Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

Waking Times – by Isaac Davis

We live in an era when a Nobel Peace Prize winner an oversee 8 years of war, thousands of extrajudicial drone bombings and killing of innocent people, and no one calls into question the credentials of the Nobel organization. As the Obama presidency came to its end, many hoped that we may see a turn for the better in terms of military spending and the overuse of military power as a form of international diplomacy, but our hopes have been officially dashed.

The Trump administration is continuing the imperial legacy of modern American presidents and during his first year of office, the defense industry saw a banner year of international sales.   Continue reading “2017 Proves to Have Been a Banner Year for the Military Industrial Complex”

Tenth Amendment Center – by Mike Maharrey

Local law enforcement agencies around the country are acquiring drones at a dizzying pace, often with financing from the federal government, asset forfeiture, and in some cases, private grants.

According to a report released last spring by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, 347 local agencies in 43 states acquired drones between 2009 and March 2017. The agencies included 121 sheriff’s offices, 96 police departments, 69 fire departments, 43 other city or county government agencies, and 18 statewide first responder departments.  Continue reading “Federal Programs are Helping Local Police Buy Surveillance Drones”

Fox News

CLEVELAND –  A Cleveland police officer acquitted of a misdemeanor charge in the 2015 fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager after a store break-in has been fired for violating the department’s use-of-force policy.

City officials say 50-year-old Alan Buford was fired Thursday for using force “greater than necessary during the incident.”   Continue reading “Cleveland police officer acquitted in fatal shooting fired”

The Intercept – by Sharon Lerner

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Agency has tasked a banker who was banned from the banking industry for life with oversight of the nation’s Superfund program.

In May, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation fined Oklahoma banker Albert Kelly $125,000. According to a consent order, which The Intercept obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the FDIC had “reason to believe that [Kelly] violated a law or regulation, by entering into an agreement pertaining to a loan by the Bank without FDIC approval.”   Continue reading “Banned From The Banking Industry For Life, A Scott Pruitt Friend Finds A New Home At The EPA”

MassPrivateI

Happy holidays everyone, the FCC, DHS and the Department of Justice just created a national Blue Alerts system.

Two weeks ago, the FCC created a national Blue Alert system that will notify everyone of a threat to law enforcement.   Continue reading “FCC creates national Blue Alert system just in time for the holidays”

AM New York – by Matthew Chayes

More cops, more bomb-sniffing dogs and more police snipers than ever are being deployed by the NYPD for New Year’s Eve to protect the 2 million spectators expected to cram Times Square to usher in 2018, department leaders said Thursday.

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said counterterrorism planners are heeding lessons from recent terrorist attacks, including three in Manhattan since September 2016.

“People will be safe,” O’Neill said, “and they should feel safe, too.”   Continue reading “New Year’s Eve in Times Square to have unprecedented security, NYPD says”

The Guardian

Individual investors in US private prisons are poised to collect their most lucrative earnings ever thanks to changes in the tax code signed by Donald Trump, continuing what has been a banner year for the industry since the 2016 election.

“It’s going to be great for the investors, banks and hedge funds that own shares in private prisons, and are dependent on increased incarceration and criminalization,” said Jamie Trinkle, campaign and research coordinator with the racial and economic justice coalition Enlace.   Continue reading “Private prison investors set for giant windfall from Trump tax bill”

Buzz Feed News

Officials are investigating how a 17-year-old was left bruised, bloodied, and swollen beyond recognition during an encounter with police Saturday night in Troy, Alabama.

Police officers in Troy saw the teenager, Ulysses Wilkerson, walking behind a closed business in the city’s downtown late Saturday night, officials said. When the officers exited their vehicle and approached him, he ran away. Officers chased him down a few streets over, and a struggle ensued.
Continue reading “This 17-Year-Old Was Brutalized During A Police Encounter And His Family Want To Know Why”

Tenth Amendment Center – by Mike Maharrey

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Dec. 26, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the Maryland House would require police to get a warrant before obtaining any information collected by “smart meter” technology. Passage of the bill would help protect privacy and ensure personal information doesn’t end up stored in federal databases.

Del. Alfred Carr (D-18) prefiled House Bill 56 (HB56) in October. The legislation would prohibit law enforcement officers from obtaining utility data recorded by a smart meter without a search warrant.   Continue reading “Maryland Bill Would Require Police to Get a Warrant Before Accessing Smart Meter Data”

ABC News

Cheap, electric bicycles have made life a lot easier for New York City’s legions of restaurant delivery workers, but the party may be over in the New Year.

City officials are promising a crackdown on e-bikes, which may be loved by environmentalists and the largely poor, immigrant workforce that relies on them, but are loathed by many drivers and pedestrians who think they are a menace.  Continue reading “Electric bike crackdown spurs delivery worker concern”

Fox News

Disney has started updating the security policies at several of its resorts in Walt Disney World.

Guests staying at one of the three monorail hotels – the Grand Floridian, Polynesian and Contemporary resorts – near the Magic Kingdom have already experienced the tighter security policies, which include the removal of the “Do Not Disturb” door sign. The markers have been swapped out for “Room Occupied” signs that will alert maintenance and staff that guests are currently in their rooms, but will not stop Disney staff from coming in.   Continue reading “Disney resorts add new security policy, removes ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs from rooms”

Japan News

The organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the Tokyo metropolitan government are planning to use a facial recognition system during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, sources said.

The system would be used when the 300,000 to 400,000 athletes, volunteers and others expected to be involved in the Games enter event venues, the sources said. This would be the first time for facial recognition to be used at an Olympics, a move intended to strengthen anti-terrorism measures.   Continue reading “Facial recognition eyed for 2020 Games”

MSN

CHICAGO — Judges in divorce cases can consider the well-being of pets in allocating sole or joint ownership, under an Illinois law that takes effect Jan. 1.

“It sort of starts treating your animal more like children” instead of property, said Illinois state Sen. Linda Holmes, an animal lover who sponsored the legislation. “If you’re going before a judge, they’re allowed to take the best interest of the animal into consideration.”  Continue reading “New Illinois law treats pets more like children in custody cases”

NBC News

A 6-year-old Texas boy was killed just days before Christmas when sheriff’s deputies opened fire on a woman they had been chasing — and one of the bullets pierced the wall of a mobile home and struck the child in the abdomen.

The woman, a suspected car thief who had been trying to break into the home, was also killed in the shooting on Thursday in the Schertz, a small town some 20 miles northeast of San Antonio, NBC affiliate WOAI reported.
Continue reading “Texas boy, 6, killed in deputy-involved shooting days before Christmas”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched when there’s nobody else around?

Decades ago, if the answer to that question was ‘yes’, doctors might’ve advised you to see what they called a headshrinker. But technological progress has a funny way of turning situations on their head. For example, at the turn of the 20th century, everybody had horses – but only the wealthy had cars.

Today, everybody has a car: but only rich people have horses.   Continue reading “Is Facebook Using Your Phone’s Camera And Microphone To Spy On You?”

Boston Globe – by Alyssa Meyers

A homeless woman in Framingham attempted to shoplift more than $1,000 in products from a Target store filled with at least 50 police officers participating in their annual “Shop with a Cop” event Tuesday evening, Framingham police said.

As officers waited in line to check out items for the numerous local children they joined on a holiday shopping spree, a charity event sponsored by the department in an effort to give back to the community, an employee notified them the store had caught a shoplifter, Officer Stephen O’Rourke wrote in a police report.   Continue reading “Framingham woman tries to shoplift during ‘Shop with a Cop’ event, police say”