May
11
Judge Allows KBR Rape Case To Go To Trial
Filed Under US Government, News, Military | Leave a Comment
Jamie Leigh Jones, a contractor for KBR (which was then part of Halliburton) was drugged and sexually assaulted in Iraq last year, and forced to spend a day in a cargo container so that she wouldn’t report her attack. Her employers insist that as part of her agreement with them, any such issues should go to arbitration for a third party to decide; thankfully, a judge has seen fit to let the rape case go to trial.
May
8
“From the article at Wired Blog: “The Internet Archive’s case is only the third known court challenge to an NSL, all of which ended with the FBI rescinding the NSL, according to the ACLU’s Melissa Goodman.” The FBI brought a national security letter to the Internet Archive, and Brewster Kahle (pictured, from Wired) with help from the EFF, not only successfully challenged the FBI, but also got the court case unsealed so that documents could be made public.
The bottom line here is that while the sample size is small, every challenge to an NSL has been successful. When people stand up for themselves, the results are often favourable for Liberty!
May
6
Only 3% Of Crimes Solved By Use Of CCTV
Filed Under News, Opinion, UK Government | Leave a Comment
As we’ve seen that lollipop ladies are now getting cameras, it would seem that things must be going pretty well with the CCTV system the UK has in place. However, a senior Metropolitan policeman in the UK calls the system a “fiasco” with only “3% of crimes being solved by CCTV”. (Apparently the UK cops don’t want to look through the images taken by the cameras because Read more
May
5
The article says it best: “Your tax dollars at work. On one side, subsidize more roads, sprawl, and related infrastructure, on the other, subsidize various approaches to try to convince people to keep off the roads.”
May
1
UK Crossing Guards Get Cameras
Filed Under News, UK Government | Leave a Comment
As if there weren’t enough CCTV cameras in Britain already, now the crossing guards will be equipped with them. (They’re called “Lollipop Ladies” over there, as the signs they carry obviously resemble lollipops.)
They’re ostensibly going to be used to ensure the safety of the crossing guards themselves, which is admirable and a worthwhile goal - but of course, such goals can never be separated from the fact that this is now another set of government “eyes” trained on the populace.