Police State Redux

Remember that story I blogged yesterday about the corporatist Police State that we're now all inhabitants of (yeah, that includes Canada)? well, today over at ProPublica.org there's a story of a photographer who was followed and detained by BP security and the Police for taking innocuous photographs of signs in and around a BP refinery in Texas City. It's a story of attempted bullying and intimidation.

Lance Rosenfield was taking pictures for two stories being covered by ProPublica. One was about a BP refinery illegally releasing 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into the air (aren't they beautiful people?) and the other about the refinery where 15 people died as result of BP negligence 5 years ago that continues to have safety violations to this day. He is first hemmed in by two Texas City police cars at a gas station, then ordered to show the pictures he took or, the police officer threatens, ...he could handle this another way, including calling Homeland Security and taking me in. The BP security guard shows up and is given Mr. Rosenfield's personal information by the police and finally the Homeland Security/FBI agent Tom Robison is called in to help assist in the police-state like tactics.

Fortunately Mr. Rosenfield was well aware of his rights as he stood his ground and remained calm, polite and on point until they released him 20-30 minutes later. A good lesson for us all in these strange times.

The Police State Rocks On!

As I watched US policy take a drastic turn to the right during the administration of GWB jr. and Dick Cheney, I'll admit to being alarmed but not surprised. The Patriot act, unwarranted spying on Americans, "free speech zones," rendition, enhanced interrogation all seemed to be the wish fulfilment of a laundry list of items the right has always lobbied for. The Republicans have never been about increasing freedoms - other than 2nd amendment ones. So when Obama was inaugurated I thought all of this would be walked back and I was one of those who had no problems with the slow pace he was moving at figuring it would take considerable time to undo what Bush/Cheney had wrought. I'm starting to feel naive.

Glenn Greenwald has been covering and documenting how access to the spill sites are being blocked by BP, by police departments working for BP and by the government. Now comes word that getting any closer than 65 feet to an oil boom (called a "safety zone") will get you arrested and possibly charged with a Class D Felony which carries with it fines up to $40,000 dollars and a sentence of "not less than two years." He calls it "creepy police state behaviour," and asserts that this seems clearly to be unconstitutional acts to intimidate and impede the media... (and he would know with his background in constitutional law and as a civil rights litigator.)

What's even more remarkable is that this behaviour of intimidation extends to reckless BP acts at other refineries with DHS agents and local police officials acting as BP's personal muscle to detain, interrogate, and threaten a photographer. Not acceptable.

Here's Anderson Cooper of CNN going off on these same subjects asserting, "We are not the enemy!"