Declan McCullagh on what surveillance technology will be like in a decade: “…(T)he biggest problem with the criticism of the Total Information Awareness system is that it’s too shortsighted. It’s focused on what the Poindexters of the world can do with current database and information-mining technology. That includes weaving together strands of data from various sources–such as travel, credit card, bank, electronic toll and driver’s license databases–with the stated purpose of identifying terrorists before they strike.

But what could Poindexter and the Bush administration devise in five or 10 years, if they had the money, the power and the will?” CNET