Monthly Archives: March 2013

Children ‘Traumatized and Re-Traumatized by Drones’ in Yemen

"A report from a clinical and forensic psychologist just back from Yemen offers a disturbing picture of the horror drones have inflicted on children, who are 'traumatized and re-traumatized' by the strikes whose use 'amounts to a form of psychological torture and collective punishment.' The findings come from clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Peter Schaapveld, who presented his evidence of a 'psychological emergency' in the country as a result of drone strikes, and of the particularly heavy toll they have on the mental health of children, plagued with PTSD as the mental anguish from the deadly strikes last long after the sound of the unmanned aircraft above." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChildren ‘Traumatized and Re-Traumatized by Drones’ in Yemen

Sen. Rand Paul Filibustering John Brennan CIA Nomination Over Domestic Drones

"Attorney General Holder stated in a letter to Sen. Paul dated March 4, 2013: 'It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States.' 'The U.S. Attorney General's refusal to rule out the possibility of drone strikes on American citizens and on American soil is more than frightening - it is an affront the Constitutional due process rights of all Americans,' Sen. Paul said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSen. Rand Paul Filibustering John Brennan CIA Nomination Over Domestic Drones

Massive ACLU initiative aims to measure police state’s growth

"The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said Wednesday that chapters in 23 states have filed over 255 open records requests pertaining to the militarization of local police departments around the country since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in what the group is calling its most concentrated effort yet to assess the growth of America’s police state. The ACLU is also seeking information on the use of drone aircraft by local law enforcement, along with GPS tracking systems, any military weapons obtained from the federal government and so-called 'shock cuffs' that can be programmed to deliver electric shocks or even sedative injections to restrained detainees." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMassive ACLU initiative aims to measure police state’s growth

We Have Come Not To Bury the Fourth Amendment But To Praise It

"The folks at 'Freedom to Travel USA' have filed an amicus brief in the case Refern, et al. v. Napolitano. This lawsuit challenges the TSA’s groping and carcinogenic porno-scanners on the grounds that the Fourth Amendment prohibits such unreasonable searches. This cause was not only lost but buried under a Progressive avalanche about a century ago. Here’s why: 'the TSA claims ‘administrative search authority ... the administrative search does not require probable cause, but must further an important government need, such as preventing would-be terrorists from bringing an explosive device onto a crowded commuter train.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWe Have Come Not To Bury the Fourth Amendment But To Praise It

8-year-old girl handcuffed, jailed for two hours

"An 8-year-old girl was handcuffed and held by Alton Police for two hours after throwing a tantrum at school. Jmyha Rickman was hauled in the back of a police squad car. Her guardian said she was treated like a criminal, all 70 lbs. of the young girl. Rickman’s ordeal began at Love Joy Elementary School late Tuesday morning when she apparently had a bad tantrum. At some point, school officials called the Alton Police to handle the situation." Continue reading →

Continue Reading8-year-old girl handcuffed, jailed for two hours

Janet Napolitano Asked About DHS’s 2,700 Armored Trucks

"At an airline security conference, Luke Rudkowski asked Janet Napolitano about the Department of Homeland Security's purchase of 2,700 armored trucks that will be deployed to local law enforcement agencies around the country. It is extremely difficult for anyone to have the opportunity to talk to Napolitano as she has a large number of Secret Service around her at all times that does not allow media anywhere near her." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJanet Napolitano Asked About DHS’s 2,700 Armored Trucks

Can police collect DNA when someone is arrested? Supreme Court to decide.

"The US Supreme Court heard argument Tuesday in a case testing whether government officials can routinely collect a person’s DNA at the time he or she is arrested and then use that DNA sample to try to link the individual to unsolved crimes. At issue in the case is whether taking a DNA sample from an arrestee without first obtaining a court-authorized warrant is an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment. DNA material contains a plethora of highly personal information bound within a person’s genetic code. DNA might someday reveal information about an individual’s susceptibility to future diseases and perhaps even personality traits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCan police collect DNA when someone is arrested? Supreme Court to decide.

Supreme Court: Rights groups cannot prove harm from warrantless wiretapping

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that human rights groups do not have standing to sue the government over its warrantless wiretapping program because they have no proof that the wiretapping has harmed them. The vote was split 5-4 along partisan lines, with the conservative majority supporting the Obama administration’s argument that the FISA Amendments Act was above reproach in this case because the harms were 'speculative,' and not 'actual.' Roving, warrantless wiretaps were authorized by President George W. Bush after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, turning the National Security Agency into the nation’s spy machine." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupreme Court: Rights groups cannot prove harm from warrantless wiretapping

Supreme Court: Rights groups cannot prove harm from warrantless wiretapping

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that human rights groups do not have standing to sue the government over its warrantless wiretapping program because they have no proof that the wiretapping has harmed them. The vote was split 5-4 along partisan lines, with the conservative majority supporting the Obama administration’s argument that the FISA Amendments Act was above reproach in this case because the harms were 'speculative,' and not 'actual.' Roving, warrantless wiretaps were authorized by President George W. Bush after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, turning the National Security Agency into the nation’s spy machine." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupreme Court: Rights groups cannot prove harm from warrantless wiretapping

Bills to Require the Registration of the Buyers and Sellers of Gold and Silver Coins

"First they came to register your guns, and now they want to register when you sell (and sometimes when you buy gold) gold. A bill has been introduced in Illinois, the most anti-gun state in the US, that will require the registration of the buyers and sellers of gold. In Houston, a law has been passed in the city that requires any consumer selling gold to submit to fingerprints and mugshots." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBills to Require the Registration of the Buyers and Sellers of Gold and Silver Coins