Newswires: Surveillance

Nearly half of all criminals escape the DNA database say Lib Dems

Ahead of today’s European Court of Human Rights ruling on whether two innocent men should be removed from the DNA database, the Liberal Democrats have revealed that 40% of Britain’s criminals escape inclusion on the database. Research by the party revealed that: > More than 2.3 million criminals, 41.6% of all criminals with a record on the [...] more >>

ID Cards Under Fire

Ministers trying to extend identity card scheme by stealth say Lib Dems Commenting on reports that measures will be introduced to allow state officials to demand a person’s proof of identity at all times, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: “Ministers seem to be breaking their promise that no one would ever have to carry [...] more >>

Index on Censorship, and Secrecy in Congress

Index on Censorship, the British magazine on freedom of expression, devotes its latest issue to secrecy, surveillance and executive authority in the United States at the end of the Bush Administration.  It features articles by Jameel Jaffer, Geoffrey R. Stone, Eric Lichtblau, Patrick Radden Keefe, and myself, among others.  Many of the articles can be [...] more >>

Vigilant Shield 09: A Cover for Illegal Domestic Operations?

Launched by President Bush in 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, NORTHCOM has been mired in controversy since its creation. Among its more dubious accomplishments were illegal domestic spying operations in conjunction with the Pentagon's shadowy Counter Intelligence Field Activity unit (CIFA) that targeted antiwar activists. Despite CIFA's shut-down and the alleged dismantling of its TALON database (now incorporated into the FBI's Guardian Threat Tracking System), SourceWatch revealed that "in accordance with intelligence oversight requirements, the DoD will maintain a record copy of the collected data." One can't help but wonder whether that "record copy" of TALON somehow migrated into a NORTHCOM database. more >>

Delinquent Mortgages Set to Nearly Double in 2009

Via: Wall Street Journal: The number of consumers with delinquent mortgages is poised to almost double by the end of next year, hitting its highest level in at least 16 years, according to a leading credit bureau. TransUnion LLC, which analyzed about 27 million consumer records in its database, predicted that the proportion of consumers with mortgages [...] more >>

ID cards are not voluntary

When the Government introduced its ID card legislation several years ago, it made one thing clear. Even though it would be obligatory to register on the ID database when obtaining a new passport, it would not be compulsory to carry a card. This has led some people to assume that the scheme is voluntary. It is [...] more >>

Police and immigration given powers to demand to see identification

Tom Whitehead writes in the Daily Telegraph: Police and immigration officers will be able to stop Britons and demand they prove their identity under proposed sweeping new powers. Clauses in the draft Immigration and Citizenship Bill give state officials the power to make anyone who has ever entered the country, at any time, prove who they are [...] more >>

64,000 Welsh Kids on DNA Database for Life

Plaid AM Bethan Jenkins has uncovered that 64,000 Welsh young people are now on the national DNA database - that’s more than 1 in 5 people between the ages of 10 and 17! Are 1 in 5 of our kids criminals? Of course not. But Welsh cops have been on a DNA thieving-spree for the last [...] more >>

“your felonies, your fault!”: no peace for the prosecutor of the RNC felonies

dusk on a december tuesday, barely warm enough to emerge from our (barely) heated abodes. the suited democrats descend on the swanky minneapolis club, expecting a calm entrance to susan gaertner’s birthday fundraiser for her gubernatorial campaign, but alas! the iron gates are surrounded by the rabble, an angry mob of the dispossessed and their defenders. the suits push through, ignoring our festival. these ruffians, armed with a sound system and raucous tunes, cast a spell of momentary liberation outside this fortress of the rich. the panopticon watches: the ubiquitous surveillance camera and two cops guard the door, allowing only the monied minneapolites through. someone tries to deliver a singing telegram to gaertner, but they are turned away. a banner is dropped from a parking garage, but quickly removed. the crowd exudes life and rage, in stark contrast to the drab professionals waiting for busses, and the ominously shiny skyscrapers. we are dancing and hollering and watching each other’s backs. the filth drift in, tension rises but the unbirthday celebration continues. one pig emerges from the building, tells us to shut off the sound system, but he is alone and surrounded by people chanting “drop the charges!” the music stops for a moment but soon begins anew. an unmarked van full of pigs arrives, then a “booking van” parks nearby. the filth pull out zip ties, itching to fill their arrest quota, but still they make no move. they order us to disperse, and we move the dance party around the corner. they repeat the dispersal order: we repeat the move. read more more >>

protests against the roll-out of the ID card scheme & database

Against the imposition of ID cards on Non-EU students and marriage visa holders. read more more >>

EFF to Fight Against Telecom Immunity in Tuesday Hearing

San Francisco - On Tuesday, December 2, at 10 a.m., the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will challenge the constitutionality of a federal law aimed at granting immunity to telecommunications companies participating in illegal domestic surveillance. At Tuesday's hearing, EFF will argue that the flawed FISA Amendments Act (FAA) improperly attempts to take away Americans' claims arising out of the First and Fourth Amendments, violates the federal government's separation of powers as established in the Constitution, and robs innocent telecom customers of their rights without due process of law. Signed by President Bush earlier this year, the FAA allows for the dismissal of the lawsuits over the telecoms' participation in the warrantless surveillance program if the government secretly certifies to the court that the surveillance did not occur, was legal, or was authorized by the president. Attorney General Michael Mukasey filed that classified certification with the court in September and is demanding that the cases be dismissed. EFF is representing the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of millions of AT&T customers whose private domestic communications and communications records were illegally handed over to the National Security Agency. EFF has been appointed co-coordinating counsel along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for all 46 outstanding lawsuits concerning the government's warrantless surveillance program. Also Tuesday, in the afternoon, the court will hear the arguments on the future of Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. Bush, a case alleging that the government illegally wiretapped calls between the charity and its lawyers. For more information about attending the hearing, please contact press@eff.org. WHAT: Hepting v. AT&T and other NSA telecommunications records lawsuits WHEN: Tuesday, December 2 10 a.m. WHERE: 450 Golden Gate Ave., Courtroom 6 San Francisco, CA 94102 For more on EFF's case against AT&T: http://www.eff.org/nsa/hepting Contact: Rebecca Jeschke Media Coordinator Electronic Frontier Foundation press@eff.org more >>

Evidence Suggests CIA Funded Experiments at State Hospital

Via: Rutland Herald: Few people in Vermont remember Dr. Robert W. Hyde, but one of his former patients can’t forget him. The doctor was involved in one of the nation’s darkest chapters in medical science: In the 1950s, Hyde conducted drug and psychological experiments at a Boston hospital through funding that apparently originated with the CIA. [...] Related posts:

1. DARPA Funded Research: Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep More innovation from DARPA and their university shills. Via: Wired:...
2. Culture of Surveillance May Contribute to Delusional Condition There’s now a psychiatric designation for people who are aware...

Yorkshire Activists blockade Sheffield Border Agency Centre

At 8am this morning a group of Yorkshire activists blockaded the Sheffield Border Agency Interrogation Centre at Vulcan House using bicycle locks and superglue to attach themselves to both entrances. The group are there in response to the introduction of compulsory ID cards for non-EU people on student or marriage visas. They are displaying two banners, one reads “My identity is not your property” and the other “Nothing to hide? Everything to fear! Defy ID!” more >>

Police in CCTV ‘beating’ of war hero to be probed

By Paul Byrne |   Two police officers are being investigated for allegedly pinning down war hero Mark Aspinall and repeatedly punching him. The officers, called to deal with a man who was creating a nuisance, are said to have mistaken Mark Aspinall, 24, for the culprit. CCTV footage of the incident appears to show PC Peter Lightfoot and a [...] more >>

First ID cards not being scanned

The first batch of biometric identity cards issued in Britain last week to foreigners are not being read because the government failed to issue a single scanner in time. Machines that scan fingerprints and facial details were meant to be in the hands of employers, recruiters and emergency services for the rollout of the cards on [...] more >>

NYTimes: End of Immunity Worries U.S. Contractors in Iraq

The thousands of American contractors in Iraq who have been above Iraqi law since the war began are suddenly facing a new era in which their United States passports will no longer protect them from arrest and imprisonment. more >>

09/25/08 PRESS RELEASE: Rise in Federal Policing, Surveillance and Immigration Enforcement Signals Growth and Adaptation of U.S. Criminal Justice System

(en) Britain, Anarchist journal Direct Action #42 - Organising - South London SF Act against Underpaying Restaurant; London Coalition Against Poverty

Organising - South London SF Act against Underpaying Restaurant --- A top London restaurant paid only £1.50 an hour to a kitchen porter. ----- Cesare Copeta, a member of the Solidarity Federation’s South London local, was employed by The Food Room, owners of The French Table restaurant in Surrey and the Tom Ilic restaurant in Battersea, currently listed in Time Out’s Top 50 London restaurants. He was employed as a kitchen porter at the Tom Ilic restaurant and had applied for the job through an advertisement in the Depart-ment of Work and Pension’s Jobcentre Plus database. ----- He worked 50 hours over a 2 weeks shift, but was then paid only £75. Having been paid only £1.50 per hour, he ... more >>

Damian Green police operation is a criminal assault on our civil liberties

The Daily Mail leader-writer comments: Having passed or prepared legislation to suspend habeas corpus, create massive biometric databases, introduce identity cards, cover the nation with surveillance cameras and allow anti-terrorist legislation to be used to hound law-abiding taxpayers, Labour is building the framework for a totalitarian state. The saga of Damian Green shows that Britain’s chief constables, [...] more >>

CCTV Judges Your Behaviour

Via anonymous email Portsmouth introduces CCTV cameras that can ‘identify’ suspicious behaviour and alert their operators As an MP is reportedly arrested for trying to leak information in the public interest, and royal assent is given to a bill that carries up to ten years in prison for gathering information on a police officer, new CCTV cameras [...] more >>

'Smart' CCTV in Portsmouth

Portsmouth introduces CCTV cameras that can 'identify' suspicious behaviour and alert their operators more >>

'Smart' CCTV in Portsmouth

CCTV cameras are going up in Portsmouth that can identify 'suspicious' behaviour and alert camera operators to monitor a 'situation' more closely. more >>

Surveillance Security State- Arrest of Shadow Cabinet MP

Reports are coming in from official news sources that Damien Green,a leading member of the Opposition Bench has been arrested in connection with the "leaking" of documents which might be in the public interest. more >>

Review - The Illusion of Freedom and Equality

From Mental Help - By Wendy C. Hamblet In the contemporary age of globalizing democratic capitalism, freedom and equality seem axiomatic. Many consider it self-evident that, alongside commodities, technologies and expertise, the liberal values of freedom and equality will be exported to the farthest reaches of the globe, and soon we will all be one, big, happy, free and equal McFamily. Critics of the current global system, on the other hand, focus their attention on the economic disadvantages of current practices and policies for the developing world (disadvantages explained as unfortunate, unavoidable, short-term side-effects of ultimate universal prosperity). Critics call for reform of the regulations governing global commerce, easing of the structural adjustments imposed by the International Monetary Fund, and debt-forgiveness in developing countries. They lobby for more equitable distribution of the benefits of the current system, but they seldom doubt the desirability of those system benefits. In The Illusion of Freedom and Equality, Richard Stivers sketches a much broader problem that challenges our assumptions about the consumer culture we are quickly exporting across the globe. Stivers focuses his critique upon technology. Contra Marx, Weber, and modern conflict theorists who argue that technology is an epiphenomenon of capitalism, Stivers argues that technology, in all its varied forms, is the foundational reality of the global capitalist system. Technology, he asserts, is the chief determining factor in the organization of modern society: "politics and economics depend on and are determined by the movement of the technological system" (p. 97). Technology is not only a "system"; it is our environment and our culture, everywhere eroding and supplanting local culture and identity. read more more >>

Resisting, Subverting and Destroying the Apparatus of Surveillance and Control

The Assault on Mumbai

By TARIQ ALI - November 27, 2008 The terrorist assault on Mumbai’s five-star hotels was well planned, but did not require a great deal of logistic intelligence: all the targets were soft. The aim was to create mayhem by shining the spotlight on India and its problems and in that the terrorists were successful. The identity of the black-hooded group remains a mystery. read more more >>

Whitehall bungling undermines ID plans

According to the Computing leader-writer: For those unfamiliar with the UK and its pleasant pastures seen, the changes being introduced this week will pass unnoticed. Indeed, for the vast majority of Britons, the fact that foreign nationals who apply for residency will now be required to apply for identity cards may also pass unseen. But this [...] more >>

Britain cannot afford ID cards

Telegraph | For the first time since 1952, the British government is issuing identity cards. In order to test the system and ease its introduction, there is to be a cynical requirement for foreign nationals resident in the UK to register. To begin with, this will affect students and the foreign spouses of British citizens. The [...] more >>

(en) Britain, Anti I.D Card Banner Drop In Newcastle by No Borders North East*

Two banners dropped over busy inner city motorway ---- This morning, during the peak rush hour time of 7.30 - 9.00 am, 4 activists from No Borders North East performed an anti-i.d card banner drop from a bridge over one of the city's busiest inner motorways. The largest banner read "No To ID Cards, Freedom For All!" and was accompanied by a smaller No Borders banner. ---- The reaction from the drivers below was overwhelmingly positive, with many honking horns, waving and giving thumbs up. ---- Today sees the start of the ID card scheme, with non-EU citizens applying for, or renewing visas for study or marriage, being made to carry a card and have their details put on the Government's database. ... more >>

Identity Cards Protest, Lunar House, Croydon - Pictures.

Campaigners gather at the UK Border Agency at Lunar House, Croydon in London on the day the British Government provisionally introduce Identity Cards to the United Kingdom. more >>

Britain can’t afford ID cards

According to the Daily Telegraph leader: For the first time since 1952, the British government is issuing identity cards. In order to test the system and ease its introduction, there is to be a cynical requirement for foreign nationals resident in the UK to register. To begin with, this will affect students and the foreign spouses of [...] more >>

Report: Liverpool ID Card Protests at Immigration Centre

On Tuesday 25th November 2008, the day when UK identity cards for foreign nationals were introduced, a number of groups from around the north west gathered at the Liverpool immigration centre in Reliant House, 20 Water Street. This was one of a series of demonstrations at immigration centres around the UK. People from NO2ID, Defy-ID and No Borders were present, among with the Rhythms of Resistance band. Spirits were high, and the groups had a very positive demonstration. Most demonstrators were wearing barcodes strung around their necks. The public reaction was mixed but mostly positive, with people coming from surrounding streets to observe the demonstration and talk to people about the issues surrounding identity cards and immigration. People queuing at the centre itself were also keen to discuss these issues and their concerns. Many seemed unaware of the Government's new scheme. The demonstration ran from before its official noon start to beyond its official 1pm finish, finally disbanding closer to 2pm. A lot of Liverpool press were in attendance, including Daily Post journalists, in addition to some pre-recorded radio pieces from north-west NO2ID which were going out on the regional airwaves throughout the day. A TV crew were filming the demonstration and taking vox pops from attendees as well as interviewing the NW NO2ID co-ordinator, as educational material for GCSE Citizenship courses. Police presence was minimal - two officers (one of whom may have been a PCSO) supplemented by a third later on, and towards the very end a fourth as a result of a fake tip-off. The police mostly restricted themselves to keeping the road outside the centre clear of the TV crews and photographers who had backed into it for a better shot. Photos to come later; see another writeup at http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/manchester/2008/11/413538.html more >>

Boffins raise concerns over ID cards

University experts fear the “disturbing” Government scheme to bring in ID cards for foreign nationals will increase racial discrimination. From today, foreign nationals applying to enter or remain in the UK must apply for a credit-card sized biometric identity card. The Home Office says the cards – which include an electronic chip holding fingerprints and a digital [...] more >>

NO2ID: The true cost to the UK

By PHIL BOOTH and GUY HERBERT | From this month the Government begins issuing what it calls, with an obvious nasty spin, “ID cards for foreigners”. You may not be aware what this means in practice. First affected will be students and those marrying Britons. The plan is that gradually residents from outside Europe will [...] more >>

Court Backs Warrantless Searches Abroad

By BENJAMIN WEISER | The authorities may lawfully conduct searches and electronic surveillance against United States citizens in foreign countries without a warrant, a federal appeals court panel said on Monday, bolstering the government’s power to investigate terrorism by ruling that a key constitutional protection afforded to Americans does not apply overseas. The unanimous decision by a [...] more >>

ID Card Protest at Lunar House, 25 Nov 2008

London NoBorders and No2ID organised a protest at Lunar HOuse, Croydon, London, HQ of the Borders and Immigration Agency to mark the introduction of Biometric ID cards today, 25 Nov. Pictures (C) 2008, Peter Marshall. more >>

UK: People who fail to tell the authorities of a change of address or amend other key personal details within three months will face fines of up to £1,000 per offense

Madness. Or comedy gold? The crazed fascist nature of this is over the top, but the sections that pertain to transgendered and homeless people are priceless. Via: Guardian: People who fail to tell the authorities of a change of address or amend other key personal details within three months will face civil penalty fines of up to £1,000 a [...] Related posts:

1. UK Plans to Create Database Containing Details About Every Telephone Call, Email and Internet Session Via: Times Online: A massive government database holding details of...
2. UK: “Failsafe” Face Scanners Could Replace Passport Officers at Airports In Other News: Security researcher clones chips on two British...
3. Facing Jail and Fines, Parents Summoned to Court to Have Children Vaccinated The part I like is that the parents of 900...

U.S. Taps Online Youth Groups to Fight Crime, Terrorism

Via: AFP: The US State Department announced plans on Monday to promote online youth groups as a new and powerful way to fight crime, political oppression and terrorism. Drawing inspiration from a movement against FARC rebels in Colombia, the State Department is joining forces with Facebook, Google, MTV, Howcast and others in New York City next week [...] Related posts:

1. Maryland Police Infiltrated Activist Groups, Turned Over Information to Feds, Listed Citizens in Database as Committing Anti-War and Anti-Government Terrorism Most of what is commonly referred to as “political activism”...
2. Steve Jobs Taps the Mat on DRM They lost on this one, and They know it. Via:...
3. Australia: Private Intelligence Company Monitors Activists Online for Police Via: The Australian: A PRIVATE intelligence company has been engaged...

First compulsory ID cards to be issued to foreigners, Home Office announces

Richard Ford writes in The Times: The first compulsory identity cards in Britain since the 1950s will be issued this week to thousands of foreigners living in this country, the Home Office will announce today. Foreign students and people who are given a visa on the basis of marrying a British citizen will be the first to [...] more >>

National Day of Action to Stop Secret Trials in Canada and End Deportations to Torture

Join us Wednesday December 10 (or as near to that date as you can) to call for the abolition of "security certificates" and deportations to torture As Canada marks International Human Rights Day this December 10, secret rendition-to-torture hearings will be continuing in the nation's capital. The public portions of those secret hearings, show trials in which an individual is alleged to be a threat but is not given any reasons why, have been ongoing, even though the Supreme Court of Canada declared security certificates unconstitutional in February, 2007. Such hearings have been a hallmark of Canadian immigration law for decades. Toronto Event: Gather at CSIS with Santa Claus on Wednesday, December 10, 4:30-5:30 pm, for a Sing-Out Against Secret Trials. Join us for new renditions of those holiday favourites, including Rudolf the Racist MP, Struggling in a Winter Wonderland, CSIS Spies are Tracking You Down, and the classic chestnut, The 12 Days of IRPA. Info: tasc@web.ca Montreal event: Gather at Federal Court at 12 noon, December 10, details at www.adilinfo.org, justiceforadil@riseup.net (details on Montreal events below) Events also planned in Ottawa, London, Fredericton, and other cities that have yet to finalize plans. Please join us wherever you are!! Many people thought that since four of the five individuals detained (Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohamed Harkat, Adil Charkaoui) under these medieval certificates were home with their families that somehow the suffering has ended. Far from it. The daily humiliation of being forced to wear tracking devices strapped to their ankles, the inability to go to the corner store to buy a litre of milk without government permission or having your mother accompany you, the over-the-top surveillance by state agents (everything from the cameras located both inside and outside the residence, tapping of phones and opening of mail to constantly snapping pictures of the men and their families while on approved "outings,") and the manner in which these "conditions of release" have actually served to jail the men's wives, parents, and children, clearly show that the pattern of repression continues to grow, isolating them from their communities as they fight deportation to torture. more >>

Identity Politics

Stockport office of Thales sees a noise demo over their involvement in the government's plans for an ID card and nation identity register. more >>

Time to scrap plan for identity cards

According to the Aberdeen Post leader: There comes a time in the journey from the germ of an idea to implementation of a completed project when it is appropriate to step back, take stock and, where necessary, go back to the drawing board. Such a time has surely arrived for the government’s identity card scheme. This ill-conceived [...] more >>

£1,000 fine for wrong ID details

According to the BBC: Women who change their name after marriage could face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to tell the government, under new proposals. Anyone with a biometric passport or ID card will be required to notify the National Identity Register of changes to the personal data it holds. The £30 fixed fee for [...] more >>

Channel M Lunchtime News

Manchester NO2ID co-ordinator Dave Page recently appeared on Channel M news talking about the Government's proposed introduction of ID cards for airport workers. You can catch a clip at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=R4-hEEmN0x8 more >>

Local Campaigners Oppose ID Cards for Foreign Nationals

PRESS RELEASE Date: 21st November 2008 For Immediate Release Campaigners from local Defy-ID and NO2ID groups will protest outside the immigration centre on Water Street, Liverpool on Tuesday 25th November, in opposition to the introduction of UK identity cards for foreign nationals. The groups will wear barcode signs around their necks to signify the encroaching of the database state. People from outside the EAA applying for or renewing visas for study or marriage ("students and spouses") will be required to attend one of the six immigration service centres around the UK, be interrogated, fingerprinted and have their details stored and tracked on a database system which resembles the UK National Identity Register, one of the most intrusive and insecure identity databases in the world. Northwest NO2ID co-ordinator Dave Page said "The Government is determined that everybody in this country, and UK citizens abroad, should be interrogated, catalogued and fingerprinted on its unpopular, useless control-freak database. First they're targetting a voiceless group with plenty to lose by noncompliance, but we'll all be in the firing line soon." Liverpool Defy ID spokesperson Richie Krueger added "We strongly oppose the the Government's plan. As history has proven, when governments have tried to impose this type of surveillance upon citizens, they have rolled out similar schemes by going for the most desperate or vulnerable people first. This is the first part of the Government's strategy to register all citizens in this inhumane way. Big Brother is knocking on the door and we owe it to ourselves, our children and our children's children, to send him packing. We strongly urge people to stand alongside the first people to be 'registered' and protest on the 25th November, when the Government attempt to begin implementation." ENDS Supporters of the groups will gather from 11am in Exchange Flats, before moving to Water Street between 12pm and 1pm. For more information or interview, please contact Dave Page on 07982 814 441, or via e-mail at north.west@no2id.net Liverpool Defy ID is part of a network of people, who are opposed to the Government plans for a national identity card and database scheme. For more details see http://www.liverpool-defy-id.org.uk/ NO2ID is the UK-wide non-partisan campaign against ID cards and the database state. Scroll down http://www.no2id.net for a list of 'database state' initiatives that NO2ID is actively opposing. more >>

Street Stall, December 2008

Start: 13 Dec 2008 - 2:00pm End: 13 Dec 2008 - 4:00pm Timezone: Etc/GMT+1 We'll be running a Saturday afternoon stall in St. Ann's Square to raise awareness among the public and engage people in discussion about the National Identity Register. We'll be collecting signatures for the NO2ID petition to keep people in touch with the campaign. We'll meet in the square itself at 2pm to set up shop; feel free to join us to lend a hand or just chat. You don't need any experience or equipment, just a bit of time to spare and a friendly smile! more >>

What Obama Can and Should Do to Stop Telecom Immunity

Yesterday, the New York Times ran the story "Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views", describing the national security-related issues facing the incoming Obama Administration. Chief among them is the issue of immunity for telecoms that illegally assisted in the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program: In perhaps the most critical test, civil liberties groups that are suing major phone companies that took part in the N.S.A. program are waiting to find out whether a federal judge will throw out the lawsuits based on immunity granted by Congress in June. The Justice Department has already moved to take advantage of the immunity provision by certifying in court that the phone companies were complying with a presidential order. But the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group that has taken the lead in the lawsuit, maintains that Congress acted beyond its powers. A hearing is set for Dec. 2. Cindy Cohn, legal director for the foundation, said that as the case moved forward the new administration could act to withdraw the immunity certification made by the Bush Justice Department. “Nothing will be over by Jan. 20,” when Mr. Obama is inaugurated, Ms. Cohn said. As President, it will be up to Obama whether or not the Administration wants to continue seeking dismissal of the lawsuits against AT&T and other telecoms based on the immunity provisions of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA). Specifically, President Obama can end the immunity process. Consistent with his previous opposition to immunity — then-Senator Obama voted in favor of Senator Dodd's amendment to strip the immunity provisions out of the FAA altogether — Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to withdraw the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuits based on the immunity statute. Or, President Obama can temporarily freeze the immunity process until he has learned all the details about the NSA program. Consistent with his support of Senator Bingaman's proposed FAA amendment to delay implementation of the immunity provisions, Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to ask the court for a temporary stay of the immunity proceedings. That would give the Administration time to review the classified details of the NSA program as well as the FAA-mandated reports about the program that are expected by this July from the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice, the NSA, and other agencies involved in the program. After having reviewed all the facts, the new administration can then re-evaluate whether it wants to continue to press for immunity in court, or drop its motion to dismiss and let the cases against the telecoms continue. Or, President Obama can choose not to appeal if the immunity statute is found unconstitutional. If, after the hearing on December 2nd, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the federal Northern District of California agrees with EFF that the immunity statute is unconstitutional and denies the government's motion to dismiss, Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to not appeal that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. All of these are things Obama could do — on his own and without any help from Congress — to stop the implementation of the immunity scheme that he repeatedly opposed during his presidential campaign. These recommendations aren't EFF's alone: as part of the transition roadmap published yesterday by a broad coalition of groups including EFF, seventeen different civil liberties organizations signed onto national security surveillance recommendations that included the proposition that President Obama should "[d]irect the Attorney General to withdraw the government’s motion to dismiss pending privacy litigation brought against telecommunications carriers for assisting with unlawful warrantless surveillance, or seek a stay of those proceedings until such time as the Attorney General, based on review of the Inspectors’ General reports required by the FISA Amendments Act, determines that a grant of immunity is appropriate." read more more >>

Hot breath and cold weather: Post-RNC information, thoughts and questions

As seasons change and our focus shifts there are things we must remember. Events that have changed our lives and themes that will not fall away with the leaves are ours to take or ignore. What defines us as alive is our ability to remember and integrate our experiences into our direction. And we must live. We must recognize ourselves as able to live in order to refrain from solidifying like the concrete we are surrounded by. This culture would have us turn from one experience to the next like commercials between television programs, without time or space to fully understand what we have been a part of, what has been going on behind the scenes, the stories between the scripts. We may be foolish and impatient but we choose a life not determined by shuffling clocks and soap opera politics, and we are better for it. We are the poor of pocket and the rich of heart. We are the poorly behaved and the violently sincere. This summer thousands came together to enact their dissent and discontent in Minneapolis and St. Paul. This summer, and throughout the years leading up to it, the local and federal government spent millions on new weapons and surveillance technology, and deployed every level of law enforcement to suppress dissent. As time passes so does our memory of what took place in the Twin Cities. However, the cameras remain on the street corners, the ‘non-lethal’ weapons sit in the hands of the cops, and those of us unfortunate enough to be ensnared in the legal system continue to face fines and the threat of incarceration. Just as we carry the memory of felled trees and paved meadows, so too must we hold these moments of confrontation, allowing them to influence what we choose to do next. It is surely a trap to fall solely into damage control, there are too many wounds to bandage and their blades remain sharp. However, we must grow with and through our experience and not turn our backs on the broken glass behind us. read more more >>

EFF Joins with Coalition to Provide Policy Roadmap to Next President and Congress

A coalition of more than 25 organizations, including EFF, yesterday released "Liberty and Security: Recommendations for the Next Administration and Congress", a comprehensive catalogue of policy recommendations on a range of critical civil liberties issues. This collaboratively-created transition roadmap, coordinated by our friends at the Constitution Project, contains 20 chapters providing policy recommendations on a wide variety of issues, from Guantanamo Bay to warrantless wiretapping. EFF has signed on as an ally in support of the recommendations in eleven of those chapters, concerning issues within EFF's mission to protect free speech and privacy on the electronic frontier. Most importantly, EFF has joined as a supporter of all the recommendations made in the area of "Secrecy, Surveillance, and Privacy", covering goals such as reigning in NSA spying, updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and reforming the State Secrets privilege (consistent with our Privacy Agenda for the New Administration), as well as combating excessive classification and urging greater transparency in government (as previously described in our Transparency Agenda for the New Administration). After the jump, you can find links to PDFs of all of the individual chapters of the transition catalogue where EFF has signed on as an ally; the entire document is available here [pdf]. We hope that you — and the next President and Congress — find them enlightening. read more more >>

Hot breath and cold weather: Post-RNC information, thoughts and questions

As seasons change and our focus shifts there are things we must remember. Events that have changed our lives and themes that will not fall away with the leaves are ours to take or ignore. What defines us as alive is our ability to remember and integrate our experiences into our direction. And we must live. We must recognize ourselves as able to live in order to refrain from solidifying like the concrete we are surrounded by. This culture would have us turn from one experience to the next like commercials between television programs, without time or space to fully understand what we have been a part of, what has been going on behind the scenes, the stories between the scripts. We may be foolish and impatient but we choose a life not determined by shuffling clocks and soap opera politics, and we are better for it. We are the poor of pocket and the rich of heart. We are the poorly behaved and the violently sincere. This summer thousands came together to enact their dissent and discontent in Minneapolis and St. Paul. This summer, and throughout the years leading up to it, the local and federal government spent millions on new weapons and surveillance technology, and deployed every level of law enforcement to suppress dissent. As time passes so does our memory of what took place in the Twin Cities. However, the cameras remain on the street corners, the ‘non-lethal’ weapons sit in the hands of the cops, and those of us unfortunate enough to be ensnared in the legal system continue to face fines and the threat of incarceration. Just as we carry the memory of felled trees and paved meadows, so too must we hold these moments of confrontation, allowing them to influence what we choose to do next. It is surely a trap to fall solely into damage control, there are too many wounds to bandage and their blades remain sharp. However, we must grow with and through our experience and not turn our backs on the broken glass behind us. read more more >>