Wednesday, August 28, 2002

The Failures of Technological Security This collection of articles from the Atlantic Monthly highlights the dangers of relying on technological solutions to America's post-9/11 security needs, especially those that invade our civil liberties. The articles all note in particular that there is valid tradeoff between liberty and security-- except that this technology does not provide real security. "The trick is to remember that technology can't save you.... We know this in our own lives. We realize that there's no magic anti-burglary dust we can sprinkle on our cars to prevent them from being stolen. We know that car alarms don't offer much protection. The Club at best makes burglars steal the car next to you. For real safety we park on nice streets where people notice if somebody smashes the window. Or we park in garages, where somebody watches the car. In both cases people are the essential security element. You always build the system around people." The danger to our civil liberty and livelihood is also pointed out in the context of biometric ID cards: "For the purposes of a national ID card, identity is a unique, unchanging set of distinguishing characteristics: the flecks in one's iris, the ridges of one's left thumb.... As Americans, though, we have a higher identity: free agent, self-legislator, citizen. It's a common identity held individually. It's what allows us to bond and make a nation or, if necessary, dissolve our bonds. This identity can't be captured on a card, but there is a risk it could be supplanted by one." These articles should be taken into consideration of the Deering High School ID Badges. 2:30:49 PM

American Library Association: The USA-Patriot Act The American Library Association has posted a collection of information about the investigative provisions of the USA-Patriot Act. The collection is intended to be a guide for librarians, but is also very useful for library users interested in the impact on their privacy and due process rights. [From the Scout Report] 2:02:56 PM

And Now, The Secret Appeals Court... [Following the Secret Intelligence Court's rebuff of the Justice Dept...] The nation's super-secret intelligence appeals court has been asked to make a ruling on the extent of the police powers that should be granted to the Justice Department. By Philip Shenon. [New York Times: National] 2:02:35 AM

Man Freed After DNA Clears Him of Murder Eddie Joe Lloyd had confessed to the rape and murder of a sixteen year old girl in 1984. He had made his confession while being evaluated in a mental hospital and says that he had made it in order to help the police capture the real killer. Eddie Joe Lloyd, on capital punishment: "I consider myself lucky.... Seventeen years? If Michigan had the death penalty, I would have been through, the angels would have sung a long time ago." Judge Leonard Townsend, overturning the conviction: "I have never heard this gentleman say, `I didn't do it,' or, `They forced me to say it.' Even though he might have lied about what he did, the fault falls on him. The fault lies with no one else." Judge Townsend, convicting Lloyd, 1985: "The sentence that the statute requires is inadequate. The only justifiable sentence, I would say, would be termination by extreme constriction." [New York Times: National] 1:27:03 AM

Court Backs Open Deportation Hearings in Terror Cases A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that the Bush administration acted unlawfully in holding hundreds of terror-related deportation hearings in secret. [Excerpts from decision.] By Adam Liptak. [New York Times: National] 1:14:09 AM

Deering High Requires Photo Badges Deering High School will be requiring students to wear photo badges at all times this upcoming school year. Although the school is seeking to protect students and improve security, the photo badges will not realistically protect the school from intruders. Students will also be losing the opportunity to learn about their rights to privacy and due process. 12:02:15 AM

Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of this liberty;...

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