Friday, March 9, 2012

NYPD Surveilling Muslim Citizens

Its not all good news from New York today. The Associated Press released a report that showing the NYPD'S Demographics Unit has been doing everything from recording conversations in Muslim owned business to copying license plates at mosques with absolutely no link to criminal activity. Mayor Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner have commented that the lack of terrorist attacks since 2001 is due to the program's success and that they aren't treating the Muslim community any differently than any other group. So I'm guessing there is a huge data base of licence plate numbers from churches and synagogues as well? Wrong. Jews and Christians were excluded from the surveillance. As if all that wasn't bad enough, NYPD has been spying on Newark NJ citizens as well without Newark's Mayor Booker or Governor Christie's knowledge or consent.

Rightfully enough, there has been considerable outrage over this revelation. “It is no longer a question that the NYPD is engaged in widespread racial profiling,” says Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “NYPD documents state that they are spying on Muslims solely because they are Muslims.” I couldn't agree with him more. So does the Attorney General who is launching a review of the report. Here's hoping he brings the hammer down hard.

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