The Secret Behind a Mysterious Traffic Code? It’s Made Up

Jessica Sierra It’s a head-scratcher all right. The signs say “No Standing,” but search the official city directory and its state and federal counterparts and try to find what AWM stands for.

No Standing signs, mostly in Lower Manhattan, prohibit standing at a few locations on weekdays except for authorized vehicles. The only clue to exactly who is authorized are the letters AWM.

Turns out, AWM doesn’t stand for anything at all. The letters were a figment of the imagination of Samuel I. Schwartz, a former traffic commissioner, now a private traffic engineer known as Gridlock Sam.

In the 1980s, he was asked to reserve spaces for certain secretive federal agencies, which did not want to advertise their presence or have their unmarked vehicles identified.

The request was forwarded to the city after a particularly embarrassing intergovernmental episode: F.B.I. agents went inside a building to arrest someone. When they came out with the suspect, their car had been towed.

So the city installed dozens of signs, mostly downtown near the offices of the F.B.I. and the Secret Service, but also in Midtown for agents of the Postal Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“The people who you shouldn’t know who they are,” Mr. Schwartz said.

“I came up with those letters because I thought it meant nothing and nobody would figure it out and it was in the days before you could Google anything,” he said. (Doing an Internet search for the letters today doesn’t help much. The first result in a Google search is for the Association for Women in Mathematics.)

So out of thin air, Mr. Schwartz made up the AWM designation, which the agencies and, presumably, traffic enforcement agents, all wink at. Robert Cassar, the president of Local 1182 of the Communications Workers of America, which represents traffic enforcement agents, said he doubted most people would park in those spots simply because they are mostly adjacent to government buildings.

“I would bet if you look at the summonses we issue you would find very few for people parking in those spots,” Mr. Cassar said.

Mr. Schwartz said he was unaware of any other fictional agency initials. A number of people have tried to figure out what the letters stand for, he said, but nobody has come even close.
“I just randomly picked the letters and issued AWM permits,” he recalled.

Motorola’s Not-So-Secret Secret Smartphone

Andrew Gombert/European Pressphoto Agency Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman, with what appeared to be Motorola Mobility’s next flagship smartphone on July 11.

  4:42 p.m. | Updated to add information about Motorola event on Aug. 1.
Motorola Mobility’s efforts to keep secret the details of its first flagship smartphone since the company was bought by Google have run up against reality.

Rumors about Motorola’s smartphone, usually called Moto X, have leaked all over the Web, from small tech blogs to mainstream news outlets. And Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google, has even been out in public using what appeared to be the new device.

Motorola won’t confirm details about the new device. But all the early exposure, some of it the company’s own doing, makes it seem like this pseudo-secrecy could just be a way to prime the hype pump.

Last month, Motorola’s chief executive, Dennis Woodside, made it known during an onstage interview that Moto X devices would be made in the United States. He coyly admitted that the phone was in his pocket, but shook his head when asked to show it off.

No matter: Mr. Schmidt apparently took care of the visual while at a business conference packed with reporters, holding a new Motorola phone to his ear. “I’m not allowed to comment on the nature of this phone,” Mr. Schmidt said, according to Rachel C. Abrams of Variety.

Mr. Schmidt didn’t need to say much. A day before Independence Day, Motorola advertised the phone in newspapers. The ad hinted that the device would be customizable — “The first smartphone that you can design yourself.” Joanna Stern of ABCNews was quick to clarify that customers would be able to choose the colors of the phone case and add an engraving.

But what can the phone do exactly? Google executives have offered some clues that future Motorola phones would include artificial intelligence and sensors that recognize people’s voices in a room. Spoiling the surprise, the tech blog Ausdroid spotted a video on the Web from Rogers Wireless, a Canadian carrier, showing the Moto X.

The video, which Rogers asked Ausdroid to take down because of copyright infringement, suggested several details, like that the phone constantly listens for a user’s commands and reacts to them. The initiating command is “O.K., Google Now,” similar to the “O.K., Glass” command to control Google Glass. The video also said that the phone would be released in August.

On Friday afternoon, Motorola sent invitations to the press for an event to be held Aug. 1 in New York, where Moto X will most likely get its official introduction.

Tech groups ask US for transparency in secret data requests

Influential technology companies and groups want the U.S. government to lift restrictions on publicizing secret requests for user data as the fallout continues over the scale of government surveillance.

Google, Facebook and Reddit are among the many signatories to a letter dated Thursday asking for more transparency in national-security related investigations. The letter's addressees include President Barack Obama, the National Security Agency and many House and Senate members.

"Basic information about how the government uses its various law enforcement--related investigative authorities has been published for years without any apparent disruption to criminal investigations," according to the letter, a copy of which was provided to IDG News Service.

"We seek permission for the same information to be made available regarding the government's national security--related authorities," it said.

Several data collection projects were revealed in late May by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who remains in a Moscow airport while seeking asylum arrangements. Documents provided to The Guardian and other media outlets described sweeping surveillance projects that collect email metadata, instant messaging traffic and file transfers.

Technology companies are legally compelled to comply with government requests for data. But the requests, some of which fall under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), cannot be publicized under orders from the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

The letter asks the U.S. Department of Justice to let companies publish statistics on government requests "under specific national security authorities." It also calls on Congress to pass legislation requiring the same kind of reporting from the government.

"This information about how and how often the government is using these legal authorities is important to the American people, who are entitled to have informed public debate about the appropriateness of those authorities and their use," the letter said.

The U.S. intelligence community's efforts had been described before by previous NSA whistle blowers. But the slides and information supplied by Snowden added a fresh new level of detail to recent spying efforts and the government's enlistment of some of the largest Internet players.

Yahoo has asked the intelligence court to release information dating from 2008 that shows it resisted government orders to turn over data. The FISC ordered on Monday that the government redact classified information in order to facilitate its public release.

Microsoft and Google have also recently filed motions with the court asking for permission to release information on national security orders and directives.

The letter will be made public Thursday morning U.S. time.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo: Alana's Secret Wrestling Move Is "Cup-a-Fart"

Here Comes Honey Boo returns for a second season on Wednesday, June 17 -- and by the looks of it, the Georgia-based family is still crazy as ever! In the premiere episode, matriarch June "Mama" Shannon decides to take her four daughters -- Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon, Anna "Chickadee" Shannon, Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon and Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson -- to meet some of their favorite professional wrestlers.

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June explains that her husband, Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson, has been working security for the local wrestling events "for many years."

"Being backstage is awesome 'cause I can show off all my butt-kicking moves," says 7-year-old pageant queen Alana. She then demonstrates her skills for the professional wrestlers. "Y'all can use it in the match to knock out people," she tells them.

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"My secret wrestling move would be the Cup-a-Fart," Alana reveals. "You fart in your hand and throw it at your enemy's face."

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To see which family members clears the room with his or her "Monster Cup-a-Fart," watch the clip now. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo airs Wednesday, June 17, at 9 p.m. EST on TLC.

New Line Picks Up Secret Horror Pitch from 'Friday the 13th' Writers (Exclusive)

Mark Swift, left, and Damian Shannon
New Line has picked up an untitled and top-secret horror pitch from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the writers behind the company’s 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th and 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason.

Chris Bender, J.C. Spink and Jake Weiner of New Line-based BenderSpink are producing.

No details of the pitch are being revealed, but it is described as a potential franchise starter. It is not part of the microbudget and found-footage trend.

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Dave Neustadter and Walter Hamada are overseeing for New Line.

BenderSpink is gearing up for the Aug. 7 release of We’re the Millers, the comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis.

Shannon and Swift are New Line favorites, having worked on adaptations of comic books Hawaiian Dick and Power and Glory, both set up at the company. The duo is repped by UTA, Magnet Management and McKuin Frankel.

Comic-Con: Metallica to Play Secret San Diego Show

Among the zealous cosplayers and Joss Whedon fans, rock legends will be found walking the grounds of the San Diego Convention Center at this year's Comic-Con.

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Metallica will attend Comic-Con to promote its new feature film, Metallica Through the Never, which combines 3D footage of live performances with a narrative story featuring Dane DeHaan as a young roadie sent on an urgent mission during Metallica’s roaring live set in front of a sold-out arena.

On Friday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m., all four members of Metallica -- James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo -- will be present at a Hall H panel to discuss the upcoming film alongside DeHaan and writer-director Nimrod Antal.

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Panel attendees will have the chance to win tickets and learn the location of an intimate live Metallica performance that will take place at a secret location somewhere in San Diego. The performance will take place later on that evening.

Metallica Through the Never has a North America Imax 3D release date of Sept. 27 and will expand into additional theaters Oct. 4.

Comic-Con runs July 17-21 in San Diego.

Murdoch Tape: Scotland Yard Seeks Secret Recording

Scotland Yard detectives are reportedly trying to track down a secret recording of News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch in which he seems to admit to The Sun journalists that he was aware of the practice of making payments to public officials. A transcript of the recording was published Wednesday by British investigative website ExaroNews.

A police officer has made a formal request to ExaroNews for the tape, saying the police would seek a production order compelling the website to disclose the recording if it failed to do so voluntarily, The Guardian reported. It's also understood that the police have approached the U.K.'s Channel 4, which broadcast a small part of the recordings.

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On the tape, recorded during a meeting with roughly 25 Sun executives and journalists who had been arrested over allegations of illegal news-gathering practices including paying officials for information, Murdoch indicates that the bribing of public officials was widespread across national newspapers in the U.K.

At one point, according to the transcript published by ExaroNews, Murdoch says, "We're talking about payments for news tips from cops: That's been going on a hundred years, absolutely. You didn't instigate it."

Later, Murdoch hints that he was aware of bribery at the now-shuttered tabloid News of the World, which closed two years ago in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal, adding that it was the culture of Fleet Street.

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In a statement Wednesday, News Corp denied that Murdoch was aware of any bribery. "Mr. Murdoch never knew of payments made by Sun staff to police before News Corporation disclosed that to U.K. authorities. Furthermore, he never said he knew of payments. It’s absolutely false to suggest otherwise," the statement reads.

ExaroNews ' editor-in-chief told The Guardian that he had not given any material to Scotland Yard and the force had not made clear what they want or why they want it.

This development is the strongest indication yet that police in London are ready to examine Murdoch's comments in the recording. On Thursday, British politician Tom Watson urged U.S. and U.K. authorities to question the media mogul.

In WikiLeaks Probe, Feds Used a Secret Search Warrant to Get Volunteer's Gmail

The Justice Department used a secret search warrant to obtain the entire contents of a Gmail account used by a former WikiLeaks volunteer in Iceland, according to court records released to the volunteer this week.

The search warrant was issued under seal on October 14, 2011 by the Alexandria, Virginia federal judge overseeing the WikiLeaks grand jury investigation there. The warrant ordered Google to turn over “the contents of all e-mails associated with the account, including stored or preserved copies of e-mails sent to and from the account, draft e-mails, deleted e-mails [...] the source and destination addresses associated with each e-mail, the date and time at which each e-mail was sent, and the size and length of each e-mail.” The warrant also ordered Google not to disclose the search to anyone.

 

The target of the search was Herbert Snorrason, an Icelandic activist who helped manage WikiLeaks’ secure chat room in 2010. Snorrason was one of the WikiLeaks volunteers who resigned from the organization en masse in September 2010. But that evidently didn’t stop the government from grabbing Snorrason’s email a full year later.

 

The search is the first confirmed case of the government obtaining the contents of a WikiLeaks-connected e-mail account. The government won a public court battle in January 2012 to obtain non-content metadata from the Twitter accounts of three WikiLeaks associates: Seattle coder and activist Jacob Appelbaum; Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of Iceland’s parliament; and Dutch businessman Rop Gonggrijp. The feds also got metadata on Appelbaum from Google and the ISP Sonic.net.

 

In those cases, the government got the records under 18 USC 2703(d), a 1994 amendment to the Stored Communications Act that allows law enforcement access to non-content internet records, such as transaction information, without demonstrating the “probable cause” needed for a search warrant.

 

The documents show that the government also got a 2703(d) order for Snorrason’s Gmail metadata on August 12, 2011, and then followed that up with the full-blown search warrant two months later.

 

The search warrant (.pdf) remains sealed, as does the affidavit — presumably by the FBI — establishing probable cause. But in May, US. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady issued an order allowing Google to notify Snorrason of the search and to provided a redacted copy of the warrant. Snorrason says he received notification from Google via email on Tuesday.

 

“Because I talked to Julian Assange, all information held by Google relating to my user account with them can be handed over to U.S. prosecutors,” Snorrason wrote today. “How is this reasonable? How is this a particular description? How, in short, is this shit valid under the U.S. Bill of Rights? I’d really like someone to explain that to me. With a straight face. Preferably without making me want to punch them in the process.

 

“And this is just my Google account,” he adds. “What else did they take — and whose?”