Newsweek Asks: "Is Your Cellphone Spying On You?"

It's common sense that a cellphone can be used as a tracking device. However, Newsweek recently published an article, "Is Your Cellphone Spying On You?", that details how your cellphone can be turned into a truly invasive spying mechanism.

According to Newsweek, "spy phone" software now makes it easy for anybody to infect any mobile phone with a wiretapping program. The spy software is manually downloaded onto a cellphone. The download process only takes a few minutes.

Newsweek reveals that once the software is downloaded onto the phone: "The latest programs can silently turn on handset microphones even when no call is being made, allowing a spy to listen to voices in a room halfway around the world. Targets are none the wiser: neither call logs nor phone bills show records of the secretly transmitted data."

Newsweek also states that an Italian software developer is creating spyware for law enforcement agencies that will allow a cellphone to be infiltrated by spying software via a text message. Once a cellphone user opens the text message, installation of the spyware will automatically begin.

Reportedly smart phones- like iPhones and BlackBerries are the most vulnerable to spy phone software.

[SIDEBAR: While I like the convenience of modern technology, I'm beginning to have deep apprehensions (to say the least) about living in a digital world.]

NYPD's Stop-and-Frisks At An All-Time High

The New York Police Department has stopped and frisked a record number of people in New York in the first quarter of 2009. According to The Gothamist, collected data has shown that: "The NYPD stopped and searched more innocent people during the first three months of 2009 than during any three month period since police began collecting data on the program."

The released statistics state that New York police officers stopped and questioned 171,094 residents between January and March 2009. More than 151,000 of those stopped did not receive any charges. 145,000 of the New Yorkers who were stopped and questioned by the police were Black and Latino.

The NYPD is collecting personal data on everyone they stop. According to a New York Civil Liberties Union representative, this information is being compiled in a giant database.

Check Out Britain's New ID Card

Britain has a new ID card that will be dispersed to foreign nationals, starting next month. The ID card usage will then be expanded and issued to anyone working in airports and high security positions, and anyone over the age of 16 who applies for a passport.

The new high-tech ID will contain a computer chip that reveals the identification subject's: Date of birth, fingerprints, and other very sensitive personal data.

Britain's officials say that the card will help national security. However, opponents are crying loss of liberty, and a gain of vulnerability. Britain's citizens have been consistently feeling the lost of their privacy. The UK is already flanked by an inordinate amount of public surveillance cameras.

Is this what we have to look forward to across the border?

Is This Good Sense Or Paranoia?

Psychiatrists have pegged a new type of psychosis that is linked to the prevalence of high-tech surveillance in our modern day society. The psychosis, which has been branded "Truman Show Delusion," is identified as a paranoia that a person experiences when they believe that they are being watched by cameras, or that their personal life is being intruded upon by high-tech monitoring devices.

Many can see how it would be difficult to determine where the lines are drawn when it comes to the diagnosis of Truman Show Delusion. Delusions fail to be based on reality. However, this psychosis is based on actual facts. People are constantly being filmed by surveillance cameras. The presence of high-tech surveillance devices are at an all time high.

Therefore, I must ask: Is this "delusion" really a "delusion" at all? Is this "delusion" the trait of a psychotic, or is it just a person with good sense who is astute about what is going on in our post 9-11/Patriot Act-Enacted world?

I wonder if the people who decided to implement all of this extreme-level of "security" surveillance, considered that extreme acts often provoke extreme responses from people who might not have the self-control not to be swept up in all of the insanity.

[SIDEBAR: How many people saw Blockbuster Will's (aka Will Smith) movie, "Enemy of The State?"]

How Many Of These Have You Seen In Your Neighborhood?...

The above pictured highly invasive, police surveillance camera has become a staple on New York City streets.

The cameras have a price tag of $20,000 a-piece, and have reportedly been funded via federal grants (aka taxpayers' money).

The eyes of the wireless video cameras are contained in two globes. According to research conducted by The Associated Press, the cameras can "swivel round 360 degrees, look beneath themselves and zoom-in so well that they can read a cigarette pack from as far as 1,000 feet away." They are affixed on poles, and are placed approximately 30 feet from the ground. This strategic placement gives them a view into standard height tenement buildings.

The high tech surveillance devices that populate numerous city blocks in NYC's boroughs, also allegedly constantly emit microwave radiation. [<-SIDEBAR STATING THE OBVIOUS: That can't be safe.]

I'm more than curious to hear an "official" word on the purpose of these cameras. I would also like to know the health dangers associated with living so close to them.

Have You Seen One Of These In Your Neighborhood?

Have you seen the above pictured contraption in your neighborhood? It is called "Sky Watch." It is a high tech surveillance device that is sold by "ICx Tactical Platforms." On their website, ICx labels Sky Watch as a "Force Multiplier."


Here's how the the company describes the 20-foot high collapsible to their potential customers, on their website:

"Every tower includes the basics for the comfort and safety of the officer inside through adjustable heat and air conditioning, tinted sliding glass windows and comfortable seating. And no matter the application, only one man is required to set up and deploy a unit.

Sky Watch can easily be relocated and is rugged enough to handle even the most primitive off-road conditions. And all models are adaptable for cameras, radios, public address systems and other equipment integration.

Now, one officer can cover an area previously requiring three or more personnel.

STANDARD FEATURES:
Totally self-sustained
Heating and air conditioning
Customized surveillance equipment integration
Tinted windows
Solar panel for increased energy output
Control console with weatherproof switch panel
Roof-mounted flood lights
Two 110V GFI outlets
One 12V outlet
Fail safe hydraulic system with electric and manual ascent and descent controls
Wind speed meter Generator or shore power options

APLICATIONS:
Force Protection
Port Security
Consequence management
Disaster response
Flight line protection and surveillance
Parking lot surveillance and traffic management"


These towers can reportedly cost the buyer as much as $100,000. Their marketers also boast that they, contain "four cameras, a high-powered spotlight, and various sensors. The digital cameras, continue to record when the booth is unstaffed, saving the video to a hard drive."

Sky Watch is being used for "border control," as well as increasingly popping up in urban cities across the nation.

[SIDEBAR: Heavy surveillance has not been proven to reduce crime. Earlier this year, a serial rapist ran loose in a Brooklyn housing project; racking up victims within a small geographic area that had over 200 high tech surveillance cameras. So if it's not preventing crime, then I must ask, "Why all of the heavy-handed surveillance?"

One More Step Towards A Cashless Society...

According to The Gothamist, the MTA wants to completely phase out the use of toll booths within the next four years.

In lieu of toll booths, the MTA is proposing that commuters be mandated to pay their tolls via E-Z Pass, or via a system in which non-E-Z Pass users would be billed after being identified with license plate cameras.

How Did Your Favorite Presidential Candidate & State Senator Vote On The Passage Of H.R. 6304: FISA Amendments Act of 2008...

The H.R. 6304: FISA Amendments Act of 2008 was passed with a vote of 69 to 28. The above map shows the geographic voting breakdown. The horizontal bars indicate that two senators from the same state voted differently.

Arizona Senator and Republican Presidential candidate, John McCain, failed to vote at all. He was one out of a party of three senators who's votes were absent. Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, disappointingly voted in favor of the passage of the bill. The other Senator from Illinois voted to reject the Bill. Senator Obama cast an approving vote despite previously voicing his disapproval of the bill, and vowing to fight against any legislation that granted immunity to telecommunication companies.

CLICK HERE to view the roll call of the votes, and a detailed breakdown by state and political party.

A Moment Of Silence For The 4th Amendment Of The U.S. Constitution

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, blatantly disregards the rights protected by the Fourth Amendment.

The Fourth Amendment of The U.S. Constitution states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

[SIDEBAR: Another one bites the dust. The Patriot Act also assaulted the IV Amendment, as well as Amendments I and VI...Here's to the, law without order years...SMH.]

Warrantless Wiretapping 2008

Yesterday the Senate voted to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act of 2008. Is this another step in George Bush's master plan to strip Americans of their civil liberties? Many balked at the Patriot Act, now the U.S. is cementing their expansion of warrantless wiretaps. This is being done despite a Federal Court Judge's ruling that: Bush's "legal justification for the surveillance has no legal merit."

Below I've provided some links concerning the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

The first link is to an article that weighs in on how the courts have ruled on the newly enacted bill. The expanded warrantless wiretapping parameters are being implemented without the courts' blessing (so much for checks & balances). The other links are to articles provided by various news sources.

Let's see how some other news outlets are reporting on this issue:
CLICK HERE for an article that discusses the federal court's take on FISA 2008.
CLICK HERE for CNN's: "Senate Sends No-Warrant Wiretapping Bill to Bush"
CLICK HERE for the New York Times article: "Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers"
CLICK HERE for BBC News': "US Senate Passes Surveillance"
CLICK HERE for Wired's: "Senate Approves Telecom Amnesty, Expands Domestic Spying"

Cops Gone Wild Part 2: The Warrantless Wiretapping Throwback Edition

"Almost all witnesses who testified were members of the police force and had been involved in the wiretap operation. Corroborative testimony was presented that Stephen Ahern [another police officer] fathered the New Haven wiretapping operation from his apartment, beginning in the late fifties, with a machine that he himself had purchased. At that time, this activity, initially directed at gamblers, went on to include prostitutes and drug dealers, and then, in the late sixties, political activists and an assortment of students, professionals, and intellectuals. From 1964 on, Ahern had succeeded in acquiring more equipment (apparently with public funds illegally used for this purpose) and institutionalizing the tapping operation over the years by installing recorders in various locations at police headquarters.

The wiretap operation at police headquarters was at first conducted in a sergeant's closet, but was ultimately moved to a room specifically prepared with acoustical tile and closed to members of the force who were not privy to its operation. Loge were kept of phone calls tapped, detailing information considered essential for intelligence purposes. Inspector Nicholas Pastore testified that at the time in the late 1960s when Chief James Ahern [Stephen Ahern's brother] won national acclaim as a 'new breed' of liberal cop, he had, on more than one occasion, ordered the bugging of meetings of the police board through a wireless transmitter placed under the table in the police commissioners' conference room. Moreover, testimony revealed that the cell block phone in the police department used by individuals incarcerated there to contact their lawyers or arrange for bail was tapped.

Sergeant Walter P. Connor, assigned to monitoring the wiretapping equipment from April 1968 to the summer of 1969, testified that Chief James Ahern, who had visited the wiretap room after its removal from police headquarters, to the fourth floor of an office building in downtown New Haven in 1969, told him that if a stranger came to the door, 'throw the [expletive] machines out the window.'

Although the criminal and civil sanctions of the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1968 put teeth into its strictures against wiretapping, the New Haven police wiretappers were obviously not deterred.

Warrantless Wiretapping Day...

In light of the Congressional decision to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, in order to greatly expand the U.S. government's surveillance parameters at home and abroad, I will dedicate all of today's blog entries to this very controversial topic.

In an effort to make heads-and-tails of the warrantless wiretapping laws, I will explore this topic from various angles.

Big Brother Keeps Coming Up With New Ways To Watch

NY1 is reporting that the MTA is launching a pilot program to install surveillance cameras inside subway cars. This program is reportedly likely to be implemented within the next 12 months.

The MTA has already equipped 50% of its Manhattan bus line with high tech cameras.

I must ask: Is there such a thing as privacy anymore?

So You Mean To Tell Me, That With All The "Terror Alerts" & Big Brother Paraphernalia In The City, Someone Failed To Buy A Paper Shredder...???

Many news sources are reporting that a homeless man has come forward to reveal that he has found what should be top-secret documents, in a Manhattan trash can. According to The New York Post, the vigilant Ohio-native turned New Yorker, reportedly found a 150 page document that contains the blueprints for the Freedom Tower- which is to replace the World Trade Center structure.

Despite the recovered document allegedly containing the blueprints "for each floor, the thickness of the concrete-core wall and the location of air ducts, elevators, electrical systems and support columns;" the project's spokeswoman attempted to defend the security lapse by saying that the discovered plans were not detailed. She also gave the obligatory- "we're looking into it...someone will be reprimanded" spiel.

In light of this egregious breach of security, I must ask myself, "How seriously does the government take their own warnings of 'terroristic threats?'" Citizens have been subjected to invasive government snooping all in the name of "terrorism." Yet, blueprints for one of the supposedly most vulnerable locations in the country is left in a street corner garbage can for anyone to discover. [SIDEBAR: I can't speak on how may "heaven points" the man has, but at least Oliver North knew the value of a good shredder].

Many citizens are understandably rattled by the leakage of the Freedom Tower's blueprints. According to the New York Post, a New Yorker whose son died in the 9/11 tragedy stated: "I'd certainly be pretty leery going to work in the building knowing that security on the plans was so lax...The whole thing is kind of frightening, but at the same time totally expected, because we have been failed time and again." The former head of security of the MTA has also voiced his opinion by saying, "Outrageous security breeches like this amplify how vulnerable New Yorkers are."

A Strip Search You Can Keep Your Clothes On For

A new type of invasive camera is being installed in public places around the world. The ThruVision T5000 camera, which can see through clothing and walls, is now being touted by security experts as a new way to thwart terrorist attacks.

The T5000, which is already in use in the London financial district and several airports around the world, has sparked many privacy debates. Discussions concerning whether various "terroristic threats" are real or imagined are also brewing.

Citizens' rights to privacy are rapidly being forfeited around the globe in the name of "public safety." This seems to be placing us on a road to the unveiling of the contents of Pandora's box. Who is to say if these new standards of "public spying" are justified? Also, how much power does the average citizen have to say where the lines of surveillance should be drawn. The Patriot Act, legally erased the lines that law enforcement used to be required to color within.

According to www.cnn.com, surveillance expert David Wood has weighed in on the quickly loosening standards of the publics' rights to privacy. The Director of the Surveillance Studies Network, stated: "What we should consider is how much we want to lose aspects of our privacy in order to attain a sort of national security...In most cases this isn't real security- it's a sense of safety that has very little real effect."

I am interested in hearing how our current presidential candidates feel about this issue.