Jim Flowers' Radio Weblog

	Wednesday, September 25, 2002

INS Should Track Part-Time Students, Justice Department Official Says

By MICHAEL ARNONE

The tracking system that the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has created to monitor international students should be expanded to include foreigners on nonstudent visas who are taking courses part-time, a Justice Department official told a joint Congressional panel on Tuesday. Such a step would assist in finding potential terrorists who might sidestep law enforcement by enrolling in institutions the system doesn't cover.

Glenn A. Fine, inspector general at the U.S. Department of Justice, said that foreigners can enter the country under tourist visas and enroll in institutions that are not covered by the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or Sevis, which the INS has created to track foreign students. Under current rules, these institutions would fall under Sevis's reach only if they also have full-time programs in which foreign students can enroll.

An article found in The Chronicle on 9/25/02

Don't panic... but as we said in the meeting, there will be constant change.

comment [] 9:18:20 AM

Vigilante Justice for Copyright Holders

Big Media has become adept at using lawsuits to smother centralized file-swapping services like Napster. But peer-to-peer networks that have no central server are another matter — there’s no one to sue. Representative Howard Berman (D-California) has drafted a bill that would exempt copyright owners from computer-fraud laws if they fight back using measures such as “interdiction, decoy, redirection, file-blocking, and spoofing.” Some might call it vigilantism. Berman calls it “technological self-help"

So, using Berman's logic, I can take a pipe and beat up my neighbor for copying my landscape design? If his legislation doesn't support mob rule on the net, what is it?

comment [] 7:56:27 AM

Give me liberty or give me security....

A piece in the Washington Post today discusses the threat of biometrics on personal privacy. Matt Towery, writing for Insider Advantage, an internet newsletter, discusses the threat to concepts of due process and privacy posed by the increasing number of survellaince cameras, such as those that caught the mother beating her daughter recently in a store parking lot.

Matt points out that while we are quick to criticize the use of public cameras and other technology used to identify society's miscreants, we also fail to use technology in what would seem to be a more obvious way to prevent terrorists from masquerading as legitimate members of society. One example he cites is digital drivers licenses. We take a picture, then let you go 8 years before requiring another. Lots happens physically to a person's features in 8 years, allowing some to hide their identity.

I am appalled by those whose attitude is to allow law enforcement any means necessary to "spy" on our activitities. "If you have nothing to hide, what's the harm?" folks say.

On the other hand, the same folks fear the Internet for allowing their personal identity and behavior to be viewed by anyone who cares to look. So, it's ok for the authorities to see all, but not the rest of us? And, who watches the authorities?

There was a time when communities were small and everyone knew everyone's business. And because that business was so public, people noticed when suspicious characters started messing around the town. The community as a whole then acted to protect their neighbors property and privacy, at least as far as to prevent the prying eyes of strangers from peeking in.

Maybe exposing all on the Internet is the best way to protect our affairs. If someone begins to mess with our identity, one of our "friends and neighbors" on the net will notice.

Hmm... I think not. Besides, either Jefferson or Franklin once said "He who trades liberty for security deserves neither" had it right.

comment [] 7:38:17 AM