Surveillance self-defense

The EFF has published a good primer to electronic self defense for anyone concerned with government spying and oppression.

Tehran, Iran - Riots in the streets over suspicious election results

Most Internet and mobile services have reportedly been cut off by the authorities.

What an exciting time for Iran. Let's hope democracy prevails.

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1000th post.

Thanks for reading!

"Socially dangerous behavior"

Here's an interesting story of an artist - Artem Loskutov - the Russian government is afraid of. The blog describes other recent clashes between artists and police there. On June 10 Artem was released until trial.

The interesting thing is not really that these particular events have happened (it's been the same story for thousands of years), but that once again young artists are openly challenging the controlling regime (and its police force) in Russia. Governments always get nervous about people who can generate a mob in the street no matter the reason. "Socially dangerous" means you can change people's minds.

Spreading the news of their struggle is essential to keeping artists safe when they embark on such dangerous missions as these. Oppression works best when it's a well-known secret rather than when it's embarrassing international news. Artists inside Russia are at more risk, so artists outside Russia should support them in their efforts.

Surveillance Self-Defense

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has created this Surveillance Self-Defense site to educate the American public about the law and technology of government surveillance in the United States, providing the information and tools necessary to evaluate the threat of surveillance and take appropriate steps to defend against it.

Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD) exists to answer two main questions: What can the government legally do to spy on your computer data and communications? And what can you legally do to protect yourself against such spying?

Even though this is a US-centric site, you are surfing US sites, maybe storing your email on one or more of them, your MySpace and Facebook, chats, and so on are crossing borders constantly. So this article is applicable to almost everyone, at least technically, if not legally.

Amtrak photo contestant arrested by Amtrak police in NYC

The linked article shows what idiots some train company police can be (arresting a photographer during an Amtrak photo contest and then lying about why), but nonetheless it's legal to take photos in public places in the US unless a sign prohibits it.

If you actually resist arrest, though, train security might shoot you dead, like a BART officer in Oakland did to Oscar Grant, just days ago. Oscar was not taking photos, but there too, the train police confiscated cameras and phones from witnesses after one of the cops killed Oscar. Some youtube footage is surfacing anyway, because so many people witnessed the killing.

The right to take photos is one we must all continue to fight to keep, but take that fight to the courtroom for your own safety, and to benefit everyone.

Tim O'Reilly: Why I support Barack Obama

(via BoingBoing)
This is great info with very interesting links to other stuff. My favorite reason here:

9/11, The War in Iraq, and the Growth of Authoritarian Government

Perhaps the most frightening thing about 9/11 is how easily we, as a nation, forgot who we are and what we stand for. We threw away the sympathy of the world by acting as though the threat of terrorism justifies the abandonment of human rights. The false intelligence and the lies that linked Iraq with the terrorists of 9/11, the abuses in Guantanamo, the drumbeat of fear that was used for political gain, all lost us the respect and moral leadership we once enjoyed. Meanwhile, Americans gave up freely the liberties that were the very foundation of our nation and made us a model for the rest of the world.

We need a clear break with that sordid epoch. John McCain is as outraged by Guantanamo as Barack Obama, but he continues the misplaced focus of American foreign policy on Iraq. And he seems to share the Bush administration's idea that terrorism is the greatest threat facing this country.

Barack Obama has outlined a commitment to extricate ourselves from a colossal foreign policy mistake. This plan, derided as naive by the Republicans, is in line with the wishes of the Iraqis, and will allow us to realign our foreign policy priorities to deal with far more substantial threats to our national interest.

But more importantly, it is itself a strategic move in "the war on terror. " By invading Iraq, we created a haven for terrorism that didn't previously exist. Even worse, we gave them exactly what they wanted, an enemy that could serve as a recruiting tool.

And we played completely into their hands here in America as well! What, after all, is the goal of terrorism? To disrupt the society of an enemy by creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.

Al Quaeda no longer needs to do anything to create that atmosphere of fear. Our government does that for them! From the horrific -- abuses of civil rights that undermine fundamental constitutional freedoms -- to the ridiculous -- what Bruce Schneier has so ably criticized as security theater that has increased the costs and inconvenience of travel while providing no added security, the Bush administration has acted the puppet to Osama bin Laden's game plan.

On the internet, we know how to deal with people who try to disrupt our activities. While griefers are not the same as terrorists, the same principle applies. We say, "Don't feed the trolls!"

Even without any overt action, an Obama presidency will undermine the aims of terror by providing a clear break with the past, a break with the policies that have made America more of a target for terrorism than we were before 9/11.

My hope -- and I'll admit that it's only a hope -- is that Obama is smart enough to know, like Roosevelt, that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," and will use the power of the presidency to reverse the fear-driven policies of the past seven years.

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of what has happened in those years is the way that fear has been used to claim extraordinary power for the Presidency. Those of you who know my background know that my degree is in Greek and Latin Classics. So it's perhaps forgivable that historical parallels with ancient Rome are quick to come to my mind. The claims of the Bush administration to be above the law, its claims that the threat of terrorism demand the suspension of civil liberties, are eerily reminiscent of the events that led to the end of the Roman Republic. Faced with an invasion by pirates (the terrorists of 68 BC), Pompey the Great was given extraordinary powers. Within a decade, Rome was a dictatorship, led by the one Senator who had supported Pompey's exaggerated claims, Julius Caesar.

Of course, we are a long way from that point, but the drift of our country towards authoritarianism is alarming. John McCain has been trying to paint Obama as the candidate of big government. Yet it is the Right, not the Left, that is bringing us the biggest, most powerful, most centralized, and most intrusive government that America has ever seen. Many members of the technical community have libertarian leanings; you should vote for Obama for this reason alone!

I don't see evidence in Obama's platform that he has come to explicit grips with this issue. But it is seems far more likely to me that any Supreme Court justices he appoints will be more inclined to stop this mad slide towards an authoritarian society than the candidates who might be proposed by John McCain. I do know that the technological sophistication and political predilections of Obama's advisors will be to warn of the slippery slope that awaits us if we continue down the path of fear, with the tools of technology applied to end freedom rather than to increase it.

Bill Moyers speaks truth at National Conference for Media Reform

"... We're not alone and we know what we need to say. So let us all go tell it on the mountains and in the cities. From our websites and laptops, the street corners and coffeehouses, the delis and diners, the factory floors and the bookstores. On campus, at the mall, the synagogue, sanctuary and mosque, let's tell it where we can, when we can and while we still can.

Democracy only works when ordinary people claim it as their own." - Bill Moyers

Media matters. Media variety matters. Media ownership (and its ugly other side of purchasability) is what's wrong. Control of information always serves the state and not the people. When all people know is what they are told, it matters a lot how many people can speak.

London to eradicate another Banksy production

Better get photos now, Londoners. The grey paint committee is on the way. The lovely anti-CCTV piece is going to be destroyed.

Afghan Journalist Receives 20-Year Prison Term for Blasphemy

... which is only good because before they were going to kill him for it.

"Journalist [Perwez Kambakhsh] distributed an [Iranian] Internet article criticizing the Prophet Mohammed's views on women."

If you can't criticize your religion or ask questions about it, you're already in prison.

Voting for religious fanatics is also a terrible idea. Just say no to mixing Church and State. No telling what they might make illegal next.

Let's hope he gets a real appeal or a BBC airlift.

Good news: Data driftnets rejected as both bad and wrong

In an astounding feat of intelligent analysis and courage, a privacy and terrorism commission composed of technical experts funded by Homeland Security (USA) has reported that sifting through everyone's information about everything will not be an effective way to detect terrorists. Plus it would cause a lot of innocent people's doors to be kicked in, which is "un-American." They recommend revamping privacy laws to make them more coherent and protective and using traditional methods to look for terrorists.

Truly a triumph of mathematics and civil rights over fear.

Next let's elect people who will prevent the government from collecting and purchasing and seizing data on everyone. Because that's un-American too. And un-British, and un-Australian.

Anyway, a little good news in our handbasket to hell this week. Check the comments on the article too. Some intelligent life is out there.

China's All-Seeing Eye

[Shenzhen] "Over the past two years, some 200,000 surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the city. Many are in public spaces, disguised as lampposts. The closed-circuit TV cameras will soon be connected to a single, nationwide network, an all-seeing system that will be capable of tracking and identifying anyone who comes within its range -- a project driven in part by U.S. technology and investment. Over the next three years, Chinese security executives predict they will install as many as 2 million CCTVs in Shenzhen, which would make it the most watched city in the world. (Security-crazy London boasts only half a million surveillance cameras.)

"The security cameras are just one part of a much broader high-tech surveillance and censorship program known in China as "Golden Shield." The end goal is to use the latest people-tracking technology -- thoughtfully supplied by American giants like IBM, Honeywell and General Electric -- to create an airtight consumer cocoon: a place where Visa cards, Adidas sneakers, China Mobile cellphones, McDonald's Happy Meals, Tsingtao beer and UPS delivery (to name just a few of the official sponsors of the Beijing Olympics) can be enjoyed under the unblinking eye of the state, without the threat of democracy breaking out. With political unrest on the rise across China, the government hopes to use the surveillance shield to identify and counteract dissent before it explodes into a mass movement like the one that grabbed the world's attention at Tiananmen Square.

"Remember how we've always been told that free markets and free people go hand in hand? That was a lie. It turns out that the most efficient delivery system for capitalism is actually a communist-style police state, fortressed with American "homeland security" technologies, pumped up with "war on terror" rhetoric."


- A fascinating article on many levels. Think: Corporations profit at the expense of Chinese people's subjugation to the state. Our cities are next. After the corporations and governments can see all of us all the time, we'll all be completely safe, and all our shopping needs will be attended to before we even know it.

Banksy vs CCTV

Billboard Liberation Front

boingboing had the scoop, but the new link is to the BLF page with better photos and press release.

A rare dose of truth about the terrorized USA

It's rare to find anything true in the current sea of propaganda, advertisement, disinformation, and Britney. But here is something both true and provocative. Years from now, when people reflect back to this time of eroding civil rights and growing xenophobia in America, they will say what Zbigniew Brzezinski said in this article. As he says, somehow we need to elect a president who will turn things around before they get completely out of hand.

Surveillance cameras: the simple approach

Headband restores anonymity on the street.

New Mear limited edition

They go really fast, so don't hesitate if you want one.

"Dare to Defy? by MEAR ONE
3 color screen print
Size: 18? x 24?
Edition size of 80, each being signed/dated by MEAR ONE 08
Published by the Baurmann Gallery
Master Printer Karen Fiorito/ Hard Pressed Studios

Oddly, it seems difficult to get to the purchase place from the print page and vice versa. Here is the link to buy them:
Purchase Dare to Defy

Iranian Students Jailed for Protesting War

I received this disturbing note today from a writer in Tehran (and the story linked above says some teens have been killed) :

As you should be aware!!!! 

Thirty of our comrades are currently being held in ward 209 of Avin prison in Tehran, subjected to torture and the worst physical and mental conditions. The magnificent Students Day rallies in Tehran, Mazendaran, Kermanshah, Tabriz and Hamadan were manifestation of our determination to raise the banner of freedom and equality in our society. The oppressive Islamic regime tried, in vain, to prevent the student day rallies. It has suffered a humiliating defeat. We congratulate all our fellow students.

Comrades! Our call for the release of all detained students, in universities up and down the country, must break the current deadly silence. This calls for united actions of all of us for the immediate release of our detained comrades. Spread the news of the arrest of the students and let the entire population know that their students are being imprisoned for calling for freedom and equality. The shameful silence of all the so-called "impartial" and "pro-democracy" media outlets has made our task of informing the public ever so crucial. This shameful silence is tantamount to collaboration with oppressors. Such attempts to spread lies and deception have long being at the service of profiteers and capitalists.

Comrades! The families of the arrested students have pinned their hopes on us. We have shown that we never give up on our demands. Knowing the brutality of the authorities in the jails we fear for the well being of our comrades. Our struggle will continue until the release of all political students.

People of the world!

Students in Iran, by raising the slogan of "No to War" and "No to Despotism", are confronting Imperialists war mongering and fundamentalism. International solidarity is a valuable means to break down the ranks of reaction and war mongering and blow away the spectre of war and insecurity over the lives of people of Iran.

Mark Klein vs Big Brother

* US spooks tap the net illegally (not just tapping terrorists, they hoover as much as they can get of everybody's business into storage)

* Mark Klein blows the whistle

* Telecoms want immunity from prosecution

* Congress, White House, (spooks), and newspapers want the story to go away

If only the truth would set us free...

Meanwhile, there's no reason to think the tapping has stopped.
Every time you talk about bombing trains in email or in a forum, think of the fascinated audience you'll have.

Thanks, Mark! This is what heroes do.
If only we had people like him in office instead.

You are under surveillance

Dangerous ideas and cool posters.

Flickr Graffiti Geotagging

As promised.

From the article:

"For example, fans of graffiti can search the word, "graffiti," and "New York City" at Flickr.com/map, and pull up photos of freshly painted tags, all plotted with pushpins on a clickable Yahoo map. A search for "Dumbo Brooklyn graffiti," for example, finds some 99 photos, including the infamous "Neck Face" tag, spray-painted on a brick warehouse at Jay and Front Streets in Brooklyn. Try finding that in a guidebook."

www.flickr.com/map

It's a bit fiddly so far. Search at the bottom, then click on the dots on the map to zoom in until they are at a meaninful level of detail. Or you can watch the slide show anytime.

Some cameras do the GPS/geotagging automatically (it's embedded in the information in the image files), so if you upload your photos to flickr, you might blow up your spot, or someone else's.

Be very careful what you upload anywhere if your camera has GPS.

I'm hoping Graphic Converter (Macintosh only) will have editing access to the GPS stuff as it already does to the camera info, however. If you have a clue about a Windows tool for removing image metadata, please send it to info@graffiti.org and I'll add that here too.

Frontline "Homefront" - Surveillance program podcasts

Unofficial podcasts (Quicktime) of the actual broadcast from the recent Frontline program. Downloadable, scary, in RSS (if your browser does not do RSS, copy the link to your newsreader).

Official site for the Frontline program, which has other forms of video that you might be able to watch online.

GPS, Graffiti, and Self-Incrimination

The article above describes a system of graffiti surveillance involving police using Global Positioning System (GPS) tagging of photos, etc. We could worry about that, but consider this bigger picture:

GPS is a system that involves a satellite and a ground receiver. The satellite tells the receiver on the ground where the receiver is located, to within a few feet. This system is very handy indeed when, for example, you happen to be lost.

Problem is when your devices report your location without telling you. Your phone might already be GPS-enabled. If not, your next one likely will be. It's not something you can turn off in most cases, because it's used by the emergency services, for example when you dial 911 for an ambulance, in the USA. You have to be tracked for your own good, see?

Your car might already be GPS-enabled. Maybe it has a map or direction finder, very handy. Or maybe it has an antitheft system like OnStar that keeps track of where your car is without telling you. Or maybe your rental car, company car or truck tells the company where you are all the time and your route, again without your knowledge or permission.

Your camera is next, and of course your phone camera. They will have GPS and it will be a "feature." Your photos will automatically contain where and when you took them and with what device, and when you upload to Flickr or whatever, the websites could display that info on a map. Cute, right? Except when the buffers come to the wall hours later or your secret bridge turns into a tourist area, or when the cops need a quick list of every place you hit this year.

GPS is only one of these passive-surveillance technologies of concern. There is also RFID, unencrypted wireless (email, texting, web browsing, pagers, keyboards, cordless phones, most cell phones), surveillance cameras, outdoor listening devices, and cell-phone triangulation, just to hit the high spots.

Clearly, humans need to be more in control of the kind of info their devices are sharing without their permsission. Nothing else will do. Try to buy stuff that has controls that put you in charge and features that are not hidden or automatic. Be aware that your devices can create big security problems for you.

And let's not forget the most dangerous form of self-incrimination: running your mouth. What you say in chatrooms, on phones, on Myspace, in email, to reporters, and to the nice policeman who promised to let you off easy if you just showed him every piece of graffiti you ever painted -- are the most dangerous kinds of self-incrimination available.

Facebook Intelligence Gathering

Thanks to Air33 for the link.

This is not surprising, and it's not just Facebook -- MySpace is also being datamined by Big Brother, as are lots of other public forums. And of course, there's nothing to be done to prevent this except not participating, which also sucks. Creating fake profile info is a good idea, as is making sure your real name is not associated with your pages. The info may be around for the rest of our lives in some database or another, and many people are already finding out the hard way that their party preferences are costing them job opportunities.

In the pre-Web days, the cops used to have to snatch your phone book to find out who you knew. Now they need only your public friend list and maybe your phone. So it's not just yourself you put at risk when you publish your life online, it's everyone you know.