Blog for One

Boing Boing: EFF suing AT&T for helping NSA illegally spy on Americans

From the article:

…

The lawsuit also alleges that AT&T has given the government unfettered access to its over 300 terabyte “Daytona” database of caller information — one of the largest databases in the world. Moreover, by opening its network and databases to wholesale surveillance by the NSA, EFF alleges that AT&T has violated the privacy of its customers and the people they call and email, as well as broken longstanding communications privacy laws.

…

This of course follows EFF actions against the TSA for their failure to follow the law.

I’m hooked up with technorati, and have started to play with plugins.

Good thing I have put automated backups in place, I may be needing them ;P

Globetechnology: Patently Absurd

A compelling writeup of the current patent dispute between RIM and NTP.

Although NTP has been portrayed as a ‘patent troll’ this may not be the case.

Finally made the leap to using blogging software for grownups.

Goodbye Blogger, you were kind to me.

According to various stories in the mainstream media a Canadian flying from Toronto to Mexico lands in Mexican custody, then is returned to Canada because his name appears on the American ‘do not fly’ database.

Interestingly enough, msm coverage of this is a little sparse.

Some intersting quotes from the article:

Brian Doyle, a spokesman at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington, said his office will have no further involvement once Mr. Kahil arrives home.

“He was of sufficient interest that we were concerned,” he said. Names are not put on the list “willy-nilly,” he added.

Seemingly, this may not really be the case since :

The U.S. no-fly list, designed to screen terrorists and protect continental borders, has thousands of names on it. It is not without problems. The likes of Senator Edward Kennedy, one of the most recognizable figures in U.S. politics, singer Cat Stevens and even Canada’s Defence Minister, Bill Graham, have had trouble boarding commercial flights, or been blocked altogether, because their names were accidentally included on the list.

I think this list is a huge problem. There seems to be no way of correcting errors unless one has the political power, there is no review process, and while I recognize the need to screen passengers, I think the list has grown so large as to be unmanageable.

Without any system of checks and balances the list is mushrooming out of control and affecting the lives of ordinary citizens who have no recourse.