NSA Resources MisUsed For UnConstututional Drug War

The National Security Agency and its various resources to spy upon suspected terrorists to be, is being misused to enforce the unconstitutional and socially destructive drug war.

Radley Balko has a good write of about this, citing a report by the Electronic Freedom Foundation, that was published in The Washington Post, October 29, 2014.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/10/29/surprise-controversial-patriot-act-power-now-overwhelmingly-used-in-drug-investigations/

excerpt

More than a decade later, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has published an analysis on use of the sneak-and-peek power. Just as critics predicted, it’s now a ubiquitous part of federal law enforcement.

Law enforcement made 47 sneak-and-peek searches nationwide from September 2001 to April 2003. The 2010 report reveals 3,970 total requests were processed. Within three years that number jumped to 11,129. That’s an increase of over 7,000 requests. Exactly what privacy advocates argued in 2001 is happening: sneak and peak warrants are not just being used in exceptional circumstances—which was their original intent—but as an everyday investigative tool.

And as critics predicted, it is overwhelmingly used in cases that have nothing to do with terrorism. But even if you’re a cynic, it’s pretty shocking just how little the power is used in terrorism investigations.

Out of the 3,970 total requests from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010, 3,034 were for narcotics cases and only 37 for terrorism cases (about .9%). Since then, the numbers get worse. The 2011 report reveals a total of 6,775 requests. 5,093 were used for drugs, while only 31 (or .5%) were used for terrorism cases. The 2012 report follows a similar pattern: Only .6%, or 58 requests, dealt with terrorism cases. The 2013 report confirms the incredibly low numbers. Out of 11,129 reports only 51, or .5%, of requests were used for terrorism. The majority of requests were overwhelmingly for narcotics cases, which tapped out at 9,401 requests.

Also see:

http://wwwfreespeechbeneathushs.blogspot.com/2015/11/more-illegal-nsa-activity-targeting.html

"Rethink 20/59" Apparent Censorship on Facebook

"Re-Think 20/59" concerns the reconstruction of the combined Interstate 20/59 segment in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, which is currently an elevated highway.

The Facebook page for "Re-Think 20/59" includes links to various articles about urban freeways and their histories.

One of these links was for an article appearing in www.VOX.com

"Highways Gutted American Cities.  So Why Did We Build Them?" by Joseph Stromberg

A story of highway engineers, institutionalized racism, and the auto industry.

http://www.vox.com/2015/5/14/8605917/highways-interstate-cities-history

Here are the comments for that posting in the Facebook "Re-Think 20/59" page:

Comments

Robert MacKay The road system in NYC keeps the public away from the riverfronts, but it is hard to imagine moving the volume of traffics through the city center. They do serve a purpose of speeding up car transit, but they also make it possible to never go "into town". And.certainly to avoid certain neighborhoods. But if the inner cities didn't have problems to avoid, there would be not much reason to avoid them.

Like · Reply · 1 · May 19, 2015 at 10:19am

Rethink 20/59 So true.

Like · Reply · May 19, 2015 at 11:40am

Douglas Andrew Willinger A good article though a bit overly simplified that overlooks how many such highways could have been somewhat rerouted while still being well within the urbanized areas, such as with a great use of existing lightly developed railroad-industrial corridor and box tunnels.

Like · Reply · 4 mins

Douglas Andrew Willinger Read this to see how perverting the route of a proposed highway was used to stop it from being constructed along a railroad corridor next to CUA in Washington D.C.:

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2012/01/crafted-controversy-scuttling-of-jfks-b.html

Unable to post comment.

Here's the effective "security" [censorship] message.

Apparently that article from my blog "A Trip Within The Beltway" about the Washington, D.C. freeways, "A Crafted Controversy: The Scuttling of J.F.K.'s B&O North Central Freeway", which details the planning manipulations of Interstate 95 via the railroad industrial corridor favored by the Administration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, to subvert support for such a route by Catholic University of America struck a raw nerve.

If we are to discuss "highway engineers, institutionalized racism", etc, why not discuss the details of such planning so designed to make the routing far more intrusive than necessary, simply to manipulate opposition for the sake of keeping such highways far away from the properties of some of the wealthiest and most influential entities?

A further suggested read about this phenomenon regarding the history of politically corrupted planning within Washington, D.C.:

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2014/09/getting-over.html