TSA Body Scan Controversy

There is quite an uproar over the TSA's insistence that passengers undergo a full body scan.  Something I find very ironic, is that most of the uproar is coming from republicans, Fox News, etc, the very groups that have always wholeheartedly supported the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security.  These scanners actually appear to do a much better job of screening passengers than an x-ray machine.  However, I think there is still a problem with luggage, since it is likely still easy to camouflage items in a carry-on.

Anyway, there is a video circulating where a passenger told the TSA agent not to touch "his junk" and is now upset he may be fined $10,000 for leaving the screening.  People are aghast that you can't leave the screening once it starts.  But if you let people leave the screening, the screening is even less effective, since a potential terrorist could just keep trying until he did not get selected.  Anyway, I don't have too much of a problem with the scanners, or the new regulations.  I actually think this is one of the first steps the TSA has taken that addresses security, unlike the ID checks, and other nonsense.

Craigslist drops adult ads

Craigslist is no longer hosting an "adult" section in the US.  The section was removed after at least 18 states threatened lawsuits.  They claim that allowing people to advertise sex on Craigslist will lead to evil things.

This is ridiculous.  It is simple freedom of speech to post ads on a site like Craigslist.  I do not view prostitution as a true crime; if someone wants to sell their body so be it.  There were certainly cases of human trafficking found on the site, but it was all out in the open.  By banning it here, these types of transactions will go further underground making it unsafer for all.  Of course the moralists will claim victory, since for them if it is out of sight it is out of mind.

Ending Medical Privacy

There is a very interesting mini-article in Wired about how medical privacy works against our own good. While skeptical at first, the more I reflect on this issue, the more I agree.

Basically, right now it is very tough for you to get a copy of even your own medical history. It is all paper based, there are a myriad of laws that restrict its dissemination. In the 21st century, a lot of doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals still use paper.

What if your doctor's office burns to the ground? Of course, it would all be lost. This is why we need electronic records; the only place you are likely to find those right now are the VA hospitals, which incidentally provide some of the best care in the country.

Anyway, the benefits to this would be more openness in the medical community. Imagine how much quicker the Vioxx correlation with heart disease would have been found if everyone's records were in a big database. Very quickly, algorithms would see that many patients on Vioxx would dying of similar causes. This could be very helpful in seeing how safety plays out in the real world. It would also provide a lot of data for tracking how diseases spread, and also may help finding causation for other issues. For example, a cluster of cancer within a neighborhood, or within a county, possibly due to pollution.

I think the benefits far outweigh the risks, which is of course, a large reduction in privacy. Then again, it is easy enough to separate names from the data.

What's the FBI got on you?

If you'd like to get a copy of your FBI file (which not everyone has), print out, notarize, and mail this form.  I'm considering doing it, just in case...

*67 is Dead

Think you can block caller ID?  Think again.

Not something I use much nor really like, so I'm glad that there will be an option available to defeat it.

Little brother

In Flint, MI, big brother is so broke he can't even afford surveillance cameras.  So go ahead and make a tax deductible donation of $30,000 and your company's name will be on the camera.  

TSA punishes protests

To all you privacy advocates:

It is still OK to travel without ID, even on an airplane.  You just have to tell the TSA officer that you lost it.  As part of TSA's new policy, people who willfully refuse to show ID will not be allowed to board.  Others will.  

Could be a fun policy to test, but who'd want to get stuck in the airport.

McCain OK with spying on Americans

Today the NYT reports that McCain has said he agrees with the Bush Administration's use of wiretaps without warrants against citizens of the United States.  If this man is elected, I expect a further erosion of liberties.  

So next time you pick up a phone, just remember who might be listening, and keep in mind that no due process need be followed.

Are terms of service now the law?

A woman has been indicted on 4 felony counts for using Myspace account she created with a fake name to harass a young girl (a former friend of her daughter) who then killed herself based on the harassment.

Obviously, this woman is not a good person, but no laws were broken.  At most, simple harassment, which is not even a misdemeanor in most states.

Federal prosecutors are now trying to stretch the law to say that if you violate the Terms of Service (TOS) of a website or online service, that in itself could be a criminal act.  In this case, part of their indictment hinges on the fact that the accused used a fake name for the MySpace account.  

So what the prosecutors are saying is that if a website tells you to use your real name, and you enter an alias, you are breaking the law.  This reading of the law is rediculous.  Websites have all kinds of crazy TOS's.  Some say that you cannot even send a link to the website to a friend.  Should that be a criminal act too?

I feel bad that a young girl lost her life, but we should not be giving any company the right to make new laws by updating their website.  

FYI - Google, who hosts this blog, actually has a very reasonable Terms of Service.  You can view it here.

California may be our only hope for privacy

A few months ago, I wrote about how Montana had rejected the REAL ID implementation.  This law would create a de facto national ID card, the "papers" that are referred to in the caricatures of a Soviet saying "your papers please."  

California has now said that it does not intend to implement REAL ID.  As Wired's Threat Level points out, its easy for the federal government to tell the several million people who live in New Hampshire, Maine, and Montana that they will need passports to board an airline or enter a federal building, but it will be much harder to fuck with the 36 million Californians.  

1984 Bill Set to Expire Saturday night

The big brother named Protect America Act will expire on Saturday. Congress adjourned before this law's extension was passed. The Protect America Act is what allowed AT&T to spy on your phone calls, internet browsing, and any other types of communications they were able to intercept.

Bush claims that Americans will die if this is not passed. What a load of bullshit. Unless Bush looks the other way while the terrorists attack to prove his point, we will not be any less safer without this law passed. Why should we give AT&T immunity for spying on us? They broke the law, even if the government asked them to, it doesn't matter. They should be sued, and are currently being sued by the ACLU and others.

Why 2014 might NOT be like 1984

As a followup to my previous post, it seems that the governor of Montana sent out a letter to 17 other states regarding REAL ID.

In the letter, he writes: "We recognized that REAL ID was a major threat to the privacy, constitutional rights, and pocketbooks of ordinary Montanans."  The state now has a law that prohibits them from adopting the federal requirements.  He adds that the head of the Department of Homeland Security (if any agency's named sounded 1984, this is it) continues to "disrespect" the states.  

The governor of Montana is clearly a hero for states' rights and for the Constitution.  More states should follow his lead and give the Feds the bird.