Archive for the Conspiracy Theories Category
USAToday reports:
The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.
The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren’t suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.
I guess Qwest is the only phone company that felt “uneasy” about handing over records without the proper warrants.
For more info, see:
The article @ USAToday
A bunch of related links @ Slashdot
The Department of Justice has decided to give up it’s investigation into the illegal wiretapping by the NSA. My guess is that it went something like this:
DOJ: Bad NSA, you’ve been wiretapping without warrants.
NSA: Yea, um, it’s for, um, the war on terrorists… yea, that’s it.
DOJ: Mmmmmmkay, we need to see some records then.
NSA: Sure, but you need security clearance.
DOJ: Ok, so, uh, we come to you for security clearance, right? So, we need clearance.
NSA: ‘Tuff.
They can steal your smartcard, lift your passport, jack your car, even clone the chip in your arm. And you won’t feel a thing. 5 tales from the RFID-hacking underground.
By Annalee Newitz
James Van Bokkelen is about to be robbed. A wealthy software entrepreneur, Van Bokkelen will be the latest victim of some punk with a laptop. But this won’t be an email scam or bank account hack. A skinny 23-year-old named Jonathan Westhues plans to use a cheap, homemade USB device to swipe the office key out of Van Bokkelen’s back pocket.
“I just need to bump into James and get my hand within a few inches of him,” Westhues says. We’re shivering in the early spring air outside the offices of Sandstorm, the Internet security company Van Bokkelen runs north of Boston. As Van Bokkelen approaches from the parking lot, Westhues brushes past him. A coil of copper wire flashes briefly in Westhues’ palm, then disappears.
Wiretapping, emails, search results… not good enough. The National Security Agency wants data mining software. Be sure to visit BugMeNot if you don’t have a username/password to read the article.
Illegal wiretapping… bad, bad. How could they. "Everyone look, illegal wiretapping – that’s right, eat it up, it was wrong, you were being spied on illegally."
"Quick, while no one is looking, legalize e-mail spying! We already do it, we don’t want another situation when the public finds out."
From news.com:
What: The Justice Department asks a judge to approve Patriot Act e-mail monitoring without any evidence of criminal behavior.
When: Decided Feb. 2, 2006 by U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan in Washington, D.C.
Outcome: E-mail surveillance approved.
What happened: As part of a grand jury investigation that’s still secret, the Justice Department asked a federal magistrate judge to approve monitoring of an unnamed person’s e-mail correspondents.