No individualized warrants required under 2008 FISA law.
After 9/11 Congress gave the government a blank check, and thus began the surveillance state. Now 70% of this mass spying is privatized, with little or no government oversight. They've built huge computers in Utah to house all the data. Several whistleblowers have come forward to report the abuse, which included a spying program called Trailblazer that used $6 billion in taxpayer money and was a total bust.
I guess it's not enough to have TSA scanners in airports radiate you; if you refuse to be radiated, never fear, some TSA lackey will gladly grope you. I stopped flying soon after they infringed upon our 4th Amendment right of illegal search and seizure.
In New York we have the Stop and Frisk law, which is used to harass mainly black and Hispanic males anytime the police feel like it without probable cause. This has resulted in racial profiling, illegal stops, and ignoring of privacy rights. And guess what? It's only a matter of time before this draconian practice moves out into the rest of the population. The privatized security state marches on, and the only word it knows is, "More!" You see, to the corporate security state, we're all potential terrorists.
Recently when Bloomberg was criticized over Stop and Frisk his response was, " . . . I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little.
And then there's the drone program, where we learn from The Washington Post:
The FBI has received clearance from federal aviation officials to conduct drone surveillance operations in the United States on at least four occasions since 2010, according to public records and U.S. officials.
And if that isn't disturbing enough, according to the same article, "Congress has directed the FAA to open domestic airspace to drones by 2015."
The ACLU has this to say about drones on their website:
U.S. law enforcement is greatly expanding its use of domestic drones for surveillance. Routine aerial surveillance would profoundly change the character of public life in America. Rules must be put in place to ensure that we can enjoy the benefits of this new technology without bringing us closer to a "surveillance society" in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded, and scrutinized by the government. Drone manufacturers are also considering offering police the option of arming these remote-controlled aircraft with (nonlethal for now) weapons like rubber bullets, Tasers, and tear gas.
Numerous states are considering (and some have passed) legislation regulating the use of drones. You can see a chart summarizing the developments around the country here. Congress has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to change airspace rules to make it much easier for police nationwide to use domestic drones, but the law does not include badly needed privacy protections.
Turns out drone legislation has been, "proposed in 42 states, enacted in 5 states, and is still active in 29 states."
According to the New York Times article, "Rise of Drones in U.S. Drives Efforts to Limit Police Use."
A federal law enacted last year paved the way for drones to be used commercially and made it easier for government agencies to obtain them. The Department of Homeland Security offered grants to help local law enforcement buy them. Drone manufacturers began to market small, lightweight devices specifically for policing. Drones are already used to monitor movement on the United States' borders and by a handful of police departments, and emergency services agencies around the country are just beginning to explore their uses.
Turns out Mayor Bloomberg is all for spying and having drones hovering above New York City. He's quoted as saying on his radio program, "Oh, it's Big Brother; get used to it."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
2
