The cell phone cube of silence; Feds get yr location data without warrants; banned 9-11 blogger KillTown goes too far, scares the RAND Corporation

Boston artist Nick Rodrigues developed a cell phone box that you wear. Pretty awesome. Video here. Old news apparently, but sweet. The auto-loader harness that pops it onto your back is nice. Here is another booth made of fabric, not quite as nifty a construction.

[via technabob and notcot]

On the other hand, it turns out that the Feds are tracking you via your cellphone without a warrant. Interestingly, such stuff seemed to be among the deep tinfoil hattery of one whats his face....

On an unrelated subject, outside.in is the new thing in geo-blogging, as in Minneapolis. Storming the News Gatekeepers was pretty funny, but i guess it proves i'm not 31337 enough, because i found Outside.in via the Washington "lame" Post.

Cellphone Tracking Powers on Request - washingtonpost.com:

Cellphone Tracking Powers on Request

Secret Warrants Granted Without Probable Cause

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 23, 2007; Page A01

Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry lawyers.

In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiring the government to demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a crime is taking place or that the inquiry will yield evidence of a crime. Privacy advocates fear such a practice may expose average Americans to a new level of government scrutiny of their daily lives.

Such requests run counter to the Justice Department's internal recommendation that federal prosecutors seek warrants based on probable cause to obtain precise location data in private areas. The requests and orders are sealed at the government's request, so it is difficult to know how often the orders are issued or denied.

The issue is taking on greater relevance as wireless carriers are racing to offer sleek services that allow cellphone users to know with the touch of a button where their friends or families are. The companies are hoping to recoup investments they have made to meet a federal mandate to provide enhanced 911 (E911) location tracking. Sprint Nextel, for instance, boasts that its "loopt" service even sends an alert when a friend is near, "putting an end to missed connections in the mall, at the movies or around town."

With Verizon's Chaperone service, parents can set up a "geofence" around, say, a few city blocks and receive an automatic text message if their child, holding the cellphone, travels outside that area.

"Most people don't realize it, but they're carrying a tracking device in their pocket," said Kevin Bankston of the privacy advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Cellphones can reveal very precise information about your location, and yet legal protections are very much up in the air."

SHIT! Cell phones are essentially spies in your pocket. And now cops don't need a warrant to use them. | The Agonist

At this point I have to hand it to the so-called Tinfoil Hat crowd, but I can't remember if it was Stew Webb or Tom Flocco. One of these guys is hawking damper bags that can suppress all signal from the NSA scheme that's listening to your mic. For bonus points, here are some random paranoia links of the classic style, sure to entertain the Reynolds Wrap fans. So here are some fun links

Stew Webb. I don't know what happened to Flocco? Tom Flocco.com and his IN BRIEF ARCHIVE

PROFITS OF DEATH--INSIDER TRADING AND 9-11. Acxiom Had Data on 11 of 19 Hijackers

Killtown: Is Barbara Olson still alive? from Killtown, a 9/11 blogger who's keeping it so real that he/she got kicked off practically every big 9/11 blog. Stay black bro!

I seriously have to roll my eyes at how the supposedly open-minded conspiracy crowd has already decided what goes. I mean it could have been holograms and space lasers. Not really very likely, but is it that much less likely than other widely accepted conspiracy theories? I find it funny that they are drawing up these rules against poor Killtown:

Killtown: Banned at AboveTopSecret, public execution style, Killtown: Banned at 911Blogger, Harassment of 9/11 Truth Activists | 911Blogger.com related. www.letsrollforums.com :: View topic - Drone 767 fired missile a split sec B 4 hitting South Tower, Killtown: Banned at Loose Change forum, Killtown's: WTC Crash Videos.

After watching Loose Change: Final Cut in a packed theater, I have to say that sideshow fights like this are a perfect example of everyone missing the forest for the trees. The forum admins should fuckin' chill out a little. Killtown appears to have parsed out all kinds of weird video anomalies. Those deserve their own examination, without bias. Could fake videos ordered up from the Mysterious Cheney Bunker have painted stuff onto America's networks? Sure, why not? See my ramble bits: Internet Radicalization Thought Crimes, Centers of Orwellian Excellence & Strategic Communication Laboratories: What Modules are in the OpCentre?

I almost forgot to add the piece de resistance: Killtown's website got put up alongside 'Al Qaeda' websites as examples of evil internet radicalization. KEEPING IT REAL. Definitely. The Alex Jones Krew noted: House Subcommittee Presentation Equates 9/11 Truth With Terrorism, and here:

To paraphrase Chomsky or HS Thompson or something: You're not really fighting the system till you're on the RAND Corporation's shit list!