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Leaked Emails Allegedly Tell of Global "Trapwire" Spy Network

judgecorp writes "The British government and police are customers of a controversial surveillance network called TrapWire, according to emails published by Wikileaks. The messages suggest that Scotland Yard and Number Ten Downing Street are customers of Abraxas Corporation, whose TrapWire network combines CCTV, license plate capture systems and databases. The TrapWire network has caused concern amongst online activists and Abraxas' site is currently not available, possibly due to attacks by Anonymous." There seems to be no end to the Trapwire conspiracy stories today, there's even one going around that various large companies such as Salesforce and Google were offered the chance to be part of the spy club.

149 comments

  1. Ah, progress... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well, well. Isn't it so nice that after 'Total Information Awareness' was canned for being slightly too creepy even for congress, it has resurfaced as a free-swimming and not-at-all-sinister corporation heavily larded with CIA alumni. I assume that this is the American analog of our pal Putin's pithy "There is no such thing as a former KGB man"

    1. Re:Ah, progress... by i_ate_god · · Score: 4, Funny

      See, government spying is bad, because it's government, and whenever the government gets involved, it's inherently bad, because after all, it's the government.

      But, this is not the government, this is business. And in this case, it's pretty much ok, because it's the free market doing it, and the market knows whats best for itself, because it's the market, and not the government.

      Makes sense right?

      --
      I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
    2. Re:Ah, progress... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If there weren't so many people who manage to say things like that with a straight face and nigh-religious levels of conviction there would be a lot more humor in the situation...

    3. Re:Ah, progress... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be careful, invoking the Free Market God might summon roman_mir in to proselytize.

    4. Re:Ah, progress... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If only a valid rebuttal were offered before dismissing the claim, I'd be willing to take such selective sarcasm more seriously.

    5. Re:Ah, progress... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This post made my day.

    6. Re:Ah, progress... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would make sense if it were true.

      Unfortunately, as we know, AT&T is NOT a private company, it's a shadow government with retro-active control of the law.

      So it IS a government. And your're damn right, it's BAD.

    7. Re:Ah, progress... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      The trivial rebuttal is the frequency with which these oh-so-private-sector entities end up glomming onto state contracts and becoming, de-facto, an arm of the state, just with juicier returns to shareholders. There is a veritable ecosystem of beltway obligate parasites that present all the outward indications of being 'private'; but are deeply embedded in state operations.

      There are also the subtler considerations of what sorts of coercion and malfeasance one can achieve without the benefit of state power; but arguing about that seems to be a surprisingly lost cause in a world where large numbers of employees are pissing into a cup on command because they can't afford to lose their job and the argument is still ongoing...

    8. Re:Ah, progress... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right Libertarians should have NO PROBLEM with corporations doing whatever they want in terms of compiling dossiers on everyone about everything and then using that information to, say, deny you employment or say, access to healthcare based on whatsoever criteria they want to apply for whatever reason they see fit.

      If you don't like the policies or activities of a corporation (that is, the ones they tell you about...) then you can choose to buy your widget somewhere else and that's called the free market and the free market solves all problems in the most efficient, wait make that in the ONLY, way they can be solved. So if you don't like the way the oil companies rape the earth and destroy it so that your children have no viable future, the answer isn't government regulation. The answer is to *make your own damn gasoline* , or better yet just invent your own ecologically sustainable new energy supply either of which you would be able to do if it weren't for government regulation.....

      So let's not hear all this bitching and moaning from conservatives and libertarians about this story because you traded regulation of corporations by a duly elected democratic government working for the long term good of everyone for defacto regulation of YOUR life, YOUR opportunities, YOUR environment by unelected, undemocratic corporations working for the short term good of the coke snorters in their corner offices and on their boards, oh, and the power to choose to buy your widgets elsewhere.

      AYN RAND! AYN RAND! AYN RAND !!!!!

    9. Re:Ah, progress... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the primary markets ~are~ governments

  2. Here's a video released by Anon about surveillance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you'd like to see the extent of surveillance in US, watch this video released by anon:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKaG9pfEFSQ

    Scary to say the least. 1984 is already here.

  3. Privatized Big Brother? by Gunfighter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think this may be something that really does qualify as a legitimate answer to the age olde question, "What could possibly go wrong?"

    --
    -- Stu

    /. ID under 2,000. I feel old now.
    1. Re:Privatized Big Brother? by alen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      it seems this thing is like credit data. companies give up the data in exchange for a credit score and risk profiling

      same here. seems like private companies will be giving up their security cam and other data in exchange for security services

    2. Re:Privatized Big Brother? by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 2

      Ok - I can maybe see companies interested in this that do loans and other activities where it is important to know who their users are. But - Salesforce? I just don't understand what their interest is in this. Everyone who deals with Salesforce is known to Salesforce, because you need a license to use it. So - what gives? Even Google is suspect - yes, they have a vested interest in knowing who their users are, but I suspect that they have more data than they could get from this initiative. So, again - WTF? Something doesn't add up here. Either the people at Abraxas (hell of a name....) are selling snake oil and overselling who their dealing with, or this is something very different than is being described here.

      Either way, I'm pretty sure we are not getting the full story here.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    3. Re:Privatized Big Brother? by alen · · Score: 1

      we just found a monetization of the google cloud. sell the data of who is doing what to the spy networks including corporate espionage

    4. Re:Privatized Big Brother? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Banks already do that. A lot of CCTV footage in US come from ATMs.

    5. Re:Privatized Big Brother? by Philip+K+Dickhead · · Score: 1

      it seems this thing is like credit data. companies give up the data in exchange for a credit score and risk profiling

      same here. seems like private companies will be giving up their security cam and other data in exchange for security services

      I like the use of "conspiracy" and "alleged" in the top-level story. It gives this a real air of critical reporting. You know! Like the conspiracy story about your parent's families, in which your father is alleged to have impregnated your mother.

      There's real room to reserve some skepticism around the entire business of these "stories".

      --
      "Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
    6. Re:Privatized Big Brother? by EdZ · · Score: 1

      I'm still thinking "what could possibly go right". The claims made about this system are pretty hyperbolic. The FBI, for example, are stuck with a plethora of mostly non-interacting legacy systems with separate, often competing interfaces. And Trapwire supposedly integrates all these, plus a bunch from other agencies and organisations, and likes it live to CCTV with facial recognition? And they've also cracked the long-standing automated behavioural analysis problem?

      It's verged striaght through "too good to be true" and right into "who is buying this nonsense?".

  4. Just a matter of time by Dr.Seuss · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To what degree cameras are coordinated isn't a conspiracy, it's an eventuality.

    "Strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then..." -- P.K.Dick

    1. Re:Just a matter of time by MozeeToby · · Score: 2

      "Strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then..." -- P.K.Dick

      Coming from him, that's actually even more terrifying than it should be.

    2. Re:Just a matter of time by FhnuZoag · · Score: 1

      Yeeeah right.

      Let's ask the key question here.

      You are a Random Retailer. You have the camera systems. Let's say shady spook #1 comes to you and wants to rig your cameras into the Trapwire network.

      (a) He can't force you, because you will fucking sue his balls off in every court in and out of the land for something like that.
      (b) There's barely anything in it for you. Your customers might get creeped out. Your rival company might trumpet - Hey *we're* not signed up to Big Brother Net.
      (c) And suppose you do agree. Who the hell is going to pay for it?

      A lot of these systems are decades old. They aren't going to be compatible. This is going to require expensive refitting. As Mr Random Retailer, if you want me to do this for you, you'd better be prepared to bribe me massively, and good luck if you can find money for this in your recession year budgets. TrapWire, the company, would very much love to have a world where every CCTV user is wired in and paying them a nice, sweet license fee, but it's just not going to be happen. And if this was happening, Stratfor, an organisation whose super-sekrit research methods seem to compose of an intern with google search, will not be the place to hear it from.

    3. Re:Just a matter of time by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      A lot of these systems are decades old. They aren't going to be compatible

      oh yeah, analog video is SO HARD to interface with.

      its really hard to find yellow composite 75 ohm cable that is rca or bnc terminated.

      YEAH, REAL INCOMPATIBLE!

      (are you being stupid on purpose, poster?)

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    4. Re:Just a matter of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (a) They're in England, so they can force you.
      (b) They're in England, so they can force you.
      (c) They're in England, so they pay for it. Or force you to pay for it.

    5. Re:Just a matter of time by FhnuZoag · · Score: 1

      England isn't Nazi Germany, don't be retarded.

    6. Re:Just a matter of time by FhnuZoag · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The US army can't deliver a single set of compatible radios to the army. The British government couldn't get the NHS to run on a single IT system. What the hell makes you think they can do something like this?

    7. Re:Just a matter of time by alen · · Score: 4, Interesting

      abraxas says that if you upgrade your video cameras they will scan the feed in real time and alert you of suspicious activity like known or highly suspected shoplifters coming into the store or being in the area. or if someone applies for a job they will scan the applicant's face and look to see where else he worked and the shrink levels before and after

      there is your ROI

    8. Re:Just a matter of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "England isn't Nazi Germany"

      Correct.

      England is a far more pure police state and also much more surreptitiously so.

      "don't be retarded"

      Said the pot to the kettle.

    9. Re:Just a matter of time by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      You could use these same arguments about the WiFi & GSM-based in-store tracking & MITM systems that are in use right now...those same factors didn't stop them.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    10. Re:Just a matter of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the hell makes you think they can do something like this?

      Hint: Computers went from government-owned machines the size of a truck down to ubiquitous gadgets everybody shoves in their pockets. Why?

      Governments usually have a one-size fits all philosophy. A corporation will manufacture what is cost-effective and popular. This is one time where market efficiency beats government bloody-mindedness and unlimited cash.

      Any government is best served by tapping into the capitalistic monetization of data. And for governments with 'limited' rights, having twitter, Facebook, Google and the local telco do all the work is an easy to exploit loophole.

    11. Re:Just a matter of time by xenobyte · · Score: 1

      "England isn't Nazi Germany"

      Correct.

      England is a far more pure police state and also much more surreptitiously so.

      Seeing as how the younger part of the population tends to behave, this is a necessity. You have to be hard and omnipresent if you want to deal with rioters and hooligans in an efficient manner.

      Personally I love CCTV monitoring; I think it's perfectly okay that the police watch what people do and if they step out of line significantly enough, they'll step in and do their job. Without CCTV anarchy quickly rules the show as bad behavior is inversely proportional with the chance of getting caught.

      Here in Denmark the politicians love bicycles and are afraid to step in when it comes to bad behavior. It's pure anachy out there. In major cities at major intersections 10% will attempt to run the red light, zig-zagging between crossing cars. At smaller intersections upwards of 80% will run the red light oblivious to the crossing traffic. At major pedestrian crossings you will need to be extremely vigilant even when you've got a green light because most of the crossing bicyclists will not respect their red light and continue to ride straight into the crowd of people crossing. It' unlikely to get caught doing this so they continue and things get worse every day.

      Now, if the bicycles had license plates and CCTV monitored the major crossings, people would get fined each and every time, and that would quickly bring an end to the bad bahavior.

      In England, the riots caused major destruction and loss of property, but a lot were caught on CCTV. Even masked rioters had to put on the mask at some point, so it was simply a matter of backtracking from each incident until you caught the individual putting on his mask - or exiting his home masked. Once identified, each got a wake-up call from the police, and later either a huge bill or jail time - or both. It's justice and those hoodlums deserved everything they got.

      --
      "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
    12. Re:Just a matter of time by justthinkit · · Score: 1

      Where is the money in compatible products?

      --
      I come here for the love
    13. Re:Just a matter of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, NHS has a limited budget. Does the US defense budget have a similar limit? Or is it, for all reasonable purposes, limitless?

  5. Watch nobody care. by Hatta · · Score: 2, Funny

    Because they have nothing to hide.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    1. Re:Watch nobody care. by nonameisgood2 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      If someone has nothing to hide, their life is not worth living.

    2. Re:Watch nobody care. by Hatta · · Score: 1

      I agree entirely. But how are we to convince the rest of the population who take pride in the fact that they have nothing to hide from the government?

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:Watch nobody care. by cffrost · · Score: 2

      I agree entirely. But how are we to convince the rest of the population who take pride in the fact that they have nothing to hide from the government?

      A family member of mine claimed she changed her stance after I gave her a copy of Bruce Schneier's essay, "The Eternal Value of Privacy."

      Schneier also recommends Daniel Solove's essay, "'I've Got Nothing to Hide' and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy."

      Someone else posted this very good article earlier today: "Debunking The Dangerous 'If You Have Nothing To Hide, You Have Nothing To Fear.'"

      --
      Thank you, Edward Snowden.

      "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
  6. As seen on TV: "The Last Enemy" by david.emery · · Score: 2

    We stayed up and watched this, initially to see Benedict Cumberbatch: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lastenemy/synopsis.html

    All we need now is an unexplained outbreak of an unknown disease in some conflict-ridden part of the world. (Maybe the recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda? http://allafrica.com/stories/201208120306.html )

  7. Sales pitch? by PiMuNu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    TFA indicates that this is part of a sales pitch. It's pretty weak evidence surely...

    1. Re:Sales pitch? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's evidence surely...

      FTFY
      -ConspiracyTheorist42

    2. Re:Sales pitch? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry Sir, but #42 was assigned to me. You are obviously an agent for an agency trying to assert its influence on the public opinion.

      I bet you don't even know our secret song.

      Shame on you.

    3. Re:Sales pitch? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually you must have forgotten that we cloned you for operational reasons, and you both are #42. Now, back to your basement!

  8. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes Romney would not at all be concerned with "state security" or anything like that

  9. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by MozeeToby · · Score: 5, Informative

    If 1984 were here, you'd be an unperson by now just for saying what you just said. People really need to read the book... surveillance was only one tiny facet of what makes the party horrible. It is the facet that enables the other, even worse parts, but it is not the be all and end all.

  10. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Enjoy :)

    http://www.ronpaulexaminer.com/mitt-romney-supports-the-ndaa-and-the-media-yawns/

  11. Reality Check + 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://hongpong.com/archives/2012/08/12/breaking-feds-iircom-apparently-scrubbing-trapwire-related-websites-down-dns-not

  12. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wish I could double-plus-like your post. There are other aspects of 1984 creeping into society.

  13. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I think in a post-9/11 world there will be new readings of what 1984 was actually about. I mean what is it REALLY about? It's about a disgruntled government employee who becomes a terrorist because he's having trouble getting laid. Can you dispute this is what happens? The proles in 1984 are perfectly happy but some rogue government clerk decides he wants to overthrow the government. Winston reminds me a little too much of Timothy McVeigh. Unfortunately geeks don't usually study literary theory so of course they'll think this is preposterous.

  14. Whose ass gets fired over this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Burton also wrote that TrapWire is "in place at every [high-value target] in NYC, DC, Vegas, London, Ottawa and LA"."

    OTTAWA - So a foreign privately owned spy agency is gathering real time intel in the capital of Canada.

    This is OK with the Canadian Army,CSIS, RCMP, Parliament, Local Law Enforcement, Privacy Commissioner and Stephen Harper?

    Everybody signed off on this? The Tripwire people have been fully vetted? They all have security clearances? Everybody is crystal clear on data retention and data RESALE policy? What type of encryption is used on this? Who is allowed to view this data? Can the Americans use this data to assassinate people on Canadian soil?

    1. Re:Whose ass gets fired over this? by Cid+Highwind · · Score: 1

      To flog my favorite international relations hobbyhorse yet again: yes, yes we can. And if you don't like it, you can fund a big enough military to tip the balance of power back toward equality.

      Call it the uranium rule: he who has the nuclear aircraft carriers makes the rules.

      --
      0 1 - just my two bits
    2. Re:Whose ass gets fired over this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well that's exactly what China, and now once again Russia, are doing.

      So don't come crying when it happens.

    3. Re:Whose ass gets fired over this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So much for "give me freedom or give me death," huh? You're worse than the people you're pretending to defend us from.

  15. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by drooling-dog · · Score: 1

    Vote Romney... yeah that's a good one.

    Unfortunately this shit is endemic to the system now. Unless somebody is elected on an explicit platform of reigning it in, I don't see any president from either party taking the risk of offending the security establishment. There is too much money in it, they can cause too many problems overtly and covertly, and if anything at all goes wrong everyone will be quick to blame the president who "let down our guard".

    This would have been a serious scandal in the 1960s or 70s, but no generation since then has given a rat's ass.

  16. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by 1s44c · · Score: 4, Insightful

    American politics is hopelessly polarized between the two poles of democrat and republican, each pole ensuring the survival of the other. You need to change the system by voting for any credible third party.

    Voting for any part of the democrat/republican alliance will not reduce the power of the democrat/republican alliance.

  17. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I always thought Winston was seduced by the idea of taking down the government, but really was never too sure of himself. Chasing the tail just put him over the edge.

    In this way he is nothing like Timothy McVeigh and more 'useful idiot'

  18. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by gmuslera · · Score: 1

    The bad part is that 1984, like a lot of fiction, could pale next to current (or near future) reality. Would be like saying "Murphy was an optimist"

  19. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by 1s44c · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Romney Ryan 2012, TAKE BACK AMERICA!

    Romney Ryan 2012, Ensure the continuous oscillation between Democrat and Republican to the exclusion of all else.

    If the answer is ever Republican or Democrat you oversimplified the question.

  20. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Mister+Liberty · · Score: 2

    You Americans should have voted yesterday, if you know what I mean.

  21. This isn't just in the UK, also in the USA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More info on TrapWire
    http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20120811160515405

    and the original Anonymous hack on Strafor that produced these emails:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/27/wikileaks-publishes-stratfor-emails-anonymous

    i09 has an article on TrapWire as well:
    http://io9.com/5933966/wikileaks-reveals-trapwire-a-government-spy-network-that-uses-ordinary-surveillance-cameras

  22. SCORPION STARE? CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN is starting! by Corf · · Score: 1, Interesting
    --
    The pain was excruciating and the scarring is likely permanent, but that just means it's working.
  23. did you think they would stop with carnivore? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    did you think they would stop with carnivore and echelon?
    NO really?
    and as always we smash all we find.....you cant hide your spying from me.

  24. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by MozeeToby · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hmm, lets see... a reading where Winston is the bad guy huh? Does the government still unleash angry, starving rats to eat through his face because he had the temerity to have sex with someone and talking about political change? (do note: Winston never actually does anything to hurt anyone)

    Sorry, not buying the "Winston was the real bad guy interpretation".

  25. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If it does not happen literally by the book it does not mean it did not happen at all. Yes, you can still talk. Usually, unless someone is really interested in you being silent (try filming police, tell me how you liked it).

    How long even that will last? Who knows.

  26. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by NatasRevol · · Score: 1

    Hope and Change ... in England?

    How do I fix this rediculos mess with Romney?

    --
    There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
  27. Re:Wikileaks it self is honey pot by Penurious+Penguin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe it is. But I think that it reflects much more negatively on the public than wikileaks if so. I know cryptome is no honey-pot. What should alarm us more than honey-pots is our collective ineffectualness in processing the information from such sources. It's almost like all the data in the world, exquisitely tailored to our liking, would have no effect either. It seems to me like world-leaders are treating the world along with humanity as a game, and like intoxicated children we play.

    --
    Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
  28. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The hard part is that the 'alliance' has so much power, they manipulate any third party out of credibility so that no change can occur.

    Any actual suggestions to get a third party into credibilty & voting status would be more helpful than pointing out the obvious.

  29. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by LordLimecat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Part of what makes slashdot slashdot is that 90% of the posters utterly lack any sense of perspective.

    Theres a story about how Facebook is selling your data to russian mafia? Clearly, that is just as bad as what Hitler did in WW2. Obama enacts a healthcare plan youre not a fan of? Communist china, and Obama is Mao. Romney takes a stance on abortion that you dont like? Clearly, this man is as repressive as Stalin.

    It should come as no suprise that in any particular thread about surveilance, at least one person insists that things are as bad as they are in 1984-- even if they happen to have not read that particular book.

  30. Re:Wikileaks it self is honey pot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well at least the graphics are good.

  31. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No we are in a gataca(spelling?) Type world. To hooked on self pleasure to even care about it. The people in charge know this and thus ignore people like him. Because few will listen to him anyway.

  32. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

    Well, he was.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  33. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To be fair a sense of perspective is the one thing no living being can afford to have. What with how insignificant they actually are when viewed from the total perspective vortex.

  34. Wikileaks Tor onion link & trapwire pastes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    As wikileaks.org sustains a continuos DDoS attack of 10GB/sec some work around suggestions have been offered:

    Tor Wikileaks onion - use Tor.
    http://isax7s5yooqgelbr.onion/

    Paste Links
    http://privatepaste.com/942ba3fa3d/asdasdwqe
    http://privatepaste.com/f9dd332518/weqwewqesada
    207 emails below
    http://dazzlepod.com/gifiles/search/?q=TrapWire
    http://dazzlepod.com/gifiles/search/?q=TrapWire

    MORE....

    http://www.robtex.com/dns/trapwire.net.html#records

    Regularly updated GIFiles
    http://dazzlepod.com/gifiles/

    Wikileaks node
    http://wlcentral.org/node/2761

    GIFiles
    http://wl.wikileaks-press.org/gifiles/index.html

    thanks to Diver Dan from RI and the AnonymousSpoon and m_cetera

    1. Re:Wikileaks Tor onion link & trapwire pastes by TheSalvation123 · · Score: 1

      As wikileaks.org sustains a continuos DDoS attack of 10GB/sec some work around suggestions have been offered:

      Tor Wikileaks onion - use Tor. http://isax7s5yooqgelbr.onion/

      +1

      Great Info. Please upvote to weed this out from the noise!

  35. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about a "Brazil"-type world? Can we agree on that?

  36. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

    The hard part is that the 'alliance' has so much power, they manipulate any third party out of credibility so that no change can occur.

    Malcolm Reynolds for President!

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  37. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by i_ate_god · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not only do people need to read 1984, but they also need to read Brave New World so they can start making more accurate literature comparisons.

    --
    I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
  38. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by 1s44c · · Score: 1

    The thing is the problem isn't obvious to at least 50% of US voters, if it was it would not exist.

    The only way to get any third party seriously considered is to let people know they do have a choice. If enough people believe they have that choice then sure enough the choice is real.

  39. Kowalski? by Lieutenant_Dan · · Score: 2

    Vanishing Point?

    The question is not when he's gonna stop but who is gonna stop him.

    --
    Wearing pants should always be optional.
  40. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Johann+Lau · · Score: 2
  41. It's a trap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    really, it's a trap.

  42. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you for the information. Do you know where I can find of the same sunglasses you have?

    I know I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of gum.

  43. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by canajin56 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There was a Canadian show I watched one episode of called "Continuum", the "good" guy (well, girl) is a "Protector" in the "CPA" (I forget if it's "civilian" or "corporate" protection). In other words, she's a secret police officer. No uniform, license to kill. The "government" is the Corporate Congress. After bringing about additional market collapses they bought out the world governments and dissolved them. The CPA doesn't arrest people directly, they implant "trackers" which work not by actually being a GPS tracker, but by inducing more and more pain until the "perp" turns themselves in at the CPA station for sentencing and removal of the excruciator (hungry rats are sooooooooo 20th century). (The pilot has her smashing somebody's face in for vandalism then implanting the excruciator). Her suit/implants record everything she sees and hears and transmits it to HQ for filing. So, bringing it back to the second post in this thread, one of her buddies calls the government Big Brother, and she says the exact same thing "It can't be because otherwise you'd be dead". All while her implants are filming and recording, and transmitting back to HQ for processing and filing.

    Anyway, the whole show is so heavily "1984 but the government is the good guy" I couldn't believe it. But they make sure the "bad guys" (pro-democracy rebels) are equally unsympathetic by having them kill as many innocent people as possible 24/7 for no reason. (PS the bad guys are a government trained death squad used to put down protests, but for some reason maybe explained in episodes I didn't watch, they rebelled.)

    --
    ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
  44. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by sjames · · Score: 2

    That's because you aren't the product of 'new education' where we teach kindergarteners that sharing is evil and that when strangers in uniform grab your crotch, it's 'good touch' no matter how scared and icky it makes you feel.

  45. They have a homepage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.trapwire.com/

  46. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by citylivin · · Score: 4, Informative

    Continue watching. The show got alot more interesting and nuanced after the first two episodes. Its getting harder and harder to tell who the "bad guys" are. (the show isnt the best scifi ever (they solve alot of problems with duce ex machina), but its interesting and being marketed heavily in canada which starts a good discussion over how far we would let the corporations run amok)

    --
    As a potential lottery winner, I totally support tax cuts for the wealthy
  47. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by garyebickford · · Score: 1

    My nephew once suggested, "Ask yourself how important this problem is, viewed from 40,000 light years out."

    --
    It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
  48. Your data on Facebook? by dgharmon · · Score: 1

    > Theres a story about how Facebook is selling your data to russian mafia? You don't have any data on Facebook, it all belongs to Facebook !

    --
    AccountKiller
  49. Re:Wikileaks it self is honey pot by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

    Yah, apparently those two blond Swedish honeys were very nice...

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  50. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First two clips are from InfoWars and Russia Today.

    Yeaaaaaaah, I don't feel like being taken for a ride today.

  51. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is actually a correct viewing of Brazil.

  52. The Telcos lawsuit dismissed and now this.... by 3seas · · Score: 1

    ... wiretrap have little to do with catching terrorist but to spy on american attitudes and to do more against the american people.
    With such information is is possible with a controlled media to then manipulate the people via the media. i.e. endless war drum banging for the invasion of Iraq.
    Traffic cameras and their control centers are very capable of the likes of jamming up major city intersection (i.e. in Atlanta to bring all traffic can be brought to a standstill with nothing more than properly executed traffic signal timing. I know this from having experienced such delays with what amounted to nothing more than controlled traffic signals. This is the sort of thing terrorist or others to take over control of the people. The US government keeps changing important checks and balances that were created to prevent such tyrannical abuse..

    Maybe its time to put the checks and balances back in place, instead of removing them.

    Its not what such systems are claimed to be being created and used for but what they can actually be used for.

  53. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by alices+ice · · Score: 1

    well the government is keeping power by maintaining constant war with rotating enemies. the war may or may not be real, in which case it's bombing it's own population...so there's that

  54. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The party, in 1984, was dependent upon their tools to maintain control. We seem to be building an awful lot of those tools for various reasons. You have to wonder what the long term impact of all of this will be. If we leave a lot of "tyrant friendly" toys laying about will a tyrant eventually show up to play with them? That is really what makes me nervous about all of this stuff. The powers that be now may really just want to protect people from crime or terrorists or whatever. Unfortunately these same tools could really put a hurt on the public if somebody not so nice where to take over. History has shown these things happen and we are really prepping the next dictator to be a tough one to get rid of.

  55. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Of course there is not real difference between the poles, it's a uniparty with two different faces dividing the populace for the benefit of the trust fund class

  56. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    You need to change the system by voting for any credible third party.

    Here, allow me to point out what 3rd parties can get you. In Europe, they've allowed the rise of far-left national socialists who believe that that the second great purge of the 20th century needs to happen. In Greece the collapse of the centreist parties, has allowed this to happen as well. And the same in Italy and a few others.

    Well, 3rd parties have their place. But saying voting for a credible 3rd party? The world doesn't always work that way. Sometimes, they're worse than a two party system.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  57. None of that is relevant to 1984 by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2

    The original point was that the person calling current society "1984" had never read the book. They just were using it as a generic term for "big government that I don't like."

    Big Brother in 1984 isn't a surveillance state, it is a mind-control state. Surveillance is just part their means to that end. People who spoke out against the government, or even just questioned too much or acted wrong just disappeared. Not just from society, but from history, records were altered so that all trace of them was gone, they had never existed.

    Hence if someone says "1984 is already here." What they are really saying is "I've never read the book." In the society of 1984 you couldn't make a statement against the government without being removed and reprogrammed or killed.

    None of that is saying this is a good thing, just that it is not the society from 1984.

    1. Re:None of that is relevant to 1984 by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      the problem with currently implemented 1984 is that it's just so fucking lousy at the mind control! MAKE ME A SHEEP DAMN IT!

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  58. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    In one of the recent articles on sci-fi books there was an interesting discussion on how 1984 was nowhere near as prescient as Brave New World.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  59. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Dystopian+Rebel · · Score: 5, Funny

    they solve alot of problems with duce ex machina

    I would respect the entertainment industry more if its writers didn't try to solve all plot problems with a Mussolini android.

    --
    Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
  60. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sometimes, they're worse than a two party system.

    Are you on drugs? Or just thick?

  61. Shocking news! by some+old+guy · · Score: 2

    Oh, my! Business and government are colluding to invade our privacy and control our behavior? I'm shocked! Shocked, I say!

    Come on, people, do the messy details of who is collecting what and selling it to whom really matter any more?

    The general population has amply demonstrated its complacency in matters of collective privacy loss and stellar-scale coercion. Its not a question of enough people knowing, its a matter of not enough people caring or daring to put up any meaningful resistance. The flies can conquer the fly paper if they are so inclined, but they're quite happy with just buzzing around their dung-piles and breeding more flies.

    An occasional gang of berserk teenaged vandals inspired by a few indignant bloggers does not democracy, much less a revolution, make.

    --
    Scruting the inscrutable for over 50 years.
    1. Re:Shocking news! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      While I agree with complacency, I'll point out that it's due to mostly ignorance. Just watch "TV News" and you get the point. People have been trained to believe that everything they hear on TV News is true and real. It is not, and has not been for at least 20 years. It's brainwashing and lies mostly, with tidbits of truth sprinkled in to appear real (and perhaps to keep the actors and actresses spewing lies from committing suicide).

      The best thing anyone can do currently is to try waking people up. Teach them the Allegory of the Cave and ask them politely to wake up by showing them how their reality is being, and has been, manipulated. Some easy targets to show people lies are the various different Julian Assange you find when Google'ing his name, there at least 2 different people that show up and it's very obvious. The Huffington Post has a listing of all of the EO's Obama has signed bypassing the Constitution of the US. There are still sites that have all of the documents regarding Fast and Furious, etc.. etc... Something will work, you just have to find the right smelling salt.

      Lastly, teach them a bit about fallacy so that they can begin to think logically and critically for themselves.

      The masses being ignorant has been happening for a long time. If you break through to someone, ask them to teach someone else. It's not a fast task, but it can be done. More people have to wake up to the game, and they have to wake up quickly.

  62. Re:Reality Check + 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0 by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    Nice website, it tells you it's a conspiracy nut site immediately with its header image before you even scroll down to see the article.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  63. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by iter8 · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you'd like to see the extent of surveillance in US, watch this video released by anon:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKaG9pfEFSQ

    Scary to say the least. 1984 is already here.

    Isn't this convenient, the video has been deleted from YouTube. That is doubleplusungood.

  64. trapped by sublime_stephy · · Score: 1

    is anyone surprised at this news? feels like i saw this coming? wikileaks still down.. check out this video on frequency about trapwire : http://www.frequency.com/video/trapwire-cops-feds-watching-you-at-all/56895287/-/5-13685 @onfrequency

  65. Auditors: mod parent down! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously people, stop bringing this up. Slashdot does not have GAME ANDES REDSHIFT clearance! Kid, the auditors are going to tear you a new one for this...

  66. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

    Well, in this case they're both apt: Both regimes relied on extensive surveillance.

    It makes perfect sense, really. If you're going to oppress people, you need to know what they're up to so you make sure you oppress the people who might be opposing you. Otherwise, a popular movement might get started that opposes you, and then you might be overthrown.

    --
    I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
  67. Mirror please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Can anyone mirror the video? It's already gone.

  68. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by mcgrew · · Score: 2

    I's not that he was an optimist, it's that his observation was expounded on later. What he said was "if there's a wrong way to do something, someone will do it that way." Pretty much self-evident, I'd say.

  69. Full of Fail: Outting Surveilance the Wrong Way. by GodInHell · · Score: 1
    ZDNet blew this one. I hereby propose two rules of thumb for reporting on surveilance programs (1) do no cite anonymous sources, no matter how credible, as support for the effectiveness of the progam, and (2) DO NOT put out information that defeats the narrow valid use for the program. ZDNet blew up both in one paragraph, nearly the last paragraph in the article.

    "According to a very good source responsible for domestic surveillance operations, an extremely serious al Qaeda terror plot has been uncovered targeting a financial institution, an entertainment centre and a government office building in Los Angeles. The same terrorist-surveillance team conducted pre-operational surveillance of all three sites. The group is currently under watch," he wrote.

    Well then, now (a) I am supposed to believe an anonymous source -- which I won't -- so the "proof" of its effectiveness fails and (b) if the source is actually telling the truth - they just announced that they are watching an active Al Qaeda cell in L.A. So ... now they can go underground and try to lose the tail. If only there were other articles describing the details of the system . . . oh wait.

  70. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by 1s44c · · Score: 1

    Well, 3rd parties have their place. But saying voting for a credible 3rd party? The world doesn't always work that way. Sometimes, they're worse than a two party system.

    And sometimes they are better. I'm not saying vote for any 3rd party, I'm saying vote for a 3rd party you believe in.

  71. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you for the information. Do you know where I can find of the same sunglasses you have?

    Fuck his sunglasses. I want to subscribe to his newsletter.

  72. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry that you really believe this red herring bullshit fallacy. The collapse of Greece was not due to a 3rd party, it was due to an established corrupt party where Greek voters had little to no choice, very much like what we see in the US.

    If you don't see that you are playing in to propaganda with your statement, you are a fool and a tool. Established powers want you to believe there is no choice, or what you get is all there is. This is not how we were founded nor how we were intended to function. Wake up!

  73. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the video is not there anymore, the youtube user has closed their account. Do you have another link?

  74. Re:Wikileaks it self is honey pot by Seumas · · Score: 1

    Of course, the most succinct and likely accurate statement on the entire subject of Wikileaks is moderated "off-topic". Way to go, mods.

  75. Re:Wikileaks it self is honey pot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know that I sound like a shill for the book, but you ought to read "Daemon" and "Freedom" by Suarez. We need the Daemon. We need the Darknet. We need holons. Even if it doesn't seem like thinly disguised reality to you (it did to me), both books are a fun read. The opening scene in Freedom where the Hedge Fund trader gets it was worth the price by itself.

  76. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by cayenne8 · · Score: 0

    Obama enacts a healthcare plan youre not a fan of? Communist china, and Obama is Mao

    Well...this one *is* close to true...and not just because of Obamacare....this guys is definitely on the socialist bent...

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  77. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by lennier · · Score: 1

    Andrew Ryan 2012, TAKE BACK RAPTURE!

    "Should a man not be entitled to shoot flaming electric bees out of his face at the looters and the moochers? NO, says the Department of Mutant Sealife. NO, says the Humane Society. NO, says the American Psychological Association. But I rejected those answers. I chose the impossible. I chose SURPRISE GIANT DRILL ATTACK!"

    "Ahem. Also I have a serious economic policy focusing on deregulation of private industry, an integrated energy/health/childcare system based on creepy orphan girls with syringes and FIRE GRENADE SPAM!"

    --
    You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
  78. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by lennier · · Score: 1

    far-left national socialists

    I think you have your hands confused. National Socialism, and the European neo-fascists that look back fondly to it, was a far-right movement.

    --
    You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
  79. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Please I can't find it anywhere. The original name was: "Big Brother is watching (prepare to end of privacy)"

  80. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by LordLimecat · · Score: 1

    I dont much like it, but youre out of your mind if you want to compare the two scenarios as you post from your comfortable, heated, internet connected house with a belly full of food.

  81. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by dgharmon · · Score: 1

    > If you'd like to see the extent of surveillance in US, watch this video released by anon:

    Account closed, what was the video name ?

    --
    AccountKiller
  82. Maybe it's not a honeypot by elucido · · Score: 1

    Maybe it is. But I think that it reflects much more negatively on the public than wikileaks if so. I know cryptome is no honey-pot. What should alarm us more than honey-pots is our collective ineffectualness in processing the information from such sources. It's almost like all the data in the world, exquisitely tailored to our liking, would have no effect either. It seems to me like world-leaders are treating the world along with humanity as a game, and like intoxicated children we play.

    I used to think the same thing but I don't think so anymore. Julian Assange is someone they probably attempted to recruit and it looks like he decided to flee instead. Any time the police want to talk to you prior to charging you it's because they want to offer you a offer you can't refuse.

  83. Re:Wikileaks it self is honey pot by Penurious+Penguin · · Score: 1

    Might I pay you due respect by offering you my appreciation and support for your bravery in brandishing sensibility in this den of vicious wolves? You rock!

    --
    Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
  84. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by trentfoley · · Score: 1

    they solve alot of problems with duce ex machina

    I would respect the entertainment industry more if its writers didn't try to solve all plot problems with a Mussolini android.

    No, you wouldn't

  85. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Romney is friends with the biggest tyrants of all: The Bankers.

    If you're looking for someone to sell you out really fast so he can make a quick buck, and drop his own taxes, Romney's your man.

    If you aren't making more than $200,000, vote for Romney and your taxes will go up.

    And just remember folks, taxes don't affect what corporations can afford to pay you, payroll happens before taxes; unlike the conservative myth.

  86. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was not aware it was a contest, nor that the two dystopias were mutually exclusive/a society could not feature aspects of both.

  87. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm pretty sure it is this one:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTc6JoGcco8

  88. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's "Gattaca". And, no.

  89. Re:How's that "hope and change" doing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If a third party wants in, they need to start at the bottom and work their way up - get some state legislature seats and congressional seats. You can't just go straight to president and expect to do anything but spoil the candidate who supports part of your agenda.

  90. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The name was "Anonymous – Big Brother is Watching (Prepare to End of Privacy)" by AnonOpsLegion (the account was deleted http://www.youtube.com/user/AnonOpsLegion)
    I found this: http://www.pakalertpress.com/2012/08/14/trapwire-investigation-links-transit-systems-and-anonymizer-in-global-surveillance-network/

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vTc6JoGcco8#!

    but I can't be sure if it is the same video...

  91. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    40,000 light years out, home to the target audience of my dreams. Everybody, put your organs of prehension together and give a warm welcome to all those places we have been disbarred from seeing.

  92. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Motion is a smoke and mirror trick, the last time you moved, ever so slightly, was when they knifed and knotted your umbilical. Now i wouldn't bet the farm on the previous sentence, but i believe the it is quite possible true.

  93. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by duhjim · · Score: 1

    Behind the cabal of appearance, there exists a conspiracy between matter and number, and number and light!

  94. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The uploader's account has been deleted, what was in this video?

  95. Did anyone actually RTFA?!? by ubermiester · · Score: 1

    This is not news. This is Wikileaks publishing uncorroborated "evidence" that matches their expectations about "Big Brother".

    Some things to remember:

    • 1. The system is in no way secret and there are numerous publicly available sources of information about municipal uptake: public hearings, contracts, etc.
    • 2. Most (if not all) of these emails were marketing materials or communiques regarding trial runs.
    • 3. There is no evidence that TrapWire is currently in use as described in the Wikileaks release. See the NYTimes, Slate articles (among many others) that investigate the system's actual purpose and use.

    Wikileaks has been more or less forgotten by the general public, so it's not surprising that they would take every opportunity to spout sensationalized conspiracy theories to regain the spotlight. After all, what would they be today without Mr. Manning's foolish self-sacrifice? A wanna be World News Daily.

    Perhaps it is not feasible (or even desirable) for the /. editorial staff to vet everything that gets posted, but I for one am not interested in hearing every conspiracy theory floating on the web - regardless of the sympathy some may have for the source.

  96. We shall SPY them on the Beaches by MPAndonee · · Score: 1

    "We shall SPY on to the end, we shall SPY in France,
    we shall SPY on the seas and oceans,
    we shall SPY with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall SPY our whatever the cost may be,
    we shall SPY the beaches,
    we shall SPY on the landing grounds,
    we shall SPY in the fields and in the streets,
    we shall SPY in the hills;"

    -- paraphrasing, the GREAT Winston Churchill

    --
    Nothing to see here -- move along now...
  97. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    duce ex machina

    Suddenly, Mussolini!

  98. Anonymous Operation Trapwire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://anonpr.net/trapwire-928/

  99. Re:Wikileaks it self is honey pot by TimmyRt · · Score: 1

    bleh, mis-moderated, posting

  100. Re:Here's a video released by Anon about surveilla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want to see it now too.
    Can anybody HELP???
    what is the name?