MassPrivateI

An interactive map of dangerous dogs may soon be available for citizens of Orange County, Calif., pinpointing exact locations of the county’s estimated 150 potentially dangerous or vicious dogs.

Dog owners will have their addresses and names appear on a public map labeling them as having a dangerous dog. (how long before police have maps of dangerous citizens/activists etc.?)   Continue reading “Big Brother’s latest excuse to spy on you: Interactive maps of dangerous dogs & their owners”

MassPrivateI

Pandora recently adopted its own cookie replacement, and it has been pitching its data to ad exchanges for the past few weeks, according to AdAge.

When a user registers for a Pandora account, the provides his or her age, gender, and zip code. The Internet radio company plans to go through its data and develop demographics it believes advertisers will find more attractive than the imperfect browsing habits collected by cookies.   Continue reading “Pandora is spying on 70 million users & giving your private info. to advertising companies”

MassPrivateI

Under Maryland law, jurisdictions that operate speed cameras face strict limits on how much revenue can be generated and what local officials can buy with the money. Last month, the city council in Salisbury voted unanimously to take the automated ticketing cash and buy Glock training handguns, Tasers and a device that police can use to crack passwords and download data off the cell phones of motorists during a traffic stop.   Continue reading “Police use speed camera cash to Taser, shoot & spy on motorists”

MassPrivateI

Local law enforcement is getting the kind of technological boost that used to be limited to three-letter agencies, thanks to Web-based software services that mine social media for intelligence.

At last month’s International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference in Philadelphia, LexisNexis showed off a new tool it will bundle with its research service for law enforcement agencies—one that will help them “stake out” social media as part of their criminal investigations. (making it easier for them to spy on activists or suspicious people)   Continue reading “Police departments have NSA like spying powers for social media monitoring”

MassPrivateI

Telesign is one of those companies that you’ve probably never heard of but that provides services you likely use on a regular basis, especially if you have two-factor authentication set up for any of your online accounts. Based out of L.A.’s “Silicon Beach,” Telesign helps companies verify that a mobile number belongs to a user (sending those oh-so-familiar “verify that you received this code” texts) and takes care of the mobile part of two-factor authenticating or password changes. Among their over 300 clients are nine of the ten largest websites in the U.S., says Telesign’s CEO Steve Jillings, though he’s shy about naming them (at least on the record). He says that fraudulent and fake accounts are greatly reduced for customers who require a mobile number be attached to an account.   Continue reading “Your cell phone number could be blocked if you receive a low ‘Phone-ID Score’”

MassPrivateI

U.S. agencies collected and shared the personal information of thousands of Americans in an attempt to root out untrustworthy federal workers that ended up scrutinizing people who had no direct ties to the U.S. government and simply had purchased certain books.

Federal officials gathered the information from the customer records of two men who were under criminal investigation for purportedly teaching people how to pass lie detector tests. Continue reading “Big Brother is spying on what we read & which DVD’s we watch”

MassPrivateI

California – Bay Area technology company ShotSpotter (SST) unveiled Monday a gunshot detection system for schools that they hope helps police respond faster in the case of mass shootings such as the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre or smaller incidents, but privacy advocates elicited concerns about the surveillance technology.   Continue reading “‘ShotSpotter’ spying on students with plans to expand to malls, airports and more”

Washington’s Blog

Drug War?   American Troops Are Protecting Afghan Opium

It is well-documented that the U.S. government has – at least at some times in some parts of the world –protected drug operations.

(Big American banks also launder money for drug cartels. See this, this, this and this. Indeed, drug dealers kept the banking system afloat during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. And the U.S. drug money laundering is continuing to this day.)   Continue reading “U.S. Occupation Leads to All-Time High Afghan Opium Production”

MassPrivateI

DHS, is soliciting information from potential qualified businesses to perform deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) reviews of samples collected from encountered individuals.

These samples serve a variety of purposes, including the identification of family relationships and criminal suspects, among others.   Continue reading “DHS wants to use DNA testing to identify suspects and family relationships”

article imageOpposing Views – by Jonathan Wolfe

A Vietnam veteran facing deportation caused miles of traffic buildup in Florida today as he threatened to kill himself by jumping off a high overpass.

The man, 59-year-old Freddi Guttierez, was armed with a rifle. Local police forces negotiated with Guttierez and were able to talk him out of jumping after three hours.   Continue reading “Vietnam Veteran Facing Deportation Threatens To Jump Off Overpass, Surrenders To Police”

MassPrivateI

Denver, CO – When citizens of Denver inevitably complain about the smell of legalized marijuana, it will be a job for the “Nasal Ranger” to sniff out justice.

“Futurama’s” Professor Farnsworth isn’t the only one with a powerful smelloscope. In Denver, when a complaint is filed about marijuana odor in an area, the Department of Public Health’s Ben Siller is called out with his field olfactometer to sniff around and see if the law has been broken.   Continue reading “Big Brother policing; the smell of marijuana can lead to your arrest”

MassPrivateI

Seattle, WA – In February, the Seattle Police Department announced it bought what’s called a “mesh network,” that will be used as a dedicated wireless network for emergency responders. What SPD did not say is that the network is capable of tracking anyone with a device that has a Wi-Fi connection.

“They now own a piece of equipment that has tracking capabilities so we think that they should be going to City Council and presenting a protocol for the whole network that says they won’t be using it for surveillance purposes,” said Jamela Debelak of the American Civil Liberties Union.   Continue reading “DHS sponsored ‘Mesh Network’ allows police to track (spy) on any with a device that has a Wi-Fi connection”

MassPrivateI

On a residential street in San Diego County, Calif., Chula Vista police had just arrested a young woman, still in her pajamas, for possession of narcotics. Before taking her away, Officer Rob Halverson paused in the front yard, held a Samsung Galaxy tablet up to the woman’s face and snapped a photo.

Halverson fiddled with the tablet with his index finger a few times, and – without needing to ask the woman’s name or check her identification – her mug shot from a previous arrest, address, criminal history and other personal information appeared on the screen.   Continue reading “Police have begun using the ‘Tactical Identification System’ a new mobile facial recognition program”

MassPrivateI

Schools are increasingly confronting a controversial question: Should they do more to monitor students’ online interactions off-campus to protect them from dangers such as bullying, drug use, violence and suicide?

This summer, the Glendale school district in suburban Los Angeles captured headlines with its decision to pay a tech firm $40,500 to monitor what middle and high school students post publicly on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.   Continue reading “‘Big Brother’ is watching (spying) students online activity”