VoteKansas.org

NYTimes Editorial: The Right to Record:

The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department took an important stand last week, declaring that citizens have a First Amendment right to videotape the actions of police officers in public places and that seizure or destruction of such recordings violates constitutional rights.

The Justice Department made the statement in a federal lawsuit brought against the Baltimore Police Department by Christopher Sharp, who used his cellphone to take video of the police arresting and beating a friend at Pimlico on the day of the 2010 Preakness. The officers took Mr. Sharp’s cellphone while he was recording and wiped the phone clean of all videos before returning it to him.

The Courts of Appeals for the First and Seventh Circuits have wisely found that the Constitution protects the right to videotape police officers while they perform official duties. The video taken by another witness of the beating at Pimlico shows that the right to record is crucial to holding police accountable for their actions.

Business Insider: I Spy An Occupy: Obama’s DHS Surveils Legit Protesters:

Remember the Occupy Movement? Since last November, when the NYPD closed the Zuccotti Park encampment in downtown Manhattan-–the Movement’s birthplace and symbolic nexus—-Occupy’s relevance has seriously dwindled, at least as measured by coverage in the mainstream media. We’re told that this erosion is due to Occupy’s own shortcomings—-an inevitable outcome of its disjointed message and decentralized leadership.

While that may be the media’s take, the U.S. Government seems to have a different view.

If recent documents obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) are any indication, the Occupy Movement continues to be monitored and curtailed in a nationwide, federally-orchestrated campaign, spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

. . .

The right to public assembly is a central component of the First Amendment. The Fourth Amendment is supposed to protect Americans from warrantless searches—with the definition of “search” expanded in 1967 to include electronic surveillance, following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Katz v. United States. Assuming the Occupy protesters refrain from violence—and the vast majority do, in accord with a stated tenet of the Occupy movement—the movement’s existence is constitutionally protected, or should be.

The DHS’s monitoring, documenting, and undermining of protesters may in fact violate the First Amendment. In a recent piece for Dissent Magazine, sociologist James B. Rule explains the fundamental importance of a movement like Occupy in the American political landscape.

A passenger express train collides with a goods train in India's Andhra Pradesh state, killing at least 15 people.

A gas explosion injures six people, including three police officers, on Tyneside.

Fierce GovernmentIT: Surveillance through GPS is not the same as using cellular tower data, say law enforcement officials by Molly Bernhart Walker:

The boundaries of surveillance are being called into question as the law enforcement community seeks continued warrantless access to electronically-generated location data while privacy advocates say a January 2012 Supreme Court case means all geolocation data is protected by the Fourth Amendment.

In the wake of the case (.pdf), United States v. Antoine Jones, two congressmen--Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)--have proposed a bill (H.R. 2168 [.pdf]) that would require law enforcement obtain a warrant before accessing any geolocation data. The Jones case ruled that the FBI could not attach a Global Positioning System device to a car without a warrant.

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- An extensive daylong search by the U.S. Coast Guard turned up no sign of six people who had radioed that their fishing boat was sinking in the Gulf of Mexico off Galveston....

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- A study says more than a third of malaria-fighting drugs tested over the past decade in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were either fake or bad quality....

The US Senate approves a bill to tighten sanctions against Iran in a bid to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme.

The Ministry of Defence awards £350m contracts for the next generation of nuclear-armed submarines to BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls-Royce.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Prosecutors charged Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and two of his allies Tuesday with breaking various laws during a massive street rally to demand electoral fairness....

The government will publish an annual "snapshot" of social mobility, measuring educational achievement, access to professions and birth weights.

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Jonathan Hoffman frantically told a 911 dispatcher he had been shot in the chest by his grandmother and was going to die, a police detective testified Monday....

The foundation of late US President Ronald Reagan expresses outrage after a vial said to have held a sample of his blood is offered for auction.

CHICAGO (AP) -- In an unmistakable snub, President Barack Obama left Pakistan off a list of nations he thanked Monday for help getting war supplies into Afghanistan....

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Australian officials wanted to get rid of some commemorative mugs that misspelled President Barack Obama's name. And boy, did they ever....

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea has ramped up work at its nuclear test site over the last month, according to an analysis of satellite images released Tuesday, a day after the top U.S. envoy for North Korea warned Pyongyang that an atomic test would unify the world in seeking swift, tough punishment....

Downing Street dismisses a suggestion it "doctored" an independent report on possible changes to employment law to avoid political embarrassment.

The government announces new plans to tackle anti-social behaviour in England and Wales, including orders to replace Asbos.

Vast numbers of counterfeit Chinese electronic parts are being used in US military equipment, a key Senate committee investigation finds.

Calling the students an inspiration "to me ... the world," President Barack Obama urged Joplin High School graduates Monday to heed the lessons they've learned and spirit they've shown to rebuild not only their tornado-ravaged city, but their nation.