Archive for the 'Police State' Category
UK: Police Building Photo and Video Database of Protesters, Journalists
March 8th, 2009Via: Guardian: Police are targeting thousands of political campaigners in surveillance operations and storing their details on a database for at least seven years, an investigation by the Guardian can reveal. Photographs, names and video footage of people attending protests are routinely obtained by surveillance units and stored on an “intelligence system”. The Metropolitan police, […]
A Canadian Traveler Who Asked U.S. Border Officer to Say “Please” Gets Peppersprayed
March 4th, 2009Welcome to The Land of the Free. Via: National Post: A Canadian who demanded courtesy from a U.S. border security guard says he was pepper sprayed and held in custody for three hours for asking the disrespectful officer to “say please” when ordering him to turn his car off during a search. “I refused to […]
Man Charged with Sending Terrorist Material by Email
February 25th, 2009Terrorist documents. Via: Daily Mail: A man has been charged with sending terrorist material by email. Mohammed Gul, 20, is accused of two counts of transmitting a terrorist publication in January this year. He is also charged with owning a document containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act […]
Remote-Controlled Planes Could Spy on British Homes
February 24th, 2009Via: Telegraph: Police could soon use unmanned spyplanes like those used to track enemy troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for surveillance operations on British homes. The Home Office has suggested that the remote-controlled drones could be used to help police gather evidence and track criminals without putting officers at risk. The miniature aircraft could be […]
Take Your Pick at the Airport: Full Body Scan or Patdown
February 18th, 2009Via: USA Today: For the first time, some airline passengers will skip metal detectors and instead be screened by body scanning machines that look through clothing for hidden weapons, the Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday. An experimental program that begins today at Tulsa International Airport will test whether the $170,000 body scanners could replace $10,000 […]
California May Be Forced to Release Up to a Third of All Prisoners
February 10th, 2009How will the private prison companies manage? Via: Reuters: Federal judges on Monday tentatively ordered California to release tens of thousands of inmates, up to a third of all prisoners, in the next three years to stop dangerous overcrowding. As many as 57,000 could be let go if the current population were cut by the […]
Secret Police Unit to Spy on British ‘Domestic Extremists’
February 9th, 2009This is a British Stasi force. Via: Mail on Sunday: A secret police intelligence unit has been set up to spy on Left-wing and Right-wing political groups. The Confidential Intelligence Unit (CIU) has the power to operate across the UK and will mount surveillance and run informers on ‘domestic extremists’. Its job is to build […]
Police Agencies in Texas Stealing Property from People Who Haven’t Even Been Charged with Criminal Activity
February 9th, 2009Via: Express News: A two-decade-old state law that grants authorities the power to seize property used in crimes is wielded by some agencies against people who never are charged with — much less convicted of — criminal activity. Law enforcement authorities in this East Texas town of 1,000 people seized property from at least 140 […]
Best Reason Yet for Driving a Bulky SUV: You Might Stand a Better Chance of Surviving if the Cops Open Fire on You for No Reason
February 8th, 2009Via: Californian: Police opened fire on an unarmed couple during a routine traffic stop late Tuesday night because one officer “thought he was shot,” a high-ranking Salinas Police Department official said Thursday. “He saw what he perceived as a threat and thought he was shot, and based on that both officers discharged their firearms,” said […]
Ron Paul Introduces Bill to End Interstate Raw Milk Ban
February 7th, 2009Via: Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund: On January 28 Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced HR 778, a bill “to authorize the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products that are packaged for direct human consumption.” Under the bill, the federal government “may not take any action…that would prohibit, interfere with, regulate, or otherwise […]
