I think there might be some sort of political and cultural commentary going on—something about the US and torture and calling it a thrill ride and people paying to see it at a carnival. Anyways! The artist who created the animatronic exhibit, Steve Powers, actually wanted to do a waterboarding exhibit with real people—he'd be waterboarded first, then perform it on a volunteer, who would do it to the next guy and so on. But pseudo-drowning robots is obviously safer, and maybe a touch less controversial—after all, do androids dream of electric freedom? [NYT via BoingBoing]

Even though, as Phil Torrone points out, a seasoned bomb expert could deduce in two seconds the battery pack—which is pretty much like a commercial one, except it's hand-crafted with 28 rechargeables connected by resistors and held together by a silicon-based adhesive—was not a bomb and totally safe, the engineer ultimately gave it up anyway to pass through "after recognizing that the item could be seen by other passengers as a threat." That photo that makes it seem vaguely ghetto bomberrific is probably staged too. (Why is the wire positioned to look like it's connected to the water bottle?)

Uplifting moral of the story: If something even looks vaguely bomblike to the wandering, untrained eye of the sweaty guy munching Ambien in the seat next to you, the TSA will bust it, regardless of its actual potential to cause harm (it is causing terror, after all). BTW, Phil says he hasn't had any problems flying with homemade electronics, but make sure anything you carry that has wires and batteries couldn't be mistaken as bomblike by the lowest common denominator of airline passengers. [TSA via Schneir on Security via MAKE]

Congress says the rules, which would give a 48-hour time limit for carriers to transfer numbers between each other, are necessary since carriers have been known to delay processing in a bid to throw as many retention offers as they can at customers trying to switch. The FCC seems to agree that it's a good idea, but was ambivalent as always about when it'd get around to implementing new regulations. [DSLreports]

The bill, dubbed the Mobile Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2008, is a aisle-crossing affair, as it's co-sponsered by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). If the bill is passed, the taxes won't be lowered, they'l just be frozen in place for at least five years. Hey, I'll take it. These data plans are ridiculous enough without taxes making it even more expensive. Let's make this happen, Congress! [Ars Technica]

Caught in the crossroads are environmentalists who both love the desert tortoise and solar power. The industry says that the government could do impact studies without halting new proposals for solar projects—we think they're telling the truth, since they're probably less evil than oil companies and actually do want the Mojave ground squirrel to thrive and live happy furry lives. And I mean, two years, really? [NYT via Fark]

Using digital manipulation to literally erase any critic of the administration is a pretty great way to stifle any kind of dissent, and it's pretty easy when you're in control of the national networks. It's also scary, reminiscent of the "memory holes" from 1984 and a startling sign of an oppressive government.

It's not just politicians and talk shows that are affected, either.

Televizor, a rock group whose name means TV set, had its booking on a St. Petersburg station canceled in April, after its members took part in an Other Russia demonstration.

When some actors cracked a few mild jokes about Mr. Putin and Mr. Medvedev at Russia’s equivalent of the Academy Awards in March, they were expunged from the telecast.

Indeed, political humor in general has been exiled from TV. One of the nation’s most popular satirists, Viktor A. Shenderovich, once had a show that featured puppet caricatures of Russian leaders, including Mr. Putin. It was canceled in Mr. Putin’s first term, and Mr. Shenderovich has been all but barred from TV.

It's a pretty scary reminder that while we usually see technology as fun and convenient, a neat diversion from our daily lives, new digital video editing tech allows for some pretty horrible things to take place. [NY Times]

While with the major carriers, for the most part, no one (not even the cops) can dredge up stuff from years ago since it's been long deleted, watch out if you're on an employer's carrier, like Skytel, which touts its messaging archival features. The other major catch is that even deleted messages can be recovered directly from your phone, just like deleted data from any other storage device, because of the way deletion works—it just marks the data as okay to be overwritten, so if it hasn't been replaced by new data, it's still recoverable. It's a bit easier to snag from SIM cards (which can hold up to 30 messages) than from the phone's internal memory 'cause there are dedicated gadgets for doing so.

Bottom line though, text messages are still probably the safest way to go about your business (dirty or otherwise) without worrying about getting snooped (much safer than IM or email, which are notoriously logged)—as long as you wipe them off your actual phone and make it past the two-day mark carrier-side. An anonymous prepaid phone works even better, obviously. [Slate]

The District Court for California had previously said laptop searches were an "intrusion of the mind" but the feds appealed to the Ninth Court, arguing that laptops are like any other container, and they need to search them to prevent crime and turrism.

The law already allows border agents to rifle through diaries and other "personal material" without cause, so this isn't a huge change in one sense, but the Association of Corporate Travel Executives is now advising corporate drones to avoid carrying proprietary information with them across US borders. Wow, I never thought I'd be on the same side of an argument as a bunch of suits. [InfoWeek, Thanks Carlos]

New York-based retailers have argued for years that the Amazon loophole gives out-of-state online shopping centers an unfair advantage. Technically, consumers are supposed to report purchases they make online on their tax returns, but virtually nobody does it and enforcement is impossible.

The bill still needs a signature from Governor David Paterson to officially become law, but he's widely expected to OK it. The state government expects the new requirement to generate about $50 million in revenue this fiscal year.

Meanwhile, as a resident of this fair city who uses Amazon like her life depends on it, I get to watch my wallet empty 8.375 percent faster - in the middle of a recession! Thanks, government! [Internet News]

Specifically, they're looking for "information on technology areas for the creation of micro- and nano-scale display technologies for the purpose of creating displays that could be worn as transparent contact lenses." And they want it now. Okay, like three to five years, but that's practically immediate for the Pentagon. Right in time for Halo 5. [Federal Business Opportunities via Danger Room]

Threat Level pegs the wireless carrier as Verizon Wireless, because of a 2006 lawsuit whose allegations are extremely similar—a direct line built into their network for a "Quantico recipient" (Quantico, Virginia being the FBI's cyber-surveillance HQ) which allowed:

"Direct access to all content and all information concerning the origin and termination of telephone calls placed on the Verizon Wireless network as well as the actual content of calls."

"Unfettered access to Verizon Wireless customer records, data and information. Any customer databases, records and information could be downloaded from this center."

Takeaway, if you're dense: Everything is tapped, there's nothing you can do about it. Whatever thrust there was in righteous outrage is spent and pointless—but at least you know when you're talking to yourself (on a phone?), there's probably someone listening. =) [Threat Level]

The Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants.

"This campaign is an extraordinary rendition of a public-private partnership," observed BLF spokesperson Blank DeCoverly. "These two titans of telecom have a long and intimate relationship, dating back to the age of the telegraph. In these dark days of Terrorism, that should be a comfort to every law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide."

AT&T initially downplayed its heroic efforts in the War on Terror, preferring to serve in silence behind the scenes. "But then we realized we had a PR win on our hands," noted AT&T V.P. of Homeland Security James Croppy. "Not only were we helping NSA cut through the cumbersome red tape of the FISA system, we were also helping our customers by handing over their e-mails and phone records to the government. Modern life is so hectic - who has time to cc the feds on every message? It's a great example of how we anticipate our customers' needs and act on them. And, it should be pointed out, we offered this service free of charge."

Commenting on the action, and responding to questions about pending privacy litigation and the stalled Congressional effort to shield the telecoms from these lawsuits, NSA spokesperson [REDACTED] remarked: "[REDACTED] we [REDACTED] condone [REDACTED] warrantless [REDACTED], [REDACTED] SIGINT intercepts, [REDACTED] torture [REDACTED] information retrieval by [REDACTED] means necessary."

"It's a win-win-win situation," noted the BLF's DeCoverly. "NSA gets the data it needs to keep America safe, telecom customers get free services, and AT&T makes a fortune. That kind of cooperation between the public and private sectors should serve as a model to all of us, and a harbinger of things to come."

Come see the improvement at 14th St. and Valencia St. in San Francisco.

The BLF (www.billboardliberation.com) has been improving outdoor advertising since 1977. Prior campaigns have included work for Exxon, R.J. Reynolds, and Apple Computers.

AT&T (www.att.com) is America's favorite telecommunications trust. Based in San Antonio, Texas, it has over 300,000 employees and annual revenues of $117 Billion.

NSA (www.nsa.gov) is the largest intelligence organization in the world. Headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, its budget, personnel, products, and services are all classified.

Blank DeCoverly
BLF Minister of Propaganda

Worse, they even knocked down two proposed amendments that would have at least paid lip service to holding them responsible for their actions. Now we'll never know just how it deep went, how thoroughly they violated any number of things that just shouldn't be fucked with—rights, laws, etc. [NYT]

P.S. How'd our potential prezzes vote? Unsurprisingly, Obama voted against immunity, Hillary didn't vote (too busy crying) and McCain doesn't like anything with wires, so he okayed the spying.

Luckily, the provision doesn't have much in the way of teeth right now, but an amendment to safeguard schools' federal funding if they don't comply was pulled yesterday, so it could quickly grow some. Just another reminder of why gov't peeps who know tech and aren't easily confused by slick lobbying are important. [Ars Technica]

Consequently, we're treated to a triumphant little post titled HOORAY BLOGGERS!, touting bloggers' "first official impact on [the TSA's] operations." That's right, making local TSA offices follow standard agency procedure is "a win for the blogesphere" [sic, though blogosphere isn't a real word like "the," so maybe I'm being the douche now]. I'm still debating which parts of this are truly disturbing. I'll get back to you. [TSA via BoingBoing]

Yes, they've got a bubblegum bomb that skips like a stone across water to knock down your door. And land between your legs, no doubt. Still not exploded? How 'bout a guidance system that'll chuck six rubber bullet bombs your door, for some Bomberman-style chain booms. Actually, that sounds awesome: a dude in a Bomberman suit chucking bombs at stuff would own everything. [Danger Room, Danger Room]

First, by paying for a youth offender/delinquency rehab program it almost implies games are somehow at issue, or at the very least it furthers the connection in Focus on the Family types' minds, and gamers already get enough huff from those mouth-breathers. Second, special taxes like this are usually tacked onto things considered "vices," like cigarettes. And I mean really, MMOs are the only games that truly destroy people's lives like lung cancer, and they should be taxed and labeled appropriately. [Game Politics via Destructoid]

Mark Klein explained the situation a bit in this video and why he was lobbying against immunity for the telcos—which the FCC declined to investigate. It's this exact bill that's about to pass the Senate, as they've voted to limit debate on it "all but assuring" it gets the rubber stamp. Also included are provisions to essentially legalize the government's actions, effectively expanding its ability to spy within our borders. Scary stuff. [Threat Level, Threat Level]

Yes, despite there being nothing in the bill that specifically references naked cartoons (or Hentai, as they call it in Japan), apparently someone, somewhere realized that cartoon porn falls under the definition of obscenity and realized that their precious wank material was in jeopardy. Mass hysteria!

Let me tell you what the real problem with this bill is, and it has nothing to do with your creepy fetish: if Gmail, for example, is suddenly responsible for everything that passes through its servers, Gmail is dead. There's no way to check every file that everyone emails for child porn (which is the point of this stupid bill), and even if there was it'd be a huge invasion of privacy. And just who would be responsible for keeping the web clean?

That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's proposal to limit the growth of cable providers had been floating around for a bit and was sort of expected not to fly, but two of the four other commissioners have thrown in with him on the vote. It's possible—if not probable—that the courts could get involved and throw out the decision, which Reuters points out they did six years ago.

The final vote's expected to go down sometime before Dec. 18—so the two commissioners have time to change their mind—but Comcast will probably start rabble-rousing long before then. They're probably already in the vicinity anyway, going on about the FCC's decision a few weeks ago killing apartment-exclusive contracts. All in all, quite a beating for cable from the FCC this month. [WSJ, Reuters, Flickr]

Just in case you weren't sure whether or not the RIAA was completely evil, this pretty much proves it. A letter from a group of university officials has this to say about the bill:

Such an extraordinarily inappropriate and punitive outcome would result in all students on that campus losing their federal financial aid—including Pell grants and student loans that are essential to their ability to attend college, advance their education, and acquire the skills necessary to compete in the 21st-century economy.

Ostensibly they're designed to improve notoriously non-existent security, but they were drafted in part by reps from voting machine companies. One place to start, besides simply saying the machines should be more secure and add paper trails, would be to push for them to use open source code, according to some researchers. Regardless of what you think, you have 120 days to let 'em know. And you should, even if you aren't registered to vote (like me) so maybe at least someone else's vote will be worthwhile. [EAC via Threat Level]

For once, lobbying groups and ISPs are on our side, actually arguing to make the ban permanent, though cities and states undoubtedly wouldn't mind the free drink of water a broadband tax dangles in front of them. The bill hits the House next term, probably (hopefully) before the current ban expires, though the Senate's taking its sweet time. [Ars]

Make points out that the law could easily encompass network monitoring systems, and that since the ban, Kismac WiFi detection software has shut down. Here is the note left on Kismac's site:

With the introduction of §202c German politicians proved their complete incompetence. Law in Germany: possession of child pornography - two years imprisonment. Distribution of security software is half as bad. Even worse politicians still believe in the successful ban of digital information, obviously not reckoning globalization.
We are heading straight to a country I do not want to be living in.

Basically, if a school gets enough subpoenas in the mail from the MPAA and/or RIAA to make the top 25, they go on "probation." At that point they have to prove to the Secretary of Education that they're going to foist a "technology-based deterrent to prevent the illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property" upon its hapless student body.

Naturally, provisions aren't laid out in the amendment for how the data provided by copyright holders is collected or verified at all. But it's not like the RIAA's ever been wrong or anything. [Ars Technica]

Plus, if they want to find him, won't the massive rolling mobile outage give a pretty good indication of his position? That said, I'd like to borrow the gear next time I hit the airport. – Matt Buchanan

Banned: Mobile calls while Bush in Sydney [ZDNet Australia via Slashdot]
Image via ASM

DoJ's logic for throwing an "attempted" copyright infringer in the slammer for 1-10 years? "It is a general tenet of the criminal law that those who attempt to commit a crime but do not complete it are as morally culpable as those who succeed in doing so." Other "intent" clauses are strewn throughout the bill. Hit the jump to make your eyes pop out of your head.

The new legislation gives more teeth to the DMCA as well, adding forfeiture penalties on top of the 10-year sentence and $1 million fine for criminal violations of its anti-circumvention clauses.

It gets better. The Department of Homeland Security will directly notify the RIAA when pirated CDs are imported and intercepted by the government. Your computer, or anything else "intended to be used in any manner" for criminal copyright infringement is subject to forfeiture, on top of fines and jail time.

And CNET says it best here: "Wiretaps would be authorized for investigations of Americans who are "attempting" to infringe copyrights." I'm glad it's not super easy now or anything. Oh wait.

The DoJ press release's highlights:

• Provide stronger penalties for repeat-offenders of the copyright laws;
• Implement broad forfeiture reforms to ensure the ability to forfeit property derived from or used in the commission of criminal intellectual property offenses;
• Strengthen restitution provisions for certain intellectual property crimes (e.g., criminal copyright and DMCA offenses);
• Ensure that the exportation and transhipment of copyright-infringing goods is a crime, just as the exportation of counterfeit goods is now criminal.

Gonzales proposes new crime: 'Attempted' copyright infringement [CNET via Consumerist]
Press Release [DoJ]
Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007 [Politechbot]