Tag: ACLU
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Police Departments Retaliate Against Organized “Cop Watch” Groups Across the US
When communities attempt to police the police, they often get, well… policed. In several states, organized groups that use police scanners and knowledge of checkpoints to collectively monitor police activities by legally and peacefully filming cops on duty have said they’ve experienced retaliation, including unjustified detainment and arrests as well as police intimidation. The groups…
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11 Shocking Facts About America’s Militarized Police Forces
The militarization of police is harming civil liberties, impacting children, and transforming neighborhoods into war zones. The “war on terror” has come home–and it’s wreaking havoc on innocent American lives. The culprit is the militarization of the police. The weapons used in the “war on terror” that destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq have made their way…
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Drones for Thought – Taking UAV Technology to New Heights
The history of pilotless aircraft in the United States military stretches back to the days of the Wright brothers. It’s difficult to describe any good that emerges from warfare, but many modern technological advancements — computers, zippers, microwaves — can be traced back to conflicts of a bygone era. Today unmanned aerial vehicles are being…
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Guantanamo Military Commissions: ‘Piece of a Larger Disturbing Trend Toward Centralized Presidential Power’
Just over two weeks ago, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 terror suspects had a pre-trial hearing before the Guantanamo Bay commission. The judge presiding over the commission is Army Colonel James L. Pohl. Key issues argued were whether a forty-second daly between the press and courtroom was constitutional and whether the suspects could testify about…
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National Counter-Terrorism Center Operates “Disposition Matrix” Assassination List
A wild Washington Post story reports that the Obama administration has been developing plans to “institutionalize” its extrajudicial assassination program. The lede is bonkers: Over the past two years, the Obama administration has been secretly developing a new blueprint for pursuing terrorists, a next-generation targeting list called the “disposition matrix.” It gets crazier: The matrix…
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Shredding the Constitution: National Detention, Targeted Killing and Spying Cases
Indefinite detention, targeted killing and warrantless wiretapping are hot issues in the courts this week. Here’s the latest: INDEFINITE DETENTION // The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 provision that allows the government to indefinitely detain US citizens without charge or trial is once again in effect, after a Second Circuit Court overturned Judge…
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Keeping the Government Out of Your Smartphone
Smartphones can be a cop’s best friend. They are packed with private information like emails, text messages, photos, and calling history. Unsurprisingly, law enforcement agencies now routinely seize and search phones. This occurs at traffic stops, during raids of a target’s home or office, and during interrogations and stops at the U.S. border. These searches…
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The NSA Unchained: INFOGRAPHIC
“Its exactly what the founding fathers never wanted.” -Bill Binney, NSA Whistleblower
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Calling out the CIA: Secrecy Killings
Today Andrew Rosenthal of The New York Times published a thoughtful columndiscussing the untenable position taken by the government in response to the ACLU’s two Freedom of Information Act lawsuits seeking information about the CIA’s targeted killing drone strike program, including its targeting of U.S. citizens. As Rosenthal explains, “the government is blocking any consideration of these petitions with one…