dhs sets up unannounced checkpoint for 'operation shield'

"training exercise startles locals"
from paul joseph watson: Residents of Leesburg, Florida were shocked to see their local Social Security office turned into a random Homeland Security checkpoint Tuesday morning, as DHS officers armed with semiautomatic rifles and accompanied by sniffer dogs checked identifications of locals. “With their blue and white SUVs circled around the Main Street office, at least one official was posted on the door with a semiautomatic rifle, randomly checking identifications. And other officers, some with K-9s, sifted through the building,” reports the Daily Commercial. The activity was part of Operation Shield, an unannounced drill conducted by the DHS’ Federal Protective Service centered around “detecting the presence of unauthorized persons and potentially disruptive or dangerous activities.”

homeland security testing 'pre-crime' detection technology

from allgov: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been secretly working on technology that can tip off law enforcement about those planning to commit a crime. Part profiling, part advanced mathematics, the Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) is described as a “pre-crime” system by DHS. The program uses ethnicity, gender, breathing, eye tracking and heart rate to formulate a system for spotting criminals before they strike. According to the official description, the prototype contains “a suite of real-time, non-invasive sensor technologies to detect cues indicative of mal-intent (the intent or desire to cause harm).” A classified DHS document reportedly indicated that the controversial idea is already being tested on some members of the public voluntarily. If the technology proves reliable, the government might try using it at airport checkpoints, border crossings, sea ports or major sporting events.

police state updates: i've changed my plea to guilty

america, a more gilded cage than egypt ... but still a cage*
video: it's now a tradition - the government militarizes the stupor bowl as another 'black sunday' arrives*
super bowl journey ignites memories of jfk assassination*
americans recall reagan legacy, mark his 100th birthday feb6*
tsa invades roads & highways with 'vipr' checkpoints*
arizona city plans to fingerprint pharmacy customers*
3m completes acquisition of cogent inc*
boeing received $5b in illegal govt subsidies*
russia to adopt universal id card in 2012*
'jihad jane' to change plea to guilty*
uk border agent fired for putting wife on terrorist watch list*
subscribe to injusticeeverywhere.com's police misconduct newsfeed*

US to drop color-coded terror alerts

from afp: The United States is planning to replace its color-coded terror alert system drafted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks with detailed threat advisories, media reported Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has drafted a proposal sent to the White House to end its five-colored system - mocked by critics as a relic of post-9/11 frenzy that caused alarm without explaining the reasons for the alerts. Instead, it will provide more clarity and guidance in specific alerts, according to the reports. "The goal is to replace a system that communicates nothing with a system that communicates precise, actionable information based on the latest intelligence," a senior Homeland Security official told The Washington Post and The New York Times.

police state updates:
watchdog probes dhs spying on drudge report*
government reports violations of limits on spying aimed at US citizens*
tsa now setting up nazi-style 'viper' security checkpoints at bus terminals*
fatherland security's next step: f.a.s.t. - fascist attribute screening technology*

police state updates: surveillance & apple pie

fbi raids on antiwar activists -
intimidation, not investigation*
fbi launches mass raids of antiwar activists' homes*
feds expand war of terror, raid antiwar activists*
spying on its citizens: as american as apple pie*
the mysterious institute that spied on pennsylvania anti-drilling activists*
pennsylvania's homeland security chief goes in hiding*
video: counter-terror operation stops trucks on i-20 in atlanta*
feds radiating americans at internal checkpoints*
tsa to expand number of employees who will have secret clearances*
snapscouts.org - crowd sourcing crime prevention*
dhs will require minimum delay of 72hrs before flying as of nov1?*
big sis tries to force body scanners on other countries amidst backlash*
underwear bomber eyewitness, kurt haskell, on upcoming trial*
unruly passenger forces amsterdam flight's return to seattle*
boeing gets $89m to build unmanned aircraft that can stay aloft for 5yrs*
video: fbi informant divulges past in bronx terror plot trial*
video: real-time security cameras link nyc subway hubs*
orlando policeman breaks 84yr-old's neck*
terror attack to unseat chicago's mayor daley? enter rahmbo*
experts question shooting of arizona deputy*
mock drills held hours before new delhi metro station's real attack*
rothschild/cia publications attack 'constitution-worshipers'*
are americans too constitution-obsessed?*
video: notolls.com & council member meltdown in vancouver city, wa

police state intl: political activism as 'domestic extremism'

audio: uk police define political activism as 'domestic extremism'*
uk council bans parents from play areas*
the raid that rocked the met: why gun & drugs op on 6,717 safety deposit boxes could cost uk taxpayers a fortune*
2 men are charged by US with plotting terrorism attack*
'pacific horizon' war training on a california beach*
nypd to shake up streets with siren-sound device*
houston police begins creative crackdown: dressing up like homeless*
video: 4 utah teens cited for mcdonald's drive-thru rap*
checkpoints aimed at stopping terrorist threat*
tsa, fbi & cops turn virginia bridge into constitution-free zone*

police state int'l: cctv, checkpoints, provocateurs & yoo

san fran suburb, tiburon, may install license plate cameras*
big brother flies into antelope valley calif with 'crime-fighting' eyes*
penn state police, ohio highway patrol, ny state police & US border patrol team up for 'traffic enforcment initiative'*
july 4th parade + constitution = banned for life?*
US launches review of terror warning system*
terror alert system getting overhaul*
IT central & dhs to debate over real id & the pass act*
spy memo author yoo to america: no apologies for tapping you*
india to issue 1.2b new biometric id cards*
video: n. ireland rioters 'were bussed in to provoke violence'*

police state int'l: skype, shop, cyber katrina & operation arcadia

eu agency supports wiretapping skype conversations
from eu observer: EU's judicial cooperation agency Eurojust will take the lead in finding ways to help police and prosecutors across Europe to wiretap computer-to-computer phone conversations enabled by programs such as Skype. "We will sit together with all member states to see how this can be done technically and legally," Joannes Thuy, Eurojust spokesman told this website. Mr Thuy stressed that the wiretapping would not affect "normal users", but would have to be carried out only as part of a criminal investigation.

big brother likes to watch you shop
from ahmenra2012: Mall ads watch shoppers... Cameras inside ad displays gather advertising data about shoppers. KSDK’s Kasey Joyce reports. More blatant invasions of privacy!

chicago mayor vows surveillance cameras on every street corner
from chicago sun-times: Mayor Daley has argued that security and terrorism won’t be an issue if his Olympic dreams come true because, by 2016, there will be a surveillance camera on every street corner in Chicago. But even before that blanket coverage begins, the "Big Brother" network is being put to better use... In 2004, City Hall used a $5.1 million federal homeland security grant to install 250 cameras at locations thought to be at high risk of a terrorist attack and link them and 2,000 existing city cameras to the 911 center. Chicago then launched "Operation Virtual Shield," by linking 1,000 miles of fiber cable to a unified "homeland security grid" — complete with hundreds of additional cameras and sensors to monitor the city’s water supply and detect chemical and biological weapons. On Thursday, Orozco refused to say how many cameras are currently linked to the 911 center. But, he reiterated Daley’s earlier promise. “We’re going to grow the system until we eventually cover one end of the city to the other,” he said.

vampire cops to draw blood at dui checkpoints in florida
from wpbf: Drunken drivers beware: If you drink and drive, especially during the last weekend of February, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and other area law enforcement will be out for blood. PBSO deputies plan to set up driving under the influence checkpoints. If they suspect a driver is under the influence, they'll offer an on-the-spot Breathalyzer. If drivers refuse, deputies will ask to draw blood from their arms. "I think that's really personal and I think that if you deny a Breathalyzer and you say that you don't want that, I think that's outrageous if they take blood without your consent," driver Courtney Liddle said. Attorney David Olson said that "would only be lawful if a warrant is issued by a judge." That's just what deputies plan to do. They'll actually drive to a judge's home for a signature and return to the checkpoint. Olson said drawing blood from drivers is usually done in extreme cases like homicides and fatal collisions. Olson said he's not sure a judge would actually sign a warrant.

flashback: forced dwi blood samples challenged in texas

fearing 'cyber katrina,' obama candidate for cyber czar urges a 'fema for the internet'
from businessweek: For all the fears of sophisticated digital intrusions preoccupying many computer security professionals, President Obama’s leading candidates for “cyber czar” also are focusing on an all-too-human vulnerability: The nation’s inability to respond to a full-fledged Internet-borne crisis for lack of a central cyber commander. Former White House cybersecurity official Paul B. Kurtz, in his first public remarks since becoming an advisor to President Obama’s transition team following the election, describes his biggest worry: A “cyber Katrina” in which fragmented bureaucracies and companies fail to share critical information and coordinate responses to cyber intruders attempting to disrupt power grids, financial markets, or any number of now-plausible scenarios involving a Web shutdown. One recent fear is the cascading effects of even a partial Internet blackout that could add to economic anxieties. There’s such electronic insecurity afoot, some are even beginning to suggest building an entirely new global computer infrastructure. “The bottom line is, is there a FEMA for the Internet? I don’t think there is,” Kurtz told an audience of security professionals at a Feb. 18 Black Hat security conference in Virginia. Kurtz’ solution: A trio of key agencies - the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Communications Commission - but overseen by a new national cybersecurity center.

faa breach heightens cybersecurity concerns
from fcw: The Federal Aviation Administration was doing such a good job at protecting data in its computer systems that the Office of Management and Budget chose it in January to be one of four agencies to guide other federal agencies in their cybersecurity efforts. Just a month later, FAA officials had to admit that hackers breached one of the agency’s servers, stealing 48 files. Two of the files contained information on 45,000 current and former FAA employees, including sensitive information that could potentially make them vulnerable to identity theft. The security breach, although significant and potentially far reaching, is not necessarily a reflection on FAA’s security measures. Rather, it demonstrates the problems of securing federal computer systems and difficulty in evading every potential attack.

iowa national guard rolls back arcadia invasion
from kurt nimmo: According to Drew Zahn, writing for WorldNetDaily, the Iowa National Guard has “scaled back” its “training exercise” planned for April in Arcadia, Iowa, population 443. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, told Zahn and WND that the operation has now been “scaled back” and no longer involves an “invasion” of Arcadia. “And while Hapgood confirmed the Guard had been inundated with objections from citizens concerned about soldiers patrolling the streets of an American town, he said most came from people out of state and unfamiliar with the operation. Iowans, he explained, typically cooperate with the Guard. The change in plans was based on troop evaluation, he said, not public outcry.”

states rediscover 10th amendment to combat stimulus strings
from washington times: Worried the federal government is increasing its dominance over their affairs, several states are pursuing legislative action to assert their sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution in hopes of warding off demands from Washington on how to spend money or enact policy. The growing concerns even have a handful of governors questioning whether to accept federal stimulus money that comes with strings attached. The sentiments to declare themselves legally independent from Washington have swept across as many as a dozen states, renewing a debate over so-called unfunded mandates that last raged in the 1990s. The states question whether the U.S. government can force states to take actions without paying for them or impose conditions on states if they accept certain federal funding.

firestorm brewing between the states & the feds

video: glenn beck again predicting doomsday & revolution
from raw replay: President Obama has been criticized for warning of economic “catastrophe” but Glenn Beck’s prediction is far more dire. Beck says the military is preparing for a revolution. This video is from Fox’s Fox & Friends, broadcast Feb. 20, 2009.

police state int'l: scanners, chips, checkpoints & promis

your isp is watching you

google offers to track you by your cell phone
from cbsnews: Google is releasing free software Wednesday that enables people to keep track of each other using their cell phones. CNET got a sneak peek at it, and CNET-TV Senior Editor and Early Show contributor Natali Del Conte explained how it works on the show Tuesday. She says "Latitude" uses GPS systems and what's called cell tower triangulation to do the job. The software seeks the closest three cell towers and, with GPS, combines the data to show where someone is. It is designed to work on any phone with Internet capabilities, except the iPhone. "Latitude" is being marketed as a tool that could help parents keep tabs on their children's locations, but it can be used for anyone to find anyone else, assuming permission is given... CNET points out that, "To protect privacy, Google specifically requires people to sign up for the service. People can share their precise location, the city they're in, or nothing at all." "What we found in testing," Lee added to CNET, "is that the most common scenario is a symmetrical arrangement, where both people are sharing with each other."

when you watch these ads, they watch you

humans 'will be implanted with microchips'
from ninemsn: All Australians could be implanted with microchips for tracking and identification within the next two or three generations, a prominent academic says. Michael G Michael from the University of Wollongong's School of Information Systems and Technology, has coined the term "uberveillance" to describe the emerging trend of all-encompassing surveillance. "Uberveillance is not on the outside looking down, but on the inside looking out through a microchip that is embedded in our bodies," Dr Michael told ninemsn. Microchips are commonly implanted into animals to reveal identification details when scanned and similar devices have been used with Alzheimers patients. US company VeriChip is already using implantable microchips, which store a 16-digit unique identification number, on humans for medical purposes... He also predicted that microchip implants and their infrastructure could eliminate the need for e-passports, e-tags, and secure ID cards. "Microchipping I think will eventually become compulsory in the context of identification within the frame of national security," he said. Although uberveillance was only in its early phases, Dr Michael's wife, Katina Michael - a senior lecturer from UOW's School of Information Systems and Technology - said the ability to track and identify any individual was already possible. "Anyone with a mobile phone can be tracked to 15m now," she said, pointing out that most mobile phone handsets now contained GPS receivers and radio frequency identification (RFID) readers. "The worst scenario is the absolute loss of human rights," she said. Wisconsin, North Dakota and four other states in the US have already outlawed the use of enforced microchipping. "Australia hasn't got specific regulations addressing these applications," she said. "We need to address the potential for misuse by amending privacy laws to ensure personal data protection."

can your name make you a criminal?

45,000 red light camera citations for a town of 38,500
from dallas morning news: A Duncanville City Council member wants to re-evaluate how the city issues citations to red-light runners and make it easier for suspected violators to request a jury trial. Paul Ford questions the nearly 45,000 citations issued in 2008 at four intersections monitored by cameras. Compared with Duncanville's population of 38,500, he said, the number of citations seems excessive... According to Ford, the city will take in more than $3 million from citations issued in 2008. "These tickets are not safety-related," Ford said. "They're revenue-related. Period."

california checkpoint lasts for days

utah senator wants scanners & database in restaurants
from salt lake tribune: A proposal to scan the driver licenses of bar patrons and keep it on file in a state law enforcement database is a good start, says Senate President Michael Waddoups, but he wants to see the program go further. Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, says he wants to see the database idea start with private clubs, but extend to restaurants that serve diners beer and liquor. That would greatly expand the scope of the data collection and create a new requirement for restaurants, which are not required to have people sign up as members in order to serve beer and liquor. There are fewer than 400 clubs and taverns and nearly 1,100 restaurants licensed to serve alcohol.

and finally, checkout the amazing 3-part article from existentialist cowboy: 'main core, promis & the shadow government' (part2 & 3)

citizens' US border crossings tracked; data kept for 15yrs

from washington post: The federal government has been using its system of border checkpoints to greatly expand a database on travelers entering the country by collecting information on all U.S. citizens crossing by land, compiling data that will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations.

Officials say the Border Crossing Information system, disclosed last month by the Department of Homeland Security in a Federal Register notice, is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats. It also reflects the growing number of government systems containing personal information on Americans that can be shared for a broad range of law enforcement and intelligence purposes, some of which are exempt from some Privacy Act protections.

forced dwi blood samples challenged in texas

from raw replay: North Texas law enforcement agencies will be cracking down on drunk driving over the July 4th weekend - including taking blood samples of suspected drunk drivers. But one man says how those samples are collected is sometimes illegal.

Defense attorney Avery McDaniel said, “If an officer believes you are intoxicated they will get a search warrant and they will physically hold you down and take your blood.”

McDaniel claims that unqualified police officers forcibly took blood from his client. McDaniel said, “It should be noted that they had to physically restrain her to get the blood and the next day thereafter she had bruises up her arm from them withdrawing this blood.”

This video is from CBS 11 Dallas, broadcast July 2, 2008.

san antonio cops force blood tests on drivers

amtrak says 'papers please'

amtrak to randomly screen bags & step up patrols
from reuters: Amtrak, the only long-haul passenger rail service in the United States, will for the first time randomly screen passengers' bags and deploy armed security officers on trains and platforms, the railroad said on Monday night. Details of the shift in security strategy at Amtrak will be released on Tuesday, but the railroad said the steps were not in response to any threat.

beefing up amtrak security
from cbs21: Amtrak is beefing-up security. Starting this week, officers will randomly screen passengers' carry on bags. Officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs will also patrol platforms and trains. The new security measures will begin on the Northeast Corridor, which runs through Philadelphia.

random breathalyzer tests planned for uk motorists

from telegraph: Motorists face being subjected to random breath-testing as part of the biggest shake-up of drink-drive laws since the introduction of the breathalyser 40 years ago, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Ministers are convinced that tougher enforcement is the key to cutting the number of alcohol-related road deaths. Their plans for random testing will be unveiled within weeks...

The proposed changes would allow breath tests to be carried out at any time, with roadside checkpoints being set up at points where police were confident they could catch lawbreakers.

Ministers have previously rejected random breath-testing but it is understood that there was a change of heart when the results of the latest Christmas campaign against drink-driving were revealed.

news on the march

colorado checkpoint takes blood & saliva samples
from denver post: The Gilpin County Sheriff's Office was apologizing Monday after a weekend effort to help a research group led to complaints about what appeared to be a DUI checkpoint - but wasn't.

Sheriff's officials who participated in the stops now acknowledge that the nonprofit organization requesting voluntary DUI and drug tests from drivers was overly persistent, according to complaints...

"I think it's very dangerous," said Sequeira, a Boulder radio personality on Latino issues. "Sometimes at checkpoints, unfortunate things happen. I don't think they're authorized to do what they're doing, and I view it as a gross violation of law-enforcement protocol."

The research is part of a nationwide study partly financed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

dhs sponsors martial law exercise for kids
from rogue government: The Department of Homeland Security is currently sponsoring an event in Huntsville, AL where children have the opportunity to participate in a mock martial law oriented disaster exercise. The event called the Be Ready Camp is being held in two sessions as part of the government’s National Preparedness Month initiative. Run under the guise of disaster preparedness, the Be Ready Camp is a program clearly designed to indoctrinate the youth of our country into the culture of fear and hysteria that the government has surrounded us with since the attacks of 9/11. This program is also designed to desensitize children in order for them to accept and serve the future government control grid that will surround them when they become adults.

the weird russian mind-control research
behind a homeland security contract
from wired: The future of U.S. anti-terrorism technology could lie near the end of a Moscow subway line in a circular dungeon-like room with a single door and no windows. Here, at the Psychotechnology Research Institute, human subjects submit to experiments aimed at manipulating their subconscious minds...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has gone to many strange places in its search for ways to identify terrorists before they attack, but perhaps none stranger than this lab on the outskirts of Russia's capital. The institute has for years served as the center of an obscure field of human behavior study -- dubbed psychoecology -- that traces it roots back to Soviet-era mind control research.

dan rather: 'democracy cannot survive'

from raw story: Former CBS anchor Dan Rather recently filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS, saying they made him a "scapegoat" when he was fired for a September 2004 story on 60 Minutes about President Bush's unsatisfactory service in the Texas Air National Guard...

But he added, "Somebody, sometime has got to take a stand and say democracy cannot survive, much less thrive with the level of big corporate and big government interference and intimidation in news."