For more than eight months we have read a continuous stream of relevations about how the US Government, through the NSA, has been spying on We the People, putting trap doors into all our electronic devices, and associating us all with terrorists by way of our social media friends' friends' friends.

What have Oakland's politicians done in light of all these revelations about abuses and direct violations of the 1st and 4th amendments by our government? Have any City Officials said "Not in Oakland!" ??

No. They've gone and approved monies to contract out to build an Orwellian-named "Domain Awareness Center (DAC)" right smack in the middle of Oaktown. This DAC will gather information about everyone in Oakland in real time (using license plate readers, facial and body recognition software, Shotspotter microphones and more). It will be capable of collating who you are, where you are, what you are doing on social media, and what you are spending money on. In conjunction with other "Fusion Centers" built by the NSA, state and local governments around the country, it will track everyone and everything in Oakland from kids in school to politicians visiting their lovers.

Claiming that they have to "do something" about crime and that "if we turn down the money we can't use it elsewhere," City Council members have voted at least three times to authorize spending (including City matching funds) on the DAC. But there is no good evidence that massive surveillence is effective in stopping violent crime, or cost-effective in terms of use of existing police resources. It's a sop to citizens who are (rightly so!) complaining about Oakland's high crime rate but which in fact does nothing to solve the problem.

The East Bay Express, in a December 18th article by Darwin BondGraham, exposed the real reason Oakland's political elite is so intent on creating the DAC: the tracking and suppressing of political protest. (C.f. The Real Purpose of Oakland's Surveillance Center.) An earlier article, Oakland's Surveillance Contractor Has a History of Fraud, quotes Renee Domingo, in charge of the DAC project, as saying

"Oakland's long history of civil discourse and protest adds to the need ((to have a DAC)))."

This is the mentality of those in power in Oakland.

But it can still be stopped!

Tell Oakland's politicians to vote no on funding the DAC!

A vote to authorize a contractor to take over Phase II of the DAC contract from SAIC - summarily dismissed a few months ago for violations of Oakland's Nuclear Free Zone Ordinance - is supposed to take place at the February 4th City Council meeting. If the vote were to fail, the DAC would be stopped in its NSA-oiled tracks.

Please sign the petition to tell the Mayor of Oakland and its City Council that the Domain Awareness Center is not wanted in Oakland, nor are its "sister" facilities desired anywhere in the United States.

For more information read the DAC FAQ and check out the Oakland Wiki pages on the DAC. also Google and read up on "Fusion Centers."

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References:

DAC FAQ: http://oaklandwiki.org/dac-faq-v1

Oakland Wiki DAC Page: http://oaklandwiki.org/Domain_Awareness_Center

East Bay Express: The Real Purpose of Oakland's Surveillance Center: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-real-purpose-of-oaklands-surveillance-center/Content?oid=3789230

East Bay Express: Oakland's Surveillance Contractor has a History of Fraud: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/oaklands-surveillance-contractor-has-a-history-of-fraud/Content?oid=3693913