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On Monday, the US government appealed a ruling which struck down a controversial section of The Patriot Act as unconstitutional. The section permitted the FBI to send secret demands to ISPs (called "National Security Letters") for logs and email without first obtaining a judge's approval. The president of the small Plaintiff ISP, identified only as John Doe because of a gag order under the law, said the gag provisions make it "impossible for people ... to discuss their specific concerns with the public, the press and Congress". Given that cases of abuse of Department of Homeland Security data have already surfaced, can anyone give a good reason why these letters should be allowed?
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--patriotactlawsuit1105nov05,0,1396048.story

Frosty Piss writes "According to the Bloomberg News, Diebold Inc. is insisting that HBO cancel a documentary that questions the integrity of its voting machines, calling the program inaccurate and unfair. The program, 'Hacking Democracy,' is scheduled to debut Thursday, five days before the 2006 U.S. midterm elections. The film claims that Diebold voting machines aren't tamper-proof and can be manipulated to change voting results. 'Hacking Democracy' is 'replete with material examples of inaccurate reporting,' says Diebold. 'We stand by the film," said a spokesman for HBO. 'We have no intention of withdrawing it from our schedule. It appears that the film Diebold is responding to is not the film HBO is airing.'"