When it comes to investigative reporters probing the activities of the rich and powerful, we are the virtual “canaries in the coal mine.” And nothing points to the current state of surveillance powers as our current investigation, the details of which will become known to all of our members and readers in due time.
So far, there is little doubt that from the National Security Agency and its meta-databases down to small town police departments that have the capability of fusing data from such law enforcement networks as the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (NLETS) with private data from credit card companies, telecommunications providers, and social media, a reporter on special assignment cannot remain anonymous for very long. Moreover, such surveillance power for local police departments has been available for 13 years. According to one retired police officer who mastered the data fusion system, the systems were provided to local authorities by the federal government in the wake of the 9/11 attack. The surveillance capabilities have leapfrogged in their effectiveness in the interval between 9/11 and now.
In fact, this report is coming from one of the most surveillance-centric cities in the United States and it is futile to attempt to even take even basic rudimentary precautions to avoid detection.
Geolocation of Twitter users, tracking of GPS devices, the inability to go “batteries out” with iPhones, credit card transactions and ATM withdrawals all provide politically-powerful surveillance voyeurs with the ability to conduct practical real-time surveillance of targets.
Stay tuned for future reports from the surveillance fishbowl of present-day America.
Previously published in the Wayne Madsen Report.
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Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report (subscription required).
