MetaFilter posts tagged with fbi and law

How reliable is DNA in identifying suspects?

finite — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:18:44 -0800

A discovery leads to questions about whether the odds of people sharing genetic profiles are sometimes higher than portrayed. Calling the finding meaningless, the FBI has sought to block such inquiry.

AT&T Unity Plan FREE calling to 100 million customers.

homunculus — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:23:43 -0800

AT&T and Verizon obey FBI emergency requests, even if they're of dubious legality, and they get paid for it. But AT&T can't be sued, they say, because that would endanger national security.

Top Secret: We're Wiretapping You

Postroad — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:19:53 -0800

Top Secret: We're Wiretapping You It could be a scene from Kafka or Brazil. Imagine a government agency, in a bureaucratic foul-up, accidentally gives you a copy of a document marked "top secret." And it contains a log of some of your private phone calls. You read it and ponder it and wonder what it all means. Then, two months later, the FBI shows up at your door, demands the document back and orders you to forget you ever saw it.

Using Big Laws to Catch Little Terrorists

digaman — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 14:44:27 -0800

The terrorists in New Jersey have been captured. They're, uhm, like 15 years old. A fine example of how anti-terror laws like the Patriot Act can be subject to mission creep. (The "terrorists" at the Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Justice in Pittsburgh seem to be still at large.)

What you do in Vegas stays in your file

homunculus — Wed, 07 Jan 2004 20:55:20 -0800

The FBI has been given increased surveillance powers without court oversight under the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, which was signed into law on the day Saddam was captured. The law was recently used to have hotels and airlines in Las Vegas turn over guest and passenger names and information for the holiday period.

New state, same as old but worse.

troutfishing — Tue, 02 Dec 2003 11:10:47 -0800

The Miami Model... ["What is the Miami Model? It is several things: extremely violent police response to nonviolent demonstrators, embedded reporters behind police lines - and arresting and harassing "non-embedded" journalists...(and) mass arrests and an arsenal of "non-lethal" weapons.]...represents the next step in the criminalization and repression of dissent that is occurring in the United States right now." It is part of the newly emerging "Technologies of political control" (1.1m PDF) which are rapidly consuming American democracy from within. This is more than crowd control. This is the new Information Warfare. Oh - and thinking of protesting? - The FBI would like your name, please. (more inside)

If we let anyone fly planes, the terrorists have won...

Irontom — Mon, 23 Dec 2002 07:59:36 -0800

Buy a Flight Manual, Get a Grand Jury Subpoena? A guy qualified to fly and instruct on the Boeing 737 buys a CD on Ebay that contains the ground course for the same plane. Then the FBI gets involved, and, courtesy of section 501 (d) of the "USA Patriot Act", he can no longer even discuss the issue. [more inside]

Iax — Mon, 01 Jul 2002 01:19:48 -0800

FBI enforcing the bandwidth CAP. With broadband caps spreading across North America, I wonder if we will see more stories like this, as users find they want to use more than 4 to 6 gigs a month.

Ty Webb — Thu, 30 May 2002 09:29:21 -0800

Government Will Ease Limits on Domestic Spying by F.B.I. (NY Times link) As part of a sweeping effort to transform the F.B.I. into a domestic terrorism prevention agency, Attorney General John Ashcroft has decided to relax restrictions on the bureau's ability to conduct domestic spying in counterterrorism operations, senior government officials said today. Here's the Wash. Post's take on the story.

aflakete — Tue, 27 Nov 2001 22:52:36 -0800

8 former FBI agents "have offered the first substantive critique of the Ashcroft program." A senior Justice Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that none of the changes ordered by Ashcroft would have enabled the FBI to interrupt the Sept. 11 attacks. After the rebuke mentioned previously here, perhaps the worm is turning?

racer271 — Fri, 15 Jun 2001 09:17:44 -0800

Charges dropped against Ruby Ridge FBI sniper BONNER'S FERRY, Idaho (CNN) -- The FBI sharpshooter who killed a white separatist's wife in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff will not be tried for manslaughter, an Idaho prosecutor said Thursday.

thirteen — Sun, 17 Dec 2000 18:16:38 -0800

FBI agents march on White House to oppose clemency for political prisoner Leonard Peltier
Now the freaking FBI are protesting, see what you people started. No confirmation of any street blocking. I have been hoping Clinton would pony up and free the man, but with this I imagine he will make the gutless cowardly choice once again.