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Tag: police state
Ireland Considers Enacting A Bill Criminalizing The Possession Of Hateful Material
We recently discussed a troubling conviction in Great Britain of a man for his “toxic ideology.” Now Ireland appears ready to replicate that case a thousand fold. The proposed Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 would criminalize the possession of material deemed hateful.
It is a full frontal assault on speech and associational rights. The law would allow for sweeping authoritarian measures in defining opposing viewpoints hateful. Ireland appears to be picking up the cudgel of speech criminalization from Britain, an abusive power once used against the Irish.
The law is a free speech nightmare. Even before addressing the crime of possession of harmful material, the law would “provide for an offence of condoning, denying or grossly trivialising genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace.” The crime of condoning, denying or grossly trivailising” criminal conduct would make most autocrats blush. The lack of any meaningful definition invites arbitrary enforcement. The law expressly states the intent to combat “forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.”
What is so striking about the law is how utterly unapologetic it is in the use of criminal law to curtail not just free speech but free thought. It allows for the prosecution of citizens for “preparing or possessing material likely to incite violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics.” That could sweep deeply into not just political but literary expression.
The interest of the Irish in assuming such authoritarian measures is chilling given their own history under British rule, including violent crackdowns on nonviolent protests like “Bloody Sunday.” Free speech is now in a free fall in Great Britain and Ireland appears eager to follow suit.
Washington Has Been Much More Successful Than California in Displacing the Black Market for Pot
A new report indicates that Washington, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, has been much more successful at displacing the black market than California, where voters approved legalization in 2016. In a 2021 survey by the International Cannabis Policy Study (ICPS), 77 percent of Washington cannabis consumers reported buying “any type of marijuana” from a “store, co-operative, or dispensary” in the previous year, while 17 percent said they had obtained pot from a “dealer.”
The share of Washington consumers who report buying marijuana from a “store, co-operative, or dispensary” is higher than the average for states that have legalized recreational use, which was 57 percent in 2021, according to a nationwide ICPS survey. Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) paid for the ICPS report on cannabis consumption in that state, and the ICPS has not published California-specific survey data. But calculations based on estimated total consumption and legal sales suggest that the black market accounts for somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of marijuana purchased in California.
California’s striking failure to shift consumers from illegal to legal dealers is largely due to a combination of high taxes, onerous regulations, and local retailing bans. While Washington has a relatively high retail marijuana tax (37 percent, plus standard sales taxes), in other respects the state has made it easier for licensed suppliers to compete with illegal sources.
A 2022 study from Reason Foundation (which publishes Reason) notes that local restrictions in California have created “massive cannabis deserts” where “consumers have no access to a legal retailer within a reasonable distance of their home.” Washington has more than three times as many legal dispensaries per capita as California.
Free Speech Dies Because We Stop Speaking Freely, Not The Other Way Around
Newly elected House Republicans have every political reason to hold investigative hearings into government abuse of power during Covid. While these hearings should have happened long ago, they will no doubt vindicate many Americans who suffered under the capricious reign of public health officials. Central to this investigation will be an inquiry into government attempts to manipulate public opinion.
We already know that officials misrepresented opinion as fact and covertly suppressed contrary information. The pronouncements of bureaucrats, who cared more for their own celebrity and power than the truth, went largely unchallenged. This represents a failure of constitutional guarantees to free speech — a failure Republicans will be happy to broadcast as yet more evidence of an out-of-control bureaucracy.
It’s tempting to think a tyrannical bureaucracy is to blame for our embarrassing foray into censorship. But if we accept this explanation, assign blame, and move on, we ignore a cultural rot that is far more dangerous than any government overreach. It is ordinary Americans, not bureaucrats, who are most to blame for censorship, because citizens are the ultimate defense against the suppression of speech, not the government.
New Zealand spy agency uses ‘computer network exploitation’ to take digital information
One of the country’s two spy agencies has revealed it retrieves information directly from where it is stored or processed on computers.
The “computer network exploitation” operations have been a highly-classified secret at the GCSB until now.
US commentators refer to computer network exploitation as a form of cyber warfare, or the “theft of data”.
“Our legislation … allows us to access information infrastructures, which is more than just interception,” the Director-General of the Government Communications Security Bureau, Andrew Hampton, said.
It “also allows us to retrieve digital information directly from where it is stored or processed”.
The GCSB refers to this as “accessing information infrastructures”.
The spy watchdog, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Brendan Horsley, cited Hampton’s speech to the Institute of International Affairs in May, for making the revelation.
This had freed Horsley up to be able to assure the public that the exploitation operations were scrutinised, he said in his annual report released on Friday.
Previously, he had had to refer to “certain operations”.
“Although it was subject to oversight, it was not possible to provide any clear public assurance of this.”
In fact, he had conducted a review that found the compliance systems around CNE “to be generally effective and appropriate”.
However, he was still not allowed to go into details “on the bureau’s use of this important capability”.
Are Lockdown Zealots Incapable of Introspection?
Writing in The Atlantic on October 31, Brown University economist Emily Oster penned a pre-emptive plea for amnesty for Covid-policy hardliners. Why? Because they were all well-intentioned and their pronouncements rested on benign ignorance.
Judging by the numerous responses in print and social media and online commentary, the viral article lit the fuse on widespread, simmering but still raw anger. To many it suggests the lockdown zealots are incapable of introspection, of accepting culpability. Instead, they just want to move on to the next excuse to unleash blanket authoritarian control all over again.
Jessica Hockett has coined the word “Osterism” to describe the attitude of forgive, forget and move on from earlier finger-wagging, abusive and vile taunts because we didn’t know but meant well. Abracadabra. Puff! it’s all gone. ‘Twas but a bad dream, time to wake up and get going for the day’s activities.
Sorry, but the whole Covid debacle needs to be turned instead into a parable with a moral for the ages, to show how easy it is for a civilized society to be terrorized into believing blatant falsehoods and turn on one another with shocking savagery.
New York bans most civilians from wearing bulletproof vests
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has banned most state residents from buying bulletproof vests for civilian use with very few exceptions.
The law, which went into effect on July 6, banned all state residents “not engaged or employed in an eligible profession” from purchasing, owning, selling, exchanging, giving away or personally disposing of body armor.
The “eligible professions” initially only included police officers, peace officers and people currently serving in the United States Armed Forces or in the New York State Army or Air National Guard.
The law was pushed through the New York State Legislature following the mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo in May that killed 10 people. When the law was initially passed, it only banned “bullet-resistant soft body armor,” which could have potentially served as a loophole for civilians who wanted to buy bulletproof vests made with steel, ceramic or polyethylene plates.
Notably, this loophole does not cover the steel-plated vest the Buffalo gunman wore during the shooting, which was strong enough to stop a bullet fired from the firearm of one of the grocery store’s security guards.
Democratic State Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, the lead sponsor of the bill, admitted that they did not know the difference between the different kinds of body armor when they were writing the bill.
“I think the important thing was that we took important steps that lessened the possibility that criminals will be using bulletproof vests in commission of crimes,” he claimed, adding that he is willing to rework the legislation to cover body armor using steel, ceramic or polyethylene plates.
FBI Agents Raid Home of Owner of a Popular Website that Tracks Everything About the Secret Air Base in Area 51
The FBI reportedly raided the home of the owner of a popular website that tracks everything related to Area 51. This is according to a report from a lead investigative reporter of KLAS TV, an affiliate of CBS.
“FBI agents came down hard on the operator of a popular website devoted to all things Area 51–its programs, lore, and legacy. More than a dozen agents served a no-knock warrant on the Rachel, NV home of Joerg Arnu, owner of http://dreamlandresort.com…” investigative reporter George Knapp wrote.
Joerg Arnu is the founder of Dreamland Resort and Webmaster. According to IMDb, Joerg Arnu grew up in Germany where he obtained a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and started his career as a software developer. Today Joerg is a 25-year Area 51 research veteran, living in Rachel, NV, just outside the gates of Area 51. His Dreamland Resort website is all about the military R&D aspect of Area 51, Black Projects and Military Aviation.
“For 20 years and counting Dreamland Resort has been the most comprehensive source for information on Area 51, Black Projects, the Nellis Ranges, TTR, and the ET Highway. The webmaster is a 25-year Area 51 Research veteran and a resident of Rachel, NV, right outside the gates of Area 51,” according to the Dream Land Resort website.
George Knapp added, “They seized all computers, files, phones, photos. At the same time, another team of a dozen or more agents stormed into Arnu’s Las Vegas home, seized all digital devices and files, held his girlfriend at gunpoint.”
The motive for the raid is still unknown.
2 Years After Police Broke a 73-Year-Old Woman’s Arm, A New Report Reveals Even More Misconduct
Two years after the violent arrest of a 73-year-old woman, a newly released report reveals further misconduct from police.
In 2020, Loveland, Colorado police violently arrested Karen Garner—resulting in a broken arm and dislocated shoulder. While two officers were convicted of charges related to the incident, the city has only now released a 2021 report detailing further officer misconduct.
On June 26, 2020, Karen Garner was thrown to the ground and violently arrested by Loveland Police Officer Austin Hopp after she allegedly shoplifted $14 of soda and laundry detergent from a local Walmart. According to a federal lawsuit, Garner who was 73 and suffered from Dementia and sensory aphasia—a condition that can make speaking and communication difficult—did not receive medical care for six hours after sustaining injuries that included a broken arm and dislocated shoulder.
Garner filed a lawsuit against the city in April 2021, with the city agreeing to a settlement five months later, awarding Garner $3 million in damages. Further, two officers have been convicted of charges related to the event—with Hopp currently serving a five-year sentence for assault.
However, a new independent report released to the public on November 4th reveals the depth of misconduct during Garner’s arrest. In particular, the report highlights the misconduct of Phillip Metzler—the third officer present at the scene of Garner’s arrest (the other two officers were later convicted on criminal charges related to the incident). Metzler resigned in 2021, shortly after the report was confidentially released to the City of Loveland.
The most severe revelations against Metzler relate to his handling of a bystander complaint about Hopp’s use of force at the scene of the incident. “Metzler did not take the complaint or document the concern from the citizen as directed by LPD policy,” the report noted. Further, “Metzler’s demeanor with [the bystander] was disrespectful and discourteous. Metzler failed to hear out [the bystander] and talked over him multiple times.”
According to the report, “Metzler changed the case number on his [body camera] footage, which recorded the citizen who complained about the arrest, to an unrelated incident number. This removed the footage from the Garner case file available to LPD and the District Attorney. In addition, by reclassifying the footage to an ‘incident’ rather than a case, Metzler changed the retention lifespan of the footage from 10 years to one year.”
DHS Censorship Agency Had Strange First Mission: Banning Speech That Casts Doubt On ‘Red Mirage, Blue Shift’ Election Events
Last week, The Intercept published a set of leaks that drew broad interest in perhaps the most undercovered scandal inside the US government today: the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) quiet move to establish, for the first time in US history, an explicitly inward-facing domestic censorship bureau.
What The Intercept glimpsed, however, is just the tip of a much larger iceberg.
The size, scale and speed of DHS’s censorship operation are vastly larger have been reported. Based on our investigation, below are seven bottom-line figures summarizing the scope of censorship carried out by DHS speech control partners, as compiled from their own reports and videos:
- 22 Million tweets labeled “misinformation” on Twitter;
- 859 Million tweets collected in databases for “misinformation” analysis;
- 120 analysts monitoring social media “misinformation” in up to 20-hour shifts;
- 15 tech platforms monitored for “misinformation” often in real-time;
- <1 hour average response time between government partners and tech platforms;
- Dozens of “misinformation narratives” targeted for platform-wide throttling; and
- Hundreds of millions of individual Facebook posts, YouTube videos, TikToks, and tweets impacted, due to “misinformation” Terms of Service policy changes that DHS partners openly plotted and bragged tech companies would never have done without DHS partner insistence and “huge regulatory pressure” from government.
The citations above are from just the DHS censorship network’s impact on the 2020 election cycle alone. That was two years ago, when the narrative management machine referenced by The Intercept was first getting formed. Even the above figures, however, just scratch the surface of the full story.
While The Intercept rightly noted that DHS’s “truth cops“ now take on a range of other topics – such as Covid-19 and geopolitical opinions – it all started from, and grew out of, DHS’s speech control infrastructure set up to censor speech about elections.
That started with the 2020 election. But it continues, importantly, with the 2022 midterm elections, which are ongoing this week.
At Foundation for Freedom Online, for more than six months, we have been publishing and sharing research findings about a wide span of shocking components to DHS’s speech control operations. Our investigation has spurred multiple members of Congress to vow aggressive probes into DHS’s “government censorship by proxy.”
Hellbound and Down 
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