May. 30, 2002 - 22:18 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

From Within

Frightening the way terrorism has laid the groundwork for Big Big Brother's sneaky operations. The Rocky Mountain News of Tuesday May 28 has an article by Nat Hentoff who is a columnist I read when he shows up in our paper. The Article is titled, "High-tech searches tear up constitutional protections."

Quotes from here and there in the article. "In Attorney General John Ashcroft's USA Patriot Act there is a sneak-and-peek provision, which resembles what in Hoover's time was called 'black bag' jobs. Last October, Congress overwhelmingly passed the bill. Most members didn't have time to read the lengthy document."

"With a warrant, FBI agenst may now enter homes and offices of citizens and non-citizens when they are not there. The agents may look around, examine what's on a computer's hard drive, and take other records of interest to them." "These surreptitious visits are not limited to investigations of terrorism but can also be used in regular criminal investigations. Unlike many parts of the USA Patriot Act, these searches are not subject to the 'sunset clause,' which requires Congress to examine in four years whether the new law's incursions on American liberties have gone too far. THIS SECTION OF THE USA PATRIOT ACT IS NOW A PERMANENT PART OF AMERICAN CRIMINAL LAW." (Caps mine)

"While in the office or home, the FBI can plant a 'Magic Lantern' in your computer. Its also called the 'sniffer keystroke logger.' The device creates a record of every time you press a key on the computer. Unless your very technically savvy, its hard to know where the 'Magic Lantern' resides.

What the 'Magic Lantern' records is saved in plain text" says Jim Dempsey of the Washington based Center For Democracy and Technology -- (someone Nat Hentoff has known and consulted before). "During the next FBI secret visit to a home or office, that information is downloaded while the agents look for other papers and records they might want to take along."

Further along, "Under previous criminal law, when the FBI made a furtive search of homes and offices, the agents had to leave notice that they'd been there and list what they had taken. That way the person whose records were taken could immediately challenge the search. "

"Now, the FBI is entitled to give what is called 'delayed notice.' For up to 90 days, the agents don't have to inform the occupant of their break-ins, and the FBI can delay notice even further by going to a judge and getting extensions of that 90 day provision. Also if they don't find anything the first and second times, they can keep coming back, hoping they might hit pay dirt. Eventually they have to give notice."

"According to a Reuters dispatch, "The FBI is developing a way that will allow the Agency to plant a Trojan horse keystroke logger on a target's PC by sending a computer virus over the Internet, rather than require physcal access to the computer, as is now the case."

So, nowadays a man's home is his Holey Castle, with the possibility that Big Brother is sitting in his lap during his most private conversations. Soon maybe we will be in fear like the Russians were and those folk in any dictatorship, afraid to speak out loud or in writing to anyone else. Afraid to even have an opinion except one that is locked inside the skull. And this is in criminal law PERMANENTLY ! ! ! ! Without our knowledge they can come in, search everything, plant a 'magic lantern,' take whatever records they want to -- all of the foregoing secretly without notifying the person whose files, records and whatever else the Fibbys decide what they need, plant a 'magic lantern' and then disappear into thin air. Good grief Sandy, I better check my dirty clothes hamper and make sure that a search there won't turn up some dirty linen.

So it looks like we have some arms of the government boring From Within . . . . . . . .

Blog