A heavy downpour hit the region of eastern Mani in southern Peloponnese on Saturday turning roads into rushing torrents of mud, causing incalculable damage to properties, vehicles and infrastructure One woman was hit by a lighting while she was driving her car. She has been transported to a hospital for treatment, her life is reportedly […]
Two people have died and at least nine suffered burn injuries during the wildfire that broke on the island of Salamina close to Athens in the early afternoon on Sunday, August 16, 2016. The fire allegedly broke out in two fronts in Peristeria and Selinia within 15 minutes. According to initial information, the first fire […]
A Turkish-flagged sailing catamaran with ten passengers onboard sank near the area west of the islet of Fleves in the Saronic Gulf on Friday. All passengers, foreign nationals, have been rescued. An alarm was raised in the sea area west of Fleves islet after a Turkish-flagged sailing catamaran carrying 10 foreign nationals began to sink. […]
A 59-year-old man has been arrested in northern Greece and admitted to have started several fires claiming stress at work. He has been remanded in custody pending trial on repeated arson charges with intent. He confessed to have started six fires between between August 8 and 11, 2026. in dry grass, reeds and agricultural land […]
At the peak of the tourist season and the tax evasion, officers of tax authorities decided to launch a 10-day strike and abstain from inspections. While the Independent Public Revenues authority AADE intensifies inspections in tourist destinations in the “heart” of August 15, the decision of the Panhellenic Federation of Tax Officials (POE-DOY) to proceed […]
A wildfire that broke out in Siviri on the first leg of Halkidiki peninsula on Thursday has already burned down houses and led to evacuations of big numbers of locals and tourists from the coastal village and surrounding areas. The fire broke out in low vegetation around 2 o’ clock early afternoon on August 13, […]
A new incident of an injury of a tourist from aircraft turbine blasts occurred outside the Skiathos airport short after 12 noon on Thursday, August 13,2026. The Italian woman was reportedly caught in the vortex of gases and knocked down during the airplane take off. According to state broadcaster ERT, the woman in her early […]
A significant increase in West Nile virus infections is being recorded in Greece, with 45 new locally acquired cases reported over the past week, bringing the total number to 110 since the start of the 2026 season through 12 August. Of these, 81 patients developed severe central nervous system manifestations, while nine deaths have also […]
A 17-year-old boy died of electrocution allegedly due to a failure in the water heater of the house he was accommodated on the island of Kimolos in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. The teenager boy from Ireland was on summer vacation together with his mother and lost his life while he was taking […]
Two touristic vessels collided in the sea area of Voutoumi Bay off the island of Antipaxos in the Ionian Sea at noon on Tuesday, August 11. A total of 214 passengers were onboard of the two vessels and watched in horror what was happening right in front of their eyes. The small boat had 10 […]
The charred body of a man was found inside a car on fire on Tuesday when firefighters rushed to extinguish a fire in Pikermi village in eastern Attica, on August 11, 2026. The fire on the vehicle is believed to have started a wildfire in the surrounding area. The body reportedly belonged to a man, […]
Two wildfires on the island of Zakynthos – Zante – on Tuesday mobilized strong firefighting forces and aerial means and forced the evacuation of a village. The first wildfire that broke out early Tuesday in the Marathias area of Keri was fully contained within a few hours, while a separate blaze triggered the evacuation of […]
An Italian tourist suffered heavy head injuries after she was swept away by the blast of turbines of a passenger airplane taking off from the airport of the island of Skiathos in the Aegean Sea. The serious accident occurred at noon on Monday, August 10, and the 52-year-old woman had to be airlifted for emergency […]
Despite the red flags warning of dangerous weather conditions placed on a beach in Chania on the island of Crete, a tourist entered the water risking her own life as well as the lives of those who rushed to rescue her. The 60-year-old woman ignored the warning red flags im Kavros beach in Apokoronas and […]
Over 200 firefighters and volunteers assisted by water-dropping helicopters and aerial means have been struggling against a wildfire in eastern Attica since early on Monday morning. One settlement already evacuated. Strong winds blowing with intensity of 7 Beaufort and gusts up to 8-9 B and changing their direction make the combat difficult. The fire […]
Swimming and all marine activities have been banned in part of the Ardani area on the island of Karpathos on Sunday, August 9, after objects believed to be munitions were discovered. According to information obtained by state-tun news agency amna.gr, the items are believed to be old munitions. The Hellenic Coast Guard has cordoned off […]
The landing of a private helicopter on the famous beach of Sarakiniko on the island of Milos has provoked strong reactions and questions about the incident. The Civil Aviation Authority of Greece intervened a few hours after the incident became known. Footage filmed by a local businessman showed the helicopter landing, the passengers to disembark […]
A 4-year-old boy has been drown in the swimming pool of a beach bar on the island of Paros on Saturday. The boy was alone in the pool area as the parents were swimming in the sea and had no visual contact with their child. Although the boy was struggling in the water of the […]
The public hates surveillance cameras and, in particular, Flock cameras. The FBI says they don’t work to solve or prevent crime. Local police love them as a shiny new toy, but police don’t run the cities and they are taking the heat for it. City councils, pushed by citizens, are fighting back to stop Flock and other companies as well. Courtenay Turner and I wrote the Digital Bill of Rights for you to take to all local elected and appointed officials, to show them the right way to protect your rights! ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.
“Flock on the Pole” song
Mass surveillance technology might be popular with police departments, but for the US public, it’s becoming an increasingly difficult sell.
At least 54 cities across the US have voted to cancel, non-renew, or reject Flock’s automatic license plate reader (ALPRs) since the start of the year, according to data collected by the Washington Examiner. That comes after reporting in February that some 30 cities had done the same since 2025, indicative of the rising backlash against the tech.
In all, the Examiner reports cities in 23 states have shredded their Flock contracts so far this year, led by California and Wisconsin, which each have seven rejections, cancellations, or deactivations. Other heavy hitters include New York, Washington, and Massachusetts with four each, and Virginia with three.
Though Flock has its cameras in over 5,000 US cities as of July 2026, the rise in rejections at the municipal level comes amidst a tidal wave of outrage around issues of privacy and civil rights.
In cities where civic leaders have been slow to respond to these anxieties, citizens have moved quickly to take matters into their own hands by damaging, obscuring, or stealing the surveillance cameras in order to stop them from recording footage. A rise in official cancelations or rejections shows municipal leaders are catching on to the reality that the American populace broadly disproves of the technology, and they aren’t afraid to show it.
Arguably the highest-profile contract cancellation for Flock came when the Los Angeles Police Department decided to non-renew its years-long contract with the company, a decision motivated by a searing internal audit of the company’s technology. The internal report found that, in just two months, Flock’s ALPRs contributed to 161 false stolen-vehicle alerts, resulting in a false-positive rate of 32.3 percent.
With no sign of the outrage settling anytime soon, it’s likely these 54 cities could just be the start.