Across the United States, dozens of law enforcement officers face accusations of misusing Flock, a surveillance network of 120,000 cameras that track license plates. Flock’s proponents claim that the technology does far more good than harm; one investor tells the Washington Post that abuse is “truly a nonissue.” But fear isn’t a statistic. Drew Harwell, Douglas MacMillan, and Aaron Schaffer structure their investigation of Flock’s misuse by law enforcement around the story of a woman in suburban Atlanta who had her whereabouts tracked hundreds of times by her ex, the local chief of police. Their report telescopes between the tradeoffs of a “transformational” technology and a few nightmarish cases of misuse.
Bakely said the cameras had left her feeling powerless to stop her ex-boyfriend from tracking her life. She didn’t feel safe asking the police agency he led, she said, and she couldn’t get access to records that would have shown the surveillance was happening in real time. After Steffman told her about his Flock searches, she filed for a restraining order, but a judge denied it on the basis that she couldn’t prove ongoing abuse, court records show.
He “watched every single move I made,” she said. But “who do you turn the chief of police in to?”
MI5 directors secretly pushed for Britain’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization
MI5 directors secretly pushed for Britain’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and helped the government adopt the draconian National Security Act, a report says.
The report, published by The Grayzone on Friday, revealed that MI5 Director General Kenneth Douglas McCallum and former MI5 chief Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller privately worked to advance the IRGC designation and expand state security powers before the measure was adopted.
McCallum discussed the proposed IRGC proscription with then-Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in 2023, while acknowledging that its “direct operational benefit” was likely to be “modest.”
The combo shows the former MI5 chief Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller (L), and the current MI5 Director General Kenneth Douglas McCallum (Image via Press TV)
Despite recognizing the limited practical impact, McCallum told Cooper that granting authorities such powers was still “sensible to contemplate” as Britain debated whether to formally proscribe the IRGC.
The leaked emails showed that the IRGC designation gained momentum amid false claims by British security officials that Iran had been involved in plots inside the UK, including McCallum’s statements that MI5 had disrupted multiple Iran-related threats without disclosing any evidence.
The UK government officially designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization on July 13, granting authorities expanded powers to prosecute individuals for activities to support or promote the group under Britain’s so-called terrorism laws.
The intelligence campaign to the passage of the National Security Act,
The report also linked the intelligence campaign to the passage of the National Security Act, a controversial law that expanded government powers against activities considered threats to national security.
In one leaked email, McCallum thanked Manningham-Buller for helping secure the legislation, writing, “Many thanks for your support (and stamina) in getting the NS Act over the line.”
The report said the legislation introduced offenses targeting unauthorized disclosures of state information, while parliamentary debates explicitly referenced preventing future “WikiLeaks-type” disclosures.
Grayzone: “The Act could have a “chilling effect” on legitimate journalistic activity”
The Grayzone also cited warnings from lawyers involved in drafting the legislation that the Act could have a “chilling effect” on legitimate journalistic activity. The leaked correspondence showed McCallum continued promoting warnings about foreign threats, including unfounded claims that Iran had carried out plots against British targets.
In October 2024, Manningham-Buller praised McCallum’s public security warnings, writing, “You could not have hoped for fuller coverage. Hope it helps with SR,” referring to the government’s spending review.
The report said the exchange highlighted how claims of foreign threats were used to support calls for increased intelligence resources, with the government later announcing a seven-percent rise in spending on domestic and foreign intelligence operations.
The war in Iran began five months ago. Headline news about the conflict tends to focus on when and how it might end. In the meantime, the impacts of the conflict are felt worldwide—by drivers, farmers, business owners, and families. The Associated Press shares the stories of seven people suffering because of the war. Among them is Edgar Funelas, a jeepney driver in the Philippines who lives with his ten-year-old daughter:
He uses laundry soap—harsher, but cheaper—to wash his body and his clothes in the same motion, stretching what little money he has. Even before the war in Iran, he was living on the margins. A fire took their home and their belongings, forcing them to move into the brightly colored minibus he drove.
He’d hoped to be able to rent a room by now. Then diesel prices surged, and he could no longer afford the fuel to run his jeepney.
He hasn’t earned a single peso in days. There will be no breakfast. Hunger gnaws, but it’s the small rituals of privacy that he misses most: to be able to wash out of sight, to sleep behind walls, to keep his desperation from being laid bare.
During the medieval period and early modern Japan, decapitation was a common method of execution for criminals and defeated enemy warriors. During the feudal period, particularly under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868), beheading became a standard execution method for many serious crimes.
Decapitation was also common on the battlefield. During Japan's long era of civil wars, especially the Sengoku period, warriors routinely took the heads of defeated enemies and presented to the victorious lord. For criminals or rebellious warriors, the heads were displayed publically as a warning and deterrent to others.
A Japanese block print depicting the decapitation of violent Chinese soldiers. Circa 1894. Credit: Museum of Fine Arts
A remote village in north-western China, on the edge of the Gobi desert, is said to have been founded by Roman soldiers. According to this controversial theory, the village of Zhelaizhai in China's Gansu Province was established by Roman legionaries who were captured after a disastrous battle, carried across Central Asia, and eventually settled on the far eastern edge of the known world. While most historians remain sceptical of the claim, the story has become one of the most fascinating legends linking the ancient civilizations of Rome and China.
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