civil rights, photography, HSA, etc.
This article from The Guardian talks about a court battle in New York that aims to lift the ban on police surveillance of political "dissidents" and political demonstrations:
Mr Kelly's proposals, which a judge is expected to consider next month, would mean that any NYPD unit could investigate any political group with out suspecting a crime, could videotape or photograph demonstrations, and would no longer need to convince a three-person panel - two police officials and a civilian - of the legitimacy of an infiltration.
This week's issue of the Boston Phoenix (it's not that evil, Judy) has a few pages devoted to letters from concerned citizens about the impending war with Iraq. There's also an interview with a veteran war photographer. Ever since I borrowed "Is Anyone Taking Any Notice?" by Don McCullin (amazingly, this book now costs upwards of $500 used!) from the library, war photography has been a subject close to my heart. Maybe one day I'll be a war photographer and die in battle like Robert Capa, who stepped on a landmine in Vietnam, I think.
On another note, now that the Homeland Security Act is a law, you can read the entire text of the final version here. I hope you have some time on your hands since it's 485 pages long....
It'll take a while for us normal folk to understand just how far reaching and scary this thing actually is.