Yearly Archives: 2013

FBI Pursuing Real-Time Gmail Spying Powers as “Top Priority” for 2013

"Despite the pervasiveness of law enforcement surveillance of digital communication, the FBI still has a difficult time monitoring Gmail, Google Voice, and Dropbox in real time. But that may change soon, because the bureau says it has made gaining more powers to wiretap all forms of Internet conversation and cloud storage a 'top priority' this year. FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann said that the FBI wants the power to mandate real-time surveillance of everything from Dropbox and online games ('the chat feature in Scrabble') to Gmail and Google Voice. 'Those communications are being used for criminal conversations,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI Pursuing Real-Time Gmail Spying Powers as “Top Priority” for 2013

Homeland Security Using Video Games to Recruit Top Students as Cyber Warriors

"Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is seeking up to 600 new student hackers to combat what they claim is the increasing danger of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure throughout the country. Rather than the normal propaganda techniques used to lure young Americans into other branches of the government, Homeland Security is taking a different route which includes the use of sophisticated video games to essentially promote job opportunities within their agency to young impressionable high school students." Continue reading →

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Creator of drone casualties visualization hopes data will ‘shock’ people

"Wesley Grubbs of Pitch Interactive told HuffPost Live on Tuesday that he created an interactive graph of the U.S. drone campaign in Pakistan to highlight civilian causalities. 'We want to shock people,' he explained. 'What we tried to do though with this was not just shock people with the number of casualties, but to shock people with the amount of information that we really don’t know.' The data visualization illustrates the number of casualties from drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and 2013, categorizing the victims as either children, civilians, alleged combatants, or high-profile targets." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCreator of drone casualties visualization hopes data will ‘shock’ people

One Man Blocking Arizona Anti-NDAA Bill

"Arizona has the chance to become the first state in America to enact real protections for its citizens against the NDAA. HB 2573, introduced by Rep. Carl Seel, passed Committee 6-2 last month, and passed the Rules Committee yesterday. Yet, one Representative does not see the tide turning to liberty. Representative Andy Tobin is currently blocking HB 2573 from receiving a full House vote. He is willing to kill protection for the people of Arizona, and allow the Federal government to trample the rights of his constituents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOne Man Blocking Arizona Anti-NDAA Bill

Inside Oklahoma’s Quest To Dominate The American Drone Industry

"Oklahoma businesspeople, academics, and politicians are collaborating through an organization named USA-OK, which aims to make the heartland state the focal point of American UAV development. A quasi-affiliated group, the Governor’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Council (PDF), was formed via an executive order from Governor Mary Fallin in 2011. Both organizations are lobbying for commercial drone test sites in Oklahoma and increased government assistance in luring more large military contractors to the state. Oklahoma is already home to approximately 15 companies servicing the UAV industry." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInside Oklahoma’s Quest To Dominate The American Drone Industry

Welcome to Sulphur Springs, Where the Police Chief is a Murderer

"Last April, the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement reinstated Brackney’s 'peace officer' certification. All that he needed now was a job opening – and one was soon created in Sulphur Springs. Between late 2010 and March 25 of this year, residents of Sulphur Springs had known the singular blessing of living in a community devoid of police. There hasn’t been a murder in Sulphur Springs in recent memory. By hiring a murderer as police chief, the people who presume to rule that tiny village managed to handle both the supply and demand side of law enforcement, as it were. Arkansas is riddled with tiny towns afflicted with police who are not merely corrupt, but demented." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWelcome to Sulphur Springs, Where the Police Chief is a Murderer

Cops running out of bullets? Thank the NRA

"Dayne Pryor is the chief of police in Rollingwood, Texas, a small suburb of Austin. 'I’ve been in law enforcement for 31 years and I’ve been a chief for eight years,' he sighs. 'And it’s just one of those things that I never thought I’d have a problem with, especially being in Texas.' Pryor’s problem, he explains to Salon, is that he’s having trouble finding ammunition and firearms for his officers, thanks to a national shortage. The cause? A run on supply from gun lovers afraid that Congress or state legislatures will impose new gun control laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops running out of bullets? Thank the NRA

Police restrain crowd from taking food to be thrown away after supermarket eviction

"Law enforcement officials pushed back hundreds of people who were crowding around a large pile of merchandise outside an Augusta grocery store Tuesday afternoon. But the goods sitting in the parking lot of the Laney Supermarket didn't make into anyone's hands. Instead, the food people hoped to take home was tossed into the trash. SunTrust Bank in Atlanta owns the property and they're sending the merchandise to the landfill after evicting the Chois, the owners of the grocery store." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice restrain crowd from taking food to be thrown away after supermarket eviction

Officer Convicted In Shooting Death Becomes Police Chief

"A former Bella Vista police officer who served jail time after shooting a suspect to death was sworn in as a police chief Monday night. A district court ruled that Brackney was to blame for the shooting death of James Ahern following a high-speed pursuit in January 2010. His negligent homicide conviction was a misdemeanor, so Brackney was spared prison time. 'I told the guys the day I left I would be back, and I told them it may take me a while because it was going to be a long fight,' Brackney told 5NEWS on Tuesday. 'But I’m back.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficer Convicted In Shooting Death Becomes Police Chief

What Happens to Good Cops

"Justin Hopson was involved in a traffic stop in which his training officer carried out an unlawful arrest and ordered him to submit a false police report. He confronted his trainer and informed him that he would not testify when the case went to trial. His refusal to perjure himself in court, combined with a dashcam video that contradicted the falsified arrest report, led the prosecutor to dismiss the charges. It also led to severe retaliation against Hopson by a cult-like gang within the New Jersey State Patrol that called itself the 'Lords of Discipline.' Hopson was targeted for physical abuse, vandalism, petty theft, and harassment –and eventually driven from the force." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Happens to Good Cops