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Detroit cops arrest police commissioner for calling out controversial facial recognition system

Steve Neavling
Metro Times
Fri, 12 Jul 2019 10:40 UTC
Detroit Police Commissioner Willie Burton
© Twitter/Alan Campbell
Detroit police yank police commissioner Willie Burton from his seat.
Detroit Police Commissioner Willie Burton was yanked out of his seat and arrested during a public meeting Thursday because the chairwoman wanted him to stop talking.

Burton was trying to call out the Board of Police Commissioners for holding illegal committee meetings that neither he nor the public were allowed to attend. During one of those closed-door sessions, commissioners quietly hashed out a policy for the city's pervasive and controversial facial recognition system.

But board chairwoman Lisa Carter didn't want to hear it.

As three police officers dragged Burton to the ground, officers held back protesters, some of whom were wearing masks to show their opposition to facial-recognition technology.

Comment: See also:

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Take 2

Democracy? Kiev TV station attacked with GRENADE LAUNCHER for scheduling broadcast of Stone documentary 'Revealing Ukraine'


RT
Sat, 13 Jul 2019 15:18 UTC
A crate with RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades
© Sputnik / Igor Zarembo
A crate with RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades.
The office of a Ukrainian TV channel, which has been complaining about threats coming from nationalists over its editorial policy, was attacked overnight with a grenade launcher.

The building of 112 Ukraine was damaged on Friday night by a grenade apparently fired from a single-shot launcher. Two people reportedly drove by the premises, fired the explosive at the big logo of the channel on the building wall and fled the scene, leaving the used launcher tube behind.

Comment: Another Ukrainian TV channel was also threatened for participating in this show: 'We have nothing to quarrel about': Russians and Ukrainians speak for unity at televised conference

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TV

'We have nothing to quarrel about': Russians and Ukrainians speak for unity at televised conference


RT
Sat, 13 Jul 2019 14:29 UTC
A general view of the Moscow Rossiya 1 studio hosting the televised conference between Russia and Ukraine
© All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK)
A general view of the Moscow Rossiya 1 studio hosting the televised conference between Russia and Ukraine.
As politicians in Russia and Ukraine take the first steps to renew talks after years of strained relations, people in both countries have come forward in a televised "bridge" show to call for unity between the two nations.

Russians and Ukrainians have engaged in a two-hour-long civil dialog for the first time in several years, as part of a televised 'politics-free' discussion show We need to talk hosted by the Russian state channel Rossiya 1. The show was originally supposed to be co-hosted by a private Ukrainian channel NewsOne - until it canceled its participation due to death threats against its journalists and pressure from the government in Kiev.

Rossiya 1 still managed to give voice to both Russians and Ukrainians, including both prominent public figures and ordinary people, by inviting some of them to its Moscow studio and contacting others via Skype.
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Snakes in Suits

Why is no one talking about Barry Krischer, the Florida prosecutor who let Epstein get away?

Daniel Greenfield
Frontpage Mag
Thu, 11 Jul 2019 00:00 UTC
Jeffrey Epstein, Barry Krischer

As Chief Prosecutor, Krischer had made his reputation with a zero-tolerance policy of prosecuting juveniles as adults. But after Epstein had abused underage girls, Krischer, according to the detective on the case, ignored police efforts to charge him with four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and instead the billionaire abuser was indicted only on a minor charge of solicitation of prostitution.
The Florida prosecutor who allowed Jeffrey Epstein to get away with the abuse of children is a very popular guy in Palm Beach.

The YWCA of Palm Beach County ("eliminating racism, empowering women") offers the Barry Krischer Humanitarian Award and the Domestic Violence Council has a Barry Krischer scholarship.

Last year, the ADL honored Krischer with its Jurisprudence Award.

The Florida Bar had honored Kirscher with a lifetime achievement award and he's still listed as a member in good standing. Even Jeb Bush had bestowed a Peace at Home award on the prosecutor.

Krischer sits on the Criminal Justice Commission and offers training to law enforcement, court personnel and child welfare providers on dealing with crimes of sexual violence. His bio states that he remains active in "child welfare issues" through his work with the Department of Children and Families.

The former Palm Beach County State Attorney had made national news three times during his career. Once when he went after Rush Limbaugh, then after Ann Coulter, two Republicans, and when, after being handed the case of Epstein, a co-founder of the Clinton Global Initiative, he gave him a pass.

Barry Krischer is a Democrat. Jeffrey Epstein is a billionaire donor to Democrats.

Comment:

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Mr. Potato

Bill and Hillary Clinton booed at Billy Joel concert

Paul Bois
Daily Wire
Sat, 13 Jul 2019 13:11 UTC
bill hillary
© David Becker / Getty Images
"Initial cheers turned to boos from the audience"

It's official: Bill and Hillary Clinton are pariahs in the Democratic Party. If the low ticket prices ($10) for their book tour appearances didn't already demonstrate that, then maybe a crowd booing them at a Billy Joel concert will.

According to Fox News, the famous former First Couple prompted groans and boos from the crowd of Billy Joel fans in attendance at his concert in Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

"After the Long Island-born legend dedicated a song to the former first couple and flashed them up on the screen at Madison Square Garden, initial cheers turned to boos from the audience," reports the outlet.

Exactly what prompted the boos is anyone's guess, but the duo's unpopularity has been ongoing since the 2016 election and has only snowballed since. As The Daily Wire's Emily Zanotti reported back in May, the Clintons recently had to slash their book tour while reducing ticket prices to as low as $10.

"Organizers were forced to 'slash listed prices and even offer discount ducats through Groupon to boost sales' at Seattle's WaMu Theater," Zanotti reported. "Even the best seats in the house, which once cost around $1700, were available Friday night for around $800 — more than half off the suggested retail price. Even 'The West Wing's' Bradley Whitford, who emceed the event and conducted the interview with Bill and Hillary Clinton couldn't manage to salvage the affair."
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USA

The majority of US soldiers and citizens say the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting

Ruth Igielnik and Kim Parker
Pew Research Center
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 11:32 UTC
US soldiers
© Scott Olson/Getty Images
U.S. Army Capt. Matt Anderson and Sgts. (Ret.) Daniel Harrison and Noah Galloway ride in a helicopter to Forward Operating Base Fenty near Bagram, Afghanistan, in 2014.
Nearly 18 years since the start of the war in Afghanistan and 16 years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, majorities of U.S. military veterans say those wars were not worth fighting, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of veterans. A parallel survey of American adults finds that the public shares those sentiments.

Among veterans, 64% say the war in Iraq was not worth fighting considering the costs versus the benefits to the United States, while 33% say it was. The general public's views are nearly identical: 62% of Americans overall say the Iraq War wasn't worth it and 32% say it was. Similarly, majorities of both veterans (58%) and the public (59%) say the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting. About four-in-ten or fewer say it was worth fighting.

Veterans who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan are no more supportive of those engagements than those who did not serve in these wars. And views do not differ based on rank or combat experience.
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Arrow Up

According to the UN, India has lifted 271 million people out of poverty in the last 10 years

PTI
The Hindu
Fri, 12 Jul 2019 11:25 UTC
Indian women with cart
© Shaju John
According to a UN report, India and Cambodia reduced their Multidimensional Poverty Index values the fastest.
India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016, recording the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as "assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition," a report by the United Nations said.

The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) was released on Thursday.

The report said that in the 101 countries studied — 31 low income, 68 middle income and 2 high income - 1.3 billion people are "multidimensionally poor", which means that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.

The report identifies 10 countries, with a combined population of around 2 billion people, to illustrate the level of poverty reduction, and all of them have shown statistically significant progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1, namely ending poverty "in all its forms, everywhere".
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Eye 1

A dozen new Epstein abuse victims come forward to testify

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sat, 13 Jul 2019 11:13 UTC
jeffrey epstein
Jeffrey Epstein's defense team is arguing that their client should be released on house arrest until his trial. They're also arguing that the charges being brought against Epstein in New York were previously resolved in Florida ten years ago, where Epstein struck his sweetheart deal with prosecutors led by now-Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.

But it appears the FBI's request that any other victims of Epstein come forward succeeded in convincing more than a dozen women, whose cases were not part of the Florida prosecution, to come forward and testify about the abuse they suffered at the hands of Epstein.

According to the Miami Herald, which revived prosecutors' interest in Epstein with its 'Perversion of Justice' series of investigative reports about how Epstein was let off with a slap on the wrist and minimal jail time despite evidence that he was an inveterate, unrepentant pedophile. At least four women have contacted David Boies, the New York power-lawyer who represents some of Epstein's victims, and at least 10 others have approached other lawyers who have previously represented Epstein's victims.

Comment: Also see: Epstein case has the potential to be the biggest scandal in American history

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Dollars

Climate activists including Extinction Rebellion to receive £500,000 from US philanthropists

Phoebe Weston
The Independent
Fri, 12 Jul 2019 18:40 UTC
Extinction Rebellion groups
© Jane Barlow/PA
Money has already been pledged to Extinction Rebellion groups (pictured) in New York and Los Angeles


'This might be single best chance to stop the greatest emergency we've ever faced,' donor says

Grassroots climate activists like Extinction Rebellion are set to receive £500,000 from US philanthropists with the promise of millions more in the coming months.

Three wealthy donors - Trevor Neilson, Rory Kennedy and Aileen Getty - have launched the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) to help support school strikes and activism groups like Extinction Rebellion.

"This might be the single best chance we have to stop the greatest emergency we have ever faced," Mr Neilson told The Guardian. He said he hoped the fund will be increased "a hundred times" in the coming months as investors pledge to ask wealthy friends to contribute.

On its website the CEF says it wants to support activists committing their lives to addressing the climate emergency. Money has already been pledged to Extinction Rebellion groups in New York and Los Angeles.

"We believe that only a peaceful planet-wide mobilisation on the scale of World War II will give us a chance to avoid the worst-case scenarios and restore a safe climate," the website reads.

"These individuals and groups need our support as they carry out legal, nonviolent activities to demand that our leaders take action to ban ecologically destructive practices and save as much life as possible."

Comment: Meanwhile the first Extinction Rebellion protesters have appeared in court in the UK charged with a public order offence, after April's action in London. Demonstrators brought parts of the capital to a standstill, causing roadblocks on Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, while others glued themselves to trains and buildings.

Extinction Rebellion activists gathered outside City of London Magistrates' Court
© GETTY IMAGES
EnvironMENTALists gathered outside City of London Magistrates' Court ahead of the hearings
For more on Extinction Rebellion and other so-called climate activists see:

EnvironMENTALism: Origins, Symptoms And Treatment of a Global Pandemic

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Magnify

Google is investigating the source of voice data leak, plans to update its privacy policies

Sarah Perez
TechCrunch
Fri, 12 Jul 2019 05:03 UTC
Google
Google has responded to a report this week from Belgian public broadcaster VRT NWS, which revealed that contractors were given access to Google Assistant voice recordings, including those which contained sensitive information — like addresses, conversations between parents and children, business calls and others containing all sorts of private information. As a result of the report, Google says it's now preparing to investigate and take action against the contractor who leaked this information to the news outlet.

The company, by way of a blog post, explained that it partners with language experts around the world who review and transcribe a "small set of queries" to help Google better understand various languages.

Only around 0.2% of all audio snippets are reviewed by language experts, and these snippets are not associated with Google accounts during the review process, the company says. Other background conversations or noises are not supposed to be transcribed.

The leaker had listened to more than 1,000 recordings, and found 153 were accidental in nature — meaning, it was clear the user hadn't intended to ask for Google's help. In addition, the report found that determining a user's identity was often possible because the recordings themselves would reveal personal details. Some of the recordings contained highly sensitive information, like "bedroom conversations," medical inquiries or people in what appeared to be domestic violence situations, to name a few.

Comment: See also:

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