Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Surveillance System Eyes Up Violent Behaviour
Silicon.com reports, “Scientists have developed a new type of surveillance that can differentiate between a friendly hug or a punch in the face.” According to the report, the software system that spots any suspicious behavior is capable of detecting violent crimes and could soon be available to monitor huge quantities of closed circuit television security footage.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Pentagon Treats Counter-Recruitment Activism as ‘Terrorism’
The New Standard reports, “Documents released last week by the American Civil Liberties Union expose the extent to which the government considers First Amendment-protected activities and civil disobedience a ‘potential terrorist activity.’” According to the report, “The files contain more evidence that the Pentagon is grouping nonviolent protests against military recruitment into a database supposedly meant to catalogue potential terrorism threats.”
Air Travellers to Be RFID Tagged?
Silicon.com reports, “A new RFID tag has been designed and its inventors claim it could improve airport security by tracking passengers as they mingle in the departure lounge.” According to the article, “The plan is to issue every passenger with an RFID tag at check-in so human traffic can be monitored around the airport.”
Monday, October 16, 2006
1 Man Still Locked Up From 9/11 Sweeps
This Associated Press report begins, “In a jail cell at an immigration detention center in Arizona sits a man who is not charged with a crime, not suspected of a crime, not considered a danger to society.” According to the report, this prisoner, Ali Partovi, has been in custody for over five years and according to the Department of Homeland Security, he is the last to be held of about 1,200 Arab and Muslim men swept up by authorities in the United States after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Police to Start Inspecting Bags on Boston Subway
“The police will begin inspecting passengers’ bags on the Boston subway system in the next few days, Gov. Mitt Romney said on Wednesday,” reports The New York Times. According to Gov. Romney, the inspections will be random for the most part and they are not in response to a specific threat against the transit system, but to the general threat of terrorism.
Wiretap Program Allowed During Appeal
“President Bush's terrorist surveillance program can continue while the Justice Department appeals a lower-court ruling that deemed the warrantless wiretapping operation unconstitutional, a federal appeals court said yesterday.” According to The Washington Times, “The three-paragraph ruling said the judges balanced the likelihood that the appeal would succeed, the potential damage to both sides of the dispute, and the public interest.”
