Libertas per vigilantia. http://www.shadowmonkey.net Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:26:42 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/articles/privacy/ive-got-nothing-to-hide-and-other-misunderstandings-of-privacy.html In this short essay, written for a symposium in the San Diego Law Review, Professor Daniel Solove examines the nothing to hide argument. When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: I've got nothing to hide. According to the nothing to hide argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The nothing to hide argument and its variants are quite prevalent, and thus are worth addressing. In this essay, Solove critiques the nothing to hide argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings. Visit the abstract page (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565) and click on Choose Download Location at the top. Click on one of the download organizations to obtain a PDF of the full essay. Articles - Privacy Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:03:22 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/news/latest/laptops-subject-to-warrantless-seizure-at-u.s.-borders.html U.S. agents can seize travelers' laptops: report - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080801/tc_nm/usa_security_laptops_dc_1) U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to seize travelers' laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold then for unspecified periods the Washington Post reported on Friday. Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, the newspaper said, quoting policies issued on July 16 by two DHS agencies. Read the full story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080801/tc_nm/usa_security_laptops_dc_1) dhs (http://technorati.com/tag/dhs), border patrol (http://technorati.com/tag/border%20patrol), laptops (http://technorati.com/tag/laptops), travel (http://technorati.com/tag/travel) News - Latest Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:41:23 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/news/latest/white-house-threatens-veto-of-intelligence-bill.html The White House expressed strong opposition to the Fiscal Year 2009 Intelligence Authorization Act that is pending before the House of Representatives today, in part because it includes provisions for increased disclosure of classified information to the congressional intelligence oversight committees. One of the provisions, the White House complained, would withhold 75 percent of requested funding for covert action programs until the Administration provides much greater access to highly sensitive national security information to all members of the congressional intelligence committees. Such a provision is inconsistent with the statute that expressly authorizes limited notice to Congress in exceptional cases and would undermine the fundamental compact between the Congress and the President on reporting highly sensitive intelligence matters -- an arrangement that for decades has balanced congressional oversight responsibility with the need to protect intelligence information, the White House said. The President's advisors would recommend a veto if any of the objectionable provisions were adopted, today's statement said. See Statement of Administration Policy on Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2009, July 16: http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/wh071608.pdf (http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/wh071608.pdf) Reprinted from the Secrecy News Blog (http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/) with permission. News - Latest Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:47:04 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/news/latest/july-2008-court-upholds-presidential-powers-of-tyranny.html From a July 16, 2008, article on Salon.com: Yesterday, the full Fourth Circuit appellate court, in a 5-4 ruling (http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/067427A.P.pdf) (.pdf), expanded that Draconian power even further. This ruling was issued in al-Marri's case, whose extraordinary plight I've previously written about (http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/11/military-commissions-act-in-action.html) in detail. Al-Marri is a citizen of Qatar who, in 2001, was in the United States legally, on a student visa. He was a computer science graduate student at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he had earned an undergraduate degree a decade earlier. In Peoria, he lived with his wife and five children. Shortly after the 9/11 attack, al-Marri was detained as a material witness and subsequently charged in a civilian court (http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/usalmarri1202cmp.html) with a variety of crimes relating to credit card fraud and making false statements as part of the 9/11 investigation. He vehemently denied those accusations, and -- in June, 2003 -- he was preparing for his criminal trial, scheduled to begin the following month. Suddenly -- a month before his trial was to begin -- George Bush declared him to be an enemy combatant and ordered the U.S. military to seize him from civilian officials and transfer him to military custody. There -- in a South Carolina military brig -- al-Marri has remained for the last five years, with no criminal charges having been brought against him and no meaningful opportunity to contest his guilt in a court of law. He has been kept in solitary confinement and denied any contact (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/13/forgotten.enemy/index.html) with the outside world other than his lawyers. The Fourth Circuit's 5-4 ruling yesterday upheld the President's authority to detain al-Marri in a military prison as an enemy combatant. What makes the ruling so striking is that -- unlike Hamdi and Padilla -- not even the Bush administration claims that al-Marri fought alongside the Taliban, fought against U.S. forces, or had even been to Afghanistan. He's simply a civilian accused by the President of being involved in a terrorist plot. Read the full, extensive article on Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/07/16/al_marri/index.html) and be afraid. Be very afraid. Cry for your country. Then pick yourself up and do something about it. News - Latest Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:34:59 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/articles/privacy/fisa.-failure..html I'm too disgusted to write, so I'll just point you to some of those who still have the stomach to do so. ~sm Senate completes its total capitulation to the Bush administration (http://boztopia.com/?p=196) challenge the FISA Amendments Act in court (http://firedoglake.com/2008/07/10/aclu-to-challenge-new-fisa-law-in-court/) 69 spineless, clueless, terminally overrated and over-paid US Senators sell us out on FISA (http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=8097) The Problems With This FISA Bill (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/07/AR2008070702280.html) Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/washington/10fisa.html?_r=2 partner=rssnyt emc=rss oref=slogin oref=slogin) Senate bows to Bush, approves surveillance bill (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080709/ap_on_go_co/terrorist_surveillance) Roll Call On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 6304 ) (http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110 session=2 vote=00168) Articles - Privacy Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:59:00 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/news/secrecy/telecom-amnesty-opponents-back-new-amendment.html With the telecoms all but assured of amnesty for their participation in illegal spying, there's now one last amendment in their way — the Bingaman amendment. Because President Bush is unwilling to sign FISA reform without immunity, and because Blue Dog Democrats fear for their reelection unless FISA reform as a whole passes, most compromise positions are already off the table. So the new amendment seeks to sidestep part of the problem by moving it to a later date. View full story, links and comments on Slashdot (http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/08/0014248) News - Secrecy Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:38:58 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/news/latest/congress-to-continue-to-bury-head-in-the-sand.html In a not-too-surprising move, Congress apparently plans to re-write the rules for the government’s wiretapping powers, and would provide what amounts to limited immunity to telephone companies that took part in the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program. News - Latest Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:06:27 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/articles/privacy/big-brother-meet-small-sister.html Maybe you noticed it too, but over the last couple of years there has been a movement towards less anonymity on the Internet. People obtaining documents they shouldn't, attackers stealing information and governments (sometimes not even yours) obtaining information that you didn't volunteer to give in the first place. All these things undermine the trust people have in technology and make it harder for you to maintain your personal space on-line. SmallSister is meant to do something about that by helping you find the much needed tools, by explaining technologies and the issues at hand and last but not least: by creating solutions to help you increase your own privacy and put you back in the driver seat. Visit SmallSister.org (http://www.SmallSister.org) to learn more about online privacy tools. Articles - Privacy Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:15:42 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/news/latest/fbi-wants-widespread-monitoring-of-illegal-internet-activity.html WASHINGTON--The FBI on Wednesday called for new legislation that would allow federal police to monitor the Internet for illegal activity. The suggestion from FBI Director Robert Mueller, which came during a House of Representatives Judiciary Committee hearing, appears to go beyond a current plan to monitor traffic on federal-government networks. Mueller seemed to suggest that the bureau should have a broad omnibus authority to conduct monitoring and surveillance of private-sector networks as well.The surveillance should include all Internet traffic, Mueller said, whether it be .mil, .gov, .com--whichever network you're talking about. Visit CNet.com for the full story and a transcript of the Congressional hearing. News - Latest Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:41:59 +0100 http://www.shadowmonkey.net/articles/general/questions.html What do you expect of a nation? Of a land that you call your own? Of a community of which you are a part?What is it, really, that matters? What is it at the end of the day that speaks to your heart and tells you that this nation or person or belief is one that you're proud of?What makes this a nation worth dying for? What makes this a nation for which millions have sacrificed over the course of our short history? What makes these United States of America important and strong enough to hold a place in our hearts through civil strife and economic downturns and partisan bickering?And when was the last time you asked yourself these questions?And what were your answers?And what did you do about them?Did you do anything?Did you? Articles - General Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:15:28 +0100