The Dissenter

File: An FBI agent uses a laptop inside a vehicle. (FBI)
04 Sep 2015

Justice Department’s New Stingray Surveillance Policy Has Major Loophole

On September 3, the Justice Department announced a new policy which will require the FBI, Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives to get a warrant when using Stingray surveillance in domestic crime investigations. But the new policy contains a potentially major “exceptional circumstances” loophole that is undefined and could fuel further abuses of privacy.

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FBI Command Center Sign (via FBI.gov)
03 Sep 2015

In No Fly List Retaliation Case, Court Rules American Muslims May Not Seek Damages from FBI Agents

A federal court ruled American Muslims, who claim they were placed on the No Fly List after refusing to become informants, are not allowed to sue FBI agents for damages. The case, Tanvir v. Holder, was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Creative Law Enforcement Accountability

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The United States delegation presents its fourth periodic report on U.S. implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights before the Human Rights Committee at the United Nations Office at Geneva on March 13, 2014. On September 1, the U.S. rejected recommendations from over a dozen countries on how it could better implement the ICCPR treaty, which was ratified in 1992. (Flickr / U.S. Mission Geneva / Eric Bridiers)
03 Sep 2015

U.S. Rejects Recommendations Aimed at Ending Systematic Human Rights Abuses

On September 1, the United States government rejected several recommendations from countries which suggested how the U.S. could better uphold human rights. Rejected recommendations included abolishing the death penalty, ending spying on private communications of people of the world, and allowing foreign aid to assist rape victims in war zones who need access to safe abortions.

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File: A General Atomics MQ-1A Predator drone. (Wikimedia Commons / United States Air Force)
02 Sep 2015

Obama’s Drone War Escalates in Syria, Despite Fueling Violence in Other Countries

President Barack Obama’s administration has apparently expanded covert drone operations in Syria in order to strike leaders of the Islamic State. But the expansion is destined to fail as much as previous operations in other countries, which have only fueled the rise of violent extremism.

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Prison Protest

Screenshot of NYPD Officer Adhyl Polanco speaking on Democracy Now (Nov 6, 2013).
05 Sep 2015

Lawsuit: NYPD Retaliated Against Whistleblower Cop For Exposing Illegal Quotas

Adhyl Polanco, an NYPD officer who spoke out publicly against the department’s use of illegal quotas for summonses and arrests, filed a lawsuit in federal court this week alleging his superiors discriminated and retaliated against him based on his race and speech. According to Polanco’s lawsuit, the NYPD was threatening officers with “termination and negative employment actions, such as low performance evaluations and punitive postings,” to force them to meet Stop & Frisk and arrest quotas.

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The Baltimore Transition Center in Baltimore, Maryland, photographed on September 14, 2012, is the oldest continuously operating prison in the United States, dating back to 1811. Adapting older buildings for climate change presents considerable challenges . (Wikimedia Commons / groupuscule)
03 Sep 2015

Report: US Jails And Prisons Ill Equipped For Global Warming

A new study published by the Columbia Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law found US jails and prisons grossly unfit for dealing with rising temperatures, which place inmate and staff health at risk. The study urged policy makers and administrators to begin taking steps to prepare for heat waves associated with climate change.

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Photo from Vera Institute of Justice report on alternatives to solitary confinement
02 Sep 2015

California Agrees To Restrict Use of Long-Term Solitary Confinement

California has agreed to restrict the use of long-term solitary confinement in a settlement agreement filed in federal court this week. Restrictions are expected to reduce the number of inmates in isolation, cap the number of continuous years an inmate can spend in solitary confinement to five, and establish measures by which inmates can more easily achieve release back to general population.

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Eric Garner and Michael Brown Ferguson protests in Seattle on 12/6/14. (Scottlum / Flickr)
01 Sep 2015

776 People Killed By Police So Far in 2015, 161 Of Them Unarmed

So far in 2015, U.S. police killed 776 people, 161 of whom were completely unarmed at the time of their death. The data was compiled by The Guardian for a project called “The Counted,” a continuously updated, interactive database of police killings in the United States.

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The Bullpen

Bill Clinton signs the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act" in 1996. (Wikimedia Commons / Social Security Administration)
04 Sep 2015

1996 Welfare Reform Law Caused Increase In Extreme Poverty

The 1996 welfare reform law championed by the Clinton Administration known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was supposed to bring in a new era and “end welfare as we know it.” In some sense it did, as the consequence of the law has been a considerable increase in extreme poverty in America.

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File: An ink stamp in the shape of a Facebook "LIKE" icon is used on a folded sheet of white paper. (Flickr / Denis Dervisevic)
03 Sep 2015

Your Facebook Friends Could Cost You A Loan

Welcome to the age of the social media credit check. On July 22nd, Facebook filed a new patent for a product the company could sell to creditors to analyze someone’s creditworthiness based on their social network.

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The exterior of AIG headquarters in New York City. (Wikimedia Commons / AIG Corporate)
02 Sep 2015

Treasury Department Claims Paulson Never Officially Discussed AIG Bailout

In August, the US Treasury Department responded to a 2013 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records of former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s communications during the 2008 bailout of American International Group (AIG) by claiming that the agency could not find any records. Here’s how you can help us respond.

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1 Wall Street, the Bank of New York Buidling By Jim in Times Square (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
01 Sep 2015

BNY Mellon Bank Settles Corruption Charges Over Hiring Foreign Officials’ Relatives

On August 18, the SEC announced that the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) agreed to pay $14.8 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), when the bank gave out highly sought-after student internships to the relatives of foreign government officials in

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