New anti-terrorism law goes into effect

With the publication of the Supplementary Anti-Terrorism Act in the German Gazette today, the German government's controversial new measures to combat terrorism have taken effect. This Act expands and extends the authority created for the secret services after September 11, 2001. The Constitution Office, the Federal Intelligent Agency (BND), and the Federal Armed Forces Counterintelligence Office (MAD) will now all be able to collect information from airlines, banks, postal firms, and telecommunications and teleservice companies. And they can do so not only when investigating suspected terrorists, but also when investigating "unconstitutional efforts" within Germany. For instance, the use of the IMSI catcher to monitor mobile communications has been greatly expanded. The Secret Services may also conduct covert investigations within the Schengen information system.

The services that have a right to collect information will now have a much easier time getting it from the private sector.

...

Germany's Data Protection Officer Peter Schaar fears that the data archives held by telecommunications firms and travel companies will be "accessed much more often" now that the German parliament's G10 Commission no longer has to give its consent. He also said he was concerned about "various secret services now being able to acquire telecommunications access data." Furthermore, he complained that the recently expanded authority of security officials was not seriously reviewed before the new ones were created.

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/83556

New anti-terrorism law goes into effect

With the publication of the Supplementary Anti-Terrorism Act in the German Gazette today, the German government's controversial new measures to combat terrorism have taken effect. This Act expands and extends the authority created for the secret services after September 11, 2001. The Constitution Office, the Federal Intelligent Agency (BND), and the Federal Armed Forces Counterintelligence Office (MAD) will now all be able to collect information from airlines, banks, postal firms, and telecommunications and teleservice companies. And they can do so not only when investigating suspected terrorists, but also when investigating "unconstitutional efforts" within Germany. For instance, the use of the IMSI catcher to monitor mobile communications has been greatly expanded. The Secret Services may also conduct covert investigations within the Schengen information system.

The services that have a right to collect information will now have a much easier time getting it from the private sector.

...

Germany's Data Protection Officer Peter Schaar fears that the data archives held by telecommunications firms and travel companies will be "accessed much more often" now that the German parliament's G10 Commission no longer has to give its consent. He also said he was concerned about "various secret services now being able to acquire telecommunications access data." Furthermore, he complained that the recently expanded authority of security officials was not seriously reviewed before the new ones were created.

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/83556

Do you know how this stuff compares to the Patriot Act(s) and whatever the torture bill is officially called (MCA I think?)

Jesus Christ on a bicycle. When I lived there, back in the '60s, the Germans would have LYNCHED anyone who'd've tried that on. They were so fired up about the way the Nazis had abused the phone records to populate the camps that they refused to allow the Bundespost to keep any records apart from who their subscribers were. NO record of calls made or received, NO record of call lengths, NO eavesdropping without an order from the equivalent of our state or national (depending on who the cops were) Supreme Court.

after 9/11, Bush asked Americans to go shopping
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/08/911.ov ... index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/08/911.overview/index.html)




US Weekly circulation took off after 9/11, says editor Baker
Christian Science Monitor
"Readers didn't go away from escaping [after 9/11]," says US Weekly West Coast executive editor Ken Baker. "They embraced escaping. I'm not a sociologist, I'm a celebrity journalist. I don't know its cause and effect. I don't know if you can tie it to 9/11, but that's when our business took off."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0112/p11s01-algn.html


Rampant Consumerism and deification of the rich pop culture icons, a happy side effect