NYT Article: Police Surveillance of Cyclists as Political Dissidents

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/ny...rtner=homepage

Some extracts:

"Undercover New York City police officers have conducted covert
surveillance in the last 16 months of people protesting the Iraq war,
bicycle riders taking part in mass rallies and even mourners at a street
vigil for a cyclist killed in an accident, a series of videotapes show."


"Provided with images from the tape, the Police Department's chief
spokesman, Paul J. Browne, did not dispute that they showed officers at
work but said that disguised officers had always attended such
gatherings - not to investigate political activities but to keep order
and protect free speech. Activists, however, say that police officers
masquerading as protesters and bicycle riders distort their messages and
provoke trouble."


"After the 2001 terrorist attacks, officials at all levels of government
considered major changes in various police powers. President Bush
acknowledged last Saturday that he has secretly permitted the National
Security Agency to eavesdrop without a warrant on international
telephone calls and e-mail messages in terror investigations.

In New York, the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg persuaded
a federal judge in 2003 to enlarge the Police Department's authority to
conduct investigations of political, social and religious groups. "We
live in a more dangerous, constantly changing world," Police
Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said."


"Ryan Kuonen, 32, who took part in a "ride of silence" in memory of a
dead cyclist, said that two undercover officers - one with a camera -
subverted the event. "They were just in your face," she said. "It made
what was a really solemn event into something that seemed wrong. It made
you feel like you were a criminal. It was grotesque.""


EFR
Glad to be in Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/ny...rtner=homepage

Some extracts:

"Undercover New York City police officers have conducted covert
surveillance in the last 16 months of people protesting the Iraq war,
bicycle riders taking part in mass rallies and even mourners at a
street vigil for a cyclist killed in an accident, a series of
videotapes show."

How long will it take 'em to blame Bush?


"Provided with images from the tape, the Police Department's chief
spokesman, Paul J. Browne, did not dispute that they showed officers
at work but said that disguised officers had always attended such
gatherings - not to investigate political activities but to keep order
and protect free speech. Activists, however, say that police officers
masquerading as protesters and bicycle riders distort their messages
and provoke trouble."


"After the 2001 terrorist attacks, officials at all levels of
government considered major changes in various police powers.
President Bush acknowledged last Saturday that he has secretly
permitted the National Security Agency to eavesdrop without a warrant
on international telephone calls and e-mail messages in terror
investigations.

Two paragraphs! Qualifies as RESTRAINT for the NYT!

Bloomberg
persuaded a federal judge in 2003 to enlarge the Police Department's
authority to conduct investigations of political, social and
religious groups. "We live in a more dangerous, constantly changing
world," Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said."


"Ryan Kuonen, 32, who took part in a "ride of silence" in memory of a
dead cyclist, said that two undercover officers - one with a camera -
subverted the event. "They were just in your face," she said. "It made
what was a really solemn event into something that seemed wrong. It
made you feel like you were a criminal. It was grotesque.""


EFR
Glad to be in Ile de France

Once the bribes run out, be careful! (Or just surrender LOL )

N&F

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:

Glad to be in Ile de France

That wonderful utopia of diversity, opportunity, and police restraint.

Liberté, Égalité, Vous Papiers?

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/ny...rtner=homepage


"Undercover New York City police officers have conducted covert
surveillance in the last 16 months of people protesting the Iraq war,
bicycle riders taking part in mass rallies and even mourners at a street
vigil for a cyclist killed in an accident, a series of videotapes show."


Just more evidence that the USA really has sleep-walked its way into a
state of Corporate Fascism, as argued by commentators ranging from Noam
Chomsky through to the comedian Bill Hicks.

No one can doubt that Chomsky is a bona-fide genius and not just some
'conspiracy nut'. When a young man Chomsky virtually invented modern
linguistics. There is, surprisingly enough, even a useful wikki page on
Chomsky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky

Chomsky's book 'Understanding Power' is a good introduction to this
political thought. It has it's own web page at
http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/understandingpower/

See also:

http://www.chomsky.info/

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

http://www.thedeprogrammer.com/fascism.html

There are also shed load of books around all from authors who have
reached the same conclusion, such as Friendly Fascism : The New Face of
Power in America by Bertram Gross.

On 22 Dec 2005 03:06:57 -0800, wrote:


Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/ny...rtner=homepage


"Undercover New York City police officers have conducted covert
surveillance in the last 16 months of people protesting the Iraq war,
bicycle riders taking part in mass rallies and even mourners at a street
vigil for a cyclist killed in an accident, a series of videotapes show."


Just more evidence that the USA really has sleep-walked its way into a
state of Corporate Fascism, as argued by commentators ranging from Noam
Chomsky through to the comedian Bill Hicks.

No one can doubt that Chomsky is a bona-fide genius and not just some
'conspiracy nut'. When a young man Chomsky virtually invented modern
linguistics. There is, surprisingly enough, even a useful wikki page on
Chomsky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky

Chomsky's book 'Understanding Power' is a good introduction to this
political thought. It has it's own web page at
http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/understandingpower/

See also:

http://www.chomsky.info/

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

http://www.thedeprogrammer.com/fascism.html

There are also shed load of books around all from authors who have
reached the same conclusion, such as Friendly Fascism : The New Face of
Power in America by Bertram Gross.

Yes, all true unfortunately.

wrote:
That wonderful utopia of diversity, opportunity, and police restraint.

Liberté, Égalité, Vous Papiers?

ITYM: "Liberté, Égalité, Vos Papiers?"

;-)

Jon

Jon is Away! wrote:
wrote:
That wonderful utopia of diversity, opportunity, and police restraint.

Liberté, Égalité, Vous Papiers?

ITYM: "Liberté, Égalité, Vos Papiers?"

;-)

Jon

See? Those lousy American schools! This must be W's fault, because it
certainly isn't mine.

wrote:

Liberté, Égalité, Vous Papiers?

You should look at the treatment many people receive from the US
customs when visiting the USA...

This is from Graham Obree's book 'The Flying Scotsman', speaking of his
treatment when travelling to a world cup track meeting.

'When we reached Miami, I was hauled into immigration, which clearly
meant that I would miss my onward flight... I was forced to sit in a
room full of other detainees for an inordinate amount of time in
unbearable heat, and when I went up to ask about my case, I was
rebuffed in a manner that could start a prison riot. Between expletives
he said that if I did not shut the f*** up, the US government would
have me in handcuffs.'

A few links for your entertainment to illustrate a few other
differences between the USA and France...

http://www.american-pictures.com/english/

http://www.americanlynching.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching

http://www.post-gazette.com/sprigle/default.asp

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues...news/news.html

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mh...he_porn_of_war

And that's without even considering the real cranks like the KKK,
Survivalists, TV evangelists, gun nuts and all the rest, not to mention
the behaviour of the USA in Iraq...

wrote in message
oups.com...



You should look at the treatment many people receive from the US
customs when visiting the USA...

And the UK is a paradise of freedom?
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/tra...icle334686.ece

Cheto

Cheto wrote:

And the UK is a paradise of freedom?

Hell no! Blair and Bush are both corporate puppets leading their
respective countries into a corporation-dominated
hierarchical-authoritarian future. In fact you might have noticed that
Blair was just about the only world leader to have his tongue firmly up
Bush's backside when it was clear that Bush was going to go ahead with
his illegal invasion of Iraq. What's more many of the policies Blair is
enacting were taken right off the Republican shelf.

What was it Mussolini said? "Fascism should rightly be called
Corporatism as it is a merge of state and corporate power."

Or, as the UK comedian Bill Bailey said, it's a mystery why the UK
'hangs around' with America, unless it stems from a mutual taste for
violence. America is the bully of the world going around and
threatening other countries that if they don't hand their sweets over
they will have their face smashed in. Meanwhile Britain hides behind
waving its fist and going 'Yeah!...

What we should be doing instead is developing our links with Europe and
adopting their more egalitarian and inclusive social values before the
UK ends up, as Gerorge Orwell predicted as 'Airstrip One' and not only
do we end up with American levels of crime and violence, we also end up
spending more on locking people up than treating thier illnesses.

(By the way, I note that Microsoft's 'Office' suite does not even
recognise the word 'egality' and for 'egalitarian give the definition'
....a belief that all people are, in principle, equal and should enjoy
equal social, political and economic rights and opportunities.' This
does contrast somewhat with the UK dictionary definition which says
that egalitarianism is 'the doctrine of the equality of mankind and the
desirability of political, social and economic equality'. Yup, the
American brainwashing machine operates in some very subtle ways...).

That said, the report you mention does not give me many worries. There
are many types of 'freedom' and in the UK you are certainly not free to
cycle on the roads free of fear due to the generally dreadful standard
of driving and the high level of driving crime, all made worse by the
number of uninsured and unlicenced cars on the road. The technology in
the report may well address some of these issues, thereby giving back
freedom to cyclists and law-abiding drivers by taking it away from the
motoring criminal, which is fine in my book.