surveillance – News Stories About surveillance - Page 10

Oct 23, 2009 9:03 AM CDT

US Drones Back Up Pakistani Offensive

Predators offer intel on militant positions in South Waziristan

(Newser) - The US military is supporting the Pakistani offensive against Taliban militants in South Waziristan with intelligence and imaging collected by unmanned Predator drones. The support is separate from the CIA program using the drones inside Pakistan to kill terrorist leaders. “We are coordinating with the Pakistanis,” a military...

Mukasey: Now's No Time
to Weaken Patriot Act

OPINION

Oct 2, 2009 5:53 AM CDT

Mukasey: Now's No Time to Weaken Patriot Act

Terror arrests show that national security needs trump privacy worries

(Newser) - The arrests last week of Najibullah Zazi and other terror suspects should make lawmakers think twice about making intelligence-gathering more difficult for those trying to keep America safe from terrorist attacks, writes Michael Mukasey. Congressional Democrats are considering imposing new requirements on Patriot Act provisions when they come up for...

Obama Supports Extending Patriot Act Provisions

Sep 16, 2009 3:30 AM CDT

Obama Supports Extending Patriot Act Provisions

Administration tells Congress it wants to renew surveillance laws

(Newser) - The Obama administration supports extending three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year, AP reports. The Justice Department tells Congress in a letter they will back preserving the post-9/11 law's authority to access business records, monitor so-called "lone...

NYC Homes Raided
in Terrorism Probe

Sep 14, 2009 4:30 PM CDT

NYC Homes Raided in Terrorism Probe

No bombs found; Senator describes action as 'preventative'

(Newser) - Federal agents and New York police raided homes in Queens today as part of an investigation of a possible terrorist attack, the AP reports. Officials said the searches revealed no bombs or other weapons they would describe as “ready for use,” but said the action was based surveillance...

London Cameras a Bust:
1 Crime Solved Per 1K

Aug 25, 2009 8:19 AM CDT

London Cameras a Bust: 1 Crime Solved Per 1K

(Newser) - Surveillance cameras are nearly worthless in the fight against crime, a London police report concluded, with fewer than one crime solved annually for every 1,000 cameras.The UK is one of the world's most monitored countries, with one camera for every 14 people and 1 million cameras in London...

Fiber-Optic Mics
Eavesdrop on Thieves

Aug 21, 2009 6:09 PM CDT

Fiber-Optic Mics Eavesdrop on Thieves

OptaSense can identify footsteps, vehicles from miles away

(Newser) - Major oil companies are relying on a new fiber-optic technology to keep an underground ear on intruders, the Independent reports. Devised by a British defense firm, the OptaSense system consists of microphones placed along sensitive fiber-optic cables already laid underground. The cables sense vibrations, the mics pick it up, and...

Yoo Fights Back on Torture

Jul 27, 2009 7:13 AM CDT

Yoo Fights Back on Torture

(Newser) - The embattled Bush administration lawyer who drafted memos justifying waterboarding and warrantless wiretaps is fighting back as his role comes under greater scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. John Yoo, now a University of California law professor, has been giving speeches around the country defending the tactics and his view that...

Yoo: Wiretaps Were Legal and Necessary

OPINION

Jul 16, 2009 7:24 AM CDT

Yoo: Wiretaps Were Legal and Necessary

President had right to violate 'obsolete' FISA, Bush lawyer writes

(Newser) - Last week the inspectors general of the Justice Department, CIA, and other agencies suggested the Bush administration violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, singling out lawyer John Yoo for memos justifying warrantless wiretapping. Yoo defends himself today in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, writing that FISA was "an obsolete...

Wiretap Program Had 'Limited' Value: Fed Report

Jul 11, 2009 8:15 AM CDT

Wiretap Program Had 'Limited' Value: Fed Report

(Newser) - The Bush administration's warrantless wiretap program wasn't such a great anti-terror tool after all, says a new federal report. The wiretaps—on the international communication of Americans—"generally played a limited role" in counterterrorism efforts, despite the assertions of President Bush, Dick Cheney, and other top officials that they...

NSA Violated Domestic Wiretap Limits

Apr 16, 2009 6:34 AM CDT

NSA Violated Domestic Wiretap Limits

Agency overcollected Americans' emails, phonecalls: officials

(Newser) - The NSA has been listening in on the domestic communications of American citizens well in excess of the limits placed on it by Congress last year, say intelligence officials. The Justice Department has confirmed to the New York Times that it detected "issues" in recent months but said it ...

I Say, Old Chap, Big Brother Is Watching Twitter

Mar 25, 2009 9:53 AM CDT

I Say, Old Chap, Big Brother Is Watching Twitter

UK government weighs monitoring social sites for security threats

(Newser) - The British government wants to keep an eye on what people are doing on Facebook. On the lookout for terrorist plots, the Home Office has provoked an outcry from civil libertarians by floating a plan to track users of social networking sites, which were previously free of government monitoring, reports...

US Ship Broke Laws: China

Mar 10, 2009 1:11 PM CDT

US Ship Broke Laws: China

Impeccable may have been snooping on Chinese nuclear subs

(Newser) - Beijing said that a US Navy surveillance ship approached by several Chinese vessels this weekend was conducting illegal information-gathering, the Washington Post reports. The US had completely misrepresented the incident in its complaint, a Foreign Ministry rep. said, as the USS Impeccable was in a "Chinese exclusive economic zone"...

Webcam on Board, Teen Drivers on Alert

Oct 24, 2008 5:50 PM CDT

Webcam on Board, Teen Drivers on Alert

Mom and Dad monitor kids' driving, hoping for more road safety

(Newser) - If a pilot program sees good results, teen drivers may soon find themselves under surveillance, reports the Washington Post. Parents in southern Maryland find the new webcam system, which records possible unsafe driving practices, a useful tool. Their offspring, however, aren't thrilled at the prospect of losing one of their...

Military Snooped
on Troops'
Phone Sex

Oct 10, 2008 2:42 AM CDT

Military Snooped on Troops' Phone Sex

Intercept operators listened to calls of troops, journalists, aid workers for fun

(Newser) - The US military routinely listened in on highly personal private phone calls of Americans calling home from the Middle East, two former operators told ABC News. President Bush has insisted that only the calls of terror suspects are monitored, but the whistleblowers say operators monitored the calls of blameless military...

Web Lets Parents Peek Into School Day

Sep 6, 2008 2:42 PM CDT

Web Lets Parents Peek Into School Day

New online tools to monitor lunches, grades, attendance

(Newser) - Parents are taking advantage of new web tools to monitor their children’s activities at school, the Los Angeles Times reports. A California program set to debut next year will allow doting parents to keep an eye on what kids buy for lunch, and let school officials know about food...

Doc, I Think I'm on Reality TV

Aug 28, 2008 12:17 PM CDT

Doc, I Think I'm on Reality TV

Psychiatrists see Truman Show delusion so often it's got its own syndrome

(Newser) - In The Truman Show, Jim Carrey's life was nothing more than a reality TV program, with actors playing his friends and family and millions of viewers watching his every move. Those themes of surveillance and artificiality pervade the lives of a growing number of psychiatric patients—people who think they...

Cops Knocked Over Using GPS to Tail Suspects

Aug 13, 2008 12:09 PM CDT

Cops Knocked Over Using GPS to Tail Suspects

Privacy advocates question warrantless, undetectable tracking

(Newser) - As GPS units become cheaper and easier to use, police forces around the country are turning to the technology to easily track suspects. The Washington Post examines the advantages of this new crime-fighting weapon, and the privacy concerns it’s raising among critics. Cops can easily attach a GPS device...

Maryland
Cops Spied
on Peaceniks

Jul 18, 2008 4:25 AM CDT

Maryland Cops Spied on Peaceniks

Activists branded terrorists & drug dealers

(Newser) - Groups opposing the death penalty and the war in Iraq were infiltrated and spied on by undercover Maryland State Police officers, according to police logs obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union. Some activists were placed on terrorist and drug trafficking databases with no evidence they were involved in any...

Big Brother Comes to Sweden

Opinion

Jul 13, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

Big Brother Comes to Sweden

New surveillance law has country partying like it's 1984

(Newser) - Don’t believe the hype: “Sweden is no cuddly liberal democracy,” writes Nathalie Rothschild for Spiked, berating her home country for “introducing the most Draconian surveillance law in Europe.” Known as the FRA law but nicknamed "Lex Orwell" by opponents, the legislation gives intelligence agencies...

Big Brother Sees Washington

Jun 16, 2008 1:55 PM CDT

Big Brother Sees Washington

City develops extensive CCTV surveillance network

(Newser) - If you plan to go outdoors in Washington, DC, comb your hair first, because someone's probably going to see you. The capital is ramping up a video surveillance system that puts most others in the entire world to shame, the LA Times reports. Unsurprisingly, the 5,625-camera network has captured...