...these folks.  They are as much victims of the drug war as any junkie on the street.

On October 2, 2012, Wired News Reported: “DHS Counterterror Centers Produce ‘a Bunch of Crap,’ Senate Finds.”

However, while the report mentioned protecting Americans' 1st Amendment Right to Free Speech and Association the Report appeared to overlook—Fusion Centers in The Name of Fighting Terrorism,  circumvent the Fourth Amendment to Spy on U.S. Citizens.

Federal and State Fusion Centers—perhaps by design laid the groundwork for Government agencies to bypass U.S. Citizens’ Fourth Amendment Protections to invade the privacy of every American. Since 9/11 federal government has established across the nation approximately 77 Fusion Centers. The Fusion Centers were originally established to improve the sharing of anti-terrorism intelligence among different state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. But have since taken a different path with encouragement of the federal government to pursue all crimes and hazards. Fusion Centers now pursue for analysis not just criminal and terrorist information, but any information that can be derived from police, public records and private sector data about Americans. Fusion Centers increasingly involve components of the U.S. Military in addition to other government entities to spy on U.S. Citizens. Fusion centers heavily rely on local and neighborhood informants often not reliable for information that is shared with Local, State, and Federal Police Agencies.

More recently the Department of Homeland Security began sharing more classified Military information with local Fusion Centers, perhaps a mistake. Historically not all local police keep secrets—disclosing confidential police information to neighbors and friends; in cop bars, sometimes to anyone that will listen. Some Fusion Centers appear to operate more independently than others and take advantage of ambiguous lines of authority to manipulate differences in federal, state and local laws to maximize information collection. Increasingly more (private security corporations and their operatives) are working with law enforcement and Fusion Centers—exchanging information about Americans. Some private sector security corporations appear merged with police. Because Fusion Centers and law enforcement exchange information with select U.S. private sector companies: that has enabled fusion centers to escape accountability and public oversight. That happened in Germany during the 1930’s when Hitler’s SS and private Gestapo worked with German corporations, local and State Police to target often-lawful German Citizens and others for arrest, extortion and asset forfeiture. Before Hitler’s Gestapo was consolidated with the German Government in 1934 his Gestapo arrested Citizens and confiscated their private property with no legal authority. In 1934 the Gestapo was placed under SS leader Heinrich Himmler Chief of German Police. In 1939 all German Police agencies were put under the control of the "Reich Main Security Office” the equivalent of U.S. Homeland Security.

While the press on occasion has discussed Fusion Centers invading privacy of Citizens, the media has missed Fusion Centers’ involvement in criminal and civil asset forfeitures. It was problematic law enforcement and quasi private government contractors would gain wider access to Fusion Center data to secure evidence to arrest Americans and civilly forfeit their homes, inheritances and businesses under Title 18USC, The USA Patriot Act and other laws to keep part of the assets. Considering there are more than 400 laws and violations many which corporations unknowingly break that can make their property/assets subject to Government Civil Asset Forfeiture, it is foreseeable merging private security corporations with government police operations like Nazi Germany could result in government and quasi private security corporations seizing ownership of several large corporations; blackmailing corporations to support the will of politicians’ or dictator should that be the case.

You may have noted the ongoing national spike in police—shooting unarmed Citizens.

Just recently on October 4th The New York Times reported “Police Fatally Shoot an Unarmed Driver on the Grand Central Parkway.” Witnesses allegedly reported that after a New York police detective pulled-over a National Guardsman Noel Polanco for cutting off two police trucks on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, the detective shot and killed the driver while his hands were on the steering wheel of his Honda. No weapon was found. Officers “swarmed” the car, yelled for the three people in the car to put their hands up, but the driver, Noel Polanco whose hands were still on the steering wheel—had no time to comply and was shot. According the NYT Story, police involved in the shooting did not immediately provide an explanation for shooting the unarmed driver; police made incidental mention of finding a power drill on the floor of the driver’s car. You may Access the New York Times Story below.

Don’t Be A Police Unarmed Shooting Victim: following are some of the police explanations extracted from news reports why police shot unarmed Citizens. It would appear under the broad guidelines of many cities and states, police can claim—almost any imagined or actual physical act or not act by an individual—posed imminent threat to the life of an officer to warrant deadly force. For example this can happen to anyone: Police within two or three seconds give contradicting orders confusing a suspect—police then shoot suspect stating suspect did not respond. If your pulled-over by police, reaching toward the glove compartment for your registration after the officer asked for it, may justify police shooting you. Police can claim you reached too fast or without the officer’s permission—that the officer feared for his life. Recently it was reported, after police pulled over an unarmed driver, police shot the driver dead because they allegedly feared the vehicle could assault them although the vehicle’s engine was off. A similar report stated that after two police cars pulled over an unarmed driver after (wedging the driver’s car) so it could not go anywhere, police shot the driver because they allegedly feared being assaulted by his vehicle. So if you are pulled over by police, be sure to park your vehicle at an angle police can’t allege posed an assault threat to an officer’s life.

Federal Government has been militarizing, training local police to act like aggressive soldiers, not community police. The U.S. Government intends to establish a National Police Force that will include (armed forces personnel) with state and local police. That is against the Constitution. Expect more shootings of unarmed Civilians—consistent with increased military involvement in local and state police. Access NYT Story ““Police Fatally Shoot an Unarmed Driver on the Grand Central Parkway” at

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/nyregion/police-stop-and-fatally-shoot-unarmed-driver-on-a-parkway-in-queens.html?_r=0