Mitie detention profiteers: 2023 company profile Mitie is a major British outsourcing firm providing a mixed bag of “facilities management” contract services to both corporations and government, from cleaning to custodial services. It has been in the spotlight again recently after Manston detention camp, which it operates, became seriously overcrowded and refugees being kept there complained of appalling conditions. In this update of our company investigation on Mitie, we found that: In the last financial year, it reported a record annual turnover of around £4 billion, up 58% since 2021. Mitie now manages 50% of the UK’s migrant detention capacity,…
Surveillance
Drones terrorized Gaza for years. Now they’ll do the same in the West Bank
Drones terrorized Gaza for years. Now they’ll do the same in the West Bank Israel’s army is promoting drone warfare as a less bloody means of governing the West Bank. Palestinians in Gaza know that won’t be the case. The post Drones terrorized Gaza for years. Now they’ll do the same in the West Bank appeared first on +972 Magazine. Source / Read More: Drones terrorized Gaza for years. Now they’ll do the same in the West Bank
At Israel’s Cyber Week, generals and CEOs sell warfare as a techno-utopia
At Israel’s Cyber Week, generals and CEOs sell warfare as a techno-utopia The human cost of surveillance and weaponry is hard to remember when the business of militarism is dressed up like a Silicon Valley work retreat. The post At Israel’s Cyber Week, generals and CEOs sell warfare as a techno-utopia appeared first on +972 Magazine. Source / Read More: At Israel’s Cyber Week, generals and CEOs sell warfare as a techno-utopia
Twenty Years Later, It Is Still Time to Dismantle the War on Terror
Three days after the twin towers fell, then-President George W. Bush called for Americans to “unite.” What followed was the decades-long United States military-led campaign — the “war on terror” — which has resulted in the death of over 2 million Muslims; the expansion of a network of over 800 global U.S. military bases; and the creation of codified Islamophobia, the violence of which knows no bounds. The rhetoric framing and otherizing of Muslims as people inherently prone to terrorism has been embedded in the design of post-9/11 policies “overtly and covertly, domestic and external,” Maha Hilal recounts in her…
Here’s Why Arab Americans Like Me Are Supporting Efforts to Defund the Police
Both Republicans and Democratic leaders have been pushing increasingly hyped-up narratives to persuade us that crime is exploding, and calling for increased policing and police funding. This is standard Republican rhetoric across the board, and Democratic mayors like Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and Eric Adams of Chicago have been parroting a similar message. Even Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor in Georgia who has received widespread support from progressives, announced Thursday that she is in favor of raising police pay. In recent weeks, we’ve also been repeatedly told that bail reform has caused crime to skyrocket. But according to…
Army stands by as settlers attack activists in Masafer Yatta
A settler smashed an activist’s car and returned safely to his outpost, after soldiers violently dispersed a protest against Palestinian expulsion. The post Army stands by as settlers attack activists in Masafer Yatta appeared first on +972 Magazine.
Senators Urge FTC to Protect Abortion Clinic Patients’ Data From Being Sold
Sixteen Senators have sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking the agency to protect abortion clinic patients’ data from being sold after revelations that at least two companies had been doing so. In the letter, first reported by Refinery29, the lawmakers asked FTC Chair Lina Khan to detail what the agency is doing to prevent data firms from putting abortion seekers at risk with their location data. “In light of reports that the Supreme Court is set to overrule Roe vs. Wade, we are concerned about the privacy of women making decisions that should be between them,…
Warren Calls Out Tech Firms for Selling Abortion Clinic Patients’ Location Data
Fourteen Senate Democrats sent a letter to tech firms Wednesday demanding answers to reports about the collection and sale of location data of people who have visited abortion clinics. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) led the lawmakers in writing letters to the two firms, expressing concerns about the data as Roe v. Wade faces being overturned by the Supreme Court. If Roe is struck down, over half of states are likely to ban abortion by automatic trigger laws or new legislation. “Especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, your company’s sale of such…
Investigation Shows Police Are Still Secretly Surveilling Minnesota Activists
A new investigation reveals that federal and local law enforcement agencies have been surveilling journalists and activists involved in the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd for over a year under a secretive program known as Operation Safety Net (OSN), despite claiming to have shut the operation down last April. Officials announced OSN in February 2021, a month before the trial for former Minneapolis police officer and murderer Derek Chauvin began. Law enforcement officials claimed that the goal of the program was to ensure that the public was able to exercise its right to free speech while making…
A Secretive Border Patrol Unit Worked With the FBI to Investigate Journalists
A shocking exposé reveals how a secretive Customs and Border Protection division investigated as many as 20 journalists and their contacts by using government databases intended to track terrorists. Those investigated include the Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporter Martha Mendoza, along with others at The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. We speak to Jana Winter, the investigative correspondent who broke the story at Yahoo News, who says it’s unclear if the surveillance program was discontinued. “These were career officials who are still running this secretive unit with no rules and no procedures for how…