Cynthia McKinney Reportedly Freed by Israelis

The former Georgia congresswoman who was detained by Israeli forces when the ship in which was traveling attempted to defy a blockade of Gaza has been released. Cynthia McKinney, a longtime Democrat before becoming a Green Party presidential candidate, is now on her way back home, according to her mother, Leola McKinney. “We finally got word that she was released,” Leola McKinney said late Sunday afternoon. “We don’t know what time she is supposed to fly out. All we know is that they took her to the airport. I would be more relieved when I know she’s on the flight, but I am relieved that she’s away from there.” Cynthia McKinney has been held by the Israelis since last Tuesday. She and other members of the activist group Free Gaza Movement said they were trying to deliver food and humanitarian supplies to Gaza. The detention marked the second time since December that McKinney was detained by Israeli authorities. In the previous episode, McKinney’s vessel collided with an Israeli naval ship as it ignored the blockade.

Somebody’s Watching You, Lancaster, Pa.

By the end of the month, the moderately sized city of Lancaster, Pa., will be the most heavily monitored community in America. The 55,000-resident city will have 165 cameras watching residents and visitors, and a non-profit, private group, the Lancaster Community Safety Coalition, will do the surveilling.  It’s not that Lancaster is a crime-ridden community. After all, there have been only two killings this year and 109 incidents of aggravated assault, Lancaster Police Lt. Todd Umstead told The Philadelphia Inquirer. But crime is up from last year. Some have lauded the security efforts as an important step toward a utopian crime-free community, while others have blasted the idea as obscene government intrusion into people’s lives. The cameras, which are hidden inside of black bubbles hung from white street lights, swivel, pan and zoom, and they are “powerful enough to make out a face or a license plate a block or more away,” according to the Inquirer.

Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was among several peace activists on a ship that was intercepted by Israeli forces Tuesday as they attempted to defy a blockade of Gaza, BBC News reported. This marks the second time over the past several months that McKinney, a former member of the Congressional Black Caucus, had an encounter with Israeli forces in the region. In December, the ship she was in collided with an Israeli naval vessel. The most recent encounter occurred as the Greek-registered Arion was in the Mediterranean Sea 23 miles off the Gaza coast, according to BBC. The vessel was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement told BBC. McKinney blasted the Israeli’s actions, calling them “an outrageous violation of international law against us.” The Israeli consulate general, however, accused McKinney of a “reckless political stunt. Once again former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and her fellow travelers have taken it upon themselves to disregard their own safety, as well as the safety of the vessel’s crew, by leading a boat into restricted waters,” the consulate general’s office in Atlanta said in a statement.