surveillance state
The Cops Should Always Be on Camera
As a pilot program in Rialto, California, reveals, when cops film all their interactions with civilians and suspects, complaints against officers go down. So why aren't more departments around the country doing this?
Ray Kelly’s Path to Becoming America’s Big Brother
Senator Chuck Schumer recently suggested that NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly take over the Department of Homeland Security. Immediately a chorus of agreement went up talking about Kelly's "experience" and "professionalism," but putting such an...
'Terrorist States' Are Still Using American Surveillance Software Despite Embargoes
While Americans fret over the US government spying on citizens in the name of fighting terrorism, the very terrorist regimes the feds are trying to thwart are using surveillance technology from Silicon Valley to monitor and censor dissidents fighting...
Restore the Fourth Wants the Government to Stop Spying and Lying
Instead of getting drunk and grilling on a roof somewhere, several hundred New Yorkers chose to spend their Fourth of July protesting the establishment of the surveillance state. The rally, along with dozens of others across the country, was organized...
The 1960s Snowdens: NSA Agents Who Showed Up in Moscow Bearing Secrets
There's precedent for saying "I'm going on vacation" then showing up in Moscow. Fifty-three years ago, two NSA agents told their bosses they were going on vacation, went to Mexico before slipping off to Havana en route to the Soviet Union, where they...
A Brief History of the US Government Spying on Its Citizens
The NSA’s surveillance of the internet and the phone records of millions of Americans isn't not the first time US government has taken an Big Brotherly interest in its citizens. The feds have been tapping into the private lives of Americans without...
How Are We Supposed to Know What the Government Does?
The most important reason that the media exists is to tell the public what’s happening and what the people in power are doing about it. That’s increasingly difficult when the decisions that matter are shrouded in multiple levels of secrecy.
Clean Zones and Cabbies: How the Super Bowl Screws New Orleans Part 2
A recent lawsuit has resulted in free speech being restored in the giant "Clean Zone" around the Superdome, but the Super Bowl is still causing hardship for many, including food truck owners and cabbies.