We WILL Be Seeing You

In today's previous post, we highlighted the growing use of surveillance in our nation as a whole (see below).

The High Country is no different--now Boone wants to apply for a grant to install video surveillance cameras in the downtown area to help deter criminal activity, as the Boone Police Chief told Town Council at their December 20th meeting.

Ironically, the Boone Police Chief told the Town Council that "the Charlotte Police Department reported that surveillance doesn’t act as a considerable deterrent" according to the Watauga Democrat.

Also according to the article in the Democrat, "[t]he cameras are not monitored full-time, but rather are motion-activated. The footage would be viewed from a remote location..."

A few obvious questions seem to have not been asked at the meeting:

1) If this type of surveillance is not effective, then exactly why is the Town of Boone applying for the grant?

2) Who will be monitoring the cameras at these remote locations? What will they do with the footage? How will the footage be stored in order to safeguard privacy rights? Will the individuals monitoring the cameras be sworn police officers--or employees of private contractors who are not bound by privacy laws?

One Council member (Liz Aycock) did ask questions about the impact of these cameras on privacy rights--which was very encouraging.

Here's the whole article, from the Watauga Democrat:

A Boone Police Department grant request broached the topic of civil liberties at the December meeting of the Boone Town Council.

Chief Bill Post presented the request at the Dec. 20 meeting, saying a grant of $16,987.50 through the N.C. Governors Crime Commission with a 25 percent match from the town would fund the purchase of three surveillance cameras and signaling equipment.

Post said the cameras would be mounted in various areas throughout town, initially in the downtown area, in response to increased vandalism, graffiti and car break-ins. An area of particular concern, he said, is the alley behind the Boone Fire Department.

The cameras are not monitored full-time, but rather are motion-activated. The footage would be viewed from a remote location, and Post said he’d ideally like to see camera uplinks to patrol cars, as well.

Council member Janet Pepin noted that most surveillance cameras serve as a deterrent and also as potential evidence for a crime, but Post said otherwise, in that the Charlotte Police Department reported that surveillance doesn’t act as a considerable deterrent.

Mayor pro tem Lynne Mason asked if there were a particular impetus for the request.

“Given the issues downtown and the graffiti downtown … it’s just out of hand,” Post replied, also adding that a recent rash or car break-ins raised concern, though not all occurred in the downtown area.

Liz Aycock, in her first meeting as a Boone Town Council member, asked a string of questions involving crime downtown, first if there had been an increase of crime in the downtown area, to which Post gave a ballpark figure of a 10 percent increase.

Aycock asked what time of day criminal activity is most prevalent downtown, and Post replied that instances increase when the bars let out, usually around 2 a.m.

Aycock asked if there were a police officer on duty downtown at all times, and Post said no, in that hours vary. When the regular beat officer is not present, other patrol officers assume those responsibilities.

Post noted that several months ago, he’d spoken with council members about a request for an undercover police officer that would target hot spots as they arise.

“While I believe the safety of Boone residents is of the utmost importance, I have concerns about the privacy rights of citizens,” Aycock said, before referring to a resolution from May 2004, in which the town council affirmed the “principles and federalism and civil liberties,” in that the town supports protecting such liberties, one being the right to privacy.

While Aycock said she would have no problem with a 24-hour police presence downtown, if necessary, she objected to unnecessary video surveillance.

“In my opinion, video surveillance should only be used when all other law enforcement means have been tried and have failed,” she said. “The benefits must substantially outweigh the reduction of privacy that is at risk when a video surveillance system is in place. The citizens of Boone should have the right to walk around town without being recorded and monitored.”

Aycock observed that the town does not have any policy concerning how and when video surveillance could be used and said a comprehensive policy should be written on the matter.

The citizens of Boone should also have a say in the matter, she continued, requesting that the item be added for discussion at the February 2008 quarterly public hearing.

Post said he shared Aycock’s concerns and that he included in his request a nine-month period to develop a program to purchase the cameras, meaning council approval would only allow him to proceed with the grant requests.

Council member Rennie Brantz moved to approve the request, and Stephen Phillips, also in his first meeting as a Boone Town Council member, seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Post then presented a second grant request, this for the purchase of “Toughbook” style laptops and mounts to be used in patrol vehicles. The grant would amount to $9,000 plus a 25 percent match from the town.

Aycock moved to approve the request, Mason seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Got Privacy?

Nope, not in our country. From Privacy International:

Each year since 1997, the US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center and the UK-based Privacy International have undertaken what has now become the most comprehensive survey of global privacy ever published. The Privacy & Human Rights Report surveys developments in 70 countries, assessing the state of surveillance and privacy protection.
...
In terms of statutory protections and privacy enforcement, the US is the worst ranking country in the democratic world. In terms of overall privacy protection the United States has performed very poorly, being out-ranked by both India and the Philippines and falling into the "black" category, denoting endemic surveillance.
...

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

• No right to privacy in constitution, though search and seizure protections exist in 4th Amendment; case law on government searches has considered new technology
• No comprehensive privacy law, many sectoral laws; though tort of privacy
• FTC continues to give inadequate attention to privacy issues, though issued self-regulating privacy guidelines on advertising in 2007
• State-level data breach legislation has proven to be useful in identifying faults in security
• REAL-ID and biometric identification programs continue to spread without adequate oversight, research, and funding structures
• Extensive data-sharing programs across federal government and with private sector
• Spreading use of CCTV
• Congress approved presidential program of spying on foreign communications over U.S. networks, e.g. Gmail, Hotmail, etc.; and now considering immunity for telephone companies, while government claims secrecy, thus barring any legal action
• No data retention law as yet, but equally no data protection law
• World leading in border surveillance, mandating trans-border data flows
• Weak protections of financial and medical privacy; plans spread for 'rings of steel' around cities to monitor movements of individuals
• Democratic safeguards tend to be strong but new Congress and political dynamics show that immigration and terrorism continue to leave politicians scared and without principle
• Lack of action on data breach legislation on the federal level while REAL-ID is still compelled upon states has shown that states can make informed decisions
• Recent news regarding FBI biometric database raises particular concerns as this could lead to the largest database of biometrics around the world that is not protected by strong privacy law

You Must Consume, You MUST CONSUME...

If you're a High Country media titan, one of the best ways to give a little holiday boost to your own profitability is to tell your viewers/listeners to SHOP. It's a nice way to scratch the backs of the companies who advertise on your station, or in your newspaper--send shoppers their way to make sure that they will have enough money to advertise some more!

Better still, write a news story about how everyone is out shopping today--and how you should be out there with 'em (from GoBlueRidge.net):

Shoppers to hit the stores

The day after Thanksgiving may start the holiday shopping season- but that doesn’t mean the day after Christmas won’t pack a punch.
Local retailers hope just as many shoppers will be out today as were in stores on Black Friday. Newspapers on Christmas Day were full of sale ads. Additionally, thanks to post-holiday reductions, today may be a great day to start stocking up on Christmas decorations for next year.

First of all, the headline is just strange--one can't help reading the headline and asking "Says who?", or perhaps imagining a slightly revised headline which reads "Shoppers To Hit The Stores--Or Else!"

We must shop, we are told--MUST!

Secondly, this is not a news story--it is an advertisement, plain and simple.

We suggest a more reality-based news story, not one written to satisfy advertising clients--one which examines actual issues and the impact of these issues on actual local people:

• The local impact of the mortgage lending crisis on local residents--and related impacts on holiday retail spending habits
• The local impact of high gas prices on the ability of local people to commute to work--and related impacts on holiday retail spending habits
• The local impact of changes to bankruptcy laws--and related impacts on holiday retail spending habits.

This article could be used as a starting point:

Holiday Spending Growth at 5 -Year Low
Last-Minute Buys Fail to Turn Tide

By Joseph Galante
Bloomberg News
Wednesday, December 26, 2007; D09

A surge in spending over the weekend may not have been enough to rescue Target, Sears Holdings and Macy's from the slowest holiday spending season in five years.

MasterCard's consulting unit said yesterday that sales from Nov. 23 to Dec. 24 gained 3.6 percent. Spending in the week through Dec. 22 declined 2.2 percent, the fourth week of declines, even after sales increased almost 20 percent over the last weekend before Christmas, Chicago-based ShopperTrak RCT said Monday.

We admit, these suggestions may take a couple of phone calls and use of The Google. Pressing buttons and talking--tough stuff--and way too expensive.

WXIT 1200 AM & WATA 1450 AM

Time for a little New Year's reflection. We can be very thankful that WXIT 1200 AM and WATA 1450 AM air such quality programming--here are just a few of each station's greatest hits:

On the June 18 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Neal Boortz advocated building a "double fence along the Mexican border, and stop the damn invasion." Boortz continued: "I don't care if Mexicans pile up against that fence like tumbleweeds in the Santa Ana winds in Southern California. Let 'em. You know, then just run a couple of taco trucks up and down the line, and somebody's gonna be a millionaire out of that."

On the June 11 edition of his show, a caller asked, "Why can't we just load them on planes and keep on loading them until they're back?" Boortz later responded, "We're not gonna throw these people out of airplanes with taco-shaped parachutes."

During his June 21 show, Boortz offered a suggestion he said he got from a listener's email: "When we defeat this illegal alien amnesty bill, and when we yank out the welcome mat, and they all start going back to Mexico, as a going away gift let's all give them a box of nuclear waste." Boortz continued: "Give 'em all a little nuclear waste and let 'em take it on down there to Mexico. Tell 'em it can -- it'll heat tortillas."

Nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh repeatedly used the expression "testicle lockbox," suggesting that Clinton has one.

Discussing Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) speech following her election as the nation's first female Speaker of the House, Limbaugh noted on the January 5 broadcast of his show that Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) said that, in Limbaugh's words, "his 2-year-old daughter ... is inspired by Nancy Pelosi's ascension to the speakership." Limbaugh then commented, "His 2-year-old can't possibly know who Pelosi is other than as a cartoon figure on television. Maybe Pelosi breastfed him, I don't know, when the kid was pregnant. Who knows? She's capable of doing everything else." Limbaugh later added: "[L]ook at Ms. Pelosi. Why, she can multitask. She can breastfeed, she can clip her toenails, she can direct the House, all while the kids are sitting on her lap at the same time."

Just a few examples of what the world of consolidated media has brought to us all--cheap, irrelevant, hateful, non-local programming.

Full link here.

P.S. Limbaugh airs locally on WXIT 1200 AM at 12 noon--just in time for the kids to tune in. How 'bout them family values.

Weekend Video Salon: The Democracy School

We can't look to the corporate media to inform us about what our rights are--especially if it is a corporation that happens to be violating our rights. Fortunately, there is help--The Democracy School. This video is only 16 minutes long--enjoy!

Darth Vader Did It

The first event that DNHC sponsored in the High Country was a free screening of "Who Killed The Electric Car?" It turned out that at the same time, a group at Critcher's Auto Parts in Boone was very much involved in building a fully functioning electric car. Actually, the group had been involved in the building of the car for quite some time.

Interestingly, the group was (and still is) comprised of a wide-range of individuals with widely varying political beliefs. But the group had one thing in common: the desire to make alternative transportation a reality--on the local level. Everyone in the group recognized the need to develop the electric car, and everyone knew it was possible.

When that many people get together (especially considering that the group was comprised of progressives, activists, conservatives, liberals, and libertarians), you begin to see that most folks recognize that we need to make big changes.

Which is why this development is so concerning:

Before EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson “answered the pleas of industry executives” by announcing his “decision to deny California the right to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles,” auto executives directly appealed to Vice President Cheney. EPA staffers told the LA Times that Johnson “made his decision” only after Cheney met with the executives.

On multiple occasions in October and November, Cheney and White House staff members met with industry executives, including the CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler. At the meetings, the executives objected to California’s proposed fuel economy standards:

In meetings in October with Mr. Cheney and sessions with White House staff members, auto executives made clear that they were concerned not just about the fuel economy measures in the bill but also about the California proposal for stricter emissions standards.

Johnson explained his decision to thwart California by saying that the new energy bill, which the auto industry supported and President Bush signed into law on Wednesday, “made the proposed California standards unnecessary.” One EPA staffer says Johnson’s decision was part of Cheney’s deal with the industry execs brokered at the meetings:

“Clearly the White House said, ‘We’re going to get EPA out of the way and get California out of the way. If you give us this energy bill, then we’re done, the deal is done,’” said one staffer.

Since taking office, Cheney has taken “a decisive role to undercut long-standing environmental regulations for the benefit of business” while undermining any real action to combat climate change. For example, he stacked the Committee on Environmental Quality with industry heavyweights, killing Bush’s 2000 campaign promise to place caps on carbon emissions. In 2001, his infamous energy task force also ordered the EPA to “reconsider” a rule requiring stricter pollution controls on power and oil refinery plants.

More recently, since February, Cheney has also quietly maneuvered to exert increased control over environmental policy by federal agencies — particularly the regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

We hope the electric car group will take notice of this development. When a group that diverse can get together to solve a common problem, it gives us all hope. But be clear about this: out of a desire for power and control, the leaders of this country--everyday--are doing everything that they can to prevent the electric car group at Critcher's from succeeding.

So--who did kill the electric car?

Full article here.

Our Own Backyard: MAIN

Yesterday's FCC decision to allow "cross-ownership" (i.e. newspaper/TV and/or newspaper/radio mergers) in certain towns and cities was not entirely unexpected. However, there is massive opposition brewing--both in Congress and on the "internets."

It's great to see this kind of activism and opposition to the FCC's long-standing desire to allow more media concentration--which can only lead to a significantly diminished democracy.

But let's also be certain to focus on our own region's effort to expand our own corporate-free, community-based, non-profit media system. We're talking about MAIN, the Mountain Area Information Network. MAIN is recognized nationally by some of our country's most forward-thinking media scholars and activists. People from all over the U.S. are trying to copy MAIN's successful business model--to build their own community media network.

MAIN is leading the charge to help prevent the internet from becoming just another appendage of the corporate media system. You can help them, too. You can be a part of the charge.

Let's do whatever we can to help MAIN--wouldn't it be nice to have something just like MAIN right here in the High Country?

Check it out--and help Save the Internet.