KPIX coverage of the August 16 Homeland Security Investigations (ICE) raid in the City of Oakland. The raid came less than a month after the Oakland City Council rejected a memorandum of understanding with Homeland Security Investigations and terminated it, saying they did not want the City’s police department cooperating with ICE. Oakland Privacy Commission chair Brian Hofer reflects on the bad optics of the Police Department’s decision.
Internet Of Things; Things Like Walls, Blockades And Checkpoints
By Christina Rosalita
One of Trump’s campaign promises was to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico. It was a popular political rally cry, but a physical wall spanning the entire border is, in reality; a boondoggle of an idea pushed by the fear mongering of propaganda politics. The false promise of the wall is to block border crossings, but it can’t accomplish this without an array of costly technological systems and personnel1. Estimated costs for just the wall range from $20 to upwards of $70 billion, with $150 million needed yearly for maintenance. This could easily become a wasteful testing ground to experiment with paramilitary surveillance technologies and brutally aggressive law enforcement tactics. There are already three drones2 in operation that are not yet weaponized and human rights violations of Mexican citizens are on the rise.
The Police State Will Be Funded
2017 Bay Area UASI grants have been announced. The full PDF for the Bay Area is below. 44 total projects were funded.
Here are some particular grants of interest.
Stopping STOPS: Urban Shield Vendor Vetoed Due To Racist Stereotyping
Originally printed at: https://media-alliance.org/stopping-stops-urban-shield-vendor-vetoed-due-to-racist-stereotyping/
On August 1,the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, which has been under fire for several years over the police militarization expo Urban Shield, took its first action to enforce 12 reform principles the Board embraced in January of 2017, four months after two dozen people were arrested at the 2016 expo.
After being notified only hours before the meeting by MA executive director Tracy Rosenberg and American Friends Service Committee Wage Peace Coordinator John Lindsay-Poland of extreme racial stereotyping on the website of Urban Shield vendor Strategic Operations of San Diego, the board of supervisors refused to authorize the use of the vendor. Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern’s request to contract with Strategic Operations for $45,000 in “hyper-realistic training” for the 2017 Urban Shield event failed for lack of a motion, with none of the five supervisors willing to support the request. Supervisor Keith Carson removed the item from the board’s consent calender. Supervisor Richard Valle indicated he would not vote for it and Board President Wilma Chan also spoke in opposition.
ICE Deported
On July 18, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to terminate the Oakland Police Department’s federal agreement with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), formerly known as ICE. The resolution by Council Member Rebecca Kaplan followed a unanimous recommendation from the City’s Privacy Commission which had investigated the status of all of the City’s agreements with federal law enforcement agencies.
Get all the details here
Statewide Surveillance Transparency Ordinance (SB21) Passes 6-3
In its last policy committee hearing in Sacramento, SB21, a statewide surveillance transparency ordinance, passed the Assembly Privacy Committee on a 6-3 vote. It now travels to Assembly Appropriations, the Assembly floor and then to the Governor’s desk.
In the hearing, law enforcement (DA and Sheriff’s Associations) and the League of CA Cities continued to state their opposition to public disclosure and community control of the use of surveillance technologies. They said a few amazing things along the way.