The Counted ~ Total Victims of Police Force...

The Guardian shares interactive database -- The Counted -- of everyone killed by police in the US in 2015 (and counting). I've personally witnessed grotesque police brutality and -- like the rest of the 'Net -- have seen the seemingly endless number of videos of bullies with badges brutalizing citizenry.  And we're not talking about gangsters or terrorists, but everyday people. Here we can see the ridiculous scale of the wanton moral (and legal) corruption and inhumanity run amok. Who protects us from our so-called protectors?

Persistent Surveillance ~ Pre-Crime Panopticon...

NextBigFuture spotlights WashPo piece on Persistent Surveillance...

ANC Hypocrisy? ~ Bloody Rulers of Modern SA...

Al Jaz reveals the hypocrisy of today's ANC rulers of South Africa...

Nanny Statist ~ Ridiculing Mayor Bloomberg...

NY Mayor Bloomberg's latest stupidity is illegitimately impinging on people's food choices. Yes, this is Nanny Statism, not only unconstitutional but also symbolic of government gone wild. Ridicule him and fellow loons remorselessly. And vote the bastards out.

Penis vs Police ~ Freedom of Expression in NL

Peter wants his penis back writes Eric Beauchemin on RNW...

"A row has broken out in a village in the southern Dutch province of Brabant between an artist and the police over a 3-metre high wooden penis. The artist made the sculpture and attached a sign to it with the name of a policeman. He was protesting against the policeman for searching his daughter for drugs. The officer regarded the huge penis as insulting and late last week the police confiscated it. The artist, Peter de Koning, is furious. He says the action violates his right to freedom of expression. He is demanding that the police give him back his penis."

Killed by Incompetence ~ Latest MIT Death...

Very sad to hear MIT alumnus Phyo Kyaw was slaughtered Tuesday 12/27/2011 by a criminally careless truck driver while riding his bicycle at Mass Ave and Vassar. While this death is quite tragic -- and ought to be a capital case against the truck driver and a bankrupting civil case against the liable owner -- it's also a direct consequence of gross incompetence and complete safety neglect on the part of urban planners, traffic engineers, lawless drivers, absent or uncaring police, AWOL lawmakers, and for those rare court cases, spineless judges. Specifically, we have in Cambridge and Massachusetts today...

• Unsafe and totally inadequate bicycle lanes;
• Hazardous & poorly designed intersections;
  
• Unenforced speeding, red light, & cross-walk rules;
• Minimalist punishment of traffic & safety violations;
• Total absence of driver safety culture;
• Rampant road-rage & driving-while-distracted;
• Missing traffic intersection video recording & tracking;
• Inadequately strict driver-fault liability rules;
• Too few indictments, scarce convictions, & liberal sentences;
  
• And more.

In a just world, those directly and indirectly responsible would all be held criminally culpable for this death -- and for the many other related and entirely avoidable safety incidents between motor vehicles and the bicyclists and pedestrians they threaten daily. Let's look at the evidence: the photos show the murder victim's bike is crushed under the wheels of the JP Noonan-owned truck which is completely on the wrong side of the road. That driver should get the electric chair and yet the latest press reports indicate he's not even being charged. Even worse, an MIT campus policeman told me yesterday -- with a completely straight face, mind you -- that the word is "the bicyclist just ran into the truck" and that's why he died. So this vicious murder by means of criminally negligent and reckless driving is actually either an unfortunate "accident" or it's really the victim's own fault. Are you F#CKing kidding me?! This is completely appalling.

Right to Record ~ 1st Victory on Videoing Police!

Thanks to Jeffrey Hermes from the Citizen Media Law Project for spotlighting A Victory for Recording in Public!

"CMLP is thrilled to report that in the case of Glik v. Cunniffe [...] the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has issued a resounding and unanimous opinion in support of the First Amendment right to record the actions of police in public. [...] Glik was arrested on October 1, 2007, after openly using his cell phone to record three police officers arresting a suspect on Boston Common. In return for his efforts to record what he suspected might be police brutality -- in a pattern that is now all too familiar -- Glik was charged with criminal violation of the Massachusetts wiretap act, aiding the escape of a prisoner and disturbing the peace. As tends to happen in cases like these, the charges didn't hold up [but he wanted to clearly fight for and win back his Constitutionally guaranteed Rights, so] in February 2010, Glik filed suit in federal court against the officers and the City of Boston under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act. Glik alleged that the police officers violated his First Amendment right to record police activity in public and that the officers violated his Fourth Amendment rights by arresting him without probable cause to believe a crime had occurred."

Bottom line? He won. And the opinion is full of pointed findings...

• "In the First Circuit... this First Amendment right publicly to record the activities of police officers on public business is established."
• "Glik was exercising clearly-established First Amendment rights in filming the officers in a public space, and that his clearly-established Fourth Amendment rights were violated by his arrest without probable cause."
• "[I]s there a constitutionally protected right to videotape police carrying out their duties in public? Basic First Amendment principles, along with case law from this and other circuits, answer that question unambiguously in the affirmative."
• "Glik filmed the defendant police officers in the Boston Common, the oldest city park in the United States and the apotheosis of a public forum. In such traditional public spaces, the rights of the state to limit the exercise of First Amendment activity are 'sharply circumscribed.'"
• "[A] citizen's right to film government officials, including law enforcement officers, in the discharge of their duties in a public space is a basic, vital, and well-established liberty safeguarded by the First Amendment."
• "Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting 'the free discussion of governmental affairs.'"

This is epic. Bad cops everywhere -- you're on notice -- Citizen Crowd has a million eyes on you. You can no longer get away with either brutal misbehavior and corruption or arresting innocent citizen photographers and videographers who catch you in the act.

Broom Army ~ Taking Out the Terrorist Trash...

The "feral rats" continue to infest London and other UK cities, but everyday citizens disgusted by wanton criminality and mob terrorism -- and these riotous scum (yes, scum) are indeed morally and behaviorally terrorists -- are fighting back as the Broom Army. If you recognize the scum, say the word to the papers or authorities.

Blocked Lanes ~ NYC Bicyclist Protests Back;-)

This film starts with one of NYC's finest porkers being stupidly ham-fisted with a biker. Snorteth he -- "Always stay in the bike lane." Watch as Casey Neistat takes this admonition literally...

Dangerous Passage ~ Mexico's Migrant Gauntlet

Nicholas Casey writes in the WSJournal about the horrors as Migrants Fall Prey to Mexican Gangs on Way to the U.S...

"Kidnapping Central American and Mexican immigrants is one of the latest rackets of Mexican organized-crime groups, which are expanding beyond drugs into pirated DVDs, illegal alcohol sales and business extortion. Just this year, more than 4,000 immigrants have been rescued by the Mexican army and federal police from their captors, according to government statistics. Because authorities say only a fraction of those kidnapped are ever rescued, the figures suggest that gangs kidnap tens of thousands of migrants each year. The victims, almost always headed to the U.S., are captured by gangs where they are ransomed back to relatives, forcibly recruited as workers or sometimes sold into prostitution."

This is seriously not good. Migrants are among the most vulnerable and yet ambitious of humanity and deserve special favor and protection. We ought to do and be better here.

Nanny Statism ~ Reason.tv on Stupid US Rules...

Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month on the latest statist stupidities...

"...top dishonors go to the sour bureaucrat who put the squeeze on a group of kids for running a lemonade stand. Sure they were raising money for a worthy cause (pediatric cancer research), but they were doing it without a permit, and that's why they got slapped with a $500 fine. Presenting Reason.tv's Nanny of the Month for June 2011: Jennifer Hughes of Montgomery County, Maryland's Department of Permitting Services! The episode sparked so much outrage that the county eventually backed off, but this is no isolated incident. Across America, the permit police are cracking down on pint-sized peddlers of liquid freedom."

Handling Pirates ~ Sweeping Scum from the Seas

Thanks to gCaptain for spotting the Dutch handling of verminous piratical scum off the coast of Somalia...

Official Corruption ~ West African IRTG Report...

Thanks to A Bombastic Element for originally noting back in 2009 the West Africa: The 9th IRTG Report -- Monitoring Police Harassment about the West African Trade Hub's Improved Road Transport Governance and for spotlighting the conclusion...

"Generally speaking, the Police (greatest bribe takers) have the most negative impact on the corridors as far as extorting bribes from drivers is concerned."

Here's the latest maps and stats from the 15th IRTG Report featuring location, number of controls, amount of bribes, and total delays. Clearly there's room for exorcising more corrupt cops and related cronies from the region...

Ending War on Drugs ~ FT's Wolf on Reason...

The FT's chief economics commentator Martin Wolf opines We should end our disastrous war on drugs...

"The global war on drugs has failed. Readers should not take my word for this. It is the opening sentence of a report on the failures of prohibition from an independent Global Commission on Drug Policy. What makes this report astonishing is not its content, now widely accepted among disinterested people, but who is associated with it. [Leaders like Shultz, Volcker, Annan, Cardoso, Zedillo, Solana] While failing to reduce the ills of drug use at which it is addressed, it has created massive “collateral damage”: the spread of avoidable diseases; use of drugs in dangerous forms; mass criminalisation and incarceration; a gigantic waste of public resources; corruption; creation of a cross-border network of organised crime; and the subversion of states. [...] It is a war with myriad innocent victims."

Let's finally let reason and liberty prevail -- stop this insane war now.

Slutwalk.nl ~ Let's Stop Blaming the Victims...

Inspiring to hear from 24Oranges that Slutwalk hits Amsterdam, a protest-movement which started after...

"...some cromagnon policeman in Toronto, Canada was quoted this year as saying “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”, which was picked up and understood as women who dress provocatively, like sluts, are asking to be raped."

We are indeed no longer in the Stone Age, so Slutwalk.nl shouts out...

“We are tired of being oppressed by slut-shaming; of being judged by our sexuality and feeling unsafe as a result. Being in charge of our sexual lives should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence, regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or work.”

Word! Liberty means absolute personal security and social safety.

Evading Censorship ~ Searching For Channels...

Everyone knows the Great Firewall of China blocks everyday access to the Web and censors communications. And now the most fearful and ruthless regimes of the Arab League are putting their own oppressive burqa on the bitstream... But as Jeremy Kirk with IDG News writes, With Wired Internet Locked, Egypt Looks to the Sky...

"Foreign media posted in Cairo published dramatic photos on Friday of protestors battling police firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse crowds. But absent Internet or mobile phone access, it's much more difficult for most Egyptians to self-publish, an act that has become an increasingly important component of breaking news coverage. Satellite Internet services aren't cheap, however, compared to wired Internet access. Al-Najjar said a satellite-capable phone could cost around US$1,300 in Egypt. [...] Satellite services are not dependent on local carriers for connectivity. So someone in Egypt, for example, could snap a photo of the protests and upload it to a computer connected to a BGAN satellite modem. As long as the person has aimed the portable modem properly at the satellite, the person should have broadband Internet access, said a sales representative based in South Africa for GlobalCom, which sells portable Internet access for Iridium, Thuraya, Inmarsat and Globalstar Satellite."

Fighting the power, one tyranny at a time. P.S. Here's practical tips from Patrick Miller, David Daw at PCWorld, Get Internet Access When Your Government Shuts It Down.
P.P.S. This is excellent to see again via Feedjit as of Sat 5 Feb 2011...

Ganga Catapult ~ Mexican Pot Smugglers Go DIY

Mexican Authorities Seize Homemade Marijuana-Hurling Catapult At The Border writes Clay Dillow in PopSci!

Big Brother Tech ~ Computer Vision Systems...

Steve Lohr writes in the NYTimes about Computers That See You and Keep Watch Over You. These...

"...machines do not blink or forget. They are tireless assistants. The enthusiasm for such systems extends well beyond the nation’s prisons. High-resolution, low-cost cameras are proliferating, found in products like smartphones and laptop computers. The cost of storing images is dropping, and new software algorithms for mining, matching and scrutinizing the flood of visual data are progressing swiftly. A computer-vision system can watch a hospital room and remind doctors and nurses to wash their hands, or warn of restless patients who are in danger of falling out of bed. It can, through a computer-equipped mirror, read a man’s face to detect his heart rate and other vital signs. It can analyze a woman’s expressions as she watches a movie trailer or shops online, and help marketers tailor their offerings accordingly. Computer vision can also be used at shopping malls, schoolyards, subway platforms, office complexes and stadiums. All of which could be helpful -- or alarming."

Read the rest for more details. And check out the embedded face recognition example by MIT Media Lab spinoff company Affectiva...

Freedom Riders ~ De-Segregation Crusaders...

Thanks to Shelia Byrd from the AP for spotlighting Stanley Nelson's documentary Freedom Fighters...

"The film [...] recounts the 1961 crusade by daring young activists intent on ending segregated travel on interstate buses in the Deep South. [...] Most of the riders were college students coached in the art of nonviolent protest by veteran activists, including the Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. The students, both black and white, knew they were risking their lives by traveling on Greyhound and Trailways buses into the rigidly and violently segregated South. Nelson said the great lesson of Freedom Riders is how ordinary citizens -- much like the hundreds of activists who rode into the South -- can bring about change. "It really says that this movement was a movement of people," Nelson said. "Nobody else will ever be a Martin Luther King. What Freedom Riders said is that you don't have to be."

Future of Smart Cities ~ Inforights and Inclusion...

Thanks to MIT alumnus entreprener Saeed Arida for spotting The Battle for Control of Smart Cities by Greg Lindsay in Fast Company...

"Who will own the brains of smart cities -- citizens or corporations? At stake is an impending massive trove of data, not to mention issues of privacy, services, and inclusion. [...] Achieving that balance falls to smarter cities’ mayors, who must keep the tech heavyweights in check and “frame an agenda of openness, transparency and inclusivness.” Those are some of the conclusions of “The Future of Cities, Information, and Inclusion,” a 10-year forecast commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation and published this morning by the Institute for the Future. [...] Befitting the Foundation’s focus on the world’s poorest and what it calls “smart globalization,” the report’s emphasis is on smartening up cities in the developing world -- cities that lack both data about their swelling populations and the tools needed to make sense of it." [...] Together, they highlight five “technologies that matter” for cities in 2020 [...] The report’s centerpiece is a map depicting how these technologies might be applied across 13 scenarios.."