Police State

Police, Looking for 6 Foot 270 lb Black Man, Shoot 2 Asian Women Delivering Newspapers

"TV news stations in LA are warning people not to drive pick up trucks in LA and to obey all traffic laws or risk being shot by police who are 'all stressed out and tense,' as a result of a cop killer on the loose. The killer is ex-cop Christopher Jordan Dorner, he is a 6 foot black man weighing 270 pounds. As a result of the manhunt, Southern California cops have shot two Asian women, delivering newspapers, who happened to be driving a vehicle similar to the one Doner is believed to be driving." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice, Looking for 6 Foot 270 lb Black Man, Shoot 2 Asian Women Delivering Newspapers

California Man Taken Down at Gunpoint for Photographing Airplanes

"Larry C. was two weeks into his new job at a software security company in Northern California when he was confronted by six armed police officers pointing guns at him within seconds after entering work Monday. 'They kept calling my name and ordering me to get down on the floor with my hands in the air,' Larry said in a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime Tuesday morning. 'I was thinking it was some weird training exercise.' But he realized it wasn’t a training exercise after the six Santa Clara police officers handcuffed him, marched him into a room and frisked him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Man Taken Down at Gunpoint for Photographing Airplanes

Charlottesville, Virginia Becomes First City to Pass Anti-Drone Legislation

"Charlottesville, Va., has become the first city in the United States to formally pass an anti-drone resolution. The resolution passed by a 3-2 vote and was brought to the city council by activist David Swanson and the Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties group based in the city. The measure also endorses a proposed two-year moratorium on drones in Virginia. Councilmember Dede Smith, who voted in favor of the bill, says that drones are 'pretty clearly a threat to our constitutional right to privacy'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCharlottesville, Virginia Becomes First City to Pass Anti-Drone Legislation

U.S. Prison Population Seeing “Unprecedented Increase”

"The research wing of the U.S. Congress is warning that three decades of 'historically unprecedented' build-up in the number of prisoners incarcerated in the United States have led to a level of overcrowding that is now 'taking a toll on the infrastructure' of the federal prison system. Over the past 30 years, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the federal prison population has jumped from 25,000 to 219,000 inmates, an increase of nearly 790 percent. Swollen by such figures, for years the United States has incarcerated far more people than any other country, today imprisoning some 716 people out of every 100,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Prison Population Seeing “Unprecedented Increase”

Police now accompanying Smart Meter installations: Two homeowners arrested for saying NO

"Malia 'Kim' Bendis, one of the two, was charged with a pair of misdemeanors, the Tribune said - attempted eavesdropping and resisting a peace officer. The other woman, Jennifer Stahl, also received two citations - interfering with police and preventing access to customer premises. Again, your home is not your home in Naperville, apparently. Upon her release, Stahl said when she refused a smart meter for her home utility installers accompanied by cops cut a bicycle lock she had put on her fence before entering her backyard." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice now accompanying Smart Meter installations: Two homeowners arrested for saying NO

Silent Circle’s latest app democratizes encryption. Governments won’t be happy.

"Back in October, the startup tech firm Silent Circle ruffled governments’ feathers with a 'surveillance-proof' smartphone app to allow people to make secure phone calls and send texts easily. Now, the company is pushing things even further—with a groundbreaking encrypted data transfer app that will enable people to send files securely from a smartphone or tablet at the touch of a button. (For now, it’s just being released for iPhones and iPads, though Android versions should come soon.) That means photographs, videos, spreadsheets, you name it—sent scrambled from one person to another in a matter of seconds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSilent Circle’s latest app democratizes encryption. Governments won’t be happy.

Majority Says the Federal Government Threatens Their Personal Rights

"As Barack Obama begins his second term in office, trust in the federal government remains mired near a historic low, while frustration with government remains high. And for the first time, a majority of the public says that the federal government threatens their personal rights and freedoms. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Jan. 9-13 among 1,502 adults, finds that 53% think that the federal government threatens their own personal rights and freedoms while 43% disagree." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMajority Says the Federal Government Threatens Their Personal Rights

Britons with data on Amazon, Apple and Google cloud servers in America can be snooped on in secret by U.S. government

"Britons who store their data on cloud-based servers in America could have all their files rooted through in secret by the U.S. government, it emerged today. Campaigners say a renewed piece of American legislation will allow federal agencies to spy on foreign nationals without warning. The U.S. government granted itself the right to snoop after its secret rubber-stamping of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This means anyone abroad using the internet storage facilities provided by American companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple, open themselves up to investigation by the federal authorities - while Americans are protected because of their constitution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritons with data on Amazon, Apple and Google cloud servers in America can be snooped on in secret by U.S. government

Scotland Yard stole dead children’s identities

"London’s Metropolitan Police stole the identities of some 80 dead children and issued false documents in their names for use by undercover officers, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday. The force authorised the practice over three decades for officers attempting to infiltrate protest groups, without informing the children’s parents, the broadsheet said. Its investigation described officers creating aliases based on the dead children’s details and being issued with documents such as passports and driving licences in their names. Some officers reportedly spent up to a decade pretending to be these people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScotland Yard stole dead children’s identities

Scotland Yard stole dead children’s identities

"London’s Metropolitan Police stole the identities of some 80 dead children and issued false documents in their names for use by undercover officers, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday. The force authorised the practice over three decades for officers attempting to infiltrate protest groups, without informing the children’s parents, the broadsheet said. Its investigation described officers creating aliases based on the dead children’s details and being issued with documents such as passports and driving licences in their names. Some officers reportedly spent up to a decade pretending to be these people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScotland Yard stole dead children’s identities