Thursday, July 29, 2010
Recorded Future
"The investment arms of the CIA and Google are both backing a company that monitors the web in real time — and says it uses that information to predict the future.
The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come. In a white paper, the company says its temporal analytics engine “goes beyond search” by “looking at the ‘invisible links’ between documents that talk about the same, or related, entities and events.”
(more)
"The investment arms of the CIA and Google are both backing a company that monitors the web in real time — and says it uses that information to predict the future.
The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come. In a white paper, the company says its temporal analytics engine “goes beyond search” by “looking at the ‘invisible links’ between documents that talk about the same, or related, entities and events.”
(more)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
H.R. 5741: Two Year Conscription for Americans Between Ages 18 and 42 for “National Service”
HR 5741 IH
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5741
To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.
We're going backwards, ppl.
(more)
HR 5741 IH
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5741
To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.
We're going backwards, ppl.
(more)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
BP Photoshopping Pictures
The photo contains data suggesting it was taken in 2001, not July of 2010 as claimed on BP's Web site. That would suggest, at least one possibility is, that BP took an old photo and Photoshopped new pictures of the oil spill over it, to make it look "new." I guess if you're doing fake crisis response, you might as well fake a photo of the crisis response center. Why do they need a fake photo at all? Don't they have a real crisis response center they could have used..?
(more)
Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
It wasn't his daredevil stunt that has the 25-year-old staff sergeant for the Maryland Air National Guard facing the possibility of 16 years in prison. For that, he was issued a speeding ticket. It was the video that Graber posted on YouTube one week later -- taken with his helmet camera -- of a plainclothes state trooper cutting him off and drawing a gun during the traffic stop near Baltimore.
In early April, state police officers raided Graber's parents' home in Abingdon, Md. They confiscated his camera, computers and external hard drives. Graber was indicted for allegedly violating state wiretap laws by recording the trooper without his consent.
hmmm... can we stop them from recording us?
(more)
It wasn't his daredevil stunt that has the 25-year-old staff sergeant for the Maryland Air National Guard facing the possibility of 16 years in prison. For that, he was issued a speeding ticket. It was the video that Graber posted on YouTube one week later -- taken with his helmet camera -- of a plainclothes state trooper cutting him off and drawing a gun during the traffic stop near Baltimore.
In early April, state police officers raided Graber's parents' home in Abingdon, Md. They confiscated his camera, computers and external hard drives. Graber was indicted for allegedly violating state wiretap laws by recording the trooper without his consent.
hmmm... can we stop them from recording us?
(more)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Who's Watching? Electronic Eyes Everywhere In Pittsburgh
"Electronic eyes are everywhere, and whether we think about it or not, we're all often under surveillance in Pittsburgh.
But local law enforcement and other agencies can use views from private and public cameras as crime-fighting tools.
Channel 4 Action News' Bob Mayo reported that a recent example involving a caught-on-camera clash in a White Oak store provided compelling video evidence that Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said is a powerful prosecution tool.
'Quite frankly, Bob, that's what jurors want to see,' Zappala said. 'You know, they're used to TV...'"
(more)
Labour’s Surveillance Society
"Councils have even used anti-terrorism powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to spy on families they suspect of petty offences...
Bolton Council used the Act to check a person’s mobile phone records as part of an investigation into unburied animal carcasses.
Kent County Council carried out 23 telephone subscriber checks during two inquiries into storing petrol without a licence and into a resident it suspected of bringing a dog into the UK without putting it in quarantine.
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands carried out 16 phone and email checks, six of which involved an attempt to locate and identify an alleged bogus faith healer..."
(more)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Ticket to Ride: Just Don't Drive!
"SERGEANT Matt Rees says it is "the best bit of kit … since radar". But privacy advocates warn it poses great risks.
The technology - automatic number plate recognition - has been around for about five years.
But now the (AUS) government will buy 100 mobile units for the 400 highway patrol vehicles - a move which, a trial suggests, could double the number of unregistered cars detected. In a five-month trial, eight cars detected nearly 4000 unregistered or uninsured cars, raised more than $2 million in fines, and drivers were charged with more than 3000 criminal offences..."
(read more)
The Fourth Amendment Right To Delete
"For years the police have entered homes and offices, hauled away filing cabinets full of records, and searched them back at the police station for evidence. In Fourth Amendment terms, these actions are entry, seizure, and search, respectively, and usually require the police to obtain a warrant. Modern-day police can avoid some of these messy steps with the help of technology: They have tools that duplicate stored records and collect evidence of behavior, all from a distance and without the need for physical entry. These tools generate huge amounts of data that may be searched immediately or stored indefinitely for later analysis. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the Fourth Amendment’s restrictions apply to these technologies: Are the acts of duplication and collection themselves seizure? Before the data are analyzed, has a search occurred?"
(read the article - click on "bypass this message")
"SERGEANT Matt Rees says it is "the best bit of kit … since radar". But privacy advocates warn it poses great risks.
The technology - automatic number plate recognition - has been around for about five years.
But now the (AUS) government will buy 100 mobile units for the 400 highway patrol vehicles - a move which, a trial suggests, could double the number of unregistered cars detected. In a five-month trial, eight cars detected nearly 4000 unregistered or uninsured cars, raised more than $2 million in fines, and drivers were charged with more than 3000 criminal offences..."
(read more)
The Fourth Amendment Right To Delete
"For years the police have entered homes and offices, hauled away filing cabinets full of records, and searched them back at the police station for evidence. In Fourth Amendment terms, these actions are entry, seizure, and search, respectively, and usually require the police to obtain a warrant. Modern-day police can avoid some of these messy steps with the help of technology: They have tools that duplicate stored records and collect evidence of behavior, all from a distance and without the need for physical entry. These tools generate huge amounts of data that may be searched immediately or stored indefinitely for later analysis. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the Fourth Amendment’s restrictions apply to these technologies: Are the acts of duplication and collection themselves seizure? Before the data are analyzed, has a search occurred?"
(read the article - click on "bypass this message")
Sunday, July 11, 2010
"A popular skate park in Poway unveiled a new security measure Friday that is being met with some opposition.
At the Poway Skate Park, surveillance cameras capture the every move of every visitor. Additionally, motion detectors are also present and a wrought iron fence surrounds the park. Some visitors said the security measures are a bit much..."
Noose keeps getting tighter and tighter...
(more)
At the Poway Skate Park, surveillance cameras capture the every move of every visitor. Additionally, motion detectors are also present and a wrought iron fence surrounds the park. Some visitors said the security measures are a bit much..."
Noose keeps getting tighter and tighter...
(more)
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