The DHS's newly released policy statement on the use of Stingrays (stationary fake cellphone towers used to track people in a specific location) and Dirt Boxes (airplane-mounted surveillance that tracks whole populations) represents a welcome, if overdue, transparency in the use of cellphone surveillance by federal agencies.

The military surveillance devices known as "Dirtboxes" have been in secret operation for more than a decade, tracking citizens' locations and intercepting their calls, breaking the encryption on hundreds of calls at once.

If you've been struggling to make sense of the stories about Stingrays (super-secretive cellular surveillance tech used by cops and governments) (previously) this week's Note to Self podcast does the best job I've yet seen (heard) of explaining them.

The UK has at least 20 operating Stingrays — fake mobile phone towers that record the movements of whole populations — used without any paper-trail, and
configured to listen in on conversations.

The Stingray — a fake cellphone tower that gathers identity/location information on everyone who passes it — is the worst-kept secret in law enforcement, but that doesn't stop feds from going to absurd lengths to pretend they don't use them.

Michael from Muckrock sez, "Advanced cell phone tracking devices known as Stingrays allow police nationwide to home in on suspects and to log individuals present at a given location."

Michael says, "New documents released on MuckRock show the Illinois State Police crying "Terrorist" in order to get funding and approval for a $250,000 Stingray cell snooping system, even though, as Mike Masnick at Techdirt notes, the technology is being used to fight regular crime. — Read the rest

Michael from Muckrock sez, "After scouring American police departments (via public records requests) for drone usage, MuckRock is setting its sights a little lower with a crowdfunding campaign hoping to fund thousands of public records request on how local agencies are using fake cell phone towers, warrantless wiretaps, and other techniques to get your cell phone to phone home."

US Marshals swept into the offices of police in Sarasota, Florida to whisk away records related to operation of "stingray" surveillance tools that the ACLU had requested. The records detailed the farcically low standard for judicial permission to use a stingray (which captures information about the movements, communications and identities of all the people using mobile phones in range of them), and is part of a wider inquiry to their use without a warrant at all — at least 200 Florida stingray deployments were undertaken without judicial oversight because the police had signed a nondisclosure agreement with the device's manufacturer and they decided that this meant they didn't have to get warrants anymore. — Read the rest

On Friday, Erica Scheldt, 24, noticed Jesus in a dead stingray on the beach of Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. From the Charleston Post And Courier:

"I just kind of thought it looked like a bearded homeless man," said Erica Scheldt, 24.

This is an x-ray of a newly discovered species of stingray, native to the Amazon. You can't tell from this shot of its innards, but the Heliotrygon gomesi actually resembles a "pancake with a nose"—big, round, flat, and beige. Read more about this creature at Our Amazing Planet. — Read the rest

What Mister Jalopy learned when he found a Stingray bike at a garage sale after looking for one for 20 years:

For all the years of garage saling, I have always wanted, but never found, a Schwinn Stingray. Previously, I have encountered only three.

A woman in the Florida Keys died today when a stingray jumped from the water and stung knocked her down as she was sunbathing on a boat. Judy Kay Zagorski, 57, reportedly fell backward and died of head trauma. From CBS4.com: — Read the rest

Lovely snapshot of a serene stingray from the Coney Island Aquarium [via flickr]. Link to larger, uncropped image. (Thanks, Ivy )

Schwinn has re-issued its original Sting-Ray street bike. The 2004 models are available with the classic banana seat frame or in a new chopped Harley-esque low-rider design. Too bad they don't offer a sissy bar option, probably a safety decision to avoid encouraging Evil Knievel-style wheelies. — Read the rest

Space expert Marjorie Taylor Greene says its impossible for her to be antisemitic, because, as she puts it in her new memoir via the Daily Beast, "My Savior is a Jewish carpenter who died on the cross for my sins." — Read the rest

Take a creepy crawly trip to Chicago's wondrous Insect Asylum. In this interview with Nina Salem, the owner and founder of the Insect Asylum, we get to see and hear about her gigantic collection of taxidermy animals, pinned insects, and even one of the world's largest cockroach collections. — Read the rest

This funny stingray put on quite the performance for the unsuspecting visitors at this aquarium.  I'm alway surprised at how cute and cartoonish these creatures' faces look. I love how it eats the fish right as it faces the glass wall, as if it wanted to intentionally show off in front of the crowd. — Read the rest

We fans of Gerry Anderson can't get enough of his Brit puppet shows. Even in a time of AI art, deep fake videos, and CGI technology breakthroughs, we still love his "Supermarination" (super + marionette + animation): old school puppets on strings combined with wacky practical effects. — Read the rest

In Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies & The Internet, Brian Knappenberger (director of The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz) looks at how terrible people use the Internet to do terrible things behind the anonymity of their computer screens. — Read the rest