Steve Sexton
License-plate spray foils traffic cameras
Thu Jul 3 18:55:50 2003
208.152.73.123

THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/

License-plate spray foils traffic cameras
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030703-120901-3612r.htm

By Steve Sexton

Motorists have litigated against them, fired bullets at them and thrown garbage on them — all to get back at the traffic cameras that have caught them in the act of running a red light or speeding.

Now they have a new weapon in their arsenal, and it comes in a can for $29.99. A clear spray called Photoblocker can be applied to license plates to make them hyper-reflective and unreadable when the camera flashes.

The product, marketed by online merchant Phantom Plate (www.phantomplate.com), defies laws that preclude motorists from placing covers over their license plates but have no provisions for a clear spray.

Joe Scott, the marketing director for Photoblocker, said he knows of no jurisdictions that ban the spray. Most states have laws against obscuring or distorting license plates, but Photoblocker obscures the license plate only in a photo, Mr. Scott said, making it legal or at least difficult for police to detect with the naked eye.

Capt. John Lamb of the Denver Police Department said a test of the spray proved effective at producing a glare over the license plate.

The District, Maryland and Virginia all have laws permitting the use of red-light cameras, and the Federal Highway Administration says 21 states have red-light or speed-detection cameras in place or are considering installing the devices.

Lt. Patrick Burke of the Metropolitan Police Department said the spray isn't banned by any laws in the District, but he has yet to see a spray that is effective.

The spray might slip through a loophole in state law, said Steve Kholer, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, who said he had not heard of the product. Citations in California can cost up to $275.

If the spray becomes a problem, Mr. Kholer said, the law will catch up with it.

Critics of traffic cameras say the devices violate privacy and enforce unfairly.

Mr. Scott says use of the cameras constitutes entrapment.

"Decent folks — law-abiding citizens — are getting penalized left and right for clearing intersections a little too late, or entering and then backing up," he said, adding that one client reported being ticketed for a red-light violation when he was part of a police-escorted funeral procession.

He said thousands of cans of Photoblocker have been sold.

"The cameras were put in place just to raise revenue and not to make things safer," Mr. Scott said.

The District has collected $21.6 million in fines since August 1999 from its 39 red-light cameras. An additional $29 million has been collected from speed cameras since their installation in August 2001.

Roy Reyer, a former police officer, operates PhotoBuster.com, a Web site that distributes a product similar to Photoblocker called Photo Fog. He said anger with the "Big Brother attitude" of governments has fueled the innovation.

Clear license plate covers preceded the spray. They deflect light to make plates unreadable from the side and from above, but not from directly behind a car. Some jurisdictions that employ the camera-enforcement technology have banned these products.

That hasn't stopped Phantom Plate and other distributors from selling the covers. Clear Covers advertises them online as a "great way to protect your front license plate from dust, dirt and bugs."

In a game of innovation to stay ahead of traffic enforcement, the market has produced radar detectors and radar jammers — now banned in some states — as well as a license plate cover that deflects police radar.

Motorists aren't the only ones with clever tricks. Paradise Valley, Ariz., considered hiding its radar cameras in cactus plants along roadways, the Weekly Standard reported. Outrage from residents forced officials to reconsider.
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WashPost: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5774-2003Jul3.html


Bush Says 6 Terror Suspects May Be Tried- Officials
Reuters
Thursday, July 3, 2003; 5:10 PM

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush has designated six captives in what he has called the war on terrorism as eligible to be tried before U.S. military commissions, defense officials said on Thursday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to identify the six individuals, saying no charges have yet been brought against them. The next key step is for the Pentagon to decide whether the men will be brought to trial before commissions and on what charges, the officials said.

The officials said Bush made the determination because he had reason to believe that each of the so-called enemy combatants -- among the more than 600 being held at a U.S. military prison in Cuba -- was a member of the al Qaeda network or was otherwise involved in terrorism directed against the United States.

The Pentagon was set to hold a briefing to announce the step later on Thursday. But officials said there was evidence the six had attended "terrorist" training camps and may have been involved in financing Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, providing protection for bin Laden and recruiting future members.

Bin Laden's al Qaeda network is blamed by the United States for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

The Defense Department has been preparing to conduct military trials of non-U.S. citizens caught in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the war on terrorism, including those held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Any trials are set to be held at Guantanamo Bay.

The Pentagon in May issued detailed instructions for conducting the trials and named Col. Will Gunn as lead defense counsel and Army Col. Frederic Borch as head prosecutor.

Charges set out in the Pentagon's instructions for the trials could bring the death penalty.

Human rights groups said the rules are biased toward the prosecution, place unacceptable conditions on the defense, and allow for no independent judicial review by civilian courts. These critics argue that the commissions, as set by the Bush administration, are a discredit to U.S. traditions of justice and due process.

The Defense Department has said it is prepared to conduct full and fair trials.

Prisoners, hailing from Afghanistan and dozens of other countries, have been held at the Guantanamo prison, established in January 2002, without charges and without access to lawyers.

Once charges are brought, a defendant is due to be assigned a military defense lawyer. A defendant also has the right to hire a civilian lawyer approved by the Pentagon. This lawyer must be a U.S. citizen, be deemed eligible to hear classified information and agree to conditions set by the Pentagon, such as the monitoring of any communications with the defendant.

Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defense secretary, will lead the process of deciding who will be brought to trial and on what charges, officials said.

Officials said many considerations were used in selecting cases for possible trial, including the quality of evidence, the completeness of intelligence gathering and the desire to bring closure to individual cases.
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