US News & World Report published aninteresting article about unwarranted searches of Americans.

The White House says spying on terror suspects without court approval is ok. What about physical searches?

More information on the AT&T spying lawsuit:

"AT&T’s wholesale diversion of communications into the hands of the NSA violates federal wiretapping laws and the Fourth Amendment,” said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. “More than just threatening individuals’ privacy, AT&T’s shameful choice to allow the government to spy on millions of ordinary Americans’ communications is a threat to the Constitution itself. We are asking the Court to put a stop to it now."

The Republican Party in Minnasota is distributing a CD that asks you your views on controversial issues — and then secretly sends your information back to their headquarters.

“So if you run the CD in your personal computer, by the end of it, the Minnesota GOP will not only know what you think on particular issues, but also who you are.”

Minnesota Public Radio is covering the story.

New Scientist Breaking News - Invention: Wall-beating bugging

A new technique has been developed to eavesdrop through walls by using radio waves.

Texas sues Sony over the new spyware that certain Sony BMG music CDs help install on your Windows computer.

"The MediaMax software also installs files on users’ computers even if they decline to accept SunnComm’s terms in a licensing agreement. That software allows the company to track customers’ listening habits despite denials the company collects such data."

The UK is building a system to track the movements of all cars, and will store this information in a vehicle movement database for two years.

Coming to your country soon…

As recommended by private interests, these meetings between government and private interest will remain closed:

A new advisory committee in the Homeland Security Department is free to disregard a law designed to keep meetings open and proceedings public, according to a departmental notice.

In a somewhat Orwellian manner, the project is justified by underscoring “. . . the importance of making sure our information flows freely and accurately. . .”. Closed meetings between government and private interests are always good for the free flow of information.

RFID chips — the chilling "implanted chip" of the near future — are able to be infected with computer viruses. These computer viruses are able to spread from RFID chip to database, and then to other RFID chips. As RFID tags become more sophisticated, this threat will become even more dangerous. The BBC also is running a story on it.

What will RFID chips be used for?

• Passports — New US Passports will have RFID chips in them.
• Implanted chips — Yes, implanted chips are already here
• Tracking products in stores. — This is already taking place at stores like Tesco.
• Emergency rooms and bars.

55% of people surveyed in Europe are worried about RFID. More about RFID coming soon.

The Justice Department still wants Google’s data. Don’t forget why governements want search engine data.

As mentioned previously, New Jersey has bills in place that would eliminate anonymous online speech. The EFF has a recent news release on it.