Widespread Spying Preceded '04 GOP Convention

Frosty Piss alerts us to a story in the New York Times reporting on details that are emerging of a far-flung spying operation lasting up to a year leading up to the 2004 Republican National Convention. The New York Police Department mounted a spy campaign reaching well beyond the state of New York. For at least a year before the convention, teams of undercover New York police officers traveled to cities across the US, Canada, and Europe to conduct covert observations of people who planned to protest at the convention. Across the country undercover officers attended meetings of political groups, posing as sympathizers or fellow activists. In at least some cases, intelligence on what appeared to be lawful activity was shared with other police departments. Outlines of the pre-convention operations are emerging from records in federal lawsuits brought over mass arrests during the convention.

Re:AGAIN again .....

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course! Reality has a well-known liberal bias.

Re:The Best Intelligence Agency in the US!

[Harmonious Botch]

the people that need to be in Iraq and Afghanistan are the NYPD and the LAPD

So when the NYPD catches Bin Laden, they'll sodomize him with a baton? And then give him to the LAPs who beat up Rodney King? Hmmm...I'm beginning to like your idea.

Re:This is the police.

[Kagura]

Follow the money. Don't stop at Parties. Don't stop at banks. Stop at the Federal Reserve.

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. :)

Re:This is the police.

[Anonymous Coward]

Follow the money. Don't stop at Parties. Don't stop at banks. Stop at the Federal Reserve.

Make a huge withdrawal. Then go to the Parties.

Re:This is the police.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone interested is more than welcome to come along and join the discussion.

Does that include undercover police officers?

Turing Word: tippers

Re:This is the police.

[owlnation]

Within 72 hours, Americans will have forgotten entirely about it and be back to fretting over the poor blond haired, blue-eyed, pretty, affluent girl that disappeared a couple years ago in Bermuda thanks to the non-stop cable news coverage (still, two years later - as of the broadcasts LASTNIGHT!).

Yup. Gore Vidal said it best... welcome to the United States of Amnesia.

Re:Looks like good policework

[pnot]

Yes they kept files on threats and non threats, who wants to have each team investigate the same harmless nuts?

Indeed: for too long has it ben assumed that the police only need to keep files on people who constitute threats. There's no harm in their compiling and disseminating dossiers on the innocent as well -- after all, those of us who aren't doing anything wrong have nothing to hide.

when the convention hit they knew which ones were the small hardcore fringe most likely to commit crimes and they culled em out of the herd while allowing several hundred thousand (misguided fools

It sounds like a very sensible efficiency measure to me: arrest people before they have committed a crime and save time all round. I for one applaud the work of the NYPD's new Precrime Analytical Wing [technovelgy.com]!

My favorite things are...

[copponex]

Thinking in context. Most young people agree that the government is a failure, so most likely the hawks are going to be like you - unjustifiably condescending, poor with logic, and perhaps unlike you, at least aware of these two well-documented scandals which are hard for pro-government types to deny.

My other favorite thing is experiencing a laughable attempt at character assassination during the course of an argument. Oh Noam, you old guy! Let me call you a name without referencing any fact or ideology to which I can provide an intriguing counter-example! My reputation as a slashdot reader will certainly provide some credit to my unbeatable intellect!

Of course, I know your petty little mean streak is the only thing you can hold on to with any clarity. Please continue, and leave the thinking to the rest of us. (And if you are trolling, good job - and please, continue trolling slashdot and leave the thinking to the rest of us).

Re:This is the police.

[Seumas]

No, that's an exception. After all - remember that if the president's advisers can be held accountable for the advice they give the president, then when they give the president advice to do illegal or immoral things, they will be held accountable for it. And - knowing that they would be held accountable for it - they would cease to be willing to advise the president do illegal things that they would otherwise have been willing to advise him to do had they not had the fear of being held publicly accountable via testimony for!