It's sad when . . .

... you get more coverage of privacy issues in Popular Mechanics than you do on network news.

I guess there's something to that whole technogeek/libertarian correlation thing after all.

P.S. The same issue contains this excellent editorial, which reminds us, among other things, that:

Police cars have dashboard cameras, cities and counties are posting red-light and speed-limit cameras, and it seems that the dream of many government officials is to put every public space under 24-hour video watch. But try shooting photos or video of police or ­other public officials as they go about their business and you might find yourself in wrist restraints.

...

Supporters of widespread surveillance often argue, "If you're obeying the law, you have nothing to fear." Why shouldn't the same go for police officers?

See, the ACLU isn't ALL fruity!

Once in a while, they do something that actually DOES have to do with legitimate civil liberties concerns.

Not often, but sometimes.

Hackers, or heroes?

Hackers shut down police-state cameras in the City of Big Brotherly Love.

The Philadelphia Commercial Development Corporation which runs the cameras,
says hackers and a lightening strike were the reasons the cameras were
off.

The president of the PCDP says the cameras should be working again by
Friday, and he wants the D-A and the US attorney to investigate the
hackers.

Lieberman: Big Brother Not Big Enough.

“The Brits have got something smart going in England, and it was part of why I believe they were able to so quickly apprehend suspects in the terrorist acts over the weekend, and that is they have cameras all over London and other of their major cities,” Lieberman said.

“I think it’s just common sense to do that here much more widely,” he added.

The Ominous Parallel Parkings.

Here's a snippet that will really brighten your day:

May 31
THE NEWS OUT OF Washington today is that our very own Caltrans,
Metropolitan Transportation Commission and University of California, Berkeley,
researchers are joining forces to monitor the movements of all vehicles in the
United States.

OK, now you're just making stuff up!

CYBORG MOTHS?!?!!?

[H/T 2 The Jones Report.]

Brit Brother Surveillance Drones to Buzz Liverpool.

From ThisIsLondon:

Planned targets will be everything from youths riding motorbikes in a park to
clashes between rival football fans and armed sieges where it might be unsafe
for officers to come too close.

[snip]

"People clamour for the feeling of safety which cameras give," said Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne.

Secure Beneath The Watchful Rotors.

The Jones Report adds a snippet from Orwell:

"In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered
for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight.
It was the police patrol, snooping into people's windows. The patrols did not
matter, however. Only the Thought Police mattered."

Chapter 1 of George Orwell's 1984

While we're adding pop-culture excerpts, here's an addition of my own:

By the time Skynet became self-aware it had spread into millions of
computer servers across the planet. Ordinary computers in office buildings, dorm
rooms; everywhere. It was software; in cyberspace. There was no system core; it
could not be shutdown. The attack began at 6:18 PM, just as he said it would.
Judgment Day, the day the human race was almost destroyed by the weapons they'd built to protect themselves. I should have realized it was never our destiny to
stop Judgment Day, it was merely to survive it, together. The Terminator knew;
he tried to tell us, but I didn't want to hear it. Maybe the future has been
written. I don't know; all I know is what the Terminator taught me; never stop
fighting. And I never will. The battle has just begun.

- John Connor, in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.