We're curious what Senator Obama and Senator McCain have to say about this—particularly, whether Obama will vote speak out against it. Oh wait, he's too busy campaigning to weigh in on important issues, right? Because that's how career politicians work. (End of rant on politicos not doing their jobs.)

"Deal clears way for wiretap-law overhaul" [CNN]
New FISA Bill Would Grant Telcoms Immunity; Vote Is Tomorrow" [Slashdot]
(Photo: Getty)

The position requires installation and removal of "strategic and tactical data intercept equipment on a nation-wide basis to meet Comcast and Government lawful intercept needs." The intercept engineer also "performs diagnosis on data, voice, and video services to detect and respond to fraudulent activity such as theft of service and speed enhancement." Only Comcast would prosecute enhanced performance.

Comcast Is Hiring an Internet Snoop for the Feds [Wired]
Job Listing [BrassRing]
(Photo: Getty) (Thanks to Jeff!)

Talking About AT&T's Internet Filtering on AT&T's The Hugh Thompson Show [Boing Boing Gadgets]

(Photo: Getty)

The committee is reviewing the proposed legislation in a closed session today.

"Senate Deal on Immunity for Phone Companies" [New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

AT&T's recently launched television service has made the telecom hungry for content, and pliant to the RIAA's and MPAA's wishes. Like a KGB agent in need of rubles, The New AT&T is willing to become an equal-opportunity mole, spying not just for the people via the NSA, but for the entertainment associations as well.

Despite the FCC's claims of a vibrant, bustling market for internet service, switching ISPs will not help you escape AT&T clutches.

In addition to running a massive network of its own, AT&T runs a good chunk of the backbone infrastructure in the US. It's a rare bit of traffic that can make it to its destination without passing on to an AT&T-owned network. If the company deploys its anti-piracy technology to all data passing through its networks, AT&T's "solution" could affect most US Internet users. In addition, many US residents have limited broadband choices.

AT&T willing to spy for NSA, MPAA, and RIAA [Ars Technica]

David is Consumerist reader who works at Walmart. He was recently fired for posting a joke that mentioned Walmart on his MySpace. The comment:

The exact quote said "Drop a bomb on all the Walmarts, trailer parks, ghettos, monster truck shows, and retarded fake "pro wrestling" events, and the average I.Q. score would probably double." This was a silly statement, but in no way was a threat as Walmart said and used as reason for my termination and denying my unemployment benefits. On my "Exit Interview" they checked Gross Misconduct - Integrity Issue (which they describe as: Theft, Violent Act, Dishonesty, or Misappropriation of Company Assets) as the reason I was fired. They wrote on the exit interview that it was a threat posted on website; which it clearly is not.

Read David's email inside.

To whom it may concern:

I was fired from Walmart on Feb. 27th 2007 for posting a joke on my myspace page that someone had copied, printed, and brought to managements attention. The exact quote said "Drop a bomb on all the Walmarts, trailer parks, ghettos, monster truck shows, and retarded fake "pro wrestling" events, and the average I.Q. score would probably double." This was a silly statement, but in no way was a threat as Walmart said and used as reason for my termination and denying my unemployment benefits. On my "Exit Interview" they checked Gross Misconduct - Integrity Issue (which they describe as: Theft, Violent Act, Dishonesty, or Misappropriation of Company Assets) as the reason I was fired. They wrote on the exit interview that it was a threat posted on website; which it clearly is not. I have an exemplary customer service record and near perfect attendance. I even got a personal Thank You from the company President for a letter he received from a customer who was really impressed with the "service with a smile" attitude I brought to work consistently. During the termination Dean Genore the store manager who fired me even said that he knows me and that he knows I'm not that type of person, but since someone brought it to the walmart legal departments attention and they said: with the climate since the Columbine incident and the others that followed, that they had to fire me.

They denied my unemployment, so first I had to fill out a fact finding form and send that in to the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA). Then I received a notice of determination from them saying I was disqualified for benefits under MES ACT, SEC. 29(1)(B). It reads :

"You were discharged from Walmart associates inc. on 2/27/07 for integrity issues. You had a posting on your personal website stating to "Bomb all the Walmarts" to increase the average IQ scores. Your conduct was not in the best interest of your employer.

It is found that you were fired for a deliberate disregard of your employers interest. You are disqualified for benefits under MES ACT, SEC. 29(1)(B)."

Then I had to request a redetermination,which required me to write a letter of protest clearly stating the reason I disagree with the determination. The following is that letter:

To whom it may concern:

I disagree with the determination and would like to request a redetermination. The reason I disagree is that the wording in the notice of determination was taken out of context. This is the exact sentence in the notice of determination I received: "You had a posting on your personal website stating to "Bomb all the Walmarts" to increase the average I.Q. scores." The exact wording of the sentence posted on my myspace site is "Drop a bomb on all the Walmarts, trailer parks, ghettos, Monster truck shows, and retarded fake "pro wrestling" events, and the average I.Q. score would probably double." It doesn't state to do these things, it's a joke saying if all those places suddenly didn't exist the average I.Q. would probably double. I even sent a copy of the web page my employer printed up as the reason for my termination, so I don't understand why the wording was taken out of context and made to appear as something other than a joke statement. I didn't bring it in to work or even talk about it there, I believe a coworker that didn't like me printed it up and brought it to managements attention to cause me hardship at work. This was not a deliberate disregard of my employers' interest.

Sincerely,

David Michael Noordewier

If you have any advice, or can put me in touch with an interested lawyer, and/or help get this story "out there" to shame Walmart into doing the right thing; it would be sooo greatly appreciated.

Thank You so very much in advance.

Sincerely,

David Noordewier

This is really sad. We know a lot of Consumerist readers work at places like Walmart, and it's sad to see one of them lose their job over something so silly! Does anyone have any advice for David?—MEGHANN MARCO

Joke on MySpace costs Wal-Mart worker his job [Flint Journal]
(Photo: crawfishpie)

From Wired:

AOL, AT&T, Cox and Qwest all responded to the survey, with a mix of timeliness and transparency.

But only Cox answered the question, "How long do you retain records of the IP addresses assigned to customers."

These records can be used to trace an internet posting, website visit or an e-mail back to an ISP's customers. The records are useful to police tracking down child-porn providers, and music-industry groups use them to sue file sharers. Companies have also used the records to track down anonymous posters who write unflattering comments in stock-trading boards.

Cox's answer: six months. AOL says "limited period of time," while AT&T says it varies across its internet-access offerings but that the time limits are all "within industry standards."

Comcast, EarthLink, Verizon and Time Warner didn't respond.

Some of the most sensitive information sent across an ISP's network are the URLs of the websites that people visit. This so-called clickstream data includes every URL a customer visits, including URLs from search engines, which generally include the search term.

AOL, AT&T and Cox all say they don't store these URLs at all, while Qwest dodged the question. Comcast, EarthLink, Verizon and Time Warner didn't respond.

When asked if they allow marketers to see anonymized or partially-anonymized clickstream data, AOL, AT&T and Cox said they did not, while Qwest gave a muddled answer and declined to answer a follow-up question. Comcast, EarthLink, Verizon and Time Warner didn't respond.

Which ISPs Are Spying on You? [Wired] (Thanks, Grace!)

WN: How many people worked in or on that room?

Klein: Two people worked in the secret room, and they were management technicians. The first was downsized out of his job at the end of 2003, and was replaced by a second. A third management tech did not work in the secret room but knew what was going on. I knew all three of them. These guys would occasionally stop by the water cooler to chat with the union technicians in their office area on Folsom Street and they said things they probably shouldn't have.

Spying in the Death Star: The AT&T Whistle-Blower Tells His Story [Wired]
(Photo: rick)

"In fact, Verizon basically argues that the entire lawsuit is a giant SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suit, and that the case is an attempt to deter the company from exercising its First Amendment right to turn over customer calling information to government security services.

Communicating facts to the government is protected petitioning activity," says the response, even when the communication of those facts would normally be illegal or would violate a company's owner promises to its customers. Verizon argues that, if the EFF and other groups have concerns about customer call records, the only proper remedy "is to impose restrictions on the government, not on the speaker's right to communicate."

Verizon says phone record disclosure is protected free speech [Ars Technica]
(Photo:stopnlook)

The memo revealing the nuns were under investigation by Walmart was leaked to the WSJ by Bruce Gabbard, a former employee of Wal-Mart's security department. —MEGHANN MARCO

Nuns shocked at being on Wal-Mart's list of threats [Financial Times of Deutschland]
(Photo:lilivc)

Hey, law enforcement officials, it might not be too late. There could still be positions open. Get your applications in now! By the way, Steve, you don't have to spy on us, you can just follow our Twitter! OMG, can we be BFF.—MEGHANN MARCO

Arkansas State Police director resigns to take job with Wal-Mart [WMC]
(Photo:Arkansas Lad)

PREVIOUSLY: Walmart's Spying Operation Is Hiring!

Don't think that your days at Walmart won't be filled with lots of investigating! Job postings on Walmart.com called for individuals to collect information from "professional contacts" and public data to anticipate and assess threats stemming from "world events, regional/national security climates, and suspect individuals and groups," according to the AP.

"Familiarity with a broad spectrum of information resources and data-mining techniques" is listed among the skills sought, along with a foreign language, preferably Chinese or Spanish."

Walmart has probably already seen our special "Walmart Spying Operation" Twitter account (provided for their benefit and edification and so they don't have to tap our phones), so what are they doing with all this data and intelligence gathering? They're spying on their customers, of course!

From the AP (emphasis ours):

Harrison told a meeting of security professionals last year that Wal-Mart was learning to defend itself by using the vast information it routinely collects about its employees, shoppers and suppliers.

The only public comment to date on the work of the Analytical Research Center, the speech was reported on by the trade magazine Government Security News. Wal-Mart did not dispute the report when contacted by The Associated Press this week.

Harrison told the meeting that Wal-Mart tracks customers including those who use its pharmacies, buy propane tanks and anyone making "bulk purchases" of prepaid cell phones, which some law enforcement officials have tied in the past to terrorist or criminal activities.

Harrison did not elaborate on how that information could be better used, except to say the data could be shared with law enforcement.

Wal-Mart Recruits Intelligence Officers [Forbes]
(Photo: aforero)

PREVIOUSLY: FBI Investigation: Is Walmart Reading Your Email?
How Did The Walmart Spy Intercept Text Messages?
New York City Comptroller Requests Investigation Into Walmart Spying Operation
Walmart Granted Gag Order Against Former Spy
Fired Walmart Spy Says He Felt Pressured To Find The Information Leak

In letters to both agencies, Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., citing a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, said he was "particularly troubled by reports that Wal-Mart engaged in chilling and truly outrageous surveillance activities."

The April 4 article detailed the company's extensive surveillance of employees, critics and shareholders. As one example, the article detailed how internal security groups were asked to investigate shareholders who had submitted proposals that could potentially disrupt the company's annual meeting and that the company was trying to block.

Walmart didn't respond to the Wall Street Journal, but they did respond to the comptroller. He wasn't satisfied.

"The response they gave my office was that it was justifiable and that they had no problem with it," Mr. Thompson said. "We want to know to what level this background investigation went. If they just Googled us, fine. But we can't get answers."

"in the ordinary course of business and for legitimate business reasons, Wal-Mart will conduct background research on persons or organizations, including proponents of shareholder proposals ... Any information gathered about proponents of shareholder proposals would come from internet searches and from other publicly available sources of background information."

Official Asks For Probe of Walmart Surveillance [WSJ](Thanks, Nu!)
(Photo: brappy!)

The suit and restraining order were filed two days after Wal-Mart apologized to activist shareholders for Gabbard's revelation that they were considered potential threats and ahead of a story in Monday's editions of the Wall Street Journal on Gabbard's claim that Wal-Mart had a super-secret "Project Red" aimed at bolstering its stagnant share price.

Wal-Mart declined to comment on the "Project Red" report except to say in a statement, "Our senior management, our board and their advisors regularly conduct thorough, strategic reviews of all aspects of our business. That's just good governance. We look at a full range of alternatives, many of which are considered and rejected, and we will not comment specifically on any of them.

Court Grants Walmart Gag Order Over Security Leaks [ABC6]
(Photo: Clean Wal-Mart)

•Scanning employee's email

•Logging all employee key strokes

•Using monitoring software to detect vendors viewing pornography on their computers

•Using monitoring software to read employee personal email such as hotmail or gmail

•Investigating outspoken critics of Walmart

•Sending "a long-haired employee wearing a wireless microphone to Up Against the Wal's Fayetteville, Ark., gathering, and eavesdropped from nearby."

•Locating Nu Wexler's vacation photos, "Wal-Mart has far bigger concerns than my vacation photos," said Mr. Wexler, after being informed of the surveillance. "Someone would have had to dig for quite a while to find that link."

The 20 person "Threat Research" team operates from Walmart's Arkansas headquarters in an office known as the "Bat Cave." Sounds like fun. Not that we consider ourselves a "threat," but if Walmart is really that interested maybe they should start following us on Twitter. They'll see how incredibly boring we are. And that we like tea and muffins. —MEGHANN MARCO

Inside Wal-Mart's 'Threat Research' Operation(Subscription) [WSJ] (Thanks, Nu!)
(Photo: Clean Walmart)

FROM: KEVIN HUNSAKER

Hi guys, If/when we put the tracer in an email to the reporter, is there any chance it will be discovered? Is it something a firewall could pick up, or antivirus software? Would it make it through HP's security and get to, say, my email? If CNET knows something like that was sent to them, we could end up with some seriously bad publicity.

FROM: RON DELIA

Team, Surveillance teams were in place from 9 a.m. to noon, and no activity was observed at either residence. It appears DK has not returned from vacation. We waited in the event the family was sleeping in. However, by noon the newspapers were not picked up from the driveway. A pretext call to the residence was not answered. Surveillance activity at GK's residence revealed no movement as well.

Every Word You Say [Harper's]
(Photo: Sister72)

"What we're told here is that Wal-Mart had security officials who were monitoring e-mails, but somehow the monitoring got out of control," said Williams, who broke the news on CNBC.

Wal-Mart Probed Over Monitoring OF Outside Emails [CNBC](Thanks, Matt!)

"Most of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act deals with mundane reform measures. But it also explicitly reinforced protections of first-class mail from searches without a court's approval.

Yet in his statement Bush said he will "construe" an exception, "which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection in a manner consistent ... with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances."

What are signing statements? According to Wikipedia: "A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law." Bush loves signing statements. Are they legal? There's some debate about it.

According to New York Daily News:"[The Presidents'] claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it."

Bottom line: Bush wants to read your mail, and he's going to see you making fun of him in your Christmas card. —MEGHANN MARCO

W pushes envelope on U.S. spying [NewYork Daily News via BoingBoing]

Bush Claims Right to Open Mail [Washington Post]

Hewlett-Packard said today that it would pay $14.5 million in a settlement with the California attorney general over the company's use of private detectives to obtain phone records of board members and journalists."
...
The attorney general alleges that company officials passed on information to private investigators — who in turn passed it to other private investigators — that allowed the personal phone records of several board members and journalists to be viewed. The investigators used a form of subterfuge, called pretexting, to obtain the private phone records by pretending to be someone else.

Whoops, that's not legal! Tsk, tsk. Everyone, obviously, has pleaded not guilty. —MEGHANN MARCO

Hewlett to Pay $14.5 Million in Deal on Spying Case [New York Times]

"Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution," wrote the judge. Read the decision here. [PDF, 107kb]

Sweet. Now we can go back to playing terrorist telephone tag with impunity.

[via Cnet] (Thanks to Phil!)

What this means that, thanks to Nacchio, Qwest customers are practically the only people in the country who aren't currently in the NSA's massive database of phone records.

Why'd Nacchio do it? It probably wasn't any real concern over his customers' privacy. Actually, it looked like he did it because the legal department warned him it would open Qwest up to a massive class-action lawsuit. Of course, that legal quibble might have been unfounded, if the DoJ gets their way in dismissing lawsuits against these companies simply by stamping the court papers with a big, blocky TOP SECRET stamp.

Nod to Nacchio for "no" to NSA [Denver Post] (Thanks, Brandon!)

Is it true? We don't know. But the EFF have filed three papers from an AT&T technician of 22 years which allege that AT&T have built secret rooms in their call centers around the country, funneling internet communications and telephone calls into a data mining system designed by Narus which processes them for unspecified red flags.

Now AT&T is arguing that the release of these papers will jeopardize their business, giving hackers information on the network that will allow them to disrupt the network. They aren't arguing the veracity of the contents. They just want the documents sealed and returned to AT&T.

Sorry, AT&T — that's not a luxury you should have. If you want to stomp down on evidence that indicates you are violating the constitutional rights of millions of Americans, you'd better damn well pony up evidence that you haven't done any such thing, not simply try to quash the evidence that you have.

AT&T Seeks to Hide Spy Docs [Wired]

In December of 2005, the press revealed that the government had instituted a comprehensive and warrantless electronic surveillance program that ignored the careful safeguards set forth by Congress. This surveillance program, purportedly authorized by the President at least as early as 2001 and primarily undertaken by the NSA, intercepts and analyzes the communications of millions of ordinary Americans.

In the largest "fishing expedition" ever devised, the NSA uses powerful computers to "data-mine" the contents of these Internet and telephone communications for suspicious names, numbers, and words, and to analyze traffic data indicating who is calling and emailing whom in order to identify persons who may be "linked" to "suspicious activities," suspected terrorists or other investigatory targets, whether directly or indirectly.

But the government did not act-and is not acting-alone. The government requires the collaboration of major telecommunications companies to implement its unprecedented and illegal domestic spying program.

AT&T Corp. (which was recently acquired by the new AT&T, Inc,. formerly known as SBC Communications) maintains domestic telecommunications facilities over which millions of Americans' telephone and Internet communications pass every day. It also manages some of the largest databases in the world, containing records of most or all communications made through its myriad telecommunications services.

It is extremely annoying to live in a society today when the foam-tongued ravings of the average college Freshmen enamored with the concept of a Big-Brother-like political state can not be dismissed by a ridiculously hyper-extended eye roll. But surveillance of our daily lives is no longer just the pipe-dream of the conspiracy aficionado. It's hard to tell what's more disturbing: a government agency asking AT&T to secretly spy on its customers, or AT&T just going along with it without any consideration of the privacy guidelines laid down by Congress. Doesn't any corporation have a sense of decency anymore?