We must protect the precious
This photograph perfectly displays the loyalty of most security/police/military.
Schwarzenegger wants to build jails in Mexico
So Arnold wants to build jails in Mexico to hold illegal immigrants who commit crimes in California.
Why not? It is a great place to start rebuilding the broken Californian society.
Another thing he could do is privatize the judicial system. Court buildings and employees cost California a hell of a lot of money. He could also bring in private security forces to replace state police. Why should crime cost citizens even a dime? Really when it comes down to it why should society have to get mixed up in crime and justice at all? We are the victims after all.
original article via the Sac Bee
Scrub Your iPhone Before Selling It.
I prefer to put everything on a shelf in my basement to display every cell phone, pda, hand held game, etc.... I am genetically a pack rat on my Mother's side.
via Hackszine.com : HOWTO - scrub private data from your iPhone
You should seeeeee ….. My New Site!
I am pleased to announce the Grand Opening of
my new blog:
Little Brother | Surveillance Stories
Little Brother reports on the world of surveillance.
Keeping track of who is keeping track of you.
The people running camera, web, email and
data warehouse surveillance.
Please visit and let me know what you think.
As always: Comment, Link and Share.
Minneapolis Critical Mass Arrests or Message to Anarchists?
Friday Nights arrests of 19 Critical Mass riders in Minneapolis was talked about by local media as just the police reacting to a single out of control rider. When the rider ran from the police tensions flared between riders and the police. My own thoughts differ because of the weekend this event happened on.
Critical Mass rides happen the last Friday of every month in Minneapolis and usually with police cooperation and without incident. This weekend happened to be the first get together of out of town and local anarchists to plan and train for next years Republican National Convention. On the groups website they said they would be participating in the local Critical Mass ride. What better way for the Minneapolis police to welcome them to town than with batons, mace and arrests.
How did the professionals do on this story.
- The Star-Tribune wrote a fairly one sided view of things. Yes the police side.
- The City Pages Blog had a detailed account of things.
- WCCO TV had a decent story.
- KARE TV had a confusing story.
- TwinCities IMC has the most info, but you have to read the comments.
Excellent Personal Accounts: cathek,
For more information on these groups: RNC Welcoming Committee, Jack Pine (Read calendar event for the weekend of August 31st).
Critical Mass Minneapolis does not have a website as no one runs it. Just show up the last Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at Loring Park. The September ride is sure to be large and interesting.
Hey, Let’s Watch the North Side
The Minneapolis Justice League is at it again. The city council has given its stamp of approval on more security cameras. Today's budget approval gives $1.1 million for a surveillance camera system in North Minneapolis. This will expand the system that already includes Downtown, the Phillips Neighborhood and an already approved segment that is going in along Cedar Ave.
The MPD was showing off one of the systems key features as they were able to preview a crime scene from a squad car as they drove to the crime. This was made possible by the new City-wide wireless 802.11 wi-fi network that is being rolled out this year. The wireless network will be available for use by the public but will also have a certain percentage of its bandwidth reserved for emergency services.
I can just see the officer in his squad car working this. First you would have to drive about 3 miles per hour to keep the wireless signal as you drive from one wi-fi antenna to the next. Second I can just see the officer having Microsoft Outlook open and it constantly trying to reconnect to the exchange server. The laptop would freeze and he would get all frustrated. The squad car would then arrive at the scene, his partner would tell him it is time to go, but he says, "hold on, I have to reboot. Outlook froze up my fuckin' system."
Yes this technology is going to do wonders for our crime statistics!
As for a camera system actually preventing a crime, only time will tell. A recording doesn't do a lot for a homicide victim or their family. It might help the police and prosecutors after the fact but it doesn't bring anyone back from the dead. There is also a point where the city will have more cameras then they can monitor.
There are many cities making the mad rush to put cameras on every lamp post. There have also been a number of cities that are backing away from their systems. London has 6,000 cameras and it didn't prevent the 2005 transit bombings. The British have now come out with a study that says CCTV surveillance systems don't deter crime.
I guess when it comes down to it and the Justice League is up for re-election and when people ask what they did about crime they can say they watched it on TV.
Bruce Schneier at Macalester College
Tuesday, 4/3, 5 pm, counterterrorism expert Bruce Schneier talks on
"Security Theater Against Movie-Plot Threats," Weyerhaeuser Chapel,
Macalester College, Grand just west of Snelling, St Paul.If you have read my blog for a while you know that I think Bruce is dead on about all things security related.
The Terrorist Artist
The Walker's Off Center Blog writes about artist Steve Kurtz who is mistaken as a terrorist. You've got to love the paranoia of the times we live in. The documentary is scary.
On May 11, Steve Kurtz phoned 911 to report his wife of 20 years was unresponsive. When paramedics came to his house, one of them noticed that Kurtz had laboratory equipment, which he used in his art exhibits. The paramedics reported this to police and the FBI sealed off his house.
Please, Shut Boston Down.
Come on Boston, how stupid are you people? 9 other cities got it, or at least didn't panic (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia).
If it blinks it must be a bomb. That is about as stupid as not letting bottles of water on airplanes. If you look at the slide show of the police, city and state officials they look so serious. They know that everyone is laughing at them and yet they continue to keep this all going.
We can now revise Churchill yet again. "The only thing we have to fear is fear and stupidity."
And the criminal masterminds? Thank god they are in handcuffs.
You need to be a criminal to hire one. errrr.
From "Schneier on Security"
The Communications Director for Montana's Congressman Denny Rehberg solicited "hackers" to break into the computer system at Texas Christian University and change his grades (so they would look better when he eventually ran for office, I presume). The hackers posted the email exchange instead. Very funny
Please read the posted email exchange first. Schneier is right, it is very funny.
I Didn’t Hear About That Until The Next Day
Are you the type of person who never hears about progressive events until too late. Well then MN-Prog Events is where you should be looking. They even have a nice mailing list that will get the info to your inbox.
Why today alone you could be going to events that include a Veterans for Peace potluck, a lecture on Gitmo torture, a presentation on science in Islam, a sale at the Grand Ave Chico's that benefits local area shelters, or even a vigil to end the occupation of Palestine.
So grab your coat, mittens, cap and scarf and go get involved!
The Terrorist Plot To Blow Up Satellites
If you were shocked to see the Twin Towers fall, imagine your surprise when your cell phone stops working. Both the NY Times and the USA Today are warning of possible terrorist threats to America's satellite fleet.
A Shack Full of Evidence
It has been a while since Ted Kaczynski sent his packages and terrorized the country as the man in the hooded sweatshirt and glasses. Well now the evidence that was used to convict Ted has been released and we get a glimpse into his life in the shack.
A pair of shoes with smaller shoes attached to bottom allowed Ted to leave smaller footprints.
The infamous Hooded Sweatshirt and Glasses. They really exist.
Ted's coded messages eluded cryptographers until the key was eventually found amond the thousands of pages of paper they found in his shack.
There is an excellent story about all of this at CBS5 in San Francisco.
Need a Passport
Here is an excellent story about buying forged, stolen and even real passports. There is also a one hour documentary that they made about this.