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Portland officials pass strict ban on facial recognition systems

Mariella Moon
engadget
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 00:00 UTC
Facial recognition cam
© Andrey Popov via Getty Images
Portland, Oregon officials have passed what could be the strictest municipal ban on facial recognition in the country. It's not just local government units, such as the police, that can no longer use facial recognition under the city's new regulations — private businesses can't deploy the technology in public spaces either. That means places like hotels, stores and restaurants can't use facial recognition where customers will be present. According to CNET, the bill passed unanimously, and it will be enforced starting in January 2021. Businesses caught violating the law could be sued and could pay up to $1,000 a day in fines.

In the document (PDF) detailing the ordinance, the city council noted that "Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities have been subject to over surveillance and disparate and detrimental impact of the misuse of surveillance." It added that face recognition technologies "have been documented to have an unacceptable gender and racial bias" and explained that the city "needs to take precautionary actions until these technologies are certified and safe to use and civil liberties issues are resolved."

Portland's officials first revealed that they were working on the bill back in November 2019, and that if the bill passes, it will be the first to prohibit private businesses from deploying facial recognition systems. The legislation other cities approved in the past weren't as strict: San Francisco's ban, for instance, only applies to the city government.

Comment: Some surveillance, however, still applies: Portland's laws allow limited exceptions such as facial recognition technology used to unlock smartphones, uses inside Portland public schools. Biz lodged complaints while others rejoiced:
The company [Amazon] was joined by local business groups in opposing the legislation, including the Portland Business Alliance and the Technology Association of Oregon, which argued the bills were "harmfully too broad" and would be difficult to put into practice as written.

The ACLU has previously blasted Amazon's 'Rekognition' software as "primed for abuse in the hands of governments," finding in a 2018 experiment that the system incorrectly matched the faces of 28 members of Congress to images of real criminal suspects. The program misidentified non-white lawmakers disproportionately, propelling fears the software unfairly targets minorities.


See also:

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Clipboard

Many Trump voters staying silent again, duping media and pollsters

Paul Bedard
Washington Examiner
Wed, 09 Sep 2020 10:23 UTC
Trump signs
© Gage Skidmore
Just like in 2016, many of President Trump's strongest supporters are staying quiet about their Election Day pick, likely misleading pollsters and the media about the state of the presidential race.

In the latest Rasmussen Reports survey of the silent supporters, the pollster said, "Trump voters appear to be hiding their vote again this election cycle."

The report said that 17% of likely voters who "strongly approve" of Trump "are less likely to let others know how they intend to vote in the upcoming election."

In 2016, when Trump was under attack in the media, and especially after then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said his supporters belonged in a "basket of deplorables," many also stayed quiet about supporting Trump.

That likely led some pollsters to get the race wrong and played a role in the media blowing it, too. Rasmussen Reports said it made adjustments in its formula and, in the end, got the percentage of Clinton's popular vote nearly perfect, a point it bragged on in its new analysis. The report said:
"At this time in the 2016 election cycle with Trump already being regularly bashed by the media, Republicans were similarly less forthcoming about how they intended to vote, and pollsters, with the exception of Rasmussen Reports and a couple others, completely missed Trump's surprise victory."

Comment: A sampling of comments from Trump supporters 'back then in 2015' indicating why they would vote for President Trump:
Trump Knows It's All a Joke--"Many are right; it's not about trusting Trump; it's a collective middle finger to the establishment... Trump isn't stupid, he gets it. He knows the more outrageous, the better."

Trump is a Gamble Worth Taking--"I am of the belief that he is conceited and arrogant enough to avoid failing in front of the world at all cost."

Trump is Jay Gatsby--"Is it not better to place your chips on hopes and dreams rather than certain nightmares? Those of us who buy Trump's vision, nearly to the point of blind trust, are loudly professing our disgust with the current immoral situations that taint and threaten our blueprint of the American dream."

Trump Has Consistently Championed Protectionism--"On the two primary issues as to why I'm supporting Mr. Trump he has remained stunningly consistent."

Trump Put Illegal Immigration Front and Center--"We have horrendous problem with illegal aliens, sanctuary cities & crimes."

Trump is Not Rehearsed--"What you see is what you see, all the cards are on the table."

Trump's Nature is to Make the Best Deals Possible--"While Trump may very well have his own best interests at heart it's ok: his best interest is our best interest and that best interest is our property values and our economy. When our economy tanks, his property values go DOWN! If anyone would be interested in saving our country, it would be someone whose salary is directly tied to the value of the country we call the USA!"
As Trump has embodied their expectations, 'Trumpers' then will stay true to him now. Given the plandemic, social distancing, the seclusion and mask mandates, cities across America in riot, the insane and incendiary rhetoric from the left...little wonder that Red voters are reluctant to express their choices - perhaps a smart move all things considered.

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Palette

CNN shows doctored photo of Biden with his son, reportedly provided by campaign


RT
Wed, 09 Sep 2020 18:24 UTC
Bidens w/wo logo
© Twitter/screenshotOriginal photo (inset) of Biden and one of his sons, and the version that aired on CNN, from which the logo of the Washington football team disappeared somehow.
Showing an old family photo of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, retouched to remove the now-controversial logo of a football team from his son's hat, has raised questions about CNN's commitment to 'facts first'.

A photo of Biden holding one of his young sons had been posted online by the candidate back in June. CNN used it on Monday evening for the 'Fight for the White House: Joe Biden's Long Journey' special. Except in CNN's version, the Washington Redskins logo had disappeared from the younger Biden's beanie.
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Attention

University campus so woke it segregated whites-only and POC-only cafes

Libby Emmons
The Post Millenial
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 16:41 UTC
woke segregation
Segregation is alive and well at the University of Michigan Dearborn, where leftists have created a cafe only for white people.

The "Non-POC Cafe" will be "holding space for students that do not identity as POC (people of color)." It was unveiled this week, and students must RSVP to enter the cafe, where presumably, they will get to hang out exclusively with people of their own race.

It does not appear to be that the intention of this segregated cafe is a lesson in what it was like before the abolishment of laws that enforced segregation.

The statement on the site launching this new, segregationist initiative, reads "The Non-POC (People Of Color) Cafe is a space for students that do not identify as persons of color to gather and to discuss their experience as students on campus and as non-POC in the world. Feel free to drop in and discuss your experiences as non-persons of color and hopefully brainstorm solutions to common issues within the non-POC community."

Comment: When 'social justice' policy makers recreate the past injustices they say they are fighting against, it's a pretty clear indication these people should be the last given any sort of power.

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Cardboard Box

Lockdown fallout: US economy still suffering from high levels of unemployment and staggeringly high unemployment applications

Sylvan Lane
The Hill
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 15:05 UTC
US unemployment, US jobless claims
© Getty
New weekly claims for unemployment benefits stayed flat last week when adjusted for seasonal factors, but rose by more than 20,000 on an unadjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

In the week ending Sept. 5, the number of seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 884,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level of applications.

Without adjustments for seasonal factors, claims rose 857,148 in the week ending Sept. 5, a 2.4 percent increase from the previous week's 837,000 claims. Claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program meant to cover workers excluded from traditional jobless benefits, also rose to 838,916 last week, an increase of roughly 91,000 applications from the previous week.

Taken together, the new data on jobless claims is a troubling sign for a U.S. economy still suffering from high levels of unemployment and staggeringly high unemployment applications more than five months after the onset of the coronavirus recession. Weekly jobless claims totaled just 208,000 at the same time in 2019 but have remained above 880,000 for more than 25 consecutive weeks.

Comment:

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Red Flag

Indoctrination: Vanderbilt University professors claim US Constitution 'designed to perpetuate white supremacy'

Zara Zupkus
Young America's Foundation
Thu, 03 Sep 2020 00:00 UTC
vanderbilt university
A group of Vanderbilt University professors recently claimed that the U.S. Constitution was "designed to perpetuate white supremacy," penalizing any student who disagreed on a class quiz.

The quiz, required in PSCI 1150: U. S. ELECTIONS 2020, asked students to answer true or false to the question, "Was the Constitution designed to perpetuate white supremacy and protect the institution of slavery?" One student answered "false," and the question was marked wrong.
University white supremacy quiz
The student, who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution, reported the troubling quiz to YAF through our Campus Bias Tip Line.

Comment: As Jordan Peterson warned years ago, parents need to stop underwriting the university professors who are misinforming and corrupting students, and the colleges teaching this nonsense should be de-funded:

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Attention

'Stop using my image': Wounded vet says Trump never called him 'loser,' demands his face be taken off 'propaganda'

Virginia Kruta
Daily Caller
Mon, 07 Sep 2020 19:10 UTC
Bobby Henline
Four-tour Iraq War veteran and comedian Bobby Henline demanded Monday that people stop using his image for "propaganda."

Within a day of a report from The Atlantic claiming that President Donald Trump had called wounded veterans "losers" and saying that no one wanted to see them, Henline's face appeared on anti-Trump memes that used that message.

"Are we done lying to people yet?" he asked in a video Monday, demanding that his face not be used in "propaganda" to promote that agenda.

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Bomb

DOJ charges Texas college student for ISIS inspired bomb threats against university

Madison Dibble
Washington Examiner
Tue, 08 Sep 2020 17:16 UTC
Zoom
A Texas man who admitted to Zoom-bombing a University of Houston online class to praise the Islamic State has been charged by the Justice Department.

Ibraheem Ahmed al Bayati, 19, admitted to interrupting a class to threaten to bomb the university during an online lecture being taught via Zoom on Wednesday. Bayati told the class that he would bomb the university and praised the Islamic State, saying, "Islamic State will remain."

"What does any of this have to do with the fact that UH is about to get bombed in a few days?" Bayati told the class, according to court documents.
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Fire

Huge fire breaks out at Beirut port just one month after devastating explosion


ABC News
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 15:02 UTC
fire beirut second one
An inferno raging at the port in Beirut on Thursday afternoon just 37 days after the city was rocked by an explosion
A huge fire broke out Thursday at the Port of Beirut, sending up a thick column of black smoke and raising new panic among traumatized residents after last month's catastrophic blast at the same site killed nearly 200 people.

It was unclear what caused the blaze at the facility, which was decimated by the Aug. 4 explosion when nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up and sent out a shock wave that caused widespread damage and was felt as far away as the island of Cyprus.

Dark smoke covered the capital on Thursday as army helicopters sprayed water over the orange flames leaping from the ground.

The Lebanese army said the fire started in the port's duty free zone at a warehouse with containers of tires, oil and other flammable materials.

Comment: The Daily Mail adds:
Lebanese troops closed the major road that passes near the port referring traffic to other areas.

Police spokesman Col. Joseph Msalam said they have no information about what is happening at the port adding that the facility is currently under control of the army.

Asked about reports that the fire was caused by burning tires and oil, he said 'I don't know. It could be containers. I really don't know what is there.'

It added that firefighters are dealing with the blaze.
Social media quickly filled with videos:




Speculation took a political turn:


The psychological toll on Beirut's children is clear:



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Control Panel

Mission accomplished? Corporate-sponsored BLM has "vanished" the emerging "anti-Globalist" majority that elected Trump

Mike Whitney
The Unz Review
Fri, 04 Sep 2020 00:00 UTC
corporate america BLM
The leaders of Black Lives Matter want to "defund the police". They think "systemic racism" and "police brutality" are so bad that police budgets must be cut dramatically in order to reduce the number of cops on the beat. They believe that fewer cops will move the black community closer to their goal of racial justice.

This is the basic theory behind the idea of defunding the police. There's only one problem with the theory, it's wrong. Simply put: Blacks don't want fewer cops. Here's the scoop from Newsweek:
"A majority of Black Americans have said they want police presence in their area to either remain the same or increase, despite recent protests over police brutality, according to new polls.

A Gallup poll conducted from June 23 to July 6 surveying more than 36,000 U.S. adults found that 61 percent of Black Americans said they'd like police to spend the same amount of time in their community, while 20 percent answered they'd like to see more police, totaling 81 percent. Just 19 percent of those polled said they wanted police to spend less time in their area.

Black Americans' responses to the question were nearly on par with the national average, in which 67 percent of all U.S. adults said they wanted police presence to remain the same and 19 percent said they wanted it to increase." ("81% of Black Americans Don't Want Less Police Presence Despite Protests — Some Want More Cops: Poll", Newsweek)
Why isn't this on the front-page of the New York Times?
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