The SF Weekly's column by Matt Smith in the Dec 3 issue points out that there may be some information that John M. and Linda Poindexter of 10 Barrington Fare, Rockville, MD, 20850, may be missing in their pursuit of total information awareness. He suggests that people with information to offer should phone +1 301 424 6613 to speak with that corrupt official and his wife. Neighbors Thomas E. Maxwell, 67, at 8 Barringon Fare (+1 301 251 1326), James F. Galvin, 56, at 12 (+1 301 424 0089), and Sherrill V. Stant (nee Knight) at 6, may also lack some information that would be valuable to them in making decisions -- decisions that could affect the basic civil rights of every American.

I accidentally deleted the item where I got this, it probably wouldn't be too hard to find it again.  The summary is below but the details are not important, what is important is that the state of fear in the US is now beginning.  It will be impossible to establish beyond reasonable doubt the details of this or the incidents that are to come.

• An amateur photographer named Mike Maginnis was arrested on Tuesday in his home city of Denver - for simply taking pictures of buildings in an area where Vice President Cheney was residing.
• Maginnis, who says he always carried his camera wherever he went, snapped about 30 pictures of the hotel and the surrounding area - which included Denver police, Army rangers, and rooftop snipers.
• As he was putting his camera away, Maginnis found himself confronted by a Denver police officer who demanded that he hand over his film and camera.
• After being brought to the District 1 police station on Decatur Street, Maginnis was made to wait alone in an interrogation room.
• The agent told Maginnis that his "suspicious activities" made him a threat to national security, and that he would be charged as a terrorist under the USA-PATRIOT act.
• The Secret Service agent tried to make Maginnis admit that he was taking the photographs to analyze weaknesses in the Vice President's security entourage and "cause terror and mayhem."
• Rather than contacting a lawyer, he called the Denver Post and asked for the news desk.
• This was immediately overheard by the desk sergeant, who hung up the phone and placed Maginnis in a holding cell.
• He received no copy of an arrest report, and no receipt for his confiscated possessions.
• He was told that he would probably not get his camera back, as it was being held as evidence.
• Maginnis's lawyer contacted the Denver Police Department for an explanation of the day's events, but the police denied ever having Maginnis - or anyone matching his description - in custody.
• The new police powers introduced by the USA-PATRIOT act, in the name of fighting terrorism, have been frightening in their apparent potential for abuse.
• It suggests that a wide range of activities which might be considered "suspicious" could be suddenly labeled a prelude to terrorism, and be grounds for arrest.

Eighteen years. It had to happen: Telepolis reports (in German) that Dow Chemical is using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to force an Internet Service Provider to remove a web page that criticises and satirizes the company, which produced (among other things) Napalm and Agent Orange and is the parent company of Union Carbide, which is responsible for the death of thousands of people in Bhopal, India, eighteen years ago. Read more... (in German) [Telepolis News via Der Schockwellenreiter]

Update: The spoof site has now been taken down. iMakeContent has the details and links to further resources, plus mirrors of the spoof site.