Land Of The Flea

NYPD officers testify stop-and-frisk program motivated by quotas and race

"The New York police department’s controversial stop-and-frisk program is being driven by a high-pressure quota system imposed upon lower-ranking officers by their supervisors, two NYPD officers testified in court this week. The claims were made as part of a landmark class action lawsuit that seeks to prove that the nation’s largest police department has demonstrated a widespread and systemic pattern of unconstitutional stops that disproportionately target minorities. The trial represents a historic challenge to the legacies of NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly and mayor Michael Bloomberg, who have both vocally supported stop-and-frisk." Continue reading →

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New Mexico’s Torture State

"The habeas corpus guarantee requires that anyone arrested by the police be quickly brought before a judge and either formally charged or released. Slevin was never given a judicial hearing. Nor was he given medical attention by his jailers. He was literally left to rot in solitary confinement until relatives inquired into his case. After being released, Slevin was awarded a $15.5 million tax-funded civil settlement – and nobody has been held accountable for the two years of torture he endured." Continue reading →

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Brooklyn man released from jail after 22-year murder conviction is overturned

"A 58-year-old Brooklyn man was released from prison Thursday after his murder conviction was overturned following a witness’ confession that he was coaxed by authorities into identifying him as the suspect, CNN reported on Friday. 'As I said from the beginning, I had nothing to do with this case,' David Ranta said after leaving prison. Ranta’s case was reopened in 2011, after a witness, Menachem Lieberman, told his court-appointed attorney that police had told him to 'pick the guy with the big nose' when identifying suspects in a lineup." Continue reading →

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Police summoned, multiple schools locked down after man spotted carrying umbrella

"A typical Tuesday morning for 42-year-old Michael Di Marzo quickly became a citywide multi-jurisdictional manhunt for him and what witnesses thought was a assault rifle in his hand. Three schools were locked down and delayed as police scoured the area by ground and air, looking for a man described by a teenage tipster as wearing black clothes and a ski mask. It wasn’t realized until hours later what was believed to be something along the lines of an AR-15 or AK-47 was more of a AU-15: a 15-inch compact 'assault umbrella.' The 'ski mask' was a pulled-up black turtle neck sweater paired with a black watch cap." Continue reading →

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US Infrastructure’s Disastrous Solution

"It is a US scandal that the country's infrastructure is not just degrading but seriously degraded. While this is not a regular topic for mainstream reporting, every now and then it rises to the surface. Of course, the real issue is seldom dealt with, which is how the combined US government can spend trillions and more trillions while the country's infrastructure continues to collapse. There are accidents big and small as the result of this evolving condition, often never reported unless they rise to the level of serious injury or even death." Continue reading →

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CIA’s big data mission: ‘Collect everything and hang onto it forever’

"'It is really very nearly within our grasp to be able to compute on all human generated information,' he added, explaining that nearly all mobile phones now contain a camera, a microphone, a light sensor, an accelerometer and GPS, among other sensors. The prevalence of sensors has led to a whole new world of biometric information, Hunt said, listing off a variety of ways the sensors in a mobile device can be used to identify the person carrying it. He pinpointed the most effective method as gait analysis, or watching the way a person walks and creating a complex data profile based upon their movements." Continue reading →

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US plan calls for more scanning of private Web traffic, email

"The U.S. government is expanding a cybersecurity program that scans Internet traffic headed into and out of defense contractors to include far more of the country's private, civilian-run infrastructure. As a result, more private sector employees than ever before, including those at big banks, utilities and key transportation companies, will have their emails and Web surfing scanned as a precaution against cyber attacks. The Department of Homeland Security will gather the secret data and pass it to a small group of telecommunication companies and cyber security providers that have employees holding security clearances, government and industry officials said." Continue reading →

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Now the CIA Wants Unlimited Access To Your Financial Records

"According to a new plan unveiled by the U.S. Treasury Department, the Obama administration is now seeking authorization to provide all U.S. spy agencies with unlimited access to a massive database containing financial data on virtually every American citizen who uses the banking system. Access to this sensitive financial data has been available to the Federal Bureau of Investigation since the tragic events of 9/11. Now, the Obama administration wants to provide access to this vast database with even more U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency." Continue reading →

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Bipartisan bill would require a warrant for police to search emails

"A bill introduced Tuesday by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) would require police obtain a warrant before scouring a suspect’s email accounts. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act (PDF), which was also introduced in the last Congress, returns right as the Obama administration has signaled readiness to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 by applying the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure to some emails stored on cloud services. Good news for Leahy and Lee: It appears the Obama administration agrees, at least in principle." Continue reading →

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