CIA feared a widening “psychic gap” with the Soviets

Documents released through the CIA’s CREST archive offer new insights into American psychic spy programs. These documents claim specific successes by both the American and Russian/Soviet programs, as well as outline fears of a widening “psychic gap.”

A report produced by the 902nd Military Intelligence group outlines the history of the American and Russian/Soviet psychic programs. According to the document, the Soviet programs had been active since at least the 1960s.

As a result of their programs, the the Soviets had “experience with a greater variety of research methods than have their US counterparts and have completed more of the critical experiments.” This led the report’s writer to conclude that, since the United States had successfully used these techniques for offensive intelligence collection, then the Soviet’s likely had as well...

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/jan/25/cia-feared-widening-psychic-gap-soviets/

New police radars can 'see' inside homes

WASHINGTON — At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of houses to see whether anyone is inside, a practice raising new concerns about the extent of government surveillance.

Those agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, began deploying the radar systems more than two years ago with little notice to the courts and no public disclosure of when or how they would be used. The technology raises legal and privacy issues because the U.S. Supreme Court has said officers generally cannot use high-tech sensors to tell them about the inside of a person's house without first obtaining a search warrant.

The radars work like finely tuned motion detectors, using radio waves to zero in on movements as slight as human breathing from a distance of more than 50 feet. They can detect whether anyone is inside of a house, where they are and whether they are moving.

Current and former federal officials say the information is critical for keeping officers safe if they need to storm buildings or rescue hostages. But privacy advocates and judges have nonetheless expressed concern about the circumstances in which law enforcement agencies may be using the radars — and the fact that they have so far done so without public scrutiny...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/01/19/police-radar-see-through-walls/22007615/