Society's Child

Eye in the Sky: This is the week that the drone surveillance state became real

Dave Gershgorn
Quartz
Fri, 08 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC

Affordable consumer technology has made surveillance cheap and commoditized AI software has made it automatic.

Those two trends merged this week, when drone manufacturer DJI partnered June 5 with Axon, the company that makes Taser weapons and police body cameras, to sell drones to local police departments around the United States. Now, not only do local police have access to drones, but footage from those flying cameras will be automatically analyzed by AI systems not disclosed to the public.

Footage will be uploaded or streamed to Axon's digital cloud for police cameras, like the body cameras it currently sells, where it can be analyzed by Axon's AI and used for anything from crowd monitoring to search and rescue, the company writes on its website.

This sounds vague, but AI research published two days earlier by academics from India and the UK shows exactly how such a drone system could be used. The paper, titled "Eye in the Sky," details how drone footage could be used to detect "violent individuals" in real-time.

Comment: Sacramento residents disturbed by government drone flying overhead

Twitter chuckles about 'Russian interference' after historic Stanley Cup win of Ovechkin's Capitals

RT
Fri, 08 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC

© Stephen R. Sylvanie -USA TODAY Sports / Reuters
Jun 7, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) kisses the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in game five of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena

Within minutes of the Washington Capitals' first Stanley Cup ever, their victory was chalked up to "Russian meddling." When the team, featuring Alex Ovechkin and two other Russians, claimed the Cup, Twitter just couldn't resist.

The Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Thursday. Alexander Ovechkin became the first Russia-born player to captain his team to the most coveted prize in hockey.

Of course, Twitter wouldn't be Twitter if it passed up the chance to make a few jabs.

The majority of the jokes, however, were light-hearted.

Comment: See also:

Baby born to transgender man could become first child without a legal mother

Danielle Sheridan
The Telegragh
Sat, 09 Jun 2018 10:25 UTC

A baby could become the first person without a legal mother if a transgender man wins a historic court battle.

Lawyers representing the parent told a judge that he had been biologically able to get pregnant and give birth but had legally become a man when the child was born.

The man wants to be identified as the child's "father" or "parent" on a birth certificate, however a birth registrar told the man the law requires people who give birth to children to be registered as mothers.

The man has since taken legal action against the body set up to administer statutory provisions relating to the registration of births and deaths after complaining of discrimination.

Comment: Babies are only born of women.

College student who falsely accused football players of rape will spend less than one year behind bars

Conservative Fighters
Sat, 09 Jun 2018 14:18 UTC

A female college student who was facing six years in prison after admitting to falsely accusing two football players of raping her has gotten off relatively easy: As the result of a last-minute plea deal, former Sacred Heart University student Nikki Yovino will only spend one year behind bars, if that. Meanwhile, both of the falsely accused men have left the school after saying they were dismissed from the team and had their scholarships revoked, which the school has disputed.

Yovino was facing up to six years in prison after being charged with second-degree falsely reporting an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. The charges stem from her false claim to police in October 2016 that two student athletes raped her in a bathroom during an off-campus party, a claim she admitted was false three months later after her story fell apart.

The Connecticut Post provides some more details on her false accusation (formatting adjusted):

On Oct. 15, 2016, police were dispatched to St. Vincent's Medical Center for a sexual assault complaint. Police said Yovino told them she had attended a Sacred Heart football club party the night before at a house at Lakeside Drive in Bridgeport.

Police said the woman claimed the two men pulled her into a bathroom in the basement of the house. "I don't want to be in here, I don't want to do anything. My friends are waiting for me outside, let me go outside," police said Yovino claimed she told the men. They said she continued that they held her down and each took a turn sexually assaulting her.

Both players admitted to having sex with Yovino in the restroom, but they insisted that it was consensual. A witness also testified to hearing Yovino tell them she wanted to have sex with the two athletes. Detectives additionally noted "inconsistencies in [Yovino's] original statement."

Comment: Unfortunately, the damage has already been done and she has left 2 lives in ruin. The stigma attached never goes away even after it being proven false while she essentially gets a slap on the wrist. See also:

We are all still waiting for evidence of a Russian hack

Ray McGovern
Consortium News
Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:02 UTC

If you are wondering why so little is heard these days of accusations that Russia hacked into the U.S. election in 2016, it could be because those charges could not withstand close scrutiny. It could also be because special counsel Robert Mueller appears to have never bothered to investigate what was once the central alleged crime in Russia-gate as no one associated with WikiLeaks has ever been questioned by his team.

Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity - including two "alumni" who were former National Security Agency technical directors - have long since concluded that Julian Assange did not acquire what he called the "emails related to Hillary Clinton" via a "hack" by the Russians or anyone else. They found, rather, that he got them from someone with physical access to Democratic National Committee computers who copied the material onto an external storage device - probably a thumb drive. In December 2016 VIPS explained this in some detail in an open Memorandum to President Barack Obama.

On January 18, 2017 President Obama admitted that the "conclusions" of U.S. intelligence regarding how the alleged Russian hacking got to WikiLeaks were "inconclusive." Even the vapid FBI/CIA/NSA "Intelligence Community Assessment of Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections" of January 6, 2017, which tried to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for election interference, contained no direct evidence of Russian involvement. That did not prevent the "handpicked" authors of that poor excuse for intelligence analysis from expressing "high confidence" that Russian intelligence "relayed material it acquired from the Democratic National Committee ... to WikiLeaks." Handpicked analysts, of course, say what they are handpicked to say.

Comment: See also:

Family sues police department after they refuse to apologize for beating their autistic son

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 07 Jun 2018 15:04 UTC

Following a national outcry surrounding the violent takedown of an autistic boy by Officer David Grossman, the Buckeye Police Department began conducting damage control. As the world lashed out at the department for mistreating Connor Leibel, an innocent autistic boy, in such a violent and callous manner, the parents simply asked for an apology-one that would never come. And now, because the police refused to apologize, the taxpayers are going to be held liable.

According to Courthouse News reports, Kevin and Danielle Leibel brought their federal complaint Wednesday against Buckeye, its police department and Officer David Grossman on behalf of their son, Connor, in Phoenix, seeking punitive damages on nine counts, including battery, excessive force, negligence, failure to train and illegal arrest. They also sued Police Chief Larry Hall and Lt. Charles Arlak.

As ABC 15 reported at the time, after the incident, the Leibel family through an attorney sent Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall a letter with three requests: (1) Grossman apologize face to face (2) Grossman perform community service in the autism community (3) Buckeye institutes autism training for officers.

The letter stated at the time, "If these terms are agreed to first, any financial component of this case will be quickly resolved."

NYT reporter Ali Watkins' past tweets come back to haunt amid Wolfe leak case

Alex Pappas
Fox News
Sat, 09 Jun 2018 14:43 UTC

© Associated Press
James Wolfe, left, the former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee, and New York Times reporter Ali Watkins, right. Federal investigators had seized years' worth of Watkins' email and phone records as part of a leak probe into Wolfe.

New York Times reporter Ali Watkins' past tweets are raising eyebrows after revelations she had a three-year romantic relationship with a Senate Intelligence Committee aide now accused by federal prosecutors of leaking sensitive information to journalists, including herself.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that federal investigators had seized years' worth of Watkins' email and phone records as part of a leak probe into James Wolfe, the former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee indicted for giving false statements to FBI agents. Wolfe appeared for a federal court hearing in Baltimore on Friday, where he relinquished his passport and was prohibited from traveling outside of the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Comment:

Alabama university bans 'harsh text messages' and 'rumors'

Maria Lencki
The College Fix
Fri, 08 Jun 2018 14:52 UTC

As part of its code of conduct, a public university in Alabama prohibits its students from sending "harsh text messages," a policy that has earned it the worst possible rating from a campus free-speech watchdog group.

The University of West Alabama's Cyberbullying and Cyber Harassment Policy defines harassment as "conduct that disrupts the educational environment of the university." Conduct that the university has defined as harassment includes "harsh text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles."

The policy provides several examples of "instances where social media can cause harm to the university or member of the UWA community," though none of the examples includes "harsh text messages" or "rumors."

The College Fix reached out repeatedly to university officials to learn more about the policy, including whether any students had ever been sanctioned by the school for sending a harsh text message. The school's public relations department did not respond to several requests for comment; nor did its Vice President of Student Affairs Richard Hester.

Man charged with animal cruelty after two dogs die in van after his arrest

Zack McDonald
News Herald
Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:40 UTC

Only one of the dogs discovered in the back of a van left in the hear for several days survived.

A local man has been arrested after he allegedly left his dogs - two of which would later be found dead - in a van while he went to get intoxicated, according to official reports.

Jason Matthew Reece, 39, appeared in court Wednesday on charges of disorderly conduct and animal cruelty resulting in death. The Bay County Sheriff's Office reported arresting him Sunday night at a Beach condo only to learn the next morning that dogs found dead inside a nearby van belonged to him. Reece is currently being held at the Bay County Jail on a combined bond of $10,000, court records stated.

Reece recently had pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge officers believe occurred June 2, the night he left the dogs in the van. But during his arrest, Reece did not mention the dogs, BCSO reported.

"At no time did Reece tell deputies he had left his vehicle nearly a half mile away parked in front of a Dollar General Store," officers wrote. "Reece also did not inform the deputy he had left three small dogs locked inside the vehicle."

According to BCSO reports, deputies responded June 3 to a complaint about a man who appeared intoxicated and was pulling on handles of vehicles at condo complex. Deputies approached Reece in the nearby parking lot, and he claimed he thought the vehicle belonged to a friend of his, officers reported.

Public outcry swift at IDF attempts to smear murdered Palestinian medic with inaccurate video

RT
Sat, 09 Jun 2018 14:25 UTC

The Israel Defense Forces' attempt to smear medic Razan al-Najjar, the 21-year-old killed last week, backfired when a video it shared on social media was swiftly debunked.

The IDF shared an edited video of Najjar on both its English and Arabic spokesperson Twitter accounts on Thursday.

Comment:

Billionaires certainly have no right to remove our supposed democracy and bring through 'resets' through the back door. Neither do our politicians...

Kevin Smith

Unfortunately this can't be done in Australia, as AHPRA will pull anyone's liscence to practice if they "say anything bad" about vaccines. This is...

Ruth

I believe this is intentional. To create a feeling of dispair, depression, and approaching end times. Provoke the sheeple to make the next step in...

codis

.. .. Let's go pfhizer!! [Link]

Jibrish

Let's go pfhizer!! [Link]

Jibrish

Society's Child

Eye in the Sky: This is the week that the drone surveillance state became real

Twitter chuckles about 'Russian interference' after historic Stanley Cup win of Ovechkin's Capitals

Baby born to transgender man could become first child without a legal mother

College student who falsely accused football players of rape will spend less than one year behind bars

We are all still waiting for evidence of a Russian hack

Family sues police department after they refuse to apologize for beating their autistic son

NYT reporter Ali Watkins' past tweets come back to haunt amid Wolfe leak case

Alabama university bans 'harsh text messages' and 'rumors'

Man charged with animal cruelty after two dogs die in van after his arrest

Public outcry swift at IDF attempts to smear murdered Palestinian medic with inaccurate video

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