New York Times – by NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

It is the nightmare scenario for those who worry that the modern campaign finance system has opened up new frontiers of political corruption: A candidate colludes with wealthy corporate backers and promises to defend their interests if elected. The companies spend heavily to elect the candidate, but hide the money by funneling it through a nonprofit group. And the main purpose of the nonprofit appears to be getting the candidate elected.   Continue reading “A Campaign Inquiry in Utah Is the Watchdogs’ Worst Case”

EFF – by JENNIFER LYNCH

The Freedom of Information Act is not the only law the public can use to obtain records from the government. Most states have similar laws for accessing documents on the state and local levels. Here in California, EFF is using the California Public Records Act to learn what new technologies local law enforcement agencies are using and whether these technologies violate our rights.

Do you drive a car in the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area? According to the L.A. Police Department and L.A. Sheriff’s Department, your car is part of a vast criminal investigation.   Continue reading “Los Angeles Cops Argue All Cars in LA Are Under Investigation”

IAN VAN KUYK This photo, of a March 2012 arrest in Point Breeze, was what got Temple student Ian Van Kuyk in hot water with the police. He was later found not guilty of disorderly conduct and other charges.Philly.com – by WILLIAM BENDER

A TEMPLE University photojournalism student and his girlfriend are suing two Philadelphia police officers who they say wrongly arrested them in 2012 while he was photographing a neighbor’s arrest in Point Breeze.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Common Pleas Court by Ian Van Kuyk and Meghan Feighan, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. The defendants are Officers Samuel Allen and Santos Higgins.   Continue reading “Temple student sues Philly cops over photo incident”

The Washington Post – by RADLEY BALKO

A pretty awful new bill (PDF) in the Kansas legislature would require anyone filing a complaint against a police officer to swear an affidavit before the complaint will be investigated. If any portion of the complaint is later shown to be false, the complainant could then be prosecuted for perjury.

That’s bad enough. But the bill also has a couple other troubling provisions. First, it lets officers who are the subject of complaints avoid answering questions until they’re given the complaint with all documenting evidence in its entirety. No respectable police detective would conduct an investigation this way. Continue reading “Kansas could make it a felony to report unfounded allegations of police abuse”

Activist Post – by Catherine J. Frompovich

The Internet is rife with all sorts of blogs and sites that talk about cooking, health, politics, and even conspiracy theories, which seem to have become common buzz-words these days. What many Internet surfers apparently may not be aware of is that many sites promote what’s called ‘bum dope’ regarding the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.    Continue reading “What IF Citizens Really Understood the U.S. Constitution?”

MassPrivateI

Facebook has announced it now plans to unleash facial recognition technology with a new program that promises to identify the subject of an untagged image with nearly unparalleled accuracy.

Researchers at the social media giant claim that humans who look at two faces can identify if they are the same person with a 97.53 percent accuracy. They promise that the company’s new “DeepFace” program will be able to do the same with 97.25 percent accuracy.    Continue reading “Facebook’s new ‘DeepFace’ program could provide instantaneous facial recognition”

Ben Swann – by Joshua Cook

Apparently, some folks are mad at the new South Carolina law allowing CWP holders to conceal carry in restaurants that serve alcohol.

And the sign said, “NO CONCEALED WEAPONS ALLOWED. If you are such a loser that you feel a need to carry a gun with you when you go out, I do not want your business. Douchebag.”   Continue reading “S.C. Pub Insults Gun Owners With Offensive Sign, Gun owners fight back”

The Tallahassee O

Debra Williams, a 42-year-old bipolar woman, was arrested while arguing with her ex. Very distraught, talking about killing herself because her daughter needed her protection from being abused by her father and unable to help, Williams was handcuffed in a police cruiser, at times kicking the protective glass. Officer Chad Moyer and Cpl. Greg Hatfield grabbed Williams and punched her in the face several times. She also alleges the two officers filed false reports about the arrest.   Continue reading “Bipolar Woman Receives $250,000 Settlement for Police Brutality”

Washington’s Blog

Preface by Washington’s Blog:  We agree with most what Eric Zuesse writes. For example, we believe that Obama is serving big money interests, and not the American people.

But we also believe that the “left-versus-right” dichotomy is no longer relevant.   Continue reading “Obama: ‘I Don’t Care About the Public’s Welfare’”

MassPrivateI

Florida – As police confronted Antonio Cardoza, armed and barricaded in his home, onlookers were slack-jawed at the sight of a tank-like vehicle with turrets and sharpshooters that was stalking the neighborhood.

Twenty feet long, weighing close to eight tons, capable of nimble turns and hitting highway speeds, the imposing militarized machine trekked along Northeast 204th Street as negotiators tried to get Cardoza to stand down.    Continue reading “Police roll out 8-ton tank armored military vehicles & claim it’s to confront hiding suspects”

Reuters /Christinne Muschi RT News

Canadian police surrounded an annual protest against police brutality in Montreal, arresting 288 people before the demonstration had barely started.

The police claim the protest was illegal as the participants did not warn the authorities of their itinerary.   Continue reading “300 arrested at Montreal protest against police brutality”

Courthouse News

ANNISTON, Ala. (CN) – A police officer was fired for talking to the media about corruption in the department, including officers pulling over a mail truck and destroying mail to cover up an arrest, the officer claims in court.

Jason White sued the City of Athens, Mayor William Marks, Police Chief Floyd Johnson, ex-Police Chief Reed Wayne Harper, and police Officers Tracy Harrison and Trevor Harris, in Federal Court.   Continue reading “Alabama: Officers pulled over a mail truck and destroyed mail to cover up an arrest”

MassPrivateI

Federal prosecutors, judges, and other officials at the Justice Department committed over 650 acts of professional misconduct in a recent 12-year period, according to a new report published by a DC-based watchdog group, the Project On Government Oversight. POGO investigators came up with the number after reviewing documents put out by the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).   Continue reading “DOJ refuses to release names of attorneys responsible for more than 650 ethical violations”

Courthouse News

Officials at the Milton Hershey School strip-searched a student in the mistaken belief she had a cell phone, then told her mother that the girl “does not have constitutional rights because she is in a private school,” the girl and her mom claim in court.

The mother, Trina Howze, and her daughter sued the Milton Hershey School, its Student Home Affiliate Michael Randolph, and C.W.’s student home supervisors Kenneth Wilson and Tysha Wilson, in Federal Court.   Continue reading “Private School Says Strip Search Is OK”

MassPrivateI

Google Inc., the world’s largest Internet-search provider, is seeking to black out portions of a transcript from a public court hearing that includes information on how it mines data from personal e-mails.

Google has acknowledged scanning the contents of millions of email messages sent and received by student users of the company’s Apps for Education tool suite for schools.   Continue reading “Google doesn’t want the public to know how its spying on you”

MassPrivateI

Article first appeared at aclu.org:

The U.S. government (DHS/TSA) today maintains a massive watchlisting system that risks stigmatizing hundreds of thousands of people, including American citizens, as “known or suspected terrorists” based on secret standards and secret evidence, without a meaningful process to challenge error and clear their names. The watchlists in this system are shared widely within the federal government, with state and local law enforcement agencies, and even with foreign governments, heightening the negative consequences for listed individuals.    Continue reading “875,000 Americans On TSA’s No-Fly Terrorist Watchlist”

MuckRock – by Shawn Musgrave

FOI Requests:

Last month, NYPD rejected my request for the department’s guides to processing freedom of information requests, the latest in a baffling series of denials.   Continue reading “NYPD counsel doubles down, rules freedom of information manual is confidential”

(Ron Tarver / Staff Photographer)Philly.com – by Sam Wood

An elderly Pennsylvania man was tasered by police not once, not twice, but six times in a Wal-Mart parking lot after being mistaken for his brother, according to a suit filed in federal court.

According to the suit, Robert Gross, 76, had driven his brother, Carl Gross Sr., to see Carl’s granddaughter Aug. 21, 2012 at an Allentown hair cutting salon.   Continue reading “Suit: Elderly man tasered 6 times after being mistaken for his brother”

WPXI -by SCOTT SONNER

RENO, Nev. — Authorities in a Nevada county are reviewing a “forfeiture program” and have settled lawsuits with two men who said a sheriff’s deputy violated their civil rights when they were stopped for speeding, searched for drugs and forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars.

The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office also confirmed in a statement late Friday that it has launched an internal review of the county’s program, but that there is no indication there have been any illegal stops or any wrongdoing on the party of Sheriff Ed Kilgore or his deputies.   Continue reading “Lawsuits over cash seizures settled in Nevada”