Behold the American Gestapo enabled by small white boxes that create a surveillance network that would have done the Stasi proud. Adorned with antennas and attached to utility poles, these boxes are about to make privacy a thing of the past and Seattle is certainly the testing ground for the surveillance state on steroids. But the citizenry are not quite the sheeple that the government had hoped for and they overwhelmingly became enraged over this massive intrusion. So, in a gesture (akin to flipping the bird) of feigned goodwill to placate the masses, the powers-that-be have deactivated the surveillance system — for now:

Zitat

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Police in Seattle, Washington have responded to a major public outcry by disabling a recently discovered law enforcement tool that critics said could be used to conduct sweeping surveillance across the city.

Last week, Seattle’s The Stranger published an in-depth look at a little known new initiative taking place within the city that involved the installation of dozens of devices that would create a digital mesh network for law enforcement officers. The devices — small white-boxes equipped with antennas and adorned on utility poles — would broadcast data wirelessly between nodes so police officers could have their own private network to more easily share large amounts of data. As The Stranger pointed out, however, those same contraptions were able to collect data on internet-ready devices of anyone within reach, essentially allowing the Seattle Police Department to see where cell phones, laptops and any other smart devices operating within reach were located.

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After getting caught with their mitts in the constitutional cookie jar, the police declared “my bad” and said they did not have any bad intentions. Really? Because I seem to remember the NAZIs making similar claims just before they exterminated millions. But wait, they are not done yet… they have only deactivated the system until a ‘proper policy’ can be adopted by the city. I bet:

-SNIP-

Read more:http://noisyroom.net/blog/2013/11/14/sea...-the-citizenry/

Seattle, which is just a little less kooky than Portland, is in the news for another accomplishment.

Zitat

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For the first time ever, a socialist may just be elected to Seattle’s City Council, overthrowing a 16-year incumbent, reports The Blaze.

Kshama Sawant had a 41-vote lead over incumbent Richard Conlin as of Tuesday night’s ballot count. Although a winner may not be named for days or even weeks, Sawant’s current lead has surprised many.

“This is new territory. There really isn’t any precedent,” said Stuart Elway, a longtime political pollster. “You think Seattle has a pretty liberal electorate, but you haven’t seen someone who calls themselves a socialist win.”

Sawant, a college economic professor and activist involved with Seattle’s Occupy Wall Street movement, ran this year against Conlin, supporting efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15, rent control and tax on millionaires to help fund the public transit system and other services.

“I think we have shown the strongest skeptics that the Socialist label is not a bad one for a grassroots campaign to succeed,” Sawant said.

During her campaign, she condemned economic inequality.

“This is one of the wealthiest cities in the wealthiest county in the world, she said. “For people to struggle for basic needs is absurd.”

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[emphasis added]

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/...e-council-seat#

I doubt the dolts which infest that city will even notice any difference between her and other members of the City Council.

Hasn't the federal government been making a gesture to us for a long time now?