Terrorism and child pornography used to justify surveillance society, says academic Telegraph
Internet users are being spied on in their own home as the Government uses the threat of terrorism and the spread of child pornography to justify launching a dramatic expansion of surveillance society, according to a leading academic. The authorities have taken ‘advantage of the terrorist bombing in London’ to erode civil liberties, according to Professor Ian Walden, an expert on internet communication and online security. He said today’s ‘Orwellian’ surveillance of our online habits was even more intrusive than the introduction of CCTV on Britain’s streets. ‘You can now hide cameras but generally cameras are a physical manifestation of surveillance. With the internet, you are sitting at home which you think is private, but of course it is declared a public space because your service provider knows everywhere you’ve gone, everything you’ve downloaded, it knows everything, potentially’, he told The Daily Telegraph.

Founder of folk music venue McCabe’s dies at 82 SMDP.com
Gerald “Gerry” McCabe, a furniture designer whose passion for woodworking and love of music led to the creation of the folk music institution McCabe’s Guitar Shop here, died last Sunday in Eugene, Ore., two days after suffering a heart attack, family members said. He was 82. McCabe, who was fond of the ocean, yoga, classic French Citroens and natural foods, opened the guitar shop in 1958, specializing in the repair of acoustic guitars, banjos, mandolins and other folk instruments. While he focused mainly on his design studio, those affiliated with the guitar shop said it wouldn’t have been possible without the early guidance and enthusiasm provided by McCabe. Artists like Jackson Browne, Jeff Buckley, Kate Wolf and Mike Seeger played there, as well as guitarist and record producer Ry Cooder, who was 13 years old when he would get off the bus and drop in to see which famous musician would pop in. The shop was celebrated for the intimate concerts that have been held for decades and played a critical role in the evolution of the Southern California folk music community.

Activist ejected from “public” meeting on secret copyright treaty for tweeting Boing Boing
The latest round of negotiations over the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA — a secret treaty that contains provisions requiring nations to wiretap the Internet, force ISPs to spy on users, search laptops at the border, and disconnect whole households from the net on the basis of mere accusation of copyright infringement) is just kicking off in Mexico, and activists from around Mexico and the world have converged on the meeting to demand transparent, public negotiations of this critical treaty. True to the secretive, crony-capitalist nature of this treaty, the organizers have done everything they can to harass and intimidate observers. Attendees at the so-called “public meeting” were booed by representatives from big business, and they ejected an activist for using Twitter to post updates on what was being said in the room.

Face-Detection Cameras: Users’ Racism Charges Explained Time.com
When Joz Wang and her brother bought their mom a Nikon Coolpix S630 digital camera for Mother’s Day last year, they discovered what seemed to be a malfunction. Every time they took a portrait of each other smiling, a message flashed across the screen asking, “Did someone blink?” No one had. “I thought the camera was broken!” Wang, 33, recalls. But when her brother posed with his eyes open so wide that he looked “bug-eyed,” the messages stopped. Wang, a Taiwanese-American strategy consultant who goes by the Web handle “jozjozjoz,” thought it was funny that the camera had difficulties figuring out when her family had their eyes open. So she posted a photo of the blink warning on her blog under the title, “Racist Camera! No, I did not blink… I’m just Asian!” The post was picked up by Gizmodo and Boing Boing, and prompted at least one commenter to note, “You would think that Nikon, being a Japanese company, would have designed this with Asian eyes in mind.”

Canada’s former ambassador to Iran a CIA spy: report Toronto Star
A report published Saturday says the Canadian diplomat praised for sheltering Americans during the Iranian Revolution was a CIA spy. The Globe and Mail quoted former ambassador Ken Taylor as telling the newspaper that he was made ‘de facto CIA station chief’ in a secret deal between president Jimmy Carter and prime minister Joe Clark. The report said the move followed the seizure of the U.S. Embassy by Iranian students Nov. 4, 1979, when 63 Americans, including the four-member Central Intelligence Agency contingent, were taken hostage. The Globe said Taylor, who was ambassador to Iran from 1977 to 1980, actively spied for the Americans and helped them plan an armed incursion into the country.

Online ‘Mystery Charges’ Companies End Controversial Sign-Up Practice MediaPost
Post-transaction companies Webloyalty and Vertrue have joined Affinion in revamping controversial registration procedures that allegedly duped consumers into signing up for paid membership programs. All three companies will now require consumers to re-enter all 16 digits of their credit cards to enroll in discount clubs after making purchases. Webloyalty and Vertrue notified lawmakers on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation last week about the change, while Affinion announced the new procedure earlier this month.

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