Kurt Opsahl of the Electronic Frontier Foundation says,

Today, Judge Ann Aiken of the Oregon Federal District Court ruled that two provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), "50 U.S.C. §§ 1804 and 1823, as amended by the Patriot Act, are unconstitutional because they violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution."

This case arose over warrantless surveillance of an innocent Oregon attorney who was falsely suspected of involvement with the Madrid train bombing based on a mistaken fingerprint identification.

The critical legal issue was that in the Patriot Act, Congress amended FISA to change the language from requiring "the purpose" of the search or surveillance be to obtain foreign intelligence information to only "a significant purpose" of the search or surveillance.

As EFF has previously explained in a case before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, a "long line of court of appeals decisions, before and after FISA, has held that surveillance may be conducted without a traditional warrant and probable cause only when foreign intelligence collection is the "primary purpose" of the surveillance," not merely a "significant purpose."

Link. The Seattle Times article here.

The entire text of the court's decision is here (PDF). This is the really churchy part, on pages 43-44:

For over 200 years, this Nation has adhered to the rule of law - with unparalleled success. A shift to a Nation based on extra-constitutional authority is prohibited, as well as ill- advised. In this regard, the Supreme Court has cautioned:

The price of lawful public dissent must not be a dread of subjection to an unchecked surveillance power. Nor must the fear of unauthorized official eavesdropping deter vigorous citizen dissent and discussion of Government action in private conversation. For private dissent, no less than open public discourse, is essential to our free society.

Last week, there was a much discussed story about the online study that reported that Americans choose to spend time on the Internet rather than having sex. The WSJ Numbers Guy makes an astute observation, that "people who answer online surveys aren't likely to be representative of Americans when it comes to online behavior." When he dug a bit deeper, he found that the survey was conducted with a panel of 1,011 online respondents, who responded to the survey during the week that it was open. Furthermore, the people surveyed were drawn from a pool of people that actually signed up to be surveyed. Obviously the results are skewed to users that actively use the Internet. When questioned, Ann Mack, JWT's director of trend spotting replied "The fact that the survey was conducted online may skew the results a bit." This just serves as a reminder to take studies or statistics that are presented to you with a grain of salt. In this case, the company that did the study was looking to create a new advertising category for people whose lives are so tied up with new technology -- so it's not surprising that the results that it found supported this categorization.

destinyland writes "University professor and artist Steve Kurtz publicizes the history of chemical weapons with performance art pieces. The day his wife died of a heart attack, 911 responders mistook his scientific equipment for bioterrorism supplies. After he was detained for 22 hours, Homeland Security cordoned off his block, and a search was performed on his house in hazmat suits, they found nothing. Now they're prosecuting him for "mail fraud" for the way he obtained $256 of harmless bacteria."

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An anonymous reader writes "Japan's NEC Corporation along with Aida Engineering have developed a briefcase-sized DNA analysis system that enables the police to perform comprehensive DNA testing at crime scenes in as little as 25 minutes. The same test would take at least a day to a week (if re-testing or conformation is required) in the lab. The system is compact enough to be carried to crime scenes or other locations where quick DNA analysis is required, making it the world's first portable DNA analysis system."

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A year ago, as part of a larger bill that was supposed to be about "protecting our ports," Congress banned online gambling. While there's some back and forth over the law (and some politicians seem interested in changing the law), representatives of the gambling industry have gone to court to get the law declared unconstitutional, violating an individual's right to gamble in the privacy of their own home. The judge said that she expects to rule within 30 days, so it should be a relatively quick turnaround -- though, it's almost inevitable that a series of appeals will follow no matter what the outcome. So don't expect any final outcome on this question for a few years. The Justice Department, of course, has no problem with the law and is asking for the case to be dismissed, even if they haven't even bothered to enforce the law (yet).

Who could forget these paintings of psychedelic cats from the Life Science Library book called The Mind? I loved studying them as a kid, and reading the story of the artist who painted them. According to the The Mind, Louis Wain was an artist who liked to paint cats, and as Wain's mental condition deteriorated, his cats became more and more abstract.

But the Mind Hacks blog says this is hogwash, according to a biography of Wain, by Rodney Dale called Louis Wain: The Man Who Drew Cats.

Assembling what little factual knowledge we have on [the] paintings, there is clear no justification for regarding them as more than samples of Louis Wain's art at different times. Wain experimented with patterns and cats, and even quite late in life was still producing conventional cat pictures, perhaps 10 years after his [supposedly] 'later' productions which are patterns rather than cats. All of which is to say no more than that the eight paintings were done at different times, which could be said of eight paintings by any artist!

Link

Joe Cunningham was on a sidewalk in Minneapolis when he witnessed a mugger trying to take a woman's purse. He managed to take a couple of photos with his cell phone and called the cops.

It happened very fast in front of me as I was out walking. He shoved her to the ground and they wrestled for her purse. She clung tight and I shouted I was calling the cops. He heard me and gave her bag two more hard yanks and then fled empty-handed into the street. I helped her up and over to the payphone. Once the call was made I sat with her while she waited for the police. Her name is Patricia Yellow Hammer. She was shook up but uninjured save for a scuffed thumb. To pass the time and take her mind off her troubles we had fun making some pictures of random people, and by the time the cops arrived she had her smile back.

Link (Thanks, Russell!)

An anonymous reader writes "Land Warrior, the Army's wearable electronics package, was panned earlier this year by the troops who were testing it out. They were forced to take the collection of digital maps and next-gen radios to war, anyway. Now, Wired's Noah Shachtman reports from Iraq, those same soldiers are starting to warm up to their soldier suits of the future."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apartments.com is running a contest called "Possession Obsession," asking people to send self-made videos about their collections. I liked this one by a woman named Brenda who has a WWII-era pin-up collection.

I collect vintage pin-up art, and lots of things *inspired by* vintage pin-up art. Two minutes wasn't long enough to show my whole collection, which is well over 500 pieces, but I hope you like what I included.

Link

Vonage is not having a very good week. Just after a jury sided with Sprint over Vonage in a patent dispute, the appeals court has affirmed the injunction against Vonage from the similar Verizon patent case that was decided earlier this year. The only small victory for Vonage is that the appeals court sent back the ruling on one of the three patents in question. Vonage is claiming that the ruling barely matters, since it's already developed a workaround for the other two patents. Of course, that's what they say -- not what Verizon or the courts have said. And, it still seems likely that Vonage is going to need to pay out quite a bit in terms of damages for the patents the court affirmed. Again, the point still stands from yesterday. Despite the court's rulings, these patents are highly questionable, with a tremendous amount of prior art. Even if you take as a given that the patents are valid, they had nothing to do with Vonage's success -- which was based on figuring out the right marketing and business models to attract users, not on the same technology that was obvious to everyone in the space. The telcos who are now suing Vonage couldn't (or didn't want to) figure out this model in order to protect their legacy voice business. To now force Vonage to pay those companies when it was the one who actually innovated shows the travesty of the current patent system.

s-orbital writes "According to a BBC News article, "Images of saffron-robed monks leading throngs of people along the streets of Rangoon have been seeping out of a country famed for its totalitarian regime and repressive control of information. The pictures, sometimes grainy and the video footage shaky, are captured at great personal risk on mobile phones — but each represents a powerful statement of political dissent." The article goes on to tell the stories of how Burma's bloggers use proxy servers, free hosting services, and other technologies to overcome Burma's "pervasive" filtering of internet access and news."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Wow. Talk about a range of emotions and a humbling experience.

I was suprised at how I wasnt as nervous as I thought i would be during the day on Tues. I got a good nights sleep. I was excited, but not overwhelmed. I think a lot of it had to do with all of the guys hanging out together during the day telling jokes.

As we got closer to showtime, the nerves definitely started to build. It was fun to watch the others dance. The entire group, competitors and pros get along so well. Everyone is truly nice to each other. But it was obvious the tension was building. Whenever we had a break, I would go off to the side to practice. My mental hump was making sure I got the first few steps right. Once i got past that, I thought I would be alright.

When it was our turn, we walked out there and took our places. I got to see my wife and family which calmed my nerves some, but then they started the video package. I couldnt watch. I didnt want anything distracting me. When they announced our names, Now dancing the Foxtrot....I just thought to my self to trust our practice and make sure to have fun.

I have to say that the first couple beats I felt like I was in total control. Then its a blur. We got into the dance, and I literally barely remember the dance till the end. I could see Kym in front of me. I felt like things were moving good. I literally could not hear a thing other than the song. I dont know if Kym said anything to me during the dance. I dont know what the crowd cheered to (or didnt). I didnt see anyone's face in the crowd. Then we got to the end, I did my jump, and when i landed and pointed at Kym, it was the ultimate rush of excitement. I cant explain it. I just wanted to scream to release all the energy that had been building up over the last several weeks.

Standing there in front of the judges. Honestly, I was just happy that they were smiling. I didnt really know how I did, but I saw my wife and family smiling as I glanced over there. I could tell they all were proud of me. When their comments were honest and actually encouraging it made the night even more special, and when we hit 21. I was thrilled. I was happy for me, I was happy for kym.

Wednesday was actually a relaxing day. I got to the studio about noon. Had to get the costumes and everything on for rehearsal. I brought my computer with me so that during the hour or so down time we had, I could answer emails.

The energy of the day was exciting, with a little dread. Honestly, I didnt think I had to worry. But i knew that someone had to go, and that despite getting a 21, that there still were only 4 out of 12 with lower scores, so that it could be me. All day long and through most of the show, everyone was telling each other to be confident and to have fun.

Going out there on the stage as the different people were being "saved" to dance another week, and then people with lower scores were "saved" I realized that Kym and I might be in trouble.

It did not feel good to be standing up there having the lowest score for Tuesday night. It definitely hurt. I kept looking to my family as they struggled to smile and show their support. I definitely did not want to go home. I didnt want to go home for my dad, my brothers, my wife, my daughters. For every bit of work i put into the last few weeks. For everytime I went home struggling. They were there to pick me up. When I hurt , my wife let me slide on things. When I felt bad because I was leaving the house to go to practice, my daughter was there to encourage me and to cheer for me when I came home and showed her what I had learn. Thats what I was thinking about.

When they called out Josie's name. I honestly didnt hear it. I was looking at my family. My brother stood up and gave me the thumbs up and I realized that it was ok. We had survived another week. That set off another set of emotions. I was happy. I was mad. I was upset.

What had I done wrong ? Had i not worked hard enough ? Did people really not care enough about me to vote for me ? Its a weird, humbling experience. But its one I signed up for.

I have to take the bad with the good. Ive got to turn this into a positive. We are the underdogs. When I signed up, I knew that everyone thought i was going to be the one guy who couldnt dance. I think, and I hope I surprised a lot of people. The emails and calls of support I have gotten the last 2 days have been incredible.

Now everyone thinks we are the ones to go next week. Hopefully people will rally to support us. I know that Kym and I will be working harder than ever. We have practice scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning. We have a great Mambo routine worked out to a fun song. When I walk out there next week, I will probably have the same wave of emotions, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

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The One Laptop Per Child project has been struggling to meet the lofty expectations it set for itself a couple of years ago. India decided not to participate in the program last year, and Nigeria and Brazil have apparently backed out of the program as well. A year ago they were expecting orders of five to ten million laptops; now they're struggling to reach 3 million orders. They're trying to jump-start things by offering Westerners a deal: buy a laptop for a third-world child and get one for your own use. It's a smart idea, and it's a shame they didn't try this strategy from the outset. The OLPC project is essentially a tech startup (albeit a non-profit one) and they might find more success if they acted more like other tech startups: first get the product in the hands of some real customers so you can get some real-world feedback. Only after you've learned how the product performs in the real world do you start worrying about producing them in volume. For example, there are plenty of schools here in the United States that might be interested in a $200 laptop. Few American kids experience the level of poverty experienced in Nigeria, but there are certainly kids here who don't have a computer at home. If they'd started out by selling a few thousand laptops to districts—or even individual schools—here in the United States, they could have demonstrated the product's usefulness in real classrooms and gotten feedback about how the product could be improved.

Tim Lee is an expert at the Techdirt Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Tim Lee and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

An anonymous reader writes "Convicted hacker Robert Moore, who will report to federal prison this week, gives his version of 'How I Did It' to InformationWeek. Breaking into 15 telecom companies and hundreds of corporations was so easy because most routers are configured with default passwords. "It's so easy a caveman can do it," Moore said. He scanned more than 6 million computers just between June and October of 2005, running 6 million scans on AT&T's network alone. 'You would not believe the number of routers that had "admin" or "Cisco0" as passwords on them,' Moore said. 'We could get full access to a Cisco box with enabled access so you can do whatever you want to the box We also targeted Mera, a Web-based switch. It turns any computer basically into a switch so you could do the calls through it. We found the default password for it. We would take that and I'd write a scanner for Mera boxes and we'd run the password against it to try to log in, and basically we could get in almost every time. Then we'd have all sorts of information, basically the whole database, right at our fingertips.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In 2004, University at Buffalo art professor Steve Kurtz, a member of Critical Art Ensemble, called police to his home after his wife died suddenly of a heart attack. When they arrived, the police stumbled upon some biology gear and harmless bacteria that Kurtz was using in an art project. The FBI was called in and visions of bioterror danced in their heads. In July 2004, Kurtz was indicted by a federal grand jury for mail and wire fraud. The situation has caused quite an uproar in the tech-art community. Filmmaker Lyn Hersman Leeson's latest movie, Strange Culture, is based on Kurtz's store and stars Tilda Swinton, Peter Coyote, Thomas Jay Ryan, Josh Kornbluth, and Kurtz himself. The case is expected to go trial next summer. Over at 10 Zen Monkeys, RU Sirius interviews Kurtz about what went down and the legal insanity that has ensued. From the interview:

STEVE KURTZ: Three projects seemed to really bother law enforcement. Critical Art Ensemble was working on a biochemical defense kit against Monsanto’s Roundup Ready products for use by organic and traditional farmers. That was all confiscated.

We had a portable molecular biology lab that we were using to test food products labeled “organic” to see if they really were free of GMO contaminant. Or, when in Europe, to see if products not labeled as containing GMOs really had none. We'd finished the initiative in Europe and were about to launch here in the U.S. when the FBI confiscated all our equipment.

Finally, we were a preparing project on germ warfare and the theater of the absurd. We were planning to recreate some of the germ warfare experiments that were done in the '50s (which were so insane that they could only have been paid for with tax dollars). We had two strains of completely harmless bacteria that simulated the behavior of actual infectious diseases — plague and anthrax. To accompany these performances, we were in the middle of a manuscript on the militarization of civilian health agencies in the U.S. by the Bush administration.

Everything described was confiscated. We had to start from scratch on the project and the book. Happily, we did eventually do the experiments, and published the book — Marching Plague: Germ Warfare and Global Public Health.

RU: Would you say that originally, they authentically suspected they had found some sort of bioterror weapon, and once they realized they hadn't, they found other reasons to remain hostile?

SK: What I think they thought was that they had a situation, along with a vulnerable patsy, out of which they could manufacture a terrorism case. After all, the rewards that were heaped on the agents, prosecutors, and institutions that brought home the so-called “Lackawana Six sleeper cell” case — another railroad job — were witnessed by others in these agencies and noted. This made it too lucrative to pass up turning anything they could into “terrorism”.

They also had plenty of other reasons to be — and remain — hostile.

Link to 10 Zen Monkeys, Link to Strange Culture site, Link to Critical Art Ensemble defense fund

Previously on BB:
• Video of biotech artist awaiting trial Link
• Case against Steve Kurtz/Critical Art Ensemble continues Link
• Battling for bio art Link
• Art Attack Link

Ian Lamont writes "The handheld calculator turns 40 years old this year, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History has officially added to its collection examples of the first two programmable calculators, the TI-58 and TI-59. The museum already has the original 1967 'Cal-Tech' prototype, which weighs three pounds. At a ceremony at the Smithsonian yesterday, Jerry Merryman, one of the members of the TI team which developed the calculator, said that the project was started without a set budget and was something that 'we did in our spare time.' Antique calculators have a devoted following; news of a contest celebrating the 35th anniversary of the HP-35 slide rule calculator brought hundreds of fans out of the woodwork to reminisce about the pros and cons of various 70s' era calculators. There are a lot of Web resources devoted to these devices, including the Old Calculators Web Museum, where you can see pictures of everything from the Bohn Contex Model 10 Mechanical Calculator ('apparently the design of the machine caught the attention of the Soviets') to TI's first scientific calculator, the SR-20 ('keyboards were prone to bounce even when new')."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.