MassPrivateI

New Mexico – Albuquerque police handcuffed a middle schooler and took him to juvenile jail because he went to the wrong class, though a teacher told the cop the kid had severe ADHD and forgetfulness was part of his disability, the boy – now a man – claims in court.

Paul Castaneda sued Albuquerque; Officer D. Hensley, who allegedly arrested him; Sgt. Donny Keith and former Police Chief Ray Schultz, in Bernalillo County Court.   Continue reading “Middle school student handcuffed & arrested for being in the wrong class”

View image on TwitterHuffington Post – by Emily Thomas

Ever had that awkward moment when you’re about to pay for coffee and you find out you’ve left your card at home and don’t have enough change?

Well, a new card-less payment service will let you pay by scanning your hand so you never have to worry about holding up the line.   Continue reading “PulseWallet Lets You Pay For Things Via Your Veins”

Prevent Disease – by NATASHA LONGO

Since the genetic code of the apple was mapped by researchers a few years ago, scientists have explored gene silencing and other manipulation techniques to alter one of nature’s most healing superfoods. Genetically modified apples may soon enter the food supply under the guise of preventing browning. First, though, officials must confront some enduring public distaste for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) now widely perceived as one of the most extensive global threats to human health.     Continue reading “Genetically Modified Apples Which Eliminate The Browning Process Soon To Be Approved”

Washington’s Blog

It’s Never to Protect Us From Bad Guys

No matter which government conducts mass surveillance, they also do it to crush dissent, and then give a false rationale for why they’re doing it.

For example, the U.S. Supreme Court noted in its 1965 Stanford v. Texas opinion (footnotes omitted):   Continue reading “500 Years of History Shows that Mass Spying Is Always Aimed at Crushing Dissent”

Data collection from GPS_GAOThe Blaze – by Liz Klimas

It’s likely no longer a surprise that companies collect location data from cars’ onboard navigation and through devices. But a government report detailed that these companies might not be doing enough to protect people’s privacy and are not always telling consumers when their data is being used for purposes other than location-based services.   Continue reading “Gov’t Report: Car Companies Collecting Data Through Your Car Aren’t Always Telling You What It’s Being Used For”

MassPrivateI

An upcoming app for Android, iOS, and Google Glass called NameTag will allow you to photograph strangers and find out who they are — complete with social networking and online dating profiles.

“People will soon be able to login to www.NameTag.ws and choose whether or not they want their name and information displayed to others,” he said. “It’s not about invading anyone’s privacy; it’s about connecting people that want to be connected. We will even allow users to have one profile that is seen during business hours and another that is only seen in social situations.”    Continue reading “A new app called NameTag will match a strangers picture to their online profiles”

MassPrivateI

Law enforcement agencies throughout the nation are increasingly adopting automated license plate recognition (ALPR) technologies, which function to automatically capture an image of the vehicle’s license plate, transform that image into alphanumeric characters, compare the plate number acquired to one or more databases of vehicles of interest, and alert the officer when a vehicle of interest has been observed, all within a matter of seconds.(spying on citizens & tracking our every movement)   Continue reading “The growing use of license plate readers and its threat to privacy”

Model 1911Reason – by Steven Greenhut

SACRAMENTO — Gun registration had always seemed like the “line in the sand” — a proposal that would so offend the nation’s gun-rights advocates that they would bring out their full political muscle to stop it. Yet a California law mandating government record-keeping for all new long-gun purchases goes into effect on Jan. 1 and few people even seem to know about it.

This year, gun owners were relieved that Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the toughest gun-control measures that came to his desk, including one that would have banned sales of almost all semi-automatic rifles. But back in 2011, after much debate, the governor signed the registration law, AB 809, with a 2014 start date. It’s far broader than any of the bills the governor dealt with in the last session.   Continue reading “California Gun Law Paves the Way for Confiscation”

The Independent – by Ian Johnston

History never repeats itself, but it sure does rhyme, it has been said. Now an internationally respected historian is warning that today’s world bears a number of striking similarities with the build-up to the First World War.

The newly mechanised armies of the early 20th century produced unprecedented slaughter on the battlefields of the “war to end all wars” after a spark lit in the Balkans with the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand.   Continue reading “Is it 1914 all over again? We are in danger of repeating the mistakes that started WWI, says a leading historian”

Mickey Mouse (C) and Disney characters gTime – by Eliana Dockterman

Families planning trips to one of Disney’s theme parks can now get waterproof rubber wristbands embedded with computer chips in lieu of paper tickets. When scanned, the bands can act as a park entry ticket, a FastPass, a hotel room key and a credit card. The “Magic Bands” — which are currently optional — are part of a new MyMagic+ “vacation management system” that can track guests as they move throughout the park.   Continue reading “Now Disney Can Track Your Every Move with NSA-Style Wristbands”

Fingerprint scanning devices are used in schools and colleges at canteens and to monitor attendanceDaily Mail – by ANDREW LEVY

Up to a quarter of schools are taking pupils’ fingerprints – in many cases without telling parents, civil liberties campaigners claimed last night.

More than a million children have had them taken at schools where fingerprint-reading equipment is used in canteens and at registration to save time for staff.

The technology allows teachers – and some parents with online access – to monitor whether a child has turned up at school, what classes they have attended, the food they have eaten and the library books they borrow.   Continue reading “More than 1million children have fingerprints taken at school, often without their parents’ knowledge”

MassPrivateI

A series of new reports show that state and local police have been busy collecting data on our daily activities as well — under questionable or nonexistent legal pretenses. These revelations about the extent of police snooping in the U.S. — and the lack of oversight over it — paint a disturbing picture for anyone who cares about civil liberties and privacy protection.

The tactics used by law enforcement are aggressive, surreptitious and surprising to even longtime surveillance experts.  One report released last month made front page news: an investigation by more than 50 journalists that found that local law enforcement agencies are collecting cellphone data about thousands of innocent Americans each year by tapping into cellphone towers and even creating fake ones that act as data traps.   Continue reading “How local police departments are spying on us”

US NEWS FEDBUDGET-SHUTDOWN 15 ABAMcClatchy DC – by DAVID LIGHTMAN

The current Congress is not only unproductive, but most Americans see it as the worst they’ve ever known, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll released Thursday.

Two-thirds said the 113th Congress, which left for the year last week, is the worst in their lifetime. Twenty-eight percent disagreed.

Nearly three in four said this Congress has done nothing to deal with the nation’s problems.   Continue reading “Most Americans say this Congress is worst in their lifetime, CNN poll says”

MassPrivateI

Target Inc., has a forensic services laboratory called the “Target Forensic Services” which provides forensic examinations, and assists outside law enforcement with help on special cases. Target’s lab is among 390 crime labs accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).

Schriever was a criminalist for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Examiners Aaron Read and Jacob Steinhour are members of FBI-sponsored scientific working groups. And lab director Rick Lautenbach is a Target “lifer,” having worked in assets protection and other leadership roles at Target for more than 16 years.   Continue reading “Target’s crime lab convicts people of murder, arson & more”

Nast cartoonL.A. Times – by Michael Hiltzik

As the five-year statute of limitations approaches for the wrongdoing that bequeathed us the Great Recession, the question of why no high-level executives have been prosecuted becomes more urgent.

You won’t find a better, more incisive discussion of the question than the one by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of New York in the current issue of the New York Review of Books.   Continue reading “U.S. judge asks: Why haven’t the financial executives been prosecuted?”