorial policy is independent, an anomaly in the state-run media climate of the Middle East. It is also the largest Arabic television news channel in the world. According to the station's Washington bureau, its programs are watched by 40 million viewers regularly. snip
USG pulls 'sensitive' info off net
Must've never heard of caching.. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-100301safe.story Several federal agencies have removed sensitive documents and reports from their Internet sites following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying they want to keep the information out of the wrong hands. The Department of Transportation has removed its national mapping system for a variety of pipelines. The Department of Health and Human Services yanked a report on the dangers of chemical plant terrorism. The Environmental Protection Agency pulled information on risk-management programs, which inform communities of dangers from 15,000 chemical plants and other industrial facilities nationwide. The widespread editing illustrates how swiftly federal agencies have switched gears following the attacks. Although community activists have lobbied for years for more access to records about nuclear plants and other facilities, agencies now fear that such access may put the public at risk. Recent events have focused additional security concerns on critical infrastructure systems, said a note posted online by the Office of Pipeline Safety within the Transportation Department. At this time, [the office] is providing pipeline data to pipeline operators and local, state and federal government officials only. White House officials say they have not issued a blanket order to federal agencies to remove sensitive documents from government Web sites. We would only hear about these things if we were asked to advise on them, said E. Floyd Kvamme, co-chairman of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. However, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said his agency is working closely with the White House and Department of Defense to assure its Web site does not disclose potentially dangerous information. We have been reviewing all the information on the Web site with an eye to removing anything that might be helpful to potential terrorists, said NRC spokesman Breck Henderson. For instance, if the site contained the exact geographic coordinates of a nuclear plant, that information would be removed, he said. If we're a little overzealous in removing things, if there's something on there you really want, give us a Freedom of Information Act request, Henderson said. EPA emergency coordinator Jim Makris said he personally made the decision to remove--at least temporarily--information about risk-management plans submitted by industrial facilities as required by 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. The Risk Management Program Web site gave detailed information about 15,000 facilities, including executive summaries, emergency plans, accident histories and chemicals used on site. That data had been on the Internet since late 1999. We just wanted to get it out of the way, Makris said. We have made no decision that it will stay off. The information is still available to emergency managers, firefighters and others who need it, he said. Web security experts say the steps taken by the agencies are only half measures, because the material could have been previously downloaded and saved on users' hard drives. In addition, some of the reports are still available in paper form, said Elias Levy, chief technology officer for SecurityFocus, a security information company in San Mateo. If someone really wants to get it badly, as they're assuming possibly a terrorist would, they still would be able to get it, Levy said. You simply have to jump through a lot of hoops. What they're going to end up doing is discouraging the public from obtaining the information, not necessarily discouraging the terrorists from doing so. The Government Printing Office, which prints most government documents and runs a chain of stores, has not been asked to pull any books or reports, deputy general counsel Drew Spalding said. But Transportation Department spokesman Lenny Alcivar said reviews similar to the one being conducted by his agency are taking place throughout the federal government. This is not meant to restrict information on the part of the public, but more importantly to allow the department and the public the maximum protections against security threats as it can, Alcivar said. It's important that government, across the board, do all that it can to heighten safety measures while at the same time continue to be as open and responsive to the public as possible.
Man arrested in burning of U.S. flag
Looks like the fundamentalists won... http://www.indystar.com/data/wire/out/1002ap_l91ia7g109.html Man arrested in burning of U.S. flag Associated Press Last updated 04:40 PM, EST, Tuesday, October 02, 2001 inscmsfonsrctdrccw NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- An Indiana man accused of burning an American flag behind his home has been arrested, despite rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court that have said flag-burning is an exercise of free speech. David H. Stout, 49, of Noblesville was charged Monday with flag desecration and resisting law enforcement. He was being held Tuesday at the Hamilton County Jail on a $9,000 bond. Stout was arrested Sunday after police found him lying beside a burning flag in an alley behind his home. Indiana is among 48 states that still have a law against flag desecration on the books, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has twice said flag-burning is a constitutionally protected form of expression. Stout told a neighbor who tried to stop the burning that he could burn his flag if he wanted. The neighbor called police. Stout is accused of throwing a lighted firecracker at a police officer and struggling with police when they took him into custody. Hamilton County Deputy Prosecutor Wendy Petersen filed the charges against Stout. Our particular statute has not been challenged, Petersen told The Indianapolis Star. We still have flag desecration on the books, although we may certainly come up against that (constitutional) argument if we continue to prosecute Mr. Stout. Both charges against Stout are misdemeanors, each carrying maximum penalties of one year in prison and a $5,000 fine upon conviction. Petersen agreed that the surge of flag-waving since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may have created a new sensitivity to flag desecration. I can't comment on what the officers were thinking at the time, but probably a report of flag burning would be taken more seriously because of the environment, she said.
FBI's database of anonymous letters
[Reformatted for legibility. Please take the few moments required to present documents in a readable manner. KMSelf] http://www.fbi.gov/page2/page2.htm Anonymous Letters The Anonymous Letter File (ALF) is an image-oriented database housed in the Questioned Documents Unit of the FBI Laboratory. The repository houses letters from anonymous sources, categorizing entries based on target (recipient of letter), method of preparation, and content. Established in the 1930s, the original ALF was a unique and useful resource for law enforcement. Originally, index card-sized sections of a note's text was from a photograph of the original anonymous letter and entered to the database with the written portion of its envelope. The entry was filed based on its geographic origin (determined by the post mark), nature (hate or demand note) and the method of communication (hand-written, typed, etc.). During a search, when a Laboratory Technician detected similarities between two or more entries, the available content of those notes would be further examined (remember, only an index card-sized portion was initially used). If an association still appeared likely, an Examiner would then conduct a more thorough comparison including an examination of handwriting characteristics. In the early 1980s, the database was upgraded to include video-camera-captured images of letters. The images were stored on disk and the text of the entire letter was retyped for comparison. The new system also enabled special attention to be given to vocabulary, spelling habits, and the topic that a letter addressed. Even with this more advanced system, a Questioned Documents Examiner still studied the hand writing or printing methods of the associated letters looking for a stronger connection. The Laboratory's current ALF system, updated in the 1990s, is even more advanced. Instead of capturing an image of a letter by video camera, images are scanned onto a computer hard drive with back-ups made on compact discs. Comparison is then conducted based on target, method of preparation, and content. The associations that result from ALF searches can prove invaluable in FBI and other law enforcement investigations. Frequent topics of anonymous letters include bomb threats, environmental concerns, abortion politics, and gun control.
Man arrested in burning of U.S. flag
[Reformatted for legibility. Please take the few moments required to present materials in a readable format. KMSelf] Looks like the fundamentalists won... http://www.indystar.com/data/wire/out/1002ap_l91ia7g109.html Man arrested in burning of U.S. flag Associated Press Last updated 04:40 PM, EST, Tuesday, October 02, 2001 inscmsfonsrctdrccw NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- An Indiana man accused of burning an American flag behind his home has been arrested, despite rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court that have said flag-burning is an exercise of free speech. David H. Stout, 49, of Noblesville was charged Monday with flag desecration and resisting law enforcement. He was being held Tuesday at the Hamilton County Jail on a $9,000 bond. Stout was arrested Sunday after police found him lying beside a burning flag in an alley behind his home. Indiana is among 48 states that still have a law against flag desecration on the books, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has twice said flag-burning is a constitutionally protected form of expression. Stout told a neighbor who tried to stop the burning that he could burn his flag if he wanted. The neighbor called police. Stout is accused of throwing a lighted firecracker at a police officer and struggling with police when they took him into custody. Hamilton County Deputy Prosecutor Wendy Petersen filed the charges against Stout. Our particular statute has not been challenged, Petersen told The Indianapolis Star. We still have flag desecration on the books, although we may certainly come up against that (constitutional) argument if we continue to prosecute Mr. Stout. Both charges against Stout are misdemeanors, each carrying maximum penalties of one year in prison and a $5,000 fine upon conviction. Petersen agreed that the surge of flag-waving since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may have created a new sensitivity to flag desecration. I can't comment on what the officers were thinking at the time, but probably a report of flag burning would be taken more seriously because of the environment, she said.
Brinworld: citizens with speed-radar
http://web.star-telegram.com/content/fortworth/2001/10/01/arlnews/fw010408-1001-XB001-speeders.htm ARLINGTON - Alice Pelfrey has taken aim at speeders in her neighborhood, and her efforts have really slowed them down. Armed with a police radar gun and a clipboard, Pelfrey and other Plaza Heights Citizens on Patrol members have been tracking violators as part of an Arlington Police Department pilot program designed to reduce speeding violations in neighborhoods. As long as we were doing it, they were slowed down and they stayed slowed down for a while, Pelfrey said. If we keep it up, they're going to get the idea that we're set up and that somebody is going to be watching. The East Arlington Police Station test program involving Plaza Heights, Colonial Estates and Valley View Citizens on Patrol groups ended this month. Modeled after an Arlington County, Va., program, resident groups are loaned radar guns and trained to log the speeds and license plate numbers of violators in their neighborhoods. The data helps the Police Department determine where more patrol officers or speed limit signs are needed, Lt. Carolyn Allen said. The program is expected to become citywide next year, she said. The citizens have told us their concerns about traffic and speeding, Allen said. This is a way for them to get involved in their own neighborhoods and do something about it. The groups, clearly identified as speed monitors with signs and jackets, set up in areas approved by the department. The information collected is turned in to the Police Department, which then mails warning letters to those caught stating the speed, date and location of the violations. During the six neighborhood monitoring operations, the department notified 125 people. More than likely, once they get a letter they're going to think twice about coming down this street speeding because they're not going to know whether we're there or not, Pelfrey said. Although violators in the test program received only warnings, Allen said she plans to station plainclothes police officers with the groups so that speeding violators can be stopped and issued citations. According to collected data, the average speed in 30 mph zones ranged from 35.5 to 46 mph. In the 35 mph zones, the average speed was about 43 mph. The highest speed, clocked by Colonial Estates East Citizens on Patrol group, was 62 mph in a 30 mph zone. People came up and said they were really glad to see us, said Linda White, a Colonial Estates group coordinator. In the beginning, we expected people to be negative, and that really hasn't happened. Pelfrey said her group only had one negative experience - when a person drove by and gave members an obscene hand gesture. But most of the feedback was positive, she said. We had a lot of people in the neighborhood that waved and honked their horn, Pelfrey said. A lot of people said 'Go for it. Set up in our yard if you want to.'
