The Sleuth

IDAHO?
The men of Idaho politics are a colorful lot.
(WASHINGTON POST)

Inside DCSNet, the FBI's Nationwide Eavesdropping Network

FBI POINT-AND-CLICK
The FBI has quietly built a sophisticated, point-and-click surveillance system that performs instant wiretaps on almost any communications device, according to nearly a thousand pages of restricted documents newly released under the Freedom of Information Act. DCSNet is a suite of software that collects, sifts and stores phone numbers, phone calls and text messages. The system directly connects FBI wiretapping outposts around the country to a far-reaching private communications network. The surveillance system, called DCSNet, for Digital Collection System Network, connects FBI wiretapping rooms to switches controlled by traditional land-line operators, internet-telephony providers and cellular companies. It is far more intricately woven into the nation's telecom infrastructure than observers suspected.
(WIRED)

"TREASON LABEL" BIG SELLER IN FRANCE
A washing instruction label on a US product that says "...our President is an idiot...." is getting rave reviews in Europe. More cynical observers believe that the message was planted by the company's owner as a means of garnering publicity for his company, with just enough ambiguity built in to get his point across while maintaining a modicum of deniability. (The idea doesn't even appear to be original to that company, as Joel Aufrecht was selling "American Traveler International Apology Shirts" with the very same message printed on them in six different languages back in 2003.)
Whatever the intent behind it, the controversial message has reportedly caused a surge in sales of Tom Bihn products, and the company now publicizes which of its bags carry the infamous "Treason Tags" and also markets a T-shirt with the washing instructions printed on the front. (Profits from the sales of the T-shirts go to the Seattle Vet Center, a program to assist homeless war veterans.
(Suggested by Drew Walch)