Hey folks, sorry posting has been so light. (Well, nonexistent) Between the new gig at Ars and a move to a new apartment (without Internet for another week—thanks Comcast!) there hasn’t been a ton of time for posting. But here’s what I’ve been getting up to at Ars:
Secretive surveillance court rejects plea for transparency
In an opinion issued late Thursday, a judge for the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court denied a motion by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sought permission to participate in secret proceedings to evaluate the constitutionality of the controversial FISA Amendments Act signed into law by President Bush last month.
Privacy groups bristle at expanded Customs database
A new border patrol policy made public late last month is raising hackles at the Center for Democracy and Technology. The civil liberties group is urging Customs and Border Patrol to scrap rules that would allow the retention of information about American citizens entering or leaving the the U.S.—whether by land, sea or air—for up to 15 years.
Get FISA Right turns crowdsourced guns on McCain
Get FISA Right, the group of socially-networked civil libertarians that formed to pressure Barack Obama on warrantless wiretapping and telecom immunity, is turning its Argus eyes toward John McCain and his Republican allies in Congress, and urging supporters to pool online donations for ad buys targeting the GOP.
Terror watchlist “upgrade” is “imploding,” legislator says
The database used to produce the government’s terror watch lists is “crippled by technical flaws,” according to the chairman of a House technology oversight subcommittee—and the system designed to replace it may be even worse.
Proposed FBI guidelines allow investigation sans suspicion
A group of Senators are questioning proposed FBI guidelines that could permit investigation of citizens without individualized suspicion.
FISA amendment forces appeals court to punt on wiretap case
EFF’s long-languishing warrantless wiretap suit booted back to district court for new proceedings under recent immunity law.
States rush to dump touch-screen voting systems
States are increasingly abandoning touchscreen voting, scrapping multimillion-dollar systems purchased since 2000.
