Big Brother is Watching You

[rstrong]

Police have admitted that they're using devices that mimic cell towers to hack phone calls. AT&T customers first became suspicions when they started getting a signal.

US Marshals raid Florida cops to prevent release of records of "stingray" surveillance

The story continues to develop....

The stories have been getting increasingly bizarre lately, starting with the news that police were claiming that non-disclosure agreements prevented them from getting a warrant to use the technology. And then, there was the recent news that the federal government was regularly stepping in to claim ownership of documents related to the technology (even when it's used by local police) in order to block them from being obtained under Freedom of Information laws. Just this morning, we wrote about some new evidence that police are claiming they need these devices to stop "weapons of mass destruction," though they then just use them to spy on people suspected of everyday crimes instead.

Late last night, the ACLU came out with perhaps the most explosive information so far: a set of internal police emails showing that the US Marshals have been instructing police to lie to courts about the use of such devices.

[Boatrocker]

No news there. It took no Nostradumbass to see what would happen.

[O Really]

None of you guys are going to mention the findings of the findings of the bi-partisan review committee, with some pretty non-politician blue-ribbon people, with regard to the legality and Constitutionality of the "unchecked mass surveillance"?

[O Really]

If this is what you're referring to it doesn't sound like it resolved anything.

On NSA surveillance, privacy panel presents divided front

Well, they aren't the Supreme Court - and even those guys don't always agree on some fundamental law. But their general conclusion was that NSA activities were legal and (marginally in some cases) Constitutional. My point all along has been that while there are some good arguments to change the law, that NSA shouldn't be demonized for doing its job in a manner consistent with governing law.

[neoplacebo]

Well, I guess we should just go ahead and make as many enemies here as we have in other places.....hard to stop a train.

[Mr.B]

I for one, can be happy that Big Brother is watching me...provided he can find me!

Vrede once commented that Homerfobe and I showed up occasionally under the same ISP address. I explained that I changed from BellSouth DSL (Hendersonville) to AT&T UVerse. UVerse is "piped" out of Greenville, SC.

Ever since then, when I log in to a website of a retailer that also has online ordering, there's no telling where they "find" me!

Greenville, SC is usually the location, but I have been "located" in various other cities.

I logged into the SearsPartsDirect website today to find a part for my washer...well, they found me too....

We show you are in Concord, CA 94520
Update location

Boy howdy! I get around.

[Mr.B]

"...Vrede once commented that Homerfobe and I showed up occasionally under the same ISP address..."

"Including the one you used for this post, though it says homerfobe only posted from it twice."

Where does it show I posted from this time?

[Mr.B]

"Greenville, SC, though it's not exactly saying that's where you are, just that's where your host server (I guess) is."

That's what I meant...

Concord, CA......that's a hoot!

[Mr.B]

Mills River? I'm in Hendersonville.

[neoplacebo]

"Greenville, SC, though it's not exactly saying that's where you are, just that's where your host server (I guess) is."

That's what I meant...

Concord, CA......that's a hoot!

One of the ships I was on (USS Kilauea AE-26) was based there. All the US Navy's ammunition ships are named after volcanoes except the Pyro. Now, that's a hoot.

[rstrong]

All the US Navy's ammunition ships are named after volcanoes except the Pyro. Now, that's a hoot.

Wikipedia: USS Pyro: USS Pyro (AE-24), a Nitro-class ammunition ship...

I have a new reason to love America.

[neoplacebo]

[Mr.B]

"All the US Navy's ammunition ships are named after volcanoes except the Pyro. Now, that's a hoot."

Wikipedia: USS Pyro: USS Pyro (AE-24), a Nitro-class ammunition ship...

"I have a new reason to love America."

Inasmuch as it was based it California, the name could have been short for 'Pyromaniac'.......

[O Really]

U.S. Senate bill proposes sweeping curbs on NSA surveillance

We need another harummph! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTmfwklFM-M

[O Really]

Effective harummphing is the life-blood of the politician.

[Mr.B]

"Effective harummphing is the life-blood of the politician".

Effective harummphing is the life-blood of the liberal.

[O Really]

So, the CIA lied for more than 4 months about what they'd done to Senators, and it's uncertain whether anyone will be held accountable. It's not hard to imagine that the national security state lies for far longer and without consequence about what they are doing to less powerful citizens.

Well, if you have a covert operation and tell every Dianne, Mitch and Harry about it, it's not very covert, is it?

[O Really]

One doesn't have to be much of a conspiracy theorist to notice the strange ummm, "coincidence" in increasing diplomatic tensions between Russia and the US (et. al.) and approval of 3 more years for fountain of classified information Snowden.

http://news.msn.com/world/lawyer-snowde ... -in-russia

[O Really]

Snowden last year was granted temporary asylum of one year in Russia, but that ran out on Aug. 1...

... but it's not like Putin and Obama were sharing ice cream sodas before Ukraine.

Understood, which helps to explain why Snowden was invited to be a temporary Russian resident in the first place. I didn't see him getting invited by any of Obama's friends.

I know his temporary pass was already scheduled to expire before the latest unpleasantness, but I had read there was some concern he was going to get booted. Now he's there for three more years, at least. Sounds related to me.

[O Really]

"Remember...what the dormouse said -
Feed your head
Feed your head"

Except of course the dormouse never said it.