Homeland Stupidity

Police State 101, Torture Impunity, Obama’s Second Chance?

"On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin talks to Ian Freeman, Host of 'Free Talk Live', about the police state and the erosion of American civil liberties. Abby then talks to RT Arabic Correspondent, Reema Abu Hamdieh, about the polarized views of Arabs in the Middle East toward a second Obama Administration. BTS wraps up the show with a look at torture, murder and rape by US military contractors going unpunished." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice State 101, Torture Impunity, Obama’s Second Chance?

Injustice Gone Wild

"40 to 50 federal agents and police officers stormed the facilities of Mountain Pure Water and held employees at gunpoint, the crime? None. The mission: obtaining paperwork. Duncan Outdoors, Gibson Guitars and many others have suffered similar gestapo attacks from federal agents and the IRS that Mountain Pure Water suffered. This is being labeled as Small Business Bullying and the practice has sky rocketed ever since Eric Holder became the Attorney General under the Obama administration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInjustice Gone Wild

US, Canada announce cross-border action plan

"Since its announcement, the Beyond the Border program has been shrouded in secrecy. Its provisions included multiple information-sharing clauses, including common technical standards for sharing biometric data. The Beyond the Border initiative has been criticized by privacy advocates who worry that Canadians' personal data could be misused by multiple governmental agencies in the United States. Information on Canadian citizens is already being given to the U.S. government under the Secure Flight initiative, a program of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS, Canada announce cross-border action plan

Obama urged to fulfill Guantanamo closure pledge

"Rights groups challenged President Barack Obama on Thursday to use his second term to close Guantanamo and end drone attacks, warrantless surveillance and extrajudicial killings. Shortly after he took office in January 2009, Obama declared that he would shutter the prison camp for 'war on terror' suspects within a year, saying it served as a recruiting tool for militant and hurt US national security. Rights groups have strongly criticized the president for his Guantanamo failures and for maintaining other stringent security tactics put into practice under his predecessor George W. Bush." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama urged to fulfill Guantanamo closure pledge

‘Library’ Police

"The clerk scanned my library card and told me he would have to confiscate it. It was no longer valid. He told me that to get a new card that I would have to bring in a utility bill postmarked in the last thirty days and a state approved picture ID. I have had a library card continuously for over 55 years. I have checked out more than 10,000 books from this library in my lifetime. I was the former chairman of Friends of the Library. To no avail. I was informed that Homeland Security requires these new rules. The library removed all the old pockets which showed previous borrowers supposedly in the name of privacy." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Library’ Police

Department Of Homeland Security To Scan Payment Cards At Borders And Airports

"Travelers leaving or entering the United States have long had to declare aggregated cash and other monetary instruments exceeding $10,000. Now, under a proposed amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN will also require travelers to declare the value of prepaid cards that they are carrying, known now as 'tangible prepaid access devices.' Enforceability falls to the Department of Homeland Security, which is already developing advanced handheld card readers that can ascertain whether a traveler is carrying a credit card, debit card, or prepaid card." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDepartment Of Homeland Security To Scan Payment Cards At Borders And Airports

Poll: Nearly One Third Of Americans Would Accept ‘TSA Body Cavity Search’ in Order to Fly

"A new survey commissioned by Infowars and conducted by Harris Interactive has found that almost one third of American adults would accept a 'TSA body cavity search' in order to fly, with a majority of Americans also feeling a law that would make disobeying a TSA agent in any public place illegal is reasonable. The shock results emphasize the level of indignity Americans are willing to tolerate in order to travel. They also highlight how the TSA’s reputation has remained largely intact despite a series of scandals and widespread criticism from innumerable public figures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPoll: Nearly One Third Of Americans Would Accept ‘TSA Body Cavity Search’ in Order to Fly

4 More Drones! Robot Attacks Are on Deck for Obama’s Next Term

"Civil libertarians rightly point to Obama’s reversals on expanding warrantless surveillance; the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects; military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay; prosecuting whistleblowers; and embracing an expensive definition of the war on terrorism’s executive powers. But there’s little evidence that Obama will change course. The evidence is staring everyone in the face. Obama has elevated a practice of stealthy robotic warfare to the tactic of choice for U.S. security priorities, and built around it a system that operates it practically on bureaucratic inertia." Continue reading →

Continue Reading4 More Drones! Robot Attacks Are on Deck for Obama’s Next Term

Colorado: Court Endorses Handcuffing of Innocent Motorists During Robbery Search

"Police in Aurora, Colorado did nothing wrong when they handcuffed dozens of motorists and held them at gunpoint for an hour and forty-five minutes, according to a ruling issued last month. US District Court Judge William J. Martinez refused to play the role of a Monday morning quarterback in deciding whether the controversial mass detention violated the Fourth Amendment rights of drivers who had been going about their business on a Saturday afternoon." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado: Court Endorses Handcuffing of Innocent Motorists During Robbery Search

Oklahoma Man On No Fly List Fighting To Come Home

"An overseas Oklahoman who hasn't been on the Sooner soil for more than a decade is now fighting to come home. Forty-three-year-old Saadiq Long lives in Qatar where he teaches English. In April, the U.S. Air Force veteran was told he was on the Department of Homeland Security's no fly list. He's been fighting to get taken off the list ever since, but now he's running out of time. Long's mother who still lives in McAlester is terminally ill. Long will try to fly back to Oklahoma this week to visit her, perhaps for the final time. Long, a U.S. citizen, hasn't been given a reason for why he's on the list." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOklahoma Man On No Fly List Fighting To Come Home