The police rampage in Ferguson, Missouri has increased public awareness of police militarization and drawn well-deserved attention to writers like Radley Balko who’ve documented the proliferation of military equipment and culture in local police forces over the past decade. It’s certainly true that the post-9/11 security state and the Global War on Terror have flooded…

Em Ferguson, no estado americano do Missouri, o adolescente desarmado Michael Brown levou seis tiros da polícia local. Uma onda de protestos tomou a cidade, reivindicando justiça e exigindo o fim da militarização e dos abusos policiais. Mas e a Ferguson brasileira? No Brasil, a polícia é rotineiramente abusiva, especialmente contra jovens pobres das periferias…

The protests, police violence, and repression in Ferguson have sparked nationwide conversations about police militarization and misconduct. There’s some incredibly promising potential here, as more and more people become aware of the brutality of the modern criminal justice system. However, there are also some potential pitfalls that deserve cautious examination. First, the good. Popular commentators…

Pepe Escobar discusses why Obama is bombing ISIS. Alex Kane discusses 11 facts about police militarization. Philip Giraldi discusses the GOP. John Maxwell Hamilton discusses how WW1 led to modern propaganda and surveillance. Charles Davis discusses how America helped make the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria. Joshua Cook discusses blowback in Iraq. Ted Snider…

Ferguson, Missouri’s police department has released its report on the August 9th shooting death of teenager Michael Brown, a redacted document that ACLU attorney Tony Rothert says violates Missouri’s Sunshine Law by omitting key information. Brown’s death at the hands of a Ferguson police officer provoked impassioned demonstrations and debates on police brutality and the very…

O caos e os protestos em Ferguson, Missouri, que se seguiram à morte de um adolescente desarmado, estimularam uma discussão sobre o poder da polícia e até que ponto ele deve se estender. Para os anarquistas, a resposta é simples: o poder da polícia não deveria existir. “Mas o que você faria com os psicopatas…

It is easy to criticise a government. Apologists and supporters defend it by claiming that they are doing the best they can, and they point to small token victories as evidence of progress. “Look at what this government has done for you”, they say, but my response is always, “is that it?” The ease of…

The tragic chaos in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting of an unarmed teenager and massive protests has prompted a discussion police power and how far it should extend. For the anarchist, the answer is simple: police power shouldn’t exist. “But what would you do with all the psychopaths and violent people?” This is perhaps the…

Armanda Marcotte recently wrote about the supposed refutation of libertarian arguments represented by the Ferguson protests. She acts surprised that a “few libertarian types,” other than Radley Balko, are attempting to sound consistent on police power in Ferguson, as if most libertarians had previously been endorsing this kind of policing response. She also goes on…

O editor da Hot Air Weekend, Jazz Shaw, acredita que denunciar a militarização policial — não só em Ferguson, onde acontecem os conflitos no Missouri, mas em todo lugar — é um “julgamento apressado e desprovido de contexto”. Ele se impressiona com o fato de que “uma perturbação local se transformou em uma exigência nacional pelo enfraquecimento…

I’ll be honest, I used to scoff at the term “citizen journalism.” Why should any average Joe with a Twitter account be trusted with the same line of work for which I’m working on a bachelor’s degree? But in recent years, with the introduction of GoPros, smartphones and accessible encryption techniques, a new kind of vigilante…

A Teenager Slain On Saturday, August 9, eighteen-year-old Michael Brown was walking with a friend on the 2900 block of Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri. He was on his way home on the hot, humid afternoon, walking down the middle of the street when the two were approached by Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson. Reports of what…

Ferguson, Missouri is — pardon the unintended pun — a moving target. Events keep taking erratic directions, superseding comment as fast as it’s written. So I’ll open with context as of this writing: After a week of combat in the streets, governor Jay Nixon has ordered Missouri’s National Guard out to, as his office says in a statement, “help restore peace…

Hot Air Weekend Editor Jazz Shaw believes that pointing out police militarization – not just in Ferguson, Missouri but everywhere – is “a rather rapid rush to judgment and lacking in larger context.” He is flabbergasted that “one local disturbance has turned into a national demand to defang the police.” And he wants everyone to…

This week, as a result of the murder of Michael Brown by cop occupiers, the suburb of Ferguson saw a confrontation between the citizens of and the police who claim the right of ruler over them. It wasn’t long before this breakdown in the police’s order led to looting and other acts of unfocused violence…

The occasion is a CNN Money story relating that Anonymous has divulged name and photo of someone they allege is the Ferguson killer cop (the dominant area street gang, which calls itself the “St. Louis County Metropolitan Police Department,” denies the ID — here’s a more detailed story, including screen caps, etc. from before Twitter shut…

Last night, police in Ferguson, MO were lobbing Super-Sock cartridges into the crowds gathered to protest the fatal shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown. Brown was shot eight times, witnesses say he had his hands in the air. He was shot several times in the back. A Super-Sock cartridge used in #Ferguson last night –…