Features Nov 6, 2013 at 4:00 am

A New Apparatus Capable of Spying on You Has Been Installed Throughout Downtown Seattle. Very Few Citizens Know What It Is, and Officials Don’t Want to Talk About It.

Photos by Malcolm Smith

Comments

1
It's not the "Federal International Surveillance Court."

It's the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA).
2
lol at the typo in the first sentence of the first paragraph at the beginning of the piece. i thought you said you didn't need a proofreader? ;)
4
d
5
"Tracking objects it owns." Perhaps the most interesting phrase. Someone could commit a crime and attach a traceable devise to someone's car, phone, computer, or to our bodies.

Otherwise, the system would be showing scores of unauthorized items (presumably stuff you and I carry) at any time.

In any case, great write-up. This is something to be aware of and track.
6
Looks like McGinn gave this city one last kick in the nuts on his way out.

Why is the DHS pumping so much money into local police forces?
7
What a waste of money.

The Portland and Oly anarcho-smashists will just leave their iPhones at home when they come up in May to disrupt the immigrant rights rally.

And of course the same goes for anyone else planning any other sort of crime.
8
Why is the DHS pumping so much money into local police forces?


Because they have nowhere else to send the money, and until Congress negotiates and passes an actual budget (instead of a continuation of the sequester), there's no way for anyone to cut that money off.
9
In other words, you don't have the story yet. You have implications and suspicions and a long-winded tech piece that's hard to read, concluding it's "capable" of tracking users - much like cell phone towers already are. Better headline: something's happening, we don't know what.
10
@1: Fixed, and thank you for the clarification.
@2: Just a typo introduced when the story was put on the web, fixed.
11
interesting article on the SPD Aruba network. I'm a network administrator in the retail industry and familiar a little with how some of this equipment works. You've brought up some interesting points on what the SPD plans on doing with this equipment (we're paying for it after all) bu I'd like to add a little color to your picture.

Retail is heavily investing in this technology to track where you go as well. How long you shop for or stand in front of a display for instance. Do people tend to shop in a particular pattern? Do you have bottlenecks somewhere? How long will people stand in line for? What's the last place people visit before leaving? This is all fine and dandy and the data can be linked to your mobile device's MAC address which is nothing more than a serial number really. (Fun fact for lawyers, MAC addresses are not finite and they can get re-used! You can also spoof these addresses) Getting personal information from your MAC is going to be a little difficult and require some work. I suppose if you buy something then they can cross reference a purchase made with the MAC address that was at the counter. This is great until you get a new mobile wireless device and now your MAC address has changed and they have to re-associate it again. Not that hard I guess if you are a frequent shopper.

Let's go down the rabbit hole a little further now. Apple uses facial recognition technology at their stores and if you've walked by one in the past year your face is in their database. All it takes is some data mining, a scour against facebook photos for instance and they can easily find out who you are.

Apple isn't the only place that does this either and celebrities can be big targets of this technology. "Hey! George Clooney shops here!"

Now I'll leave something for the tinfoil hats. If you don't want to be tracked then you'll need to turn your mobile device into something akin to "airplane mode" where cellular, Wifi, GPS and other location services are turned off. From a retail standpoint, just disabling your wireless should be sufficient.

As far as facial recognition goes. Wear a full mask I guess.That shit is pretty smart.

Welcome to the future!
12
@2 - Who needs proofreaders when the internet is willing to berate you for free?
13
typo: MAC addresses are not infinite. They are finite and can get re-used.
14
@7: Airplane mode. It's also possible to clone or tumble MAC addresses on some phones. This sort of tracking will mostly affect people who aren't aware of it.
15
DHS has already commented, in a way:
Maritime Domain Awareness

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dhs+mda
16
I imagine oil-mining is a messy business... On a less snarky note, I'm looking forward to a substantive follow-up to this story.
17
Sounds like instead of turning off "Ask to join wireless networks" I should turn off wifi completely when I'm not at home.
18
correct, because even if you turn off the "ask to join network" option, the device is still constantly looking for familiar networks to join. This is how most mobile devices get detected.
19
It is illegal under the Washington State Constitution to track you electronically without a specific (not blanket) warrant.

Not that this will stop them from doing exactly that.
20
While we're on the subject, WSDOT has experimented with traffic timing analysis by Bluetooth device scanning. This explicitly searches for MAC addresses of phones and headsets along the roadway and uses timing to estimate traffic flow. Haven't heard what their future plans are in this regard.

http://trac29.trac.washington.edu/projec…
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/904…
22
@9 - Cell phone tower tracking is very imprecise, yards of accuracy, at best. This Aruba mesh-network can pin-point devices. Match that with CCTV footage, and you can easily ID someone. From there, obtain their cellphone network info from their provider, and you have a detailed map of where they go any given day.

My question is: Does this SPD mesh-network only respond to WiFi signals? Or does it suck up standard cellphone signals as well.

Bcz it is trivial to turn off the Wifi component of your mobe & still have a functional mobe -- Would that be sufficient to render you invisible to this mesh? Or will any signal from your phone (standard cell; GPS; bluetooth; Near-Field) be 'seen' by this network? (ok, prolly not Bluetooth and NFC, they are v. low power).
23
Some random thoughts.

1) Someone should collect all the SSIDs before SPD figures out they can shut off SSID broadcast.

2) Aren't there enough nerds in Seattle that someone can crack the wi-fi password so everyone can use the network for free internet access?

3) And, speaking of nerds, doesn't anyone have any scanning/monitoring equipment to see what's coming off the back end of those things, which is probably somewhere in or above the 5 Ghz. range?

It would be nice to see what they're capturing and retransmitting.

Come on, Seattle! Get busy, you guys! The nation is waiting to hear what those things do.
24
I have an outstanding public records request of Seattle City Council for those months-overdue surveillance protocols.
25
And how much time can you do under CFAA for unauthorized access to a wifi network?
26
And really, if we're going to talk about tracking cell phones, then the MAC address is a huge red herring.

If you're not listening for the MEID or IMEI or whatever they use now in the seek/connect/maintain traffic, then you're doing your passive mobile-phone tracking the wrong way.
27
Note that membership in SPD's secretive Seattle Shield information sharing program (check the anonymous WHOIS record on that domain) includes not just city agencies, utilities, and downtown businesses, but eight federal agencies and several out-of-town police departments, including NYPD: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/seattle-69/…

More on Seattle Shield, via public records requests: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/list/tag-se…
28
Here's how Bruce Harrell (a legislator and lawyer who should have known better) was duped into weakening the surveillance ordinance by SPD: http://mocek.org/blog/2013/03/20/while-c…

And what's this SPD surveillance topic City Council stumbled upon that they found to be unfit for public discussion in council chambers and unqualified for private discussion in executive session? http://mocek.org/blog/2013/03/19/city-co…
30
That's one way to get the DHS to pay for public wifi.
Now we just need to get somebody to sue.
31
IT nerd here... This is hysterical paranoia. First, stop bagging on Aruba. Thwse are not "surveillance devices". They are fancy wireless APs. Second, why would they want to track people with a less-effective limited area tech (compared to cells)? How would they get people's MACs? They can get an IMEI with a quick call to cell carrier. Carriers don't track MACs. I don't see why they'd bother, and I see zero indication they intend to use this for anything other than the stated purpose. As to why SPD ignores the Stranger, well....they are jerks. But not particularly smart ones.
32
This was a great, well written piece.

Don't shoot yourself in the foot by displaying your ignorance about gun laws so prominently. Dealers at gun shows do background checks through NICS, just like internet purchases and in-store purchases.
33
@31 - agreed completely. Any city that has installed municipal wifi has similar capabilities, although arguably not as sophisticated as the Aruba system. The urban landscape is blanketed with wifi networks, and the use of data mined from the management side of said networks is and will continue to be used for all sorts of purposes, commercial and otherwise. If peoples' tin foil hats don't offer a sufficient degree of protection, they should turn off their wifi when they leave home. If they are truly scared of being tracked, they should ditch their mobile devices completely.
34
How many public records requests has the Stranger filed about this?
35
Ah, the nerdy logic of someone that knows the technology. Goes something like this:

1) This specific instance is not a concern *to me*

2) Therefore, any discussion of it is stupid, you all are stupid.

The fact remains NSA does track people. SPD might not be NSA, but if they have a turnkey solution to tracking, they wont have to go get the IMEI, they can just look on their own mesh.

So it makes sense rather than to wait for the abuses to happen, to think forwardly to what could be done with applications of existing capability.

36
"What does it mean when money from a federal agency like the Department of Homeland Security is being funneled to local police departments like SPD to purchase and use high-powered surveillance gear?"

To further centralize control -- the police state will arrive, and it won't be pretty.
37
So let the idiots who walk around with their wifi on get tracked. This system can obtain your Mac address but only if your wifi is on. Leave it off and while your at it leave Bluetooth off as well. Now if you're downtown working and use wifi you're probably screwed.
38
@35: Furthermore, there's little reason to expect SPD staff to have the expertise to keep NSA out of whatever data SPD intentionally or unintentionally create. Google haven't even managed to do it. SPD sure as hell won't. I have spoken with Monty E. Moss #5598 of the Seattle Police Department. He's no network security expert.
39
@Cascadian Bacon: Why is the DHS pumping so much money into local police forces?

Because the Department of Homeland Security has nothing better to do with its ridiculous budget.
40
@JonnoN: This is hysterical paranoia

That's what I said when the first round of Snowden documents were released. I now consider it justified hysterical paranoia.

Why would they want to track people with a less-effective limited area tech (compared to cells)?

The SPD does not have direct, real time access to the cellular network data. They have to get that (via warrant) from the cellular carriers. This data, in contrast, is all theirs.

How would they get people's MACs?

You mean how can they associate a MAC address with a given person? Obviously, they can get this via warrant from the carrier. Or, an officer working surveillance calls in the movements of a person, and the corresponding MAC address is identified on the map. Either way, they now have the ability to track that person anywhere they move within network range without further need for warrants or other forms of oversight.
41
On the bright side, the city could make a little money finding people's lost iPhones.
42
If you’re bothered by the government tracking you through your wireless devices (something they undoubtedly already do when they feel like it, with or without the benefit this this mesh network), then don’t use such devices. Side effects of such a decision (besides increased privacy) may include greater awareness of the world around you, generally being less of an asshole, and a decreased risk of health problems like brain cancer and infertility (those of you who haven’t heard about that last one should check out http://fullsignalmovie.com/trailer-credi… or http://www.bioinitiative.org/preface/ ).

Not to overstate the obvious, but you can’t be tracked by your cellphone if you don’t use a cellphone.
43
Heresy! Quick to the pyre!
44
Thanks to The Stranger for crediting us with breaking the story about the cameras. One correction, though - there are not 30 cameras on Alki. The city installed about 30 cameras in all, from Fauntleroy to Shilshole. Fewer than half are in West Seattle. Our archived coverage, which has gone un-updated for too long, is here:
http://westseattleblog.com/category/seat…

-Tracy Record, editor, West Seattle Blog
45
Audio of two of Moss' and McDonaugh's presentations of SPD's surveillance network: https://archive.org/details/20130221Seat… and https://archive.org/details/20130319Seat…
46
Information I received a few months ago about SPD's mesh network steering committee via public records request:

1. Executive Steering Committee consists of the following persons: Erin Devoto - Dept of Info Technology; Jeff Joy - Seattle City Light; Mary Rutherford - Seattle Department of Transportation; Lenny Roberts - Seattle Fire Department; Paul McDonagh - Seattle Police Department

2. Agendas for meetings of the committee - No responsive Records

3. Minutes of the meetings of the committee - No responsive Records

4. Email, memos, and other correspondence to or from Paul McDonagh and/or Monty Moss regarding the wireless mesh network or components thereof, along with any associated metadata - see attached PDF documents.
47
@31

The most interesting thing that a mesh network of passive rf receivers can do is store traffic. They can probably also do tracking at some unknown level just via traffic analysis, without knowing any encrypted device IDs, but that would have dubious realtime utility, and wouldn't stand up in court for more than five minutes.

The neat thing, though, is that if they just store all the encrypted cell syn/ack traffic, then they can later identify a suspect, get a warrant, get the relevant ids and cryptographic keys from the mobile provider, and thus unlock not just a particular call, text, or location, but the entire history of the suspect's mobile location/comms.

But they only get that if they get a warrant from a judge. Or at least that's how it's supposed to work; I might be wildly off the mark here, I suppose, but I'm pretty sure there's at least a shred of the fourth amendment still operating in Washington State.
48
If Mayor McGinn hadn't given us bike lanes and a streetcar, this would be a little worrisome.
49
That's pretty obviously Combine technology.

Where's Gordon Freeman when you need him?
50
@31 and @40 MALARKEY!

Carriers have your mac addresses of your device its on the side of the box of your shiny smartphone, they also have real time data of what devices are used by who on their network.

While IMEIs might be protected by a warrant process, ASSUMING that mac address data and who owns them is, is foolish. It could be as simple as a monthly dump from carriers to have it.

Specualate all you want in either direction, but the fact is, the moves to make this a privacy nightmare are trival, not currently illegal, and have probably already occurred.

We need smarter laws and representatives who don't believe its hacking to look up someones birthday and reset their password or write a script that checks a random website.
51
This is all for the Seattle Rapid Ride!
52
Aruba's installing a network at Candlestick Park? They're closing the stadium next year!

For those of you who don't follow San Francisco stadium politics, the 49s scammed the town of Santa Clara into building them a new billion-dollar stadium, about 30 miles away, and it's almost done. Maybe they'll be able to move most of the equipment.
53
Actual Advancement support amid Protection that has encountered bootlegging. Thank you. Over the top.
54
Big Brother? You guys must listen to the dorky munson show to think that the City of Seattle is sophisticated enough to even think about this 1984 bullshit that the republicans think is happening. There is not one republican in Seattle that is worth the effort that you paranoid fools think is worth tracking. On further reflection, the 2014 mid term elections are coming up and the Democrats would dearly love to have any and all dirt on the dreaded republicans, please forward this to the Stranger as it impacts all of us sane taxpayers (reluctantly paying the republicans wages and benefits) and would further the American Way and get rid of the republican party forever. Amen
55
Hahahahahahaha!!!

I'm gasping for breath laughing so hard at you people.

Enjoy.
56
I'm not sure if I'm concerned...it's really in the downtown core only (and parts of Belltown). As you all know, it SUCKS having to drive down any one of the N/S routes at any time of the day down there...Think this is just an easier way to deal with active crimes/criminals in the downtown core? Instead of cops having to swarm everywhere, they can handle the situation smoother and quicker? (also not giving praises to SPD here). Seems like unless you live downtown, this is to protect businesses.

It's just odd that I live on the hill and I don't even see a security cam or wifi hub on that map for our neighborhood at all - and it gets pretty wild up here...

http://www.oneeyedman.net/misc/seattle_c…

If you're protesting downtown and are expecting to be arrested, call your lawyer first to warn of a possibility of arrest (always do this FIRST) - write the phone # in sharpie on your bicep, then leave your phone at home. We need some protesting tactics classes here in Seattle
57
Not a wifi pro, but in all my experience with wired and wireless network configs, every device broadcasts their MAC address in order to obtain their IP address. In addition, 4G broadcasts for handshakes on IP addresses, so MAC addresses would likely be transmitted as well. Whether or not we accept the connection is probably of inconsequence. The cell phones, as long as they are on (though I've heard they can relay this information even with the power off, but battery still in), are communicating with every tower they come within range of, so these devices Seattle has are probably negotiating connections based on MAC even though IP's aren't accepted. This means every phone can be triangulated. But, again - I'm not a pro.
58
Not a wifi pro, but in all my experience with wired and wireless network configs, every device broadcasts their MAC address in order to obtain their IP address. In addition, 4G broadcasts for handshakes on IP addresses, so MAC addresses would likely be transmitted as well. Whether or not we accept the connection is probably of inconsequence. The cell phones, as long as they are on (though I've heard they can relay this information even with the power off, but battery still in), are communicating with every tower they come within range of, so these devices Seattle has are probably negotiating connections based on MAC even though IP's aren't accepted. This means every phone can be triangulated. But, again - I'm not a pro.

PS: Big Brother? Maybe not. Nothing appears overnight. It develops. Keep in mind that Russia and Germany weren't "big brother" overnight - it took years; gradual and incremental shifts. AKA, slippery slope. And yes, it can happen here. For those in Russia and Germany, they didn't think it could happen in their country either.
59
I guess I'm just going to keep on not owning a cell phone.
61
Detective Moss also added that the mesh network would not be used for "surveillance purposes... without City Council's approval and the appropriate court authorization." Note that he didn't say the mesh network couldn't be used for the surveillance functions we asked about, only that it wouldn't—at least until certain people in power say it can. That's the equivalent of a "trust us" and a handshake.


Technically, this is probably true. But it is also true that police won't kick down your door and search your house without a warrant. Could they? Yes. They could--they have the technology. But they wouldn't, partially because the evidence wouldn't be admissable against you, nor, likely, would any evidence derived from the evidence (fruit of the poisonous tree and all...).
63
@58: I don't see anyone claiming that SPD are abusing the system. I see expression of concern that there is nothing to stop SPD, NSA, NYPD, or anyone else who is given or who otherwise obtains access to the system from abusing it.

Let's stop asking whether SPD will do things we find unacceptable and start asking how, if at all, they will prevent those things. Policy backed up with stern finger-waggings doesn't cut it.
64
@42: Also, if you're worried about warrantless searches of your home, you can avoid them by being homeless and living under a bridge. Plus it makes you more mobile, aware of the weather, and reduces house maintenance costs.
65
I submitted public records requests to SPD for draft policy regarding the network and for summaries and analyis of feedback received.
66
Hey, among all these comments, why no high-fives for outstanding reporting? Go Matt and Brendan! (And please -- keep fishing).
67
One more encroachment on our liberty. We are clearly on a slippery slope here. Who authorized the SPD to buy this crap?
68
@67: City Council authorized SPD to use DHS money for port security. It seems they were unaware that this is mostly not about security for the port.
69
I just want free wireless. The system sounds like it can be adapted to let us all make free skype calls from anywhere in town.
70
Now on Slashdot...

http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/13/11/0…

A number of commenters who claim to be "from" Seattle suggest The Stranger is being "knee-jerk" on this. The thing to remember about Slashdot is that for the most part, over the last 5 or so years the user-base has become pretty stunningly Tea Baggist.
71
shorter version: we are concerned that the SPD might do something that they are not doing and have no plans to do with their communication network.

Honestly nothing to see here.

And slashdot getting teabaggy?! Ha!
72
Who the hell cares? Nothing I do on my computer or mobile device would warrant any interest from any agency, law enforcement or otherwise. If you're worried, disconnect. Turn it off so "they" can't watch. Oh, and make sure your tinfoil hat fits well because the devices can probably scan your brain too.
73
oh man the goverment is gonna spy on us? they are probably really interested in all of the capitol hill kids from issaquah reading the chive and perez hilton on the ipads they got for their birthday and not on catching actual criminals who are planning actual crimes.
74
Wow...way to spread FUD!

Big deal. It's a PD-run WiFi network to support connectivity for PD-owned doohickeys coz it's cheaper than the per-device cellular "B2B" (subscription) currently used by most departments. This stands to save the city millions of dollars in said cellular fees while providing better coverage and more secure connections.

If they were seriously hiding these things they'd hide the SSIDs. Why even let on anything about them such as network names when it's literally a checkbox to hide them?

Your phone knows your GPS location per 911-support laws, even when you think you have deactivated GPS, on your smart phone _and_ your feature phone. If John Law wants to follow your phone they have ways that are not that hard.

These are WiFi access points that interconnect to each other to extend a single internet connection across lots of square blocks. When we someday get a public urban wireless internet this will be how it's done.

Now, when cams go up everywhere, like "London everywhere", then worry. Until then, so what?
75
@72 [self-centered idiot]

The world is more complicated than your pathetic hermit existence. Democracy functions because people are active and involved with shaping the laws that PREVENT gorillas in blue suits with guns from harassing you and the rest of us. Whether you admit it now or in the future, you CARE, because it affects you, stupid troll!
76
After being assaulted by a gang of not-homeless, not kids (20's); I want this. This gang threatens the local businesses with smashed windows if they use surveillance video.
You can argue any point of so called freedom. Freedom isn't being afraid to go somewhere. Why? because the offenders have the right to do so.
Ask the woman beaten in Westlake park. Two of the juveniles (19&20) were the same people that smashed me on the head while I was just walking by. There wasn't any exchange before this.
It is organized crime. You don't want surveillance? Stop fostering a culture that makes it "okay". Stop being complaisant, because it hasn't happened to you.
These "things" are only located in the downtown corridor. Could they go elsewhere? Yes they could.
Does it help, or is it a power play?
When I was assaulted, they were trying to steal my girlfriends phone. They weren't shoplifting bread. The only thing that gave us backing to our story is surveillance from a video camera two stories up.
I contribute $1000 a year to the ACLU and $500 to Urban Rest Stop.
I am going to stop giving to the ACLU. Urban rest stop, I will send that money their way.
Every person has rights of civil liberty. Every person has the right to be clean. No person has the right to hide behind civil liberties to take them away from another person that has that same right.
You don't like the surveillance, I agree. Stop pretending and cooing persons that assault people. Did you run a cover story of the bicyclist whom was trashed and stolen from by the same crew? No
I used to think the Stranger was a well balanced news source. In most ways, it still is just that. When it comes to crime, no one seems to think about the victim. They just run to civil liberties. I don't have the same ones? I can't expect to walk along a stretch of this city without being in fear?
You are a news team. You have a responsibility to be well rounded and informed, from every facet.
As a person that watches my personal rights and liberties be forsaken in the culture of homeland security, I still want my society patrolled. I do not think I should walk any street in fear.
Stop reporting as a FOX like-fear right mongerer; just the antithesis. Start actually reporting.
You say crime has gone down in the downtown corridor, talk to the residents. Not once have you interviewed either side of the story; not the victim or the offender. Rape isn't the only crime that is under reported.
I can look up any database of numbers. What I can't do is relate that to a populace. That is your job. Right now you are failing.
77
This is why we need to wrest control of Seattle from the evil Republicans ... oh, wait ..
78
You realize you really don't know what your talking about right ? you can not just scan for wireless enabled devices and retrieve MAC addresses ? that technology does not exist.

The information you post is normal, I run major conference networks such as EuroPython and can tell what devices are connecting to my networks and where they are located - you can allow only certain devices if you want or protect with user/passwords or whatever and detect when devices that are unauthorized connect.

By unassociated they mean devices that have authorized against that network but not associated the first step in a common 'hacking' technique and this is all basic security we are talking about on networks !

Get your facts straight and maybe talk to somebody who knows what they are doing before posting scare tactic type things like this
79
Hmmm, how many ways can I think of to take these out?

14.
80
@78
I think the overarching concept is still valid:
Unless laws (not policies) exist to protect the privacy of individuals, the next season's technological "improvements" will be deployed without civilian oversight. I think we have seen sufficient examples of how things go otherwise awry. Dumbfuck.
81
Also in canada- these spying units are also in the metro Toronto area - became awareof them this past year!

Thanks for the depth and detail - much appreciated as no one is acknowledging them here.
82
Isn't anybody talking about the electro magnetic fields these things create? Where is all the smart meter people?
83
Hey people, grow a pair and perform some civil disobedience. Break and damage them. Same with red light cameras. If it gets to expensive and is constantly under attack, they will give up.
85
Simple. Destroy them.
86
Why don't a few brave 'concerned' citizens just start destroying them as soon as they're installed? And don't give me the "that would be a criminal act" b.s., either. You think the unsolicited 'secret' planning, purchase and installation of this police state equipment with taxpayer money is not? This is so many kinds of wrong, it's beyond description.
What ever happened to the beautiful place that was once Seattle?
87
Who protects you from your "protectors"? The concentration camps and mass graves of the last 100 years were filled with ordinary people like you and me, who had not done anything wrong.
88
Doomed. We are Doomed.
89
I watch too much bad detective-tv. They apparently have devices that can screen out gunshots from background noise and help locate where gunfire might be happening, and these might be they.
Or not.
90
New streetlights in Seattle can track and record you as well..."Intellistreets" http://m.livescience.com/41106-big-broth…
91
What about the possibility of sending out frequencies to manipulate peoples brains? Might be more dangerous than knowing where an random individual is.
92
Welcome to the liberal surveillance state, Seattle. Upscale, progressive, and slaves.

You can reject the moral code G(od) has established and get your code from the government. Like the glimpse?
94
Beware of Hatfield's Third Law: "Make something easy enough for a fool to operate... and a fool will."
95
Is it Sieg Heil or Ja Comrade?
Just want to make sure I get it correct.
96
Oh good. I was afraid the NSA might not be up to the job.
97
These devices are a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The INDIVIDUALS that ordered their installation are guilty of CRIMES.

What usually happens in this situation (at best) is a long drawn-out court battle, then the (illegal) devices are removed. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

Our Fourth-Amendment rights are being violated daily. The CRIMINALS that violate our rights should be CHARGED with their crimes, and serve prison time!

That's what prison time is for: To deter crime.

And if the district attorney doesn't prosecute, then HE'S an accessory, and should be charged with HIS crime!

The people in law enforcement ARE NOT ABOVE THE LAW!
98
Using Android? Here you go... http://www.plusdroid.com/Blogandnews/how…
99
There might be ways to overload the system with confusing messages. For example:

I - bombed - a test at school the other day.

I drank a few - shots - last night.

Obamacare sucks!!!

I just bought an awesome - knife - for my cooking class.

How many can you think off?

100
The democrats in Seattle clear across to the Whitehouse wonder why we dislike them SO much. We have one thing to say to them all. bring it.
101
Wireless Mesh networks and asset location tracking are not anything new. It was invented by DARPA and then commercialized by many companies including local ones - Coco Communications and Recon Dynamics. These Access Points usually have a Licensed Frequency radio for Public Safety at 4.9 Ghz and unlicensed radio(s) in the 2.4 Ghz or 5.7 Ghz WiFi frequencies. If you don't have a devise transmitting or receiving in those frequencies then you can be detected or use the network. Bottom line shut off your WiFi in your mobile phone if you don't want to get detected.

If you also open up your map application on your smart phone indoors, you may notice it may be extremely accurate. This is due to Google Maps mapping Wifi hotspots every where, and if your WiFi radio is turned on you will have more accurate location information.
102
could be the little chips in our enhanced IDs they are tracking...
103
1) Starbucks knows where half the smartphones in Seattle are right at this moment. Every Seattleite is nearly always within range of several WiFi access points that could theoretically be used to track us. Any agency with access to data from these thousands of WiFi networks could conceivably track our movements. I doubt SPD could do such a thing, but would anyone be surprised if the NSA could do it?

2) We'd all love free citywide WiFi, right? If we got it, that network would have all the same potential tracking abilities as SPD's mesh network.

3) If you want the Internet in your pocket, somebody is always going to know where you are. There is no way around it. The public definitely deserves more information about these networks, but the threat of someone tracking your smartphone should not be new or shocking to anyone.
104
I cannot believe you all are griping about proofreading as we keep losing more and more freedoms. Get a grip, people!
105
These boxes are in my little town of Port Angeles. I plan on talking to police chief and mayor to let them know this is not acceptable. I will also inform everyone I can about these spy boxes as well as all the other corrupt activity that seems to be so previlent in these troubling times we find ourselves in today. It is time for clear minded folk to take up the cause and reveal the truths that will set us free. Are you ready to die for freedom or will you roll over and play dead as the wolf tears out and eats your inards. As for me I will defend my right to life, liberty and happiness to the death.

    Please wait...

    and remember to be decent to everyone
    all of the time.

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