Whatever you say, Kyle...

How the Camera On Your Cellphone Can Be Captured and Used to Spy on You

As Kade Ellis of Privacy SOS and the ACLU reported, a security expert says that everyone who was at Occupy Wall Street had their cell phone surveyed by the NYPD. “[T]he identity of that cell phone has been logged, and everybody who was at that demonstration, whether they were arrested, not arrested, whether their photos were ID’d, whether an informant pointed them out, it’s known they were there anyway. This is routine,” private investigator Steven Rambam says in a video talk.

He continued , “[C]ell phones are now the little snitch in your pocket. Cell phones tell me where you are, what you do, who you talk to, everybody you associate with.”

When Did Dissent Become a Crime? America's Police State on Steroids at the Conventions

 In cities hosting large gatherings such as the national political conventions or international summits, we’ve come to expect a massive militarized police presence, even as the ranks of protesters thin. But what happens to all of the new high-tech cop toys and newly passed ordinances once conventioneers leave town? They stay. 

Undercover Agents at Occupy Austin Entrapped Protesters, Endangered Activists

Activists with Occupy Austin revealed Wednesday that an Austin Police Department detective’s entrapment led to the seven arrests on Dec. 12, 2011, during the Gulf Port Action in Houston, Texas. The seven protesters are facing up to two years in state prison, and one activist, Iraq war veteran Eric Marquez , has been in jail since December as a result of the charges.

Serious Revolt Is the Only Option People Have Left

The determining factor in global corporate production is now poverty. The poorer the worker and the poorer the nation, the greater the competitive advantage. With access to vast pools of desperate, impoverished workers eager for scraps, unions and working conditions no longer impede the quest for larger and larger profits. And when the corporations do not need these workers they are cast aside. Those who are economically broken usually cease to be concerned with civic virtues. They will, history has demonstrated, serve any system, no matter how evil, and do anything for a pitiful salary, a chance for job security and the protection of their families. There will, as the situation worsens, also be those who attempt to rebel. I certainly intend to join them. But the state can rely on a huge number of people who, for work and meager benefits, will transform themselves into willing executioners.

Goodbye, Liberty! 10 Ways Americans Are No Longer Free

Our most fundamental rights, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, are under assault. But the adversary is Big Wealth, not Big Government as conservatives like to claim.

When It Comes to Cybersecurity, Scare Tactics Aren't Convincing Americans to Sacrifice Privacy

This week, comments from Democratic Senators, a panel of witnessses, and the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) called on the Senate to enact cybersecurity legislation. But a new poll shows that Americans don’t want to sacrifice civil liberties by allowing unfettered data exchanges between corporations and the government.

The Cybersecurity Act would also give companies the right to “modify or block data packets” if they do it with “defensive intent,” while offering little in the way of liability for companies that overstep their authority.

ACLU releases Android app that secretly videos police

The advent of Police Tape is designed to counter a practice an increasing number of civilians have encountered over the past few years: those who videotape or photograph police officers performing routine stops and other official acts are frequently arrested or disciplined. Evidently, many officers are all in favor of increased surveillance as long as it isn’t turned on them.

(Source: Ars Technica)

I Spy An Occupy: Obama’s DHS Surveils Legit Protesters

If recent documents obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) are any indication, the Occupy Movement continues to be monitored and curtailed in a nationwide, federally-orchestrated campaign, spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Mass Arrests Likely at Political Conventions: 6 Historical Precedents

Clinton’s law designates political conventions National Special Security Events, a category of state security that virtually dooms the exercise of First Amendment Rights.

Don't Despair: Consider Some Radical Approaches That Have Worked in a Country Almost the Size of Ours

How is it that Brazil has moved from a military dictatorship to a vibrant democracy where jobs are being created, wages are rising and bold action has been taken to combat poverty? How did Brazil go from a country were demonstrations were suppressed, and protesters arrested, tortured and murdered to a country were a former autoworker could become president?

EFF: Police May Use Armed Drones to Watch You, Citizen Help Needed

The U.S. is no warzone, but in what some would call another sign of the rising U.S. “police state”, some local police departments are looking to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). 

(Source: anandtech.com)

Colonized by Corporations

We are controlled by tiny corporate entities that have no loyalty to the nation and indeed in the language of traditional patriotism are traitors. They strip us of our resources, keep us politically passive and enrich themselves at our expense.

Judge Blocks Controversial NDAA, ruling it Unconstitutional

catmartini:

Success! I’m so glad Occupy issues are being brought to court — it’s one of the main ways laws get changed in the U.S. — And considering how ineffective our politicians are, it may be our only hope. 

#A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction to block the so-called “Homeland Battlefield” provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act that would allow the military to indefinitely detain anyone it accuses of knowingly or unknowingly supporting terrorism, ruling it unconstitutional. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges filed the suit along with Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, Noam Chomsky, Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir, Occupy London organizer Kai Wargalla, and Alexa O’Brien, an organizer for U.S. Day of Rage. They call themselves the Freedom Seven.

#RT points out that a repeal of the Homeland Battlefield provision would only protect American citizens from arbitrary arrest; citizens the world over would still face indefinite detention.

#The day after the injunction was issued, the House voted down an amendment to the NDAA that would have blocked the Homeland Battlefield provisions

http://occupiedmedia.us/2012/05/occupied-reports-from-the-front-lines-11/

More from the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/environment/la-me-gs-national-defense-authorization-ruling-20120518,0,2046039.story