Monthly Archives: March 2004

Major Mori, American

Posted on March 28, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

The New York Times has a nice story about the Australian reaction to Major Mori, the Marine lawyer who is defending Guantanamo detainee David Hicks with all the skills at his command. By all accounts, Major Mori's the sort of person who makes us all proud. (See also my earlier item on Mori.)

Posted in Guantanamo | Comments Off on Major Mori, American

Revisionism on the Web and Freedom

Posted on March 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Here's a Really Cheerful Thought:

the Web may actually be helping to keep some dictatorships in power. Asian dissidents have told me that the Web has made it easier for authoritarian regimes to monitor citizens. In Singapore, Gomez says, the government previously had to employ many security agents and spend a lot of time to monitor activists who were meeting with each other in person. But, with the advent of the Web, security agents can easily use government-linked servers to track the activities of activists and dissidents. In fact, Gomez says, in recent years opposition groups in Singapore have moved away from communicating online and returned to exchanging information face-to-face, in order to avoid surveillance.

More generally the article argues that dictatorships have been able to neuter the 'net through a combination of intimidation, monitoring, and blocking foreign sites.

Posted in Internet | Comments Off on Revisionism on the Web and Freedom

Beyond Weird & Scary: Mass X-Ray Searching in UK

Posted on March 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Talkleft has a pointer to a UPI item that is so weird I have to quote it in full: TalkLeft: British Cops Search Pub Patrons With Giant X-Ray Device:

British police used a giant X-ray machine to check for drugs and guns in raids on two London pubs, the BBC reported Saturday. Thirty four suspects were arrested by police who
used a 7-foot high X-ray machine outside the two pubs. Suspects had the
choice to be scanned or strip searched – officials said most people
chose the X-ray. The scan shows anything hidden under one’s clothes,
including metal, plastic or ceramic guns, wooden clubs, explosives or
drugs. Scotland Yard said the arrests were for offences that included
possession with intent to supply drugs, possession of an offensive
weapon, credit card fraud and immigration violations.

It can’t happen here, right? Right? Right?

Posted in Law: Criminal Law | 2 Comments

Susan Crawford Is Blogging Yale’s Cybercrime Conference

Posted on March 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Susan Crawford is blogging Yale Law School's Cybercrime conference. I'll be speaking on the last panel of the day, starting at 4:30. (By which point I and no doubt everyone else will be exhausted.)

Posted in Talks & Conferences | Comments Off on Susan Crawford Is Blogging Yale’s Cybercrime Conference

One Type of Battleground Miami is Not

Posted on March 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

It seems that where I live is just a cash cow, not an electoral battleground.

As for Miami, Mr. Jordan said, the group [Moveon] was not ruling out advertising there in the future but said that the market is already rich in Democratic voters who will likely vote for Mr. Kerry. Miami is also almost prohibitively expensive, he said.

Posted in Miami | 1 Comment

Richard Clarke Is Not A Lone Gunman

Posted on March 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

There is a sleeper (waking?) witness on Bush & 9/11: Sibel Edmonds, a translator who alleges that she was bougt off witgh a promotion to keep silent about the adminstration ignoring evidence that suggested an attack was being planned. (I first blogged Ms. Edmonds in January. She's interesting.)

Salon has an article quoting Edmonds as saying,

Referring to the Homeland Security Department's color-coded warnings instituted in the wake of 9/11, the former translator, Sibel Edmonds, told Salon, “We should have had orange or red-type of alert in June or July of 2001. There was that much information available.” Edmonds is offended by the Bush White House claim that it lacked foreknowledge of the kind of attacks made by al-Qaida on 9/11. “Especially after reading National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice [Washington Post Op-Ed on March 22] where she said, we had no specific information whatsoever of domestic threat or that they might use airplanes. That's an outrageous lie. And documents can prove it's a lie.”

Posted in 9/11 & Aftermath, Politics: US: GW Bush Scandals | Comments Off on Richard Clarke Is Not A Lone Gunman