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Zebra 3 Report by Joe Anybody
Friday, 25 November 2016
Fasting on Thanksgiving & Not Participating in the Holiday
Mood:
 not sure
Now Playing: Solidarity with NAtive Americans & Immigrants on Thanksgiving Day
Topic: NATIVE AMERICANS
Thanksgiving Day in 2016 I fasted for (3) three real reasons: The flyer below expalins my thoughts and reasoning  The traditional story of the first Thanksgiving feast between peaceful Pilgrims and generous Natives has been challenged by indigenous groups for decades. The United American Indians of New England began observing a “National Day of Mourning” on Thanksgiving in 1970, calling attention to the history of genocide against indigenous people that included massacres, broken treaties, and the forced assimilation of children through boarding schools that persisted into the 1970s.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 1:19 PM PST
Updated: Friday, 25 November 2016 1:28 PM PST
Sunday, 16 October 2016
Breaking: ND Prosecutor Seeks "Riot" Charges Against Amy Goodman For Reporting On Pipeline Protest
Mood:
 on fire
Now Playing: everyone who thinks journalists who do their jobs in North Dakota should stay out of prison should sign this petition.
Topic: MEDIA
 Bismarck, North Dakota–October 15, 2016 — A North Dakota state prosecutor has sought to charge award-winning journalist Amy Goodman with participating in a "riot" for filming an attack on Native American-led anti-pipeline protesters. The new charge comes after the prosecutor dropped criminal trespassing charges. http://www.democracynow.org/2016/10/15/breaking_nd_prosecutor_seeks_riot_charges State’s Attorney Ladd R Erickson filed the new charges on Friday before District Judge John Grinsteiner who will decide on Monday (October 17) whether probable cause exists for the riot charge. Goodman has travelled to North Dakota to face the charges and will appear at Morton County court on Monday at 1:30 pm local time (CDT) if the charges are approved. “I came back to North Dakota to fight a trespass charge. They saw that they could never make that charge stick, so now they want to charge me with rioting, " said Goodman. "I wasn’t trespassing, I wasn’t engaging in a riot, I was doing my job as a journalist by covering a violent attack on Native American protesters." In an e-mail to Goodman’s attorney Tom Dickson on October 12, State’s Attorney Erickson admitted that there were "legal issues with proving the notice of trespassing requirements in the statute." In an earlier email on October 12, Erickson wrote that Goodman "was not acting as a journalist," despite that fact that the state’s criminal complaint recognized that, "Amy Goodman can be seen on the video …interviewing protesters." In that email Erikson justified his quote in the Bismarck Tribune in which he had said that "She’s [Amy Goodman] a protester, basically. Everything she reported on was from the position of justifying the protest actions." The First Amendment, of course, applies irrespective of the content of a reporter’s story. The charge in State of North Dakota v. Amy Goodman, stems from Democracy Now!’s coverage of the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. On Saturday, September 3, Democracy Now! filmed security guards working for the pipeline company attacking protesters. The report showed guards unleashing dogs and using pepper spray and featured people with bite injuries and a dog with blood dripping from its mouth and nose. Democracy Now!’s report went viral online and was viewed more than 14 million times on Facebook and was rebroadcast on many outlets, including CBS, NBC,NPR, CNN, MSNBCand the Huffington Post. On September 8th, a criminal complaint and warrant was issued for Goodman’s arrest on the trespassing charge. "Filming Native Americans being violently attacked as they defend their land is not rioting, it’s called journalism, it is protected by the First Amendment, and indeed, it is an essential function in a democratic society," said Professor Katherine Franke, chair of the board of the Center for Constitutional Rights. The pipeline project has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and members of over 100 other tribes from across the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning public television/radio news program that airs on over 1,400 stations worldwide. Goodman has co-authored six New York Times bestsellers and won many of journalism’s highest awards in more than three-decades working as a reporter. You can see Democracy Now!’s coverage of the pipeline and the protests here. Press information:Contact Denis Moynihan:
+1-646-217-7231
media@democracynow.org or Reed Brody +1 917 388 6745 Press Statement by Amy Goodman in front of Morton County Courthouse:
Expected Time: 1:45pm CDT, Monday Oct. 17th, 2016. Live camera positions with satellite uplink connection available onsite to interview Amy Goodman or for use by your correspondent. http://www.democracynow.org/2016/10/15/breaking_nd_prosecutor_seeks_riot_charges
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 11:28 AM PDT
Thursday, 6 October 2016
My letter to city hall regarding the Bad Police Contract - And Shutting Folks Out
Mood:
 don't ask
Now Playing: Portland police push, pepper spray protesters out of city hall
Topic: POLICE
I SENT THIS LETTER TO CITY COUNCIL on 10-6 I AM OUTRAGED ON HOW THEY ARE HANDLING THIS CRITICAL SERIOUS ISSUE OF THE BAD POLICE CONTARCT and CITIZEN IMPUT (email is copied below) From: Joe Anybody [mailto:callingzebra3@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2016 1:11 PM
To: Commissioner Fritz <amanda@portlandoregon.gov>; Commissioner Saltzman <dan@portlandoregon.gov>; Commissioner Fish <nick@portlandoregon.gov>; Commissioner Novick <novick@portlandoregon.gov>; Hales, Mayor <mayorcharliehales@portlandoregon.gov>
Cc: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org
Subject: Dismissing public input and not listening to the public - shame on City Hall Mayor Hales and all of City Council Here is what the world is reading...regarding your games with the public citizen of Portland and the police http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2016/10/433294.shtml I am outraged to hear how you are shutting the public out of police accountability. The groups and activists and concerned citizens are being left out in the cold. All the while the mayor sends out lying notices to different neighborhoods on spinning the truth about police accountability. That is dirty and deceitful. The city is under fire from the DOJ regarding our Portland Police FORCE. (force was capitalized on purpose) And at every turn you fight to do whats right, who close down meetings, refuse to cooperate, shut doors , and arrest people as well as scaring folks to "even dare try to use their opinions" with Homeland Security and armed cops inside the chambers. You snub all the community who is concerned and care about these issues. You have outraged citizens who wont even let you speak, you pushed back so hard and neglectful many don't even want to hear you anymore (cant blame em really) You are taking the whole city down a serious rabbit hole While you "fix" the outcome and ignore good groups who really care ..like "Portland Copwatch" "AMA" "NAACP" "Consult Hardesty" Mental Health Advocates" and every other person who wants a better policing system that show up day after day on your doorsteps. The following link is posted on Portland Indymedia which is read "internationally" The whole world is watching you on the council play games as you close out the public http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2016/10/433294.shtml I sign my name "in bold print" along with the letter by Portland Copwatch that is on Indymedia I have tweeted this information out to my (1,000 plus) followers I am outraged how you treat the Portland citizens who care about these police contract issues You all should step back or down if you cant be honest and figure out how to have democracy in our city. You DON'T have a right to close the doors and conduct your 'sneaky business' all behind locked doors I really hold out hope ...that the DOJ will see through all these scandalous dirty trick the Portland City Council is using to stop any real police accountability. Further more you all should apologize to those you have insulted who are working hard in respectful ways to make "REAL" changes in how we are policed. You have insulted people of the city you work for. Shame on all you ____ (My Name) _____ PORTLAND OREGON ---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- The Way they choose to deal with this is captured in this vido footage - as they bylldozed citizens out the doors of city hall sending some to the hosipital and outers to jail. A p[rotest in front of the Mayors house is going on now. City council shoud resign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2zvGuxXeFw
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 12:01 AM PDT
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
The Whole World Is Watching Austin Police Bad Tactics in 2015
Mood:
 crushed out
Now Playing: re-post - Austin Police Beat Up Men for Jaywalking in Texas
Topic: POLICE
Austin Police Beat Up Men for Jaywalking in Texas (Updated)Carlos Miller 4 days agoBad Cop, No Donut, Citizen Journalism, Citizens vs. Government, Know Your Rights!, PINAC News,PINAC News Top 3, Police Abuse, Recording the Police, The Blue Line, Viral Videos 159,960 Views WATCH VIDEO --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVuyO85cINg  Two men had just crossed the street when they were rushed by several Austin police officers who shoved them against a wall, punching and kneeing them while telling them to stop resisting. When asked what crime had the men committed, one of the cops looked up and said, “crossed against the light.” Yes, that heinous crime of jaywalking, which is taken very serious in Austin as we learned last year when the city made international news after police beat up a jogger for jaywalking. Last Thursday police in Austin, Texas, began a “pedestrian enforcement” activity near the campus of the University of Texas, where they stopped and warned or ticketed jaywalkers. When law enforcement officers attempted to issue a jaywalking citation to a jogger, Amanda Jo Stephen, she refused to stop. Some witnesses say she didn’t hear the officers, as she was wearing earphones. Police contend that the officers were clearly visible to her. One way or the other, according to reports, police chased her down and detained her, at which point she became unco-operative and refused to give her name. Several officers then placed her under arrest, and she was carried, screaming into a police car and taken to jail, where she was booked for jaywalking and “failure to identify”.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo quickly came to the defense of the arresting officers, saying they may have been rough with the female college student, but at least they didn’t rape her. This person absolutely took something that was as simple as ‘Austin Police – Stop!’ and decided to do everything you see on that video,” Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a press conference Friday, according to Austin NPR station 90.5 KUT. “And quite frankly she wasn’t charged with resisting. She’s lucky I wasn’t the arresting officer, because I wouldn’t have been as generous. … In other cities there’s cops who are actually committing sexual assaults on duty, so I thank God that this is what passes for a controversy in Austin, Texas,” Acevedo said.
So yes, while beating up citizens up for jaywalking might seem a bit extreme, especially since jaywalking citations are supposedly meant for safety reasons, we should be grateful that they didn’t drag the young men into a back alley and sodomize them. Instead, they dragged one of them into the street and handcuffed him. But who knows what they would have done had the cameras not been there. The video was uploaded to Facebook earlier today. But the incident took place Wednesday, according to the person who posted it. Call the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5000 or leave a comment on their Facebook page. Be sure to make screenshots of your comments in case they start deleting them, which can be used in a potential lawsuit. UPDATE: We exchanged Facebook messages with Rolando Ramiro, the young man who recorded the incident. He said he and his friends began crossing a barricaded street when the light changed as they were crossing, which made the cops demand their identifications, accusing them of jaywalking. “Fuck no,” one of his friend’s said, pointing out that it was a barricaded street with no traffic, essentially a legal pedestrian walkway. Apparently, the cop wanted them to stop for a yellow crossing light as they were stepping into the street, even though the street was barricaded forbidding any cars from entering. And it doesn’t matter anyway. What matters is that the Austin Police Department acted like complete thugs. The punching. The kicking. The arrogance.
Ramiro did an excellent job recording the insanity. Note how he recorded holding the phone horizontally. Note the difference from the usual vertical videos. Make it instinct to record horizontally. Not enough people do. THIS ARTICLE IS RE-POSTED FROM THIS WEBSITE
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 1:33 PM PST
Monday, 1 June 2015
Anarchy Improvements
Mood:
 happy
Now Playing: 5 Reasons Why Anarchy Would Be an Improvement in Human Governance
Topic: Anarchism
5 Reasons Why Anarchy Would Be an Improvement in Human Governance http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/5-reasons-why-anarchy-would-be-an-improvement-in-human-governance/  By Gary ‘Z’ McGee / wakingtimes.com“Give a man a gun and he’ll rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he’ll rob the world.”–Unknown Give people just a little bit of knowledge and courage and they will track down those greedy-ass bankers and hold them accountable. All we need is just a little courageous anarchy. The problem, the crux, the fly in the ointment: most people are not courageous enough, and most people don’t want to learn anything that attacks their all-too-precious worldview. Yes, the very worldview that is keeping people indebted to an immoral, unhealthy, unsustainable, unjust system of human governance, is precisely the worldview that the majority of people are clinging to. Indeed, most people, even though they would probably say otherwise, would rather be kissed with a lie than slapped with the truth. They would rather deny facts that tarnish their worldview than reject the deceit that upholds it. But as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” Healthy human evolution requires authentic vigilance. It requires a consistent upheaval of the status quo. This requires proactive human beings who are willing to be authentically vigilant and consistently rebellious. It requires courageous interdependent individuals who dare to recondition the status-quo-junky original condition. It turns out that the wisdom gained from anarchy is precisely the ability to distinguish between sacrifice that is transformative and healthy from mere suffering caused by the state that we’ve allowed because we were too cowardly or too unimaginative to think of a healthier way to live. Like Stefan Molyneux said, “Never, ever underestimate the degree to which people will scatter themselves into a deep fog in order to avoid seeing the basic realities of their own cages. The strongest lock on the prison is always avoidance, not force.” Here are five reasons why anarchy will improve human governance and thereby cultivate a healthy human evolution. 1.) It Has Inherent Checks and Balances“Failure shows us the way –by showing us what isn’t the way.” –Ryan Holiday
This one alone is reason enough to give anarchy a try again. The other four are just icing on the cake. I say “again” because human beings lived in hunter-gatherer groups that were characterized by what anthropologists call Fierce Egalitarian Anarchy. They not only shared things, they demanded that things be shared: meat, shelter, and protection… this was simply the best way to mitigate risk in a survival context in a world with limited resources. Fierce egalitarianism and primal politics (tribal anarchy) worked exceptionally well for the human race for 95% of our existence on this planet. Indeed, it’s one of the only reasons why we’ve survived as long as we have. In an amazing game theory study by Duéñez-Guzmán-Sadedin on the topic of police corruption, they concluded that once a police system becomes entrenched, nothing can stop it from eventually becoming corrupt, with the result being a population of gullible sheep and hypocritical overlords. But they didn’t stop the study there. They decided to tweak it ever so slightly. In the words of Suzanne Sadedin: “The results were startling. By making a few alterations to the composition of the justice system, corrupt societies could be made to transition to a state called ‘righteousness’. In righteous societies, police were not a separate, elite order. They were everybody. When virtually all of society stood ready to defend the common good, corruption didn’t pay. Similarly, as it turns out, social norms in hunter-gatherer societies are enforced by the whole group rather than any specially empowered individuals.” This is a critical aspect of anarchy: that everyone is free to be as moral, or as amoral, as they need to be in order to maintain a healthy cosmic, ecological, and social order. Freedom is primary. Health is secondary. Understanding how everything is connected is third. And immorality is not tolerated. The monumental problem with our Statist society is that we are not taught to be as moral or as amoral as we need to be in order to maintain a healthy cosmic, ecological, and social order. In fact, statism purposefully forces whatever the state decrees to be healthy, as healthy, whether or not it is actually healthy according to cosmic law. This creates an exorbitant amount of problems. 2.) It Would Nullify Debt Slavery and Eliminate Poverty“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living in a society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.” –Frederic Bastiat
How does our legal system authorize plunder? It allows banks to create fiat money out of thin air and then charge interest on it, which keeps the poor wallowing in poverty, and entrenches the rich in corruptible power structures based upon immoderate wealth. How does our moral code glorify plunder? It pushes militarization, creates profit prisons, creates “war heroes” out of violent psychopaths, and makes war itself a profitable endeavor. It puts profit over people, equity over equality, transforms elections into auctions, and creates a fundamentally unsustainable and unhealthy money first, human heart second, mentality. Like Naseem Nicholas Taleb said, “Those who do not think that employment is systematic slavery are either blind or employed.” How does anarchy flip the tables on the authorization and glorification of plunder? It prevents plunder from ever becoming possible because anarchy-based modes of governance are engineered in such a way that groups never get to the point of concentrated centers of power. The monopolization of power never gets to the point to where it becomes corrupt, because of controlled leveling mechanisms such as reverse dominance and wealth expiation. Like Jim Dodge said, “Anarchy doesn’t mean out of control; it means out of their control.” Whoever “they” may be: monopolizing corporations, overreaching governments, tyrants. Self-aware critical thinker beware: political propaganda, especially in regards to war, money, government, and law, are designed to keep you conditioned and brainwashed into believing whoever is in power is being moral and just with their power. But as George Orwell warned, “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance to solidity to pure wind.” Have no illusions: within the current systems of human governance, poverty is a business. Profits are made on the labor of the poor, the consumption of the poor, and the debt of the poor. Anarchy is a system of human governance built to lift people out of poverty and into freedom. It gives people hope for a more balanced future of human prosperity. Like Raymond Williams advised, “To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.”
3.) It Would Be Eco-Morally and Ecologically Healthier and More Sustainable“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” –Alexandra K.Trenfor
Authority tells you what to see, and therefore must be questioned. Authority is telling you that it’s okay to live immoderate, over-indulgent, violent, ecocidal lifestyles. It’s not okay, because it is fundamentally unhealthy and leads to unsustainable devolution. In a system of human governance that is systematically transforming livingry into weaponry, it is the supreme duty of all healthy, moral, compassionate, eco-conscious, indeed anarchist, people to question authority to the nth degree. Such audacious questioning has the potential to create robust eco-centric communities based upon permaculture, wellness, creativity, and a sacred economy that takes the interconnectedness of all things into deep consideration. It incentivizes individuals who value human flourishing, environmental flourishing, permaculture, sustainable building, alternative education, and nature-based wellness. The cornerstone of anarchist modes of human governance is the deep understanding of the interdependence of all living things. As Nikola Tesla proclaimed, “Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surroundings, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.” An anarchist society divorced from the oppressive Big Brother bitch-slap of Statism, reveals a society that is capable of preserving the moral Golden Mean and the middle-way, as opposed to the immoral, suffocating greed of state politics. It will uncover a society that exemplifies the Golden Ratio of nature, as opposed to the state’s expropriation of nature and nature-based cultures. 4.) It Would Result in the Expiation of Power and Wealth Through an Ethics of Reciprocity“A freedom that is interested only in denying freedom must be denied.” –Simone De Beauvoir
The ultimate leveling mechanism inherent within anarchist modes of human governance is the ethics of reciprocity combined with the expiation of power. Anthropologist Christopher Boehm has proposed a social theory that anarchist, egalitarian hunter-gatherers maintained equality through a leveling mechanism he calls Reverse Dominance: a social system of checks and balances that maintains egalitarian ethos while preventing a dominance hierarchy from forming. Reverse dominance hierarchies are broken down into four different leveling mechanisms: public opinion, ridicule, disobedience, and ostracism. These mechanisms work because human beings are social creatures and hugely influenced by peer pressure and social acceptance. Anarchist modes of human governance are largely based upon shame as a regulatory method. Within such a society individuals are socially, morally, and ecologically compelled to expiate their power and reciprocate wealth because the alternative is the risk of shaming, ridicule, and/or ostracism. Like A.C. Grayling explained it, “The first task is to win something; the second, to banish the feeling that has been won; otherwise it is a burden.” In order for power and wealth not to become a psychological burden within anarchist systems, the powerful and the wealthy must be able to expiate and reciprocate their power and wealth, lest people become oppressed, and entire systems become corrupt. But this does NOT mean that skill, courage, intelligence and perseverance are not rewarded. Anarchy does not imply socialism. Ours is a cultural problem. We’ve been raised to believe in the false ideal of greed. We’ve been conditioned to own. Our culture has become ego-centric, as opposed to eco-centric. It has become ownership-based, as opposed to relationship-based. But prestige and merit can still be highly strived for values within an anarchist society that practices expiation of wealth and the ethics of reciprocity. As I wrote in Breaking out of a Broken System, “Eco-moralism tames capitalism through holistic checks and balances. Ego-moralism jumpstarts communism through proactive citizenry. What we’re left with is a healthy anarchism with an egalitarian ethos which is less about capital and one-upmanship and more about respect for what is borrowed. It is less about ownership and more about relationships. It is ethical, spiritual, and diverse; as opposed to egotistical, religious, and homogenized by nationalism. Eco-moralism helps us pierce through the smoke and mirrors of hyper-reality and into the way reality actually is: interconnected and interdependent. Ego-moralism helps us become more motivated by revealing that our egos are actually tools towards leveraging a healthy balance between cosmos and psyche.” Anarchists are crazy enough to think they can change the world, which is precisely why they will. 5.) It Would Create Compassionate, Humble, but Courageous Leadership“To really understand something is to be liberated from it. Dedicating one’s self to a great cause, taking responsibility, and gaining self-knowledge is the essence of being human. A predatory capitalist’s greatest enemy, and humanity’s greatest ally, is the self-educated individual who has read, understood, delays their gratification, and walks around with their eyes wide open.” –The Four Horsemen, documentary
Anarchist modes of human governance create precisely the type of self-educated, autodidactic individual that predatory capitalist’s and pacifist socialist’s fear. As Louis G. Herman wrote, “When individuals try to balance self-interest with a consideration of the bigger picture, they discover, as Socrates did, that deep self-interest actually includes concern for the good of the whole.” An individual (ego) acting on the good of the whole (eco) is a force of nature first, a person second, which provides them the phenomenal power of standing on the shoulders of giants while also wearing a wide array of masks of self-mastery. If we can combine fierce egalitarian primal politics along with the type of progressive self-interested people who are capable of considering the bigger interdependent picture, then we have a recipe for a healthy, prestigious anarchic leadership. We have a blueprint for authentically venerated and wise leadership that has the potential to transform the currently unlivable human world into a livable one. Like MLK Jr. said, “The hope of a secure livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists, who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood. The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific, and spiritual freedom have always been nonconformists. In any cause that concerns the progress of mankind, put your faith in the nonconformist.” Indeed, it is typically the nonconformist who is the one testing the outer limits of the human imagination: stretching comfort zones, shattering mental paradigms, and flattening status quo boxes that those hooked on conformity so desperately try to think outside of. As Henry David Thoreau said, in true anarchist leadership form, “I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.” Gary ‘Z’ McGee, a former Navy Intelligence Specialist turned philosopher, is the author of Birthday Suit of God and The Looking Glass Man. His works are inspired by the great philosophers of the ages and his wide awake view of the modern world. © 2015 Waking Times. Republished with permission. For permission to re-print this article contact wakingtimes@gmail.com, or the respective author.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 4:35 PM PDT
Monday, 17 November 2014
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
My comments as a COPWATCH member to Portland City Council
Mood:
 irritated
Now Playing: Portland Copwatch Talks to The MAyor and City Council 9.17.14
Topic: POLICE
My Testimony September 17, 2014 Hello Mayor and City Council, I’m a member of Portland Copwatch that wanted to sit down and meet with you about concerns our group had regarding filming by the police. I’m now using this time to speak to you because our group was not able to get a meeting with you without getting by Officer Wesson Mitchell's conflicts of interest. Her position on the issues we've raised comes off as defensive of Bureau behavior and policies. We feel this is not helpful for someone who should be listening to community concerns and figuring out how to implement change, rather than helping perpetuate the status quo. We are concerned about the police filming residents of Portland. We have seen over and over the Police filming people at public gatherings and protests. When asked “why they are filming” or “what are they doing with the film footage”, the police usually reply “we are using it for training purposes and to ask the City Attorney for more information”. We know that ORS 181.575 states the police are not to be filming, spying on or recording citizens, religious organizations or political groups. And we are concerned that the police are continuing to film and collect this video footage to this day. We have written about this concern repeatedly. This concern of filming by the police takes me to my next point about the use of lapel cameras that are to be worn by police. I’m speaking of the body worn camera by an officer while on duty. Because, for example, there is not enough information on what is happening with the camera data, and the use and storage of the video footage that is collected, and whether it will be viewed with transparent oversight, we at Portland Copwatch are not able support the police filming the residents of Portland using these cameras. There has been only one public study made so far on this type of camera worn by police and the information doesn’t prove it makes police behavior any better or safer. It was paid for in part by the cameras' manufacturer, who stands to make money from good press. Many people are saying that police worn cameras can stop police abuse and misconduct, but we don’t know if that is true or if it even changes police conduct. We do encourage people to film the police, and in fact we offer trainings to the public on “how to film the police” and what a person's rights are, but it’s our opinion that having the “police film citizens” with body worn cameras is potentially illegal. There needs to be more conversation with the public, oversight committees and organizations on what this type of filming does to our privacy, and how the recordings will be stored and accessed. Will the acquired footage be used for spying, tracing, investigating or data mined for information? We have no assurance the police will use the footage for accountability purposes. We do not know how or who will be reviewing the video tapes and how it will relate to discipline or to correcting bad behavior. We are concerned the footage will be used as a dragnet to hunt for evidence to prosecute people. We are concerned it could be used in assisting investigations that are not warranted nor would be allowed under the purview of legitimate police business. It seems the City already made up its mind to get these cameras, but these questions need to be discussed with residents who need to feel safe and secure in their rights to privacy and not to incriminate themselves. In conclusion, the police should not film the citizens of Portland by any type of camera without at least reasonable suspicion of criminal activity as called for in ORS 181.575.
sidenote Our reason for meeting with the mayor in this manner can be expained by this article from our portland copwatch website. http://portlandcopwatch.org/mayormeeting2014.html
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 11:27 PM PDT
Updated: Wednesday, 17 September 2014 9:34 PM PDT
Sunday, 14 September 2014
PRISM and FISA - Yahoo wants to tell us what they are doing
Mood:
 celebratory
Now Playing: Yahoo faced $250,000 per day fines for PRISM dissidence
Topic: Privacy & Security
The requests are part of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and overseen by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISC-R 
Full Article here: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2365903/yahoo-faced-usd250-000-per-day-fines-for-prism-dissidence The secret courts overseeing the National Security Agency (NSA) threatened Yahoo with daily $250,000 fines if it failed to comply with their orders. Yahoo general counsel Ron Bell revealed the court's threats in a blog post, following a court victory allowing the firm to publish 1,500 pages of secret papers chronicling its bid to fight the NSA's data requests. "In 2007, the US Government amended a key law to demand user information from online services. We refused to comply with what we viewed as unconstitutional and overbroad surveillance and challenged the US government's authority. Our challenge, and a later appeal in the case, did not succeed," read the post. "At one point, the US government threatened the imposition of $250,000 in fines per day if we refused to comply." Yahoo was one of many firms involved in the infamous PRISM mass surveillance campaign. The campaign saw the NSA siphon data from the companies using National Security Letters. The requests are part of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and overseen by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISC-R). The nature of the requests mean the companies involved are not allowed to disclose receiving the orders or what information was handed over without risking arrest. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer claimed she would face "treason" charges if she declined to comply with the requests in June 2013. Bell listed the court ruling as a key victory in Yahoo's ongoing bid to be more transparent about its part in PRISM and pledged to publish the documents on the company's Tumblr blog in the very near future. He added that Yahoo will continue to work to release further documents relating to PRISM. "Our fight continues. We are still pushing for the FISC to release materials from the 2007-2008 case in the lower court. The FISC indicated previously that it was waiting on the FISC-R ruling in relation to the 2008 appeal before moving forward," he said. "Now that the FISC-R matter is resolved, we will work hard to make the materials from the FISC case public, as well." Yahoo has also made several technical upgrades to its services security in a bid to protect its users from surveillance campaigns since news of PRISM broke. Most recently Yahoo began encrypting all information that moves between its data centres.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 10:19 AM PDT
US security agencies probed up to 249 Dropbox accounts
Mood:
 smelly
Now Playing: Dropbox asked to hand over the keys to user account details Dropbox has revealed that it received up to 249 requests for informa
Topic: Privacy & Security
 Full Article here: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2366398/us-security-agencies-probed-up-to-249-dropbox-accounts Dropbox has revealed that it received up to 249 requests for information on customer accounts from US national security authorities in its latest transparency report. The report details all the requests made by US authorities between January and June 2014. Under US law Dropbox could not reveal the exact number of information requests made by national security agencies, only a vague range. However, the report does also reveals that Dropbox had received 268 information requests from US law enforcement agencies, rather than national security agencies. This compromised 120 search warrants, 109 subpoenas, 37 requests relating to non-US accounts and two court orders. In a blog post, Dropbox's Bart Volkmer explained that this number was a fraction of Dropbox's 300 million accounts, but the company takes each one seriously and challenges some requests. "We also push back in cases where agencies are seeking too much information or haven't followed the proper procedures," he said. While the report detailed how many information and content requests Dropbox responded to, Volkmer explained that many US authorities try to prevent Dropbox from informing its users of such law enforcement probes, even when they have no legal right to gag the company. "These types of clauses were attached to 80 percent of subpoenas we received in this reporting period," revealed Volkmer. "Our policy is to notify users about requests for their information, so we push back in cases where an agency requests a gag order without the legal right." Volkmer went on to explain how Dropbox is pushing for greater openness, better laws, and improved protection for its users' information. The company hopes the USA Freedom Act of 2014 bill, currently in Congress, will succeed in reigning in the bulk data collection being carried out by US authorities, and allow companies to be more transparent about government data requests. While the report detailed that the majority of requests were aimed at finding the identity and details of targeted account holders, it also highlighted that 14 search warrants and 16 subpoenas were made into accounts that did not exist. This slightly comical situation raises the more serious question as to how effective such information-probing can be for US law enforcements, and if it is worth encroaching upon the privacy of people using online services. Over the past year there has been a furore over information-probing and snooping by government authorities, notably the NSA and its infamous PRISM mass-surveillance campaign.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 10:12 AM PDT
Saturday, 13 September 2014
Keaton Otis Vigil - September 12 2014
Mood:
 down
Now Playing: Police Accountability - Keaton Otis Vigil continues in Portland Oregon
Topic: POLICE
2014-09-12 event is NE Portland at the site where Keaton was shot 23 times by the POrtland Police A video was recorded from this vigil and will be posted here asap. 
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 6:27 PM PDT
Updated: Saturday, 13 September 2014 7:04 PM PDT
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