Biometric Database Of All Adult Americans Hidden In Immigration Reform
” The immigration reform measure the Senate began debating yesterday would create a national biometric database of virtually every adult in the U.S., in what privacy groups fear could be the first step to a ubiquitous national identification system.
Buried in the more than 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation (.pdf) is language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named “photo tool,” a massive federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver’s license or other state-issued photo ID.
Employers would be obliged to look up every new hire in the database to verify that they match their photo.”
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Tag Archive: American Civil Liberties Union
Ohio Town Wants To Implement Massive Aerial Surveillance Program
” Officials with the Dayton City Commission recently announced that they hope to sign a $120,000 contract with a local security company in order to give law enforcement agencies an eye-in-the-sky ability unheard of elsewhere in America. While the Federal Aviation Administration continues to ponder just exactly how unmanned aerial vehicles or drones will be able to conduct surveillance in the sky, sending manned aircraft through the clouds isn’t something that involves as many hurdles. That will make it all the easier if Dayton gets the go-ahead to sign-on to a pricey program being touted by Persistent Surveillance Systems.
To the Dayton Daily News, PSS’s Ross McNutt said the city would be allowed to access a video camera feed from a piloted aircraft that could be deployed to around 10,000 feet off the ground. PSS would provide the city with the plane and the pilot, and with the right know-how the police would be able to extensively monitor an area as large as the city’s entire downtown.
According to a slideshow presented before the City Commission earlier this year and since obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, Dayton officials are looking at more than just a dinky plane outfitted with a couple of Kodaks. The city is apparently pursuing a program called “Trusted Situational Awareness,” which PSS says can collect real-time data and imagery to law enforcement so the police can identify and interrupt illegal activity while at the same time collecting “valuable forensic intelligence.” “
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IRS: We Can Read Emails Without Warrant
” The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has claimed that agents do not need warrants to read people’s emails, text messages and other private electronic communications, according to internal agency documents.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request, released the information on Wednesday.
In a 2009 handbook, the IRS said the Fourth Amendment does not protect emails because Internet users “do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such communications.” A 2010 presentation by the IRS Office of General Counsel reiterated the policy.
Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986, government officials only need a subpoena, issued without a judge’s approval, to read emails that have been opened or that are more than 180 days old.”
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Related articles
- IRS: We can read emails without warrant (12160.info)
- The IRS may take your emails without obtaining a warrant first (venturebeat.com)
- ACLU accuses the IRS of reading Americans private email without a search warrant (nydailynews.com)
- Like rest of the feds, the IRS can get your e-mails with no problem (arstechnica.com)
- New Documents Suggest IRS Reads Emails Without a Warrant (alethonews.wordpress.com)
- IRS claims it can read your e-mail without a warrant (secretsofthefed.com)
- IRS Can Read Your Email Without Warrant (yro.slashdot.org)
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Liberty Preservation: The States Say ‘NO’ To NDAA
“Just days ago, an anniversary passed which should never be forgotten. On April 1, 1942, an order was issued by Lt. General J.L. DeWitt which began the forced evacuation and “internment” of people of Japanese descent.
In the following three years, over 100,000 people, including US citizens, were “indefinitely detained” based solely on their racial (Japanese) background. This supposedly made them a threat to national security. Thousands of people of German and Italian descent got the same treatment.
Many lost everything. A few years later, when the federal government offered to pay claims for lost property, the average payout was a paltry $1392.
Much has been written about the horrors of internment during those years, so let’s not belabor the point. But today, when the federal government assumes some new power, those who point out how that power could very-well be abused in fantastic ways are often told, “That won’t happen here!”
April 1st should be a reminder to all of us. It already did happen here.
Unfortunately, the federal government has granted itself similar “indefinite detention” powers today. But the People have an opportunity to learn from history, and do something about it.
In states around the country, legislation is being considered which would severely hamper or even fully block any attempt to arrest and detain people without due process. In Michigan, Montana, Texas and California, votes are coming up soon to move such bills forward.
In December 2011, President Obama signed the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which gave the federal government the power to “indefinitely detain” people, including US citizens. No due process. No access to lawyers. And those who are detained have no idea if they’ll ever be set free.
This is the same kind of power which resulted in mass internment 71 years ago. In 1942, FDR exercised the power via executive order. The ACLU notes that the NDAA codified indefinite military detention into law for the first time in American history. ”
Related articles
- Michigan Senate Votes 37-0 to Defeat NDAA (fromthetrenchesworldreport.com)
- State Of New Hampshire Votes To Nullify McCain’s NDAA Indefinite Detention Rule! (politicalvelcraft.org)
- Arizona NDAA Nullification Bill Passes Committee, 6-2 (tenthamendmentcenter.com)
- California NDAA action alert: 7 easy steps you can take right now to stop indefinite detention (EndtheLie.com)
- February 18, 1942: A Black Stain on American History (tenthamendmentcenter.com)
- State Opposition To Indefinite Detention Calls For Backup (thebrennerbrief.com)
- Maine Bill would nullify indefinite detention under the NDAA (tenthamendmentcenter.com)
- San Francisco says no to indefinite military detention (constitutioncampaign.org)
- One Man Blocking Arizona Anti-NDAA Bill (dprogram.net)
- Las Vegas City Council Passes Resolution Against NDAA Indefinite Detention (tenthamendmentcenter.com)
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Washington State Mulls Allowing Employers To Grab Facebook Passwords
” Bosses investigating allegations of workplace misconduct in the State of Washington could soon legally obtain passwords and full access to individual employees’ social media accounts.
CBS Seattle reports a bill before the Washington Legislature could be amended to create the exemption, which would permit employers to “require or demand access to a personal account if an employee or prospective employee has allegations of workplace misconduct or giving away an employer’s proprietary information.” “
Related articles
- Giving employers an out to demand your online passwords (mynorthwest.com)
- Bill would allow bosses to seek Facebook passwords (komonews.com)
- Bill amendment would let bosses demand Facebook passwords during investigations in Washington state (oregonlive.com)
- Bill could let your boss get your Facebook password (king5.com)
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For The Record Exposes The Terrifying Surveillance State
Video at the link
” Who is listening? Who is reading your emails? Who is watching you?
We all have a basic idea of how much access the government has to our personal information. But what are they using it for and, more importantly, what are they capable of? Since September 11, 2001, the National Security Agency (NSA) has turned America into a surveillance state, and tonight’s premiere of For The Record, TheBlaze’s new news magazine series, takes a deeper look into just what the government is doing with all that information.
“There is little information today the NSA cannot acquire if it wants to,” said American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Alexander Abdo. Using the firsthand accounts of four NSA whistleblowers, For The Record exposes the truth behind the government agency that is invading American’s privacy under the guise of national security.”
Related articles
- Jewel v. NSA (lissakr11humane.com)
- White House: Secret spying on Americans immune to lawsuits (rt.com)
- CISPA: Who’s For It And Who’s Against It (57un.wordpress.com)
- Letter From The US: Supreme Court Overturns Basic Democratic Rights by Barry Sheppard (zcommunications.org)
- 34 Civil Liberties Groups Speak Out Against CISPA in Lead Up to Hearings (eff.org)
- White House: Secret spying on Americans immune to lawsuits (EndtheLie.com)
- The NSA Is Training Covert Hackers To Attack Other Countries (gizmodo.com.au)
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Rise Of The Police State? Judge Says School Can Force Students To Wear RFID Locator Chips
” A federal judge made a ruling this week that has a decidedly Orwellian touch to it.
US District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled on Tuesday that the San Antonio Northside School District can require that its students wear devices with RFID locator chips embedded in them while on school premises. The decision has raised privacy concerns among conservative and liberal privacy-rights groups.
The saga began when 15-year-old magnet school student Andrea Hernandez refused to wear the device while attending Jay High School. School officials expelled the sophomore for not complying with the rule that is required of all students on campus. The case ended up before Garcia who also refused to block the student’s expulsion pending review by the courts.
The Rutherford Institute of Virginia represented the student in federal court. The institute said that the ruling was clearly in violation of the student’s privacy rights and it would appeal the decision.
“We don’t want to see this kind of intrusive surveillance infrastructure gain inroads into our culture,” ACLU senior policy analyst Jay Stanley said. “We should not be teaching our children to accept such an intrusive surveillance technology,” said Stanley, according to Reuters. “
Related articles
- Texas school can force students to wear locator chip: judge (news.yahoo.com)
- Judge: Texas School can Force Teenagers to Wear RFID Locator Chips (patdollard.com)
- Politics & NWO – Texas school can force teenagers to wear locator chip: (disclose.tv)
- Texas Judge Rules Schools Can Force RFID Chips on Students (activistpost.com)
- Texas Judge Rules Schools Can Force RFID Chips on Students (theintelhub.com)
- Judge: Texas school can force teenagers to wear locator chips (aftermathnews.wordpress.com)
- Texas Judge Rules Schools Can Force RFID Chips on Students (blacklistednews.com)
When it comes to national security, the frightening truth is that we have to trust our public officials.
Which is exactly the crisis we the people face today . At exactly the period when we most need to be able to have faith in the authorities we find ourselves at a place that precludes granting the government that needed trust .
” Right now, the United States and the larger international community is caught in a difficult debate over the use of drones against enemy combatants. Domestically, there is an odd confluence of views. The Obama administration’s policy on drones has been congenial to the conservatives, who oppose him on domestic issues; but his liberal allies, like the American Civil Liberties Union, are dismayed by what they perceive as his administration’s overuse of drones in Pakistan from 2004 to 2012. Has the United States pushed its drone attacks too far or not far enough? Have too many potential targets escaped attack because of an undue fear of excessive “incidental” or collateral damage to the lives and property of innocent non-combatants? “
Related articles
- Obama ‘drone-warfare rulebook’ condemned by human rights groups (guardian.co.uk)
- Call Me Mr Drone (youviewedblog.wordpress.com)
- Killing by the books: Obama to produce manual to govern drone strikes (rt.com)
- Obama Administration Pushes Ahead With Drone Killings (nytexaminer.com)
- US pushing for more formal rules on lethal action by unmanned drones – @nytimes (nytimes.com)
- The Malalas You Will Not Hear About (uruknet.com)
- Have U.S. Drones Become a ‘Counterinsurgency Air Force’ for Our Allies? (propublica.org)
