The Daily Dispatch

Anaheim Riots Sparked By Power Imbalance, Police Shootings In Time-Tested Formula. [The Huffington Post] - While much of the country watched in shock, people who study urban unrest and police community relations say that Anaheim, a Southern California city best known as the home of Disneyland and a seat of Orange County conservatism, shares the social tinderbox characteristics that have set other communities ablaze from Detroit to Los Angeles.

Here’s an important article from awhile back that I’m just getting around to linking. It’s another reminder that everything is connected, and if we’re going to survive to usher in a more peaceful and just society, we need to understand the connections.

How the War on Terror Has Militarized the Police. [Arthur Rizer & Joseph Hartman | The Atlantic] – In recent years we have witnessed a proliferation in incidents of excessive, military-style force by police S.W.A.T. teams, which often make national headlines due to their sheer brutality. Why has it become routine for police departments to deploy black-garbed, body-armored S.W.A.T. teams for routine domestic police work? The answer to this question requires a closer examination of post-9/11 U.S. foreign policy and the War on Terror.

I wish I could tell you more about the government’s “secret legal theory” that allows them to spy on you, but it’s – you know – a secret.

Democratic Senators Warn About Use of Patriot Act. [NYTimes.com] - WASHINGTON — For more than two years, a handful of Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee have warned that the government is secretly interpreting its surveillance powers under the Patriot Act in a way that would be alarming if the public — or even others in Congress — knew about it.

On Thursday, two of those senators — Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado — went further. They said a top-secret intelligence operation that is based on that secret legal theory is not as crucial to national security as executive branch officials have maintained.

Though many believe that HR347 was enacted specifically to quell the growing tide of protest, some think it simply gives legal weight to policies long in practice.

Inside that new anti-Occupy bill. [Salon.com] - HR 347 makes it a prosecutable offense to knowingly, and without lawful authority, enter “(1) the White House or its grounds or the Vice President’s official residence or its grounds, (2) a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting, or (3) a building or grounds so restricted due to a special event of national significance.”

Face Masks, Snipers and Aerial Surveillance: Chicago’s Newest Anti-Protest Measures Revealed. [Truthout] - Each time a new measure that the city of Chicago is preparing for the coming NATO and G8 summits is unveiled, the tension in the city ratchets up a notch. The latest news comes in the form of reports that Chicago has purchased face shields, and may be considering the implementation of airborne surveillance technology.