Monthly Archives: July 2013

Congressional Picks for DHS Head Include Backers of Mass Surveillance

"Lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee are suggesting individuals who have supported programs similar to National Security Agency digital surveillance initiatives. Among the people ranking Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Tenn., would prefer, according to minority committee aides, is Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., a committee member who supported the divisive Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, known as CISPA. The measure, which the House approved by a 288-127 vote in April, would allow the intelligence community to monitor the metadata of private emails for threat signatures or indicators of malicious software." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongressional Picks for DHS Head Include Backers of Mass Surveillance

Millions of U.S. license plates tracked and stored – and it’s not just government agencies

"'License plate readers are the most pervasive method of location tracking that nobody has heard of,' said Catherine Crump, ACLU lawyer and lead author of the report. 'They collect data on millions of Americans, the overwhelming number of whom are entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.' Crump said that the creeping growth of licence plate scanners echoed the debate over the National Security Agency. 'It raises the same question as the NSA controversy: do we want to live in a world where the government makes a record of everything we do – because that’s what’s being created by the growth of databases linked to license plate readers.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMillions of U.S. license plates tracked and stored – and it’s not just government agencies

Unitarian Church, Gun Groups Join EFF to Sue NSA Over Illegal Surveillance

"'People who hold controversial views – whether it's about gun ownership policies, drug legalization, or immigration – often must express views as a group in order to act and advocate effectively,' said Cohn. 'But fear of individual exposure when participating in political debates over high-stakes issues can dissuade people from taking part. That's why the Supreme Court ruled in 1958 that membership lists of groups have strong First Amendment protection. Telephone records, especially complete records collected over many years, are even more invasive than membership lists, since they show casual or repeated inquiries as well as full membership.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnitarian Church, Gun Groups Join EFF to Sue NSA Over Illegal Surveillance

Colorado town considers licensing bounty hunters to shoot down drones

"A six-page petition circulated by a resident says that the threat of surveillance from drones — regardless of who is piloting them — is a threat to 'traditional American ideas of Liberty and Freedom'. According to the proposed ordinance, which will be considered by the town council at its next meeting on Aug. 6, prospective bounty hunters can get a one-year drone-hunting license for $25. Proposed bounties will be $25 for those turning in the wings or fuselage of downed aircraft and $100 for mostly intact vehicles. To collect the bounty, the wreckage must have 'markings, and configuration … consistent with those used by the United States federal government.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado town considers licensing bounty hunters to shoot down drones

Second Drone Crash In One Week On Highway In Florida, Carrying Self-Destruct Charge

"The latest crash came Wednesday morning around 8:25 when the drone crashed alongside US 98 in the Silver Flag area on the east side of the base. Eye witnesses say the QF 4 drone crashed while taking off, exploded and sent up a large black cloud. Base and local police and safety officials have closed Highway 98 and are anticipating that it will remain closed for up to 24 hours. According to WJHG, the closure is being done because of a small self-destruct charge carried on board the drone. The status of this device is unknown. It is powered by a short-life battery which will be fully depleted in 24 hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecond Drone Crash In One Week On Highway In Florida, Carrying Self-Destruct Charge

Aide to man with Down syndrome killed by police in theater had warned police, report says

"Moments before off-duty Frederick County sheriff’s deputies tried to force a young man with Down syndrome out of a movie theater — a move that eventually led to his death —Robert Ethan Saylor’s 18-year-old aide warned them that he would 'freak out' if they touched him. 'Next thing I know, there are I think three or four cops holding Ethan, trying to put him in handcuffs,' the aide told authorities, according to documents from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department obtained Monday by the Associated Press. 'I heard Ethan screaming, saying ‘ouch,’ ‘don’t touch me,’ ‘get off’ and crying. Next thing I hear is nothing.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAide to man with Down syndrome killed by police in theater had warned police, report says

Arizona cop arrested for pointing gun at store clerk while drunk

"Pima County Sheriff’s deputies say a 23-year-old off-duty police officer was drunk when he pointed his gun at a convenience store clerk for no apparent reason on Tuesday. According to KVOA, surveillance video showed Kyle James McCartin and a companion entering Giant gas station in Tucson on Tuesday at around 3 a.m. Both men appeared to be wearing bullet-proof vests, but no other clothing on their upper bodies. In the video, McCartin was seen smiling and pointing his handgun at the clerk at least two times. Tucson Police said on Tuesday that McCartin had been fired after a brief investigation." Continue reading →

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Grasping for Dignity in the Era of the American Police State

"In a judicial and bureaucratic environment in which human dignity has been given short shrift and largely discounted, the courts have increasingly erred on the side of giving government officials vast discretion in carrying out strip searches for a broad range of violations, no matter how minor the offense and no matter how degrading, demeaning or offensive to one’s human dignity the search is. Making matters worse, government agencies are increasingly exploiting cutting-edge technologies that allow probing and examination of the intimate aspects of persons that is for all intents and purposes equivalent to the excessive intrusion inflicted by a strip search." Continue reading →

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The War on Terror Is a War on American Freedom

"Our Democratic law professor president, a self-described progressive, has created a perfect storm. Ten years ago, liberals screamed because the Republican administration took note of what patrons checked out at the library. Today, they seem much more complacent in the face of more intimate forms of mass surveillance. Democrats once talked about prosecuting executive officials for wrongdoing. Today they muse about whether the government should jail journalists like Glenn Greenwald, U.S. columnist for the British newspaper, the Guardian, merely for providing a soapbox for whistleblowers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe War on Terror Is a War on American Freedom

Stop Ray Kelly from leading Homeland Security Department

"If you thought Big Brother couldn’t possibly get bigger, and if you thought this Dr. Strangelove era couldn’t possibly get any Strangelovier, welcome to the debate over the next head of Homeland Security. Lost in the noise is the fact that in the midst of disclosures about the Obama administration’s sprawling — and potentially illegal — national security state, a Kelly nomination would put a national surveillance apparatus fit for a sci-fi satire in the hands of a comic-book-worthy thug. Five parts of the police commissioner’s record paint a picture of Kelly that seems almost too cartoonish to be accurate. But, alas, it is Kelly’s undisputed record." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStop Ray Kelly from leading Homeland Security Department