Tag Archive for surveillance

DHS Fusion Center Network: An Unwieldy, Bloated, and Unaccountable Waste of Taxpayer Dollars

A new Senate report on the Department of Homeland Security’s fusion center network exposes the federal behemoth for what it really is: an unwieldy, bloated, and unaccountable waste of taxpayer dollars that has encouraged the militarization of domestic law enforcement for nearly a decade.

Thanks to former President George W. Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress, programs such as these “have become pools of ineptitude, waste and civil liberties intrusions,” according to the report. When questionable tactics used in the legitimate pursuit of terrorism become a tool in “regular” criminal investigations, the rights of all American citizens are seriously jeopardized. What do you think?

In July 2009, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano called the fusion centers “a critical part of our nation's homeland security capabilities.”  About 70 of the centers now exist, located in major cities and nearly all states.

From The Center for Public Integrity

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Judge rules federal agents can track cell phone GPS data without first obtaining a warrant.

Less than a year after the decision in U.S. v. Jones, wherein the Supreme Court ruled that a warrant was needed before attaching a tracking device on a car, U.S. Circuit Judge John M. Rogers has concluded that federal agents can track someone using cell phone GPS data without first obtaining a warrant.

Unless overturned, this ruling expands dramatically ‘legal’ surveillance of U.S. citizens. Adam Serwer of Mother Jones examines the Court’s rationale. What do you think?
"Is law enforcement tracking your cell phone's GPS more like intercepting a phone call or tailing someone on the street? A federal court decision says it's more like following you—which means the authorities don't need to get a warrant to find out where you are at any given time." Adam Serwer, Mother Jones
From Mother Jones

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DHS peddling weaponized military vehicles to local police.

The Department of Homeland Security just began a new “Air-based Technologies” program to counsel local police departments on how to buy and use unmanned drones for law enforcement.

Does anyone actually believe it’s a good idea to use weaponized military vehicles for civilian “surveillance”? Is this really the direction in which we are headed?

From The Huffington Post:

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