Archive for the 'Police State' Category
Court Overturns California Law Restricting Concealed Weapons; Appeals Ahead
February 14th, 2014Via: Los Angeles Times: In a significant victory for gun owners, a divided federal appeals court Thursday struck down California rules that permit counties to restrict as they see fit the right to carry a concealed weapon in public. The 2-1 ruling by a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel would overturn restrictions on […]
Black Man in Jasper, Texas Found With Cut Throat And Missing Ear—Ruled ‘Accidental Overdose’
February 12th, 2014Via: DailyKos: Alfred Wright was a 28-year-old physical therapist, a “man of great faith,” and father of three sons. He grew up in Jasper, Texas along with four siblings, and a father who was both the town’s pastor and gym teacher. Friends described him as ambitious, clean-living, hard-working, fun-loving, brilliant and a wonderful father. He […]
The Terrifying Surveillance Case of Brandon Mayfield
February 9th, 2014Via: Al Jazeera: During a live Web chat in late January, National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden explained one of the least discussed dangers of bulk collection. By indiscriminately sweeping up the call records and the international communications of Americans, the government has the ability to engage in retroactive investigation, or mining the historical data […]
DEA Tactic More Secret Than “Parallel Construction”
February 5th, 2014Via: MuckRock: To reiterate, the DEA redacted the name of a method its trainers and legal auditors deemed not only constitutional but also palatable to the public. As its position on the list suggests, this shielded tactic is “tips and leads paradigm” that is the “primary methodology for protecting [intelligence community] information that is shared […]
Scenes from a Militarized America
February 4th, 2014Via: Washington Post: Watch this video, taken from a police raid in Des Moines, Iowa. Send it to some people. When critics (like me) warn about the dangers of police militarization, this is what we’re talking about. You’ll see the raid team, dressed in battle-dress uniforms, helmets and face-covering balaclava hoods take down the family’s […]
Google: Lots of Android Phones Taking Video in the Same Area—Alert the Cops?
January 30th, 2014Via: Phandroid: Excerpt from US Patent #20140025755 “When there are at least a given number of video clips with similar time stamps and geolocation stamps uploaded to a repository, it is inferred that an event of interest has likely occurred, and a notification signal is transmitted (e.g., to a law enforcement agency, to a news […]
Baltimore: Speed Cameras Issue Hundreds of Thousands of “Erroneous” Tickets
January 28th, 2014Via: Baltimore Sun: Baltimore’s speed cameras likely charged motorists for thousands more erroneous tickets than previously disclosed, according to data from a secret audit conducted for the city last year and obtained by The Baltimore Sun. Consultant URS Corp. evaluated the camera system as run by Xerox State and Local Solutions in 2012 and found […]
Ukraine Tracks Protesters Through Cellphones
January 21st, 2014Via: New York Times: The Ukrainian government used telephone technology to pinpoint the locations of cellphones in use near clashes between riot police officers and protesters early on Tuesday, illustrating that techniques that can be used to target commercial information can serve law enforcement as well. People near the fighting between riot police and protesters […]
Law Enforcement Agencies Use of Drones Increasing
January 14th, 2014Via: Washington Post: Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are increasingly borrowing border-patrol drones for domestic surveillance operations, newly released records show, a harbinger of what is expected to become the commonplace use of unmanned aircraft by police. Customs and Border Protection, which has the largest U.S. drone fleet of its kind outside the […]
Ex-Cops Acquitted in Beating Death of Homeless Man in California
January 13th, 2014Via: CNN: A jury has acquitted two former Fullerton, California, police officers on trial in the beating death of Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill and homeless man. The verdict was read in a Santa Ana courtroom Monday afternoon. Eight women and four men began deliberating the case on Thursday. The beating of Thomas in a […]
