Archive for the 'Police State' Category
NYC Man Fined $2,000 For Taking Discarded Air Conditioner
July 16th, 2010Via: CBS New York: It’s something nearly everyone’s been tempted to do at least once. You see someone else’s throwaways on street and think — that would look nice in my place. But as CBS 2 HD found out taking it could end up costing you big-time. “As far as I knew it was a […]
U.S. Marines Train with Los Angeles Police Department
July 12th, 2010Via: NBC: A tough-talking, muscular Los Angeles police sergeant steadily rattled off tips to a young Marine riding shotgun as they raced in a patrol car to a drug bust: Be aware of your surroundings. Watch people’s body language. Build rapport. Marine Lt. Andrew Abbott, 23, took it all in as he peered out at […]
The New “Convenient” Way to Buy Wine in Pennsylvania: Swipe Driver’s License, Look Into Camera, Blow Into Breath Sensor
July 9th, 2010Via: AP: Swipe your driver’s license, look into the camera, blow into the breath sensor and — voila! — you have permission to buy a bottle of wine from a vending machine. Pennsylvania, which has some of the most Byzantine liquor laws in the nation, recently introduced the country’s first wine “kiosks.” If the machines […]
Oakland Police Search Without Warrants
July 8th, 2010Via: East Bay Express: In a little-known city program that critics say may be unconstitutional, cops join fire and building inspectors as they enter homes without a warrant and then arrest residents if they find anything illegal. On a gloomy recent morning in West Oakland, tenants at the David Gray Building — or, Off-Ramp Studios, […]
Canada: Show ID or Face Arrest Near G8 and G20 Summits
June 26th, 2010Via: Ottawa Citizen: The Ontario government secretly passed legislation giving police sweeping new powers for the duration of the G8 and G20 summits. Police are now able to jail anyone who refuses to furnish identification and submit to a search while within five metres of a designated security zone in downtown Toronto. Critics reacted furiously […]
Britain: Thousands of Anti-Terror Searches Were Illegal
June 10th, 2010Via: BBC: Thousands of people across the UK might have been stopped and searched illegally, figures released by the Home Office suggest. Powers under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act were used in “error” after the proper authorisations were not given. In one example, for April 2004, the Met Police wrongly stopped 840 people. Dozens […]
“Indefinite Incarceration” Over $300 Lumber Yard Debt?
June 10th, 2010Via: Star Tribune: You committed no crime, but an officer is knocking on your door. More Minnesotans are surprised to find themselves being locked up over debts. As a sheriff’s deputy dumped the contents of Joy Uhlmeyer’s purse into a sealed bag, she begged to know why she had just been arrested while driving home […]
Ohio: You’re Speeding if The Cop Thinks You Are
June 2nd, 2010Maybe I need a category called Maniac State Vampirism. Via: Dayton Daily News / AP: Ohio’s highest court has ruled that a person may be convicted of speeding purely if it looked to a police officer that the motorist was going too fast. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an officer’s visual estimation of […]
House Votes to Expand National DNA Arrest Database
May 23rd, 2010Via: CNet: Millions of Americans arrested for but not convicted of crimes will likely have their DNA forcibly extracted and added to a national database, according to a bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday. By a 357 to 32 vote, the House approved legislation that will pay state governments to require […]
Bloomberg Wants ‘Big Brother Britain’ For NYC
May 12th, 2010Via: CBS: Mayor Michael Bloomberg has his eye on more security against terror attacks. He went to London Tuesday to check out their surveillance camera system, one of the largest in the world. Ever since the Times Square car bomb scare on May 1, the mayor’s been looking to build up New York’s camera network. […]
