ALPRs and Minneapolis’ Growing Discriminatory Surveillance Dragnet
Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), an extremely invasive form of public surveillance, have been around for decades, but lately they have been becoming more prevalent.
Category: Social Control
Exarcheia: Political Life Suffocated by State Surveillance
A planned systemic attack on Athens' Exarcheia district has accelerated recently with forced evictions, police patrols, searches and the normalization of violence by police.
ICE in Minnesota — Days 72-77: ICE Raids Continue After Politicians Declare Operation Over, Food Security Plummets as Economy Damaged
Continuing our news briefs documenting ICE in Minnesota, catch up on some of the ICE activity in the state during days 72-77.
Sport-washing, Militarization and Financial Scandals: A Brief Analysis of the Past Five Summer Olympics
The Olympic Games are mega sporting events that demand extensive security planning and financial management. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, global security protocols were significantly overhauled, with anti-terrorism and counterinsurgency measures rigorously applied to the Olympics. A review of past Olympic Games reveals recurring…
Predictive Policing and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Security vs. Freedom
As Paris prepares to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games from July 26 to August 11, 2024, the French government is implementing unprecedented surveillance measures to ensure safety. However, these measures have sparked fierce debate over the potential erosion of civil liberties, with opposition…
Starving Palestinians in Gaza Scramble for Aid Drops
Gaza Strip, Palestine — The whole population of the Gaza Strip – over two million residents – is now facing starvation from the Israeli military bombardment, blockade and siege on Gaza. As the Israeli military and far-right Zionist settlers block aid shipments bound for destroyed…
Federal and State Police Raid Three Homes in Atlanta Leading to One Arrest Amid ‘Cop City’ Investigation
Atlanta, GA — A multi-agency task force raided three homes in Atlanta early Thursday morning as part of an ongoing investigation surrounding resistance to ‘Cop City.’
At around 6:00 a.m., law enforcement agents with the Atlanta Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol,…
Zimbabwean Government Mounts Post-Election Propaganda Campaign
Emmerson Mnangangwa’s government has mounted propaganda in the Southern African Development Community in the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s disputed August 23-24 elections.
Minneapolis Official Speaks Out About ‘Corruption’ Lack of Gov’t Oversight and ‘Useless’ City Council
Minneapolis, MN — As discussions over the newly instituted “strong mayor” system in Minneapolis are back in the news, local politicians, policy aides, activists, and pundits have been sharing their perspectives on the changeover. A month ago, Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley sat down…
Rave Against the Machine: How One Rave Promoter Stood Up to the DEA and Won
It Began with a Raid
“Don’t come to the venue,” said one of the Brunet brothers to Disco Donnie on a clandestine phone call. Normally, Donnie, who is easily recognizable by his crazy outfits, would have already been at his party, he explained to me…
Tale of the City: Gentrification in London – Part 1
London, England — Gentrification has transformed the urban landscape of London’s Southwark Borough over the last decade. In the Elephant and Castle area, a district known for its squatting history, community networks and strong counterculture background, activists and political groups are now trying to reconnect…
Ahead of the Final Four, Houston Criminalizes Homelessness
Efforts by cities across the country to “clean up” before major sporting events such as the Super Bowl aren’t new. But when those efforts involve forcing the unhoused away from certain areas, they often employ the use of police to criminalize support services for homeless…
‘Anti-Protest’ Measure Passes Minneapolis City Council
Minneapolis, MN – The Minneapolis City Council has passed two ‘anti-protest’ measures that would ask Minnesota state lawmakers to define “acceptable conduct” at open meetings and also ask the state to introduce legislation that would “provide for the safety of public officials and employees.”
The…
FBI Harasses Activists in Florida; Two Indicted on Federal Charges for Jane’s Revenge Actions
Miami, FL – On May 8, 2022, as the world waited anxiously for the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade to drop, anonymous vandals smashed in the window of the Wisconsin Family Action building in Madison, Wisconsin and set the building ablaze. On the…
Atlanta Activists Say Prosecutors Plan to Indict them on RICO Charges
Atlanta, GA – Community organizations involved in the ongoing campaign to defend the South River Forest outside Atlanta, Georgia and ‘Stop Cop City’ say state prosecutors are planning on releasing indictments in the coming weeks charging them as a “criminal organization” under RICO statutes.
The…
‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ – Iran is Undergoing a Revolutionary Process
A specter is haunting Iran – the specter of revolution. The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is experiencing the largest, most radical and most intense opposition movement in its 43-year history. Its motto is “Woman, Life, Freedom,” coined from the Kurdish movement. At least 500…
City of Atlanta and DeKalb County Announce ‘Agreement’ Amid Growing Opposition to Cop City
Atlanta officials are using environmental language to whitewash a controversial police training center set to demolish a forest.
New Documentary on Late Sixties Civil Unrest is a ‘Rosetta Stone’ for Decoding the Modern Day Police State
In the late 60’s, the American police state opened a Pandora’s Box of lurid paranoia, laying the groundwork for decades of authoritarian control in order to clamp the lid shut on the near- revolutions of 1967-68. This history featured in the new documentary “Riotsville USA” suggests that the increasing authority police gifted themselves may ultimately be a curse on society.
Mundo Nuevo Squat Evicted in Thessaloniki
Greek police raided and evicted the Mundo Nuevo squat in Thessaloniki on Nov. 28. The squat began in November 2015 and held various political and cultural events over the last seven years in Greece’s second largest city.
‘Redistribute Now!’ Protest Against Inflation Effects in Germany
Inflation, skyrocketing energy prices for consumers, energy companies posting record profits due to the crisis, rising rents: thousands of demonstrators who had protested in Berlin on an unusual warm Saturday in November had all these points in mind.
Several thousand participants were expected by the…
Gentrification Endangers Historic Exarcheia Square
Athens, Greece – Two things have been steady and invariable in Greece the last decades, the fine weather and nepotism. Even as the first starts to change due to the climate crisis, the second seems untouchable and intact. Once again, members of the Mitsotakis/Bakoyannis family lead the…
Despite Widespread Mistrust, Minneapolis PD to Fly Surveillance Drones
Minneapolis, MN – The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) “has decided to use drones,” explained a representative of the Department at a Public Health and Safety Committee hearing on August 10th. This decision was sprung on Minneapolitans and their representatives at City Council without notice nor…
Self-Managed Abortion Workshops Build Reproductive Autonomy
Tucson, Arizona – In the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision ending federal protection for abortion access, some people across the country are scrambling to find solutions to the crisis of forced pregnancy and the end of nationwide legal reproductive freedom. This crisis…
