MetaFilter posts tagged with spying

Be seeing you

sloe — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:12:13 -0800

iWatch PSA. The LAPD recently launched a new program named iWatch which encourages and establishes guidelines for citizen reporting of suspicious activity. There's also a 7 minute action movie playing out a fictional case study of the program. NPR interview with Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton regarding the program. Comments from ACLU policy counsel Mike German in this AP story. Related: PSA for Australia's National Security Hotline (via via) NYT report on the extent and wide ranging uses of government surveillance within Britain.

Arthur Ransome: Beloved Children's Author was a noted fan of the Lake District, and also Bolshevik Revolutionaries

Sifter — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:03:42 -0800

Yet another 20th century English author in bed with the communists? Literally, in this case - Arthur Ransome might be best known for his 'Swallows & Amazons' books about children sailing in the idyllic Lake District, but before all that, he left his first wife (and a libel case that got him mixed up with Oscar Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas) to study fairy tales in Russia... only there he fell in love with Leon Trotsky's private secretary, ended up working for the Bolsheviks and also MI6. She - Evgenia Shelepina - later became his wife, but not before he'd witnessed the Bolshevik revolution, and fled Russia with a Bolshevik diplomatic passport and a satchel stuffed full of millions of roubles. According to Roland Chambers, author of a new bio of Ransome, when he pitched up at the British Embassy in Sweden, the British Intelligence community were extremely suspicious of him. Didn't stop them hiring him to work for MI6, even though they knew he retained is communist sympathies: "Recruited to MI6 in 1918, he submitted reports to the British head of station in eastern Europe, while simultaneously advising the Bolshevik secret police on British foreign policy. Revealing a dizzying ability to adapt himself to the nearest power, he insisted, nevertheless, that he had retained absolute objectivity. When Sir Basil Thomson, head of Special Branch, asked him what his politics were, Ransome answered, ‘Fishing’." You can hear Chambers talking about the book (and Ransome talking about fishing) on Radio 4's Open Book (iPlayer link, outside UK YMMV): Chambers starts 18 minutes in. Was Ransome a double agent? Well that depends: short answer, Chambers says, is yes. No surprise, given the chaos of his early life, that Ransome went on to write children's books set in a very orderly world - although one where small groups do fight each other for territory and power.

hatchink fiendish plan to catch moose and squirrel

shothotbot — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:14:05 -0800

Interested in Soviet era spying by the KGB in the United States? Bummed that you cant get into the KGB archives? Well it turns out that someone copied all the good stuff already, and you can take a peek. Alexander Vassiliev was a KGB officer who turned to journalism in 1990. From 1993-96 he had access to the KGB archives for the 1930s to early 1950s to write notes for a book project on Soviet spying in the Stalin era. His original notebooks - including extensive verbatim transcriptions - were left behind in Moscow when he moved to London but smuggled out via an elaborate plan. There are eight notebooks, on the Cold War International History site there are scans, transliterations and translations of each notebook, free for nothing. Vassilev assisted in the transcriptions and transliterations. The whole story is in Alexander Vassiliev’s Notebooks: Provenance and Documentation of Soviet Intelligence Activities in the United States (pdf). "Since the KGB’s archives remain closed, Vassiliev’s notebooks are as close as we are likely to get to the actual documents for many years, likely decades"

ACPO: We're Private, You're Public?

terranova — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:59:49 -0800

What is the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)? It is a private company, financed by UK taxpayers, immune from freedom of information requests. It dictates police operations and sells police national computer data. It may also be engaged in covert domestic surveillance of what it deems as extremists: antiwar protesters, strikers, and others. According to an ACPO spokesperson ""there doesn't seem to be a single, commonly agreed definition."

NSA Spying: Cat now out of bag.

dunkadunc — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:39:30 -0800

Russell Tice, former NSA security analyst, just came on the Keith Olbermann show revealing that the NSA's domestic surveillance programs were not only far greater in scope than formerly thought, but also were specifically targeted at journalists.

CIFA? GYOICFW

Smedleyman — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:13:16 -0800

James Clapper , undersecretary of defense for intelligence, has just recommended closing the Counterintelligence Field Activity program, a 1,000-man agency (mostly contractors with a secret budget) set up shortly after 9/11 to fight foreign terroristson U.S. soil, whose contracts are based on congressional earmarks (and administration insiders) were under investigation by the Pentagon and federal prosecutors (for domestic spying, the use of/deletion of data from the TALON (.pdf file) program (managed by the CIFA as JPEN ) A handy timeline ( via ): * September 2002, then Deputy Secretary of Defense for Counter-Intelligence Burtt (the guy who resigned yesterday) establishes CIFA to oversee counterintelligence units of the armed services; consulting on the new agency was James King, recently retired director of National Imagery and Mapping Agency and MZM vice president * Late 2002, Cunningham got Mitchell Wade a data storage contract worth $6 million, of which $5.4 was profit * January 2004, Cunningham added $16.5 million to defense authorization for a "collaboration center" that appears to include business for Wade's company * December 2005, Pincus reveals a CIFA database contains raw intelligence data on peace activists (and, presumably, Jesus' General) * March 2006, prosecutors in the Cunningham case announce they're reviewing CIFA contracts to MZM * March 2006, Stephen Cambone announces an investigation of CIFA's contracting--the investigation is (like the investigation into Dougie Feith) "ongoing" * May 2006, Porter Goss resigns under allegations of ties to the Wilkes/Wade bribery ring * May 2006, House Intelligence Committee (Peter Hoekstra's Committee) first moves to exercise oversight on CIFA * June 2006, USNCO destroys all the TALON reports * August 2006, CIFA director and deputy director resign

eye-opening curiosities

madamjujujive — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:07:06 -0800

"Of all the various types of optical objects known to exist, far and away the most magnificent and attractive are the optical fans." These sly spying devices, now rare collector curiosities, were once a more discreet and chic alternative for spying on your neighbors in fashionable gatherings than opera glasses, spyglasses, or jealousy glasses.

Secret Warrants Granted Without Probable Cause

rxrfrx — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 23:32:12 -0800

Secret Warrants Granted Without Probable Cause

9/11 changed everything? And the NSA is only looking at overseas and terrorist-related phone and internet records?

amberglow — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 12:04:00 -0800

to gather information about Americans' phone records --... the NSA had approached the company (Qwest) about participating in a warrantless surveillance program to gather information about Americans' phone records. ...Nacchio's account, which places the NSA proposal at a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, suggests that the Bush administration was seeking to enlist telecommunications firms in programs without court oversight before the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The Sept. 11 attacks have been cited by the government as the main impetus for its warrantless surveillance efforts. ... -- The Administration's crimes and illegal spying on all of us and Quest's punishment for not going along with their plans.

Never mind the Black Helicopters, look out for the Dragonflies.

Mcable — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:37:53 -0800

Reports have been circulating of insects hovering over anti-war rallies recently. Paranoia? Research? It's getting discussion in a lot of mainstream places.

Who's Soft on Terrorism?

digaman — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:02:40 -0800

Who's soft on terrorism? Surely not the Democrats, who are about to enable the National Security Agency to extend its secret domestic wiretapping program after saying otherwise for months. Surely not the Republican White House, determined to rush out a new Osama bin Laden video even if it burns an intelligence connection spying on Al Qaeda that has been carefully cultivated for years.

Spy satellites against carbon emissions.

Mitheral — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:31:10 -0800

Aerial building heat loss maps. Haringey Council has contracted with Hot Mapping and Horton Levi to put a searchable heat loss map online for every building in the London Borough of Haringey. The thermal images were collected using overflights with a military style imager. The council's hope is that residents with hot buildings will take steps to reduce the amount of energy being leaked to the environment.

Whole lotta spyin' goin' on

Pope Guilty — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:15:28 -0800

Since the revelation that the telecommunications companies assisted in illegal spying on domestic phone calls, a host of lawsuits have sprung up seeking damages for civil liberties violations. The Bush administration has responded by seeking the power to grant blanket immunity to criminal and civil action to the companies involved. The claim that the suits could bankrupt the companies indicates that the spying was even more widespread than previously believed; If Verizon is worth $120,000,000,000, then given the estimate of $1000 per violation, one hundred and twenty million calls were spied upon.

John Young of Cryptome: The man behind the world's most dangerous website

deern the headlice — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 08:51:01 -0800

When journalists from Radar Magazine interview John Young of Cryptome.org, Young suspects he is actually being double-crossed by MI6 agents.

"It was just six years of my life."

amyms — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:28:15 -0800

WANTED: The Limping Lady. The Gestapo's poster read "She is one of the most valuable Allied agents in France and we must find and destroy her" but Virginia Hall, who used a prosthetic limb after losing a leg years before in a hunting accident, eluded them and saved countless Allied lives while working as a spy during WWII. Additional biographical information, as well as the biographies of other famous female spies, at WWII Female Spies (which has many outgoing links to other great informational resources about female spies in WWII).

"more than two centuries of surveillance in America"

amberglow — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 17:11:48 -0800

Tracked In America --the stories of 25 individuals who have been targeted by the U.S. government. The stories span from World War I to the post-9/11 world.

Do you know how people will fly r/c planes in the future?

MetaMonkey — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:43:39 -0800

Do you know how people will fly r/c planes in the future? Canadian enthusiast Dennis (aka VRFlyer) rigs up a camera and VR googles to view the flight in real time. To complete his dream of virtual flying, he then adds a gyroscope, allowing him to control the camera's pan and tilt with head movement. Dennis explains more about his method and passion for VR flying in this RC forum.

Connectedness, Betweenness, Closeness???

amberglow — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 23:34:49 -0800

Big Brother 101 -- Could your social networks brand you an enemy of the state? (Popular Science Mag) And one staffer finds out it might--due to a connection to the Buffalo Six. Think 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, but with tapping and surveillance and worse at the other end.

This might explain why the U.S. keeps getting caught spying on peaceful war-protestors.

amberglow — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:20:10 -0800

DHS's CyberStorm-- --Recognizing the imminent threat hippies and assorted leftists obviously pose to us all, a massive cyber terror simulation (international and involving 115 organizations) recently came to light: ...The attack scenario detailed in the presentation is a meticulously plotted parade of cyber horribles led by a "well financed" band of leftist radicals who object to U.S. imperialism, aided by sympathetic independent actors. At the top of the pyramid is the Worldwide Anti-Globalization Alliance, which sets things off by calling for cyber sit-ins and denial-of-service attacks against U.S. interests. WAGA's radical arm, the villainous Black Hood Society, ratchets up the tension on day one by probing SCADA computerized control systems and military networks ...

Suit Goes Forward, at Least for Now

monju_bosatsu — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:18:19 -0800

Judge Refuses to Dismiss NSA Spy Program Lawsuit. Judge Walker has denied the motion by the government to dismiss the EFF's suit based on the state secrets doctrine. Read the order [pdf] and more coverage and analysis at SCOTUSblog.

Cheney urged NSA to eavesdrop on Americans

Postroad — Sat, 13 May 2006 11:35:16 -0800

Cheney Pushed U.S. to Widen Eavesdropping In the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney and his top legal adviser argued that the National Security Agency should intercept purely domestic telephone calls and e-mail messages without warrants in the hunt for terrorists, according to two senior intelligence officials.

EFF Whistleblower Wiretapping Suit Halted by Nuclear Option

squirrel — Tue, 02 May 2006 19:47:00 -0800

Bush administration signals intent to invoke the obscure state secrets privilege in order to stop the EFF lawsuit against AT&T, (previously discussed here) for providing the NSA direct access all 312 terabytes of its customers' telephone and internet traffic since 2001, (including those Good Vibrations charges you racked up). In a nutshell, according to legal experts, invoking the privilege kills the judicial process dead: the courthouse doors are closed, and there's nothing but grownup stuff to see here; move along, kids.

AT&T-->NSA. WTF? -EFF

jikel_morten — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 07:27:06 -0800

EFF Accuses AT&T of diverting internet traffic to NSA. "More than just threatening individuals' privacy, AT&T's apparent choice to give the government secret, direct access to millions of ordinary Americans' Internet communications is a threat to the Constitution itself. We are asking the Court to put a stop to it now." More details from the EFF.

Harry Taylor, US Citizen of the Day

tsarfan — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:24:58 -0800

Man tells President Bush that he should be ashamed of himself. Bushie has been touring the country talking to the people and the people have been talking back. Today he met with his toughest and most elequent angry citizen, one Mr. Harry Taylor who began with this salvo:

Q: You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are --

THE PRESIDENT: I'm not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what's your question? (full transcript here)

Censuring Domestic Surveillance

digaman — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:22:26 -0800

"Resolved that the United States Senate does hereby censure George W. Bush, president of the United States, and does condemn his unlawful authorization of wiretaps of Americans." Invoking "high crimes and misdemeanors," Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold introduces a motion to censure [PDF link] President Bush for his controversial, legally dubious NSA wiretapping program. Feingold declares: "The President must be held accountable for authorizing a program that clearly violates the law." Republican leader Frist retorts: "It's a crazy political move" that sends a "terrible" signal to Iran. Democratic bloggers say: Call your senator. [More legal fallout from the NSA program recently discussed here.]