Yearly Archives: 2013

Google Bus Hate: Give It a Rest

"Some San Franciscans define themselves by what they oppose. This spring they found a new focus for their outrage: the Google (GOOG) bus. Since 2007 the company has been using big, Wi-Fi-equipped, white-and-black coaches to collect employees around the Bay Area and bring them to the Mountain View Googleplex, 45 minutes south of the city. In early May there was a public protest against them at a Mission District transit stop. More than 20 cops were on hand—roughly a 1:1 ratio with protesters. The high point? Two slackers smashing a Google bus piñata." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle Bus Hate: Give It a Rest

Judge blocks BART union’s proposed strike in San Francisco through October

"A judge on Sunday blocked a threatened San Francisco-area rail worker strike that could have disabled a critical part of the region’s transportation system serving 400,000 daily passengers. The BART rail system was shut down for 4-1/2 days in July when union workers walked off the job, creating severe roadway congestion and forcing commuters to miss work or crowd onto a limited number of other public transportation options. BART management says the average employee gets an annual salary of $79,500 plus $50,800 in benefits, and it is concerned the cost of benefits will continue to climb after increasing by nearly 200 percent in 10 years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge blocks BART union’s proposed strike in San Francisco through October

NYPD’s ‘Stop and frisk’ tactics ruled unconstitutional by federal judge

"A federal judge has ruled that the New York City Police Department’s heavily-criticized 'stop and frisk' approach to crimefighting is unconstitutional, the New York Times reported on Monday. The ruling by Judge Shira A. Scheindlin is the latest blow to the policy, which data suggests has not been effective in actually preventing shootings in the city while being decried for targeting Black and Latino men almost exclusively. Commissioner Ray Kelly had defended the policy, calling it 'a fact of urban life' in an August 2012 interview with a radio program geared toward teenagers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD’s ‘Stop and frisk’ tactics ruled unconstitutional by federal judge

LAPD Detains Photographer For ‘Interfering’ With Police From 90 Feet Away

"Words like 'interference' or 'obstruction' seem to be thrown around quite frequently when law enforcement officers decide they'd rather not be filmed while on duty. How the passive act of filming can interfere with investigations or obstruct officials is left to the imagination. Fortunately (I guess...), law enforcement officials have very vivid imaginations. This allows them to arrest, detain, hassle or confiscate devices as needed, in order preserve the peace by chilling speech. The latest definition of 'interference' stretches the limits of credulity -- to nearly 100 feet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD Detains Photographer For ‘Interfering’ With Police From 90 Feet Away

On 10th anniversary, Pirate Bay launches PirateBrowser to evade filesharing blocks

"The PirateBrowser website explains that the application combines Tor client Vidalia – which anonymises data connections – with the FireFox Portable Edition browser, the FoxyProxy add-on and 'some custom configs'. The site also claims that the browser is an anti-censorship tool rather than purely for piracy, citing countries including Iran and North Korea alongside the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Italy and Ireland as places it expects PirateBrowser to be particularly useful." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOn 10th anniversary, Pirate Bay launches PirateBrowser to evade filesharing blocks

Son of ex-American abroad: ‘It’s like watching a house on fire’

"In the midst of all the frenetic, shallow coverage about 'tax dodgers fleeing the country', it’s nice to see that at least one newspaper ran a front-page story which honestly portrays the various motivations that Americans abroad had for leaving the country and the reasons that they ultimately cite when they take the big step of giving up citizenship. It covers all the various reasons: tax savings, flight from U.S. militarism, government harassment of political activists abroad, and the desire to become a full member of another society. Surprised you didn’t catch this one on Twitter or Google News? This article is from four decades ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSon of ex-American abroad: ‘It’s like watching a house on fire’

Holder to propose curtailing mandatory minimum drug sentences

"The Justice Department plans to change how it prosecutes some non-violent drug offenders, so they would no longer face mandatory minimum prison sentences, in an overhaul of federal prison policy that Attorney General Eric Holder will unveil on Monday. The United States imprisons a higher percentage of its population than other large countries, largely because of anti-drug laws passed in the 1980s and 1990s. Holder will also reveal a plan to create a slate of local guidelines to determine if cases should be subject to federal charges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHolder to propose curtailing mandatory minimum drug sentences

Help Thy Neighbor and Go Straight to Prison

"The federal government, at a time when it is cutting education spending, is preparing to spend $415,000 over the next 15 years to imprison a man for innocently possessing seven shotgun shells while trying to help a widow in the neighborhood. And, under the law, there is no early release: Young will spend the full 15 years in prison. This case captures what is wrong with our 'justice' system: We have invested in mass incarceration in ways that are crushingly expensive, break up families and are often simply cruel. With less than 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States has almost one-quarter of the world’s prisoners." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHelp Thy Neighbor and Go Straight to Prison

How Goes the Global War on Terror?

"The U.S. military and the CIA are good at deposing dictators and wrecking countries. They are bad at defeating an operation like al Qaeda. Their incompetence is matched only by that of the government that has set the war policies and determined grand strategy. How’s the GWOT going in America? Americans are the losers. The cost of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is anywhere from $2.4 trillion to $4 trillion. Civil liberties have been curtailed. Police have been militarized. Privacy has deteriorated. A police state apparatus has been installed. Economic progress has vanished." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Goes the Global War on Terror?

‘Most members of Congress have not even seen the secret legal interpretations’ behind FISA

"President Obama’s stated desire for an 'open debate and democratic process' about the U.S. government’s surveillance activities met with open disbelief by a prominent former congressional staffer — Jennifer Hoelzer, who recently left service as deputy chief of staff to Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon). Hoelzer noted that she had been explicitly barred earlier this year from publicly discussing her senator’s reasons for opposing a bill that contained a loophole giving the NSA the apparent authority to run searches on Americans without any kind of warrant. Supporters of the legislation, however, were free to issue press releases touting its value to the public." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Most members of Congress have not even seen the secret legal interpretations’ behind FISA