March of the moles: surveilling Americans.

• Author: Cavanaugh, Tim
• Position: California's antiterrorism measures - Brief article

CALIFORNIA NOW has a central anti-terrorism center, and police and sheriff's departments in the state have developed homeland security, anti-terrorism, and intelligence units, with many departments participating in an FBI joint terrorism task force. So what progress have the cops made against the Golden State's homegrown Bin Ladens?

According to "State of Surveillance," a recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union, they've been working overtime to infiltrate and neutralize activist groups. In Sacramento a police "identification specialist" videotaped the crowd at a demonstration because, in her words, "This is a crime scene." Oakland police infiltrated, and helped plan some of the activities for, a demonstration against police brutality. A San Francisco cop (acting without authorization) donned a Che Guevara pin and helped whip up excitement at an anti-war rally. A deputy...