Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

The Newspaper

Federal regulators are refusing to budge when it comes to requiring local police forces to use ticket quotas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Thursday finalized the procedures local police departments use to receive their share of $450 million in traffic safety grants paid for by the federal tax on gasoline. In response to complaints from the National Motorists Association (NMA), the agency claimed it was powerless to change the way it allocated the funds.   Continue reading “NHTSA Says Federal Law Requires Ticket Quotas”

Quartz – by Dave Gershgorn

Some of Google’s top AI researchers are trying to predict your medical outcome as soon as you’re admitted to the hospital.

A new research paper, published Jan. 24 with 34 co-authors and not peer-reviewed, claims better accuracy than existing software at predicting outcomes like whether a patient will die in the hospital, be discharged and readmitted, and their final diagnosis. To conduct the study, Google obtained de-identified data of 216,221 adults, with more than 46 billion data points between them. The data span 11 combined years at two hospitals, University of California San Francisco Medical Center (from 2012-2016) and University of Chicago Medicine (2009-2016).   Continue reading “Google is using 46 billion data points to predict the medical outcomes of hospital patients”

New York Times – by Richard Fausset

NEW ORLEANS — Can the allure of this famously rakish and freewheeling city survive if its streets are blanketed by a 1,500-camera video monitoring system?

Will inhibitions start to creep in and diminish the improvisatory nature of street life here, putting a hitch in the strut of Mardi Gras revelers and second-line paraders? Will tourists intent on indulging in a little sin stay away if they think they are being watched?

Continue reading “Will Everything Stay in New Orleans if Cameras Capture It All?”

AlterNet – by Kate Harveston

Like most folks, you dutifully rub shampoo into your hair daily or a few times each week. After it strips out your hair’s natural moisture and liveliness, you apply a conditioner to get that moisture and liveliness back.

Much about modern life seems to follow this general pattern.   Continue reading “Drug Companies Sell Us Remedies for Problems Caused by Their Own Products—And the Federal Government Helps Them”

Sun Sentinel

Have police officers really joined the ranks of the general public when it comes to avoiding criminal charges by invoking Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law?

Ex-Palm Beach Gardens cop Nouman Raja, who shot and killed stranded motorist Corey Jones in 2015, is getting a chance to make such a claim following court rulings in another high-profile officer shooting case from Broward.   Continue reading “Ex-cop in Corey Jones shooting death bases ‘stand your ground’ claim on Broward deputy’s successful case”

Bangor Daily News – by Beth Brogan

Twenty sexual assault charges against former Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy Kenneth L. Hatch III will be dismissed as part of a plea agreement that calls for Hatch to plead guilty to providing a place for minors to consume alcohol.

The Maine Attorney General’s office on Thursday filed the latter charge, a Class D misdemeanor, in Lincoln County Superior Court, according to Assistant Attorney General John Risler, who prosecuted a November case against Hatch.   Continue reading “Former Maine deputy cuts deal to have 20 sexual assault charges dismissed”

The Detroit News – by George Hunter

An irate customer who was upset about the price of an item started trashing a northwest Detroit Marathon gas station last month, prompting manager Sadek Kaid to dial 911.

When the police didn’t respond after several minutes, Kaid said he hit redial and asked why.

“The dispatcher said, ‘It’s because you don’t have the Green Light,’ ” Kaid said. “The customer was in here destroying the store, throwing everything off the shelves. He was here for almost an hour before he left. When the police finally came, they told us the Green Light locations get priority.”   Continue reading “Some businesses question fairness of Green Light effort”

Delaware Online – by Karl Baker

The company that sold cellphone tracking devices to the Delaware State Police believes officers are barred from telling state elected officials about the portable surveillance gadgets, according to a document revealed in a lawsuit between the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware and the state.

Two years ago, a legal challenge to an open records request showed the FBI had prohibited state police from releasing details to anyone outside of law enforcement about the controversial devices, called Stingrays.   Continue reading “In ‘mythical’ agreement, Stingray maker says DSP can’t share details with lawmakers”

Truth Dig – by Ellen Brown

Thirty states and the District of Columbia currently have laws broadly legalizing marijuana in some form. The herb has been shown to have significant therapeutic value for a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, lung disease, anxiety, muscle spasms, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, and arthritis pain. The community of Americans who rely on legal medical marijuana was estimated to be 2.6 million people in 2016 and includes a variety of mainstream constituency groups like veterans, senior citizens, cancer survivors, and parents of epileptic children. Unlike patented pharmaceuticals, which are now the leading cause of death from drug overdose, there have been no recorded deaths from marijuana overdose in the US. By comparison, alcohol causes 30,000 deaths annually, and prescription drugs taken as directed are estimated to kill 100,000 Americans per year.   Continue reading “How Uncle Sam Launders Marijuana Money”

Reason – by Alec Ward

In theory, the Baltimore Police Department’s now-defunct Gun Trace Task Force was an elite unit dedicated to finding illegal guns. In practice, prosecutors say, it was an armed robbery and extortion conspiracy carried out under color of law. Its members allegedly used their police powers to detain people, take their money, and keep it.

Two of those members are currently on trial. Another six have pled guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution.   Continue reading “Baltimore Cops on Trial for a Criminal Conspiracy That Looks a Lot Like Everyday Policing”

Weekly Standard – by Holmes Lybrand

Caricature-extraordinaire Alex Jones claimed on Tuesday to have in his possession THE secret FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) memo that congressional Republicans are calling to be declassified so as to demonstrate surveillance abuses.

“Congress is writing their report on this memo,” Jones said on his program.   Continue reading “Fact Check: Did Infowars Release the ‘Secret FISA Memo’?”

The Intercept – by Jean Marc Manach

THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY maintains a page on its website that outlines its mission statement. But earlier this month, the agency made a discreet change: It removed “honesty” as its top priority.

Since at least May 2016, the surveillance agency had featured honesty as the first of four “core values” listed on NSA.gov, alongside “respect for the law,” “integrity,” and “transparency.” The agency vowed on the site to “be truthful with each other.”  Continue reading “NSA Deletes “Honesty” and “Openness” From Core Values”

NBC New York – by Sander Siegel

An off-duty NYPD officer stole the clothes off a man’s back outside of a Brooklyn hookah bar, then lied to fellow officers to cover and pointed a gun at a group of people in an attempt to cover his tracks, according to prosecutors.

Anthony Delacruz, 34, was arraigned Wednesday after being named in a 14-count indictment with charges including robbery and falsely reporting an incident. It comes after a chain of events on May 28, 2016, that left his alleged victim standing on the sidewalk in nothing but his boxer shorts and a T-shirt.   Continue reading “Off-Duty NYPD Officer Stole Man’s Clothes, Pistol-Whipped Him: DA”

Truth Out – by Dahr Jamail

If a new bill in the Washington State legislature is passed, commanders of military bases could have the power to impact land use planning anywhere in the state.

Critics of the bill fear it would be a slide down the slippery slope of allowing the military free reign to do what it wants — wherever it wants to do it — within the state, with little or no recourse by the citizens it could impact. For example, the Navy, which has already expressed a desire to control marine traffic along Puget Sound’s Hood Canal region, could decide to close the waterway to all civilian traffic. Another Navy wish has been to end civilian drone traffic over civilian land near its bases — and it could decide to end it over the entire state. (While many might celebrate the end of drones, it would still be an instance of the military impeding civilian liberties.)   Continue reading “The Military Wants to Dictate Private Land Use – and Washington State Might Let It”

Ron Paul Institute – by Adam Dick

What is the deal with a memorandum by Republican employees at the Intelligence Committee of the United States House of Representatives that allegedly demonstrates very disturbing use of surveillance power through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court not being publicized or shared widely among Congress members until shortly after legislation (S 139) to extend legal authority for such surveillance for six years cleared the Congress? If the memorandum provides as disturbing of revelations as some Congress members are claiming, every House and Senate member, and the American people too, being able to review it before congressional votes on the bill could have had significant consequences.   Continue reading “Andrew Napolitano: Wrong to Keep Mass Surveillance Memo Secret”

Patch – by Kimberly Johnson

CHARLOTTE, NC — A homicide investigation is underway after a Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office deputy was shot and killed in an incident involving his wife, who is also a MCSO deputy, in north Charlotte Monday afternoon in what Charlotte police are describing as a case of domestic violence.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police were called to the 13300 block of Ashley Meadow Drive Monday shortly after 4 p.m. after receiving a 911 call for help reporting a domestic violence assault with a deadly weapon. There they found Deputy Sheriff James Hawkins, 35, with shot to death inside the home. He was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics, according to a CMPD report.   Continue reading “North Charlotte Domestic Shooting Leaves Sheriff’s Deputy Dead”