Society's ChildS


Eye 1

US Immigration agents to use thousands of license plate readers on 'hot list' targets


RT
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 20:46 UTC
traffic cameras
© Global Look Press
Federal immigration agents will soon have access to an automatic camera system that can locate and track vehicles in real time. Civil rights advocates worry the technology will be used against Americans.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be able to track billions of license plates with the help of a third-party vendor that specializes in license plate reader (LPR) technology, according to a contract finalized earlier this month.

LPR is a system of high-speed cameras mounted on vehicles or stationary locations that automatically photograph license plates that come in the range of the devices. The system captures an image of the license plate and records the GPS location of the vehicle along with the date and time and other identifiable information.

"Like most other law enforcement agencies, ICE uses information obtained from license plate readers as one tool in support of its investigations," ICE spokesman James Schwab said in a statement obtained by KPIX.

The contract does not specify the commercial vendor, but an ICE representative told The Verge that the data will come from Vigilant Solutions, a leading network for licence plate recognition data.
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USA

Rhode Island, Connecticut and Illinois ranked as the 'worst possible states to live'


Daily Mail
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:41 UTC
us map
Around a quarter of Illinois, Connecticut and Rhode Island residents described their state as the worst possible one to live in, according to a survey.
If you live in Illinois, Connecticut or Rhode Island, the chances are you know someone who is not happy. Not happy at all.

Around a quarter of the population living in these regions have described them each as the 'worst possible state to live in', according to a survey.

The map data doesn't explain the nature of the residents' grievances.

However, classic socio-economic indicators would clearly be relevant - including work-life balance, healthcare, crime levels, education, housing, income and the environment.

While 21-25 per cent of people in the Gallup survey ranked these three states as the 'worst', Louisiana and Mississippi also featured prominently - with 17-20 per cent describing the two southern states as the worst.
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Cell Phone

Stealthy app Bienvenidos could aid illegal border crossings, thwart govt use


RT
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 12:58 UTC
Border crossing
© Reuters
The app Bienvenidos allegedly alerts illegal immigrants to cameras, fences and border patrol agents while crossing into the US, but technical details of its functionality are still shrouded in mystery.

Bienvenidos' anonymous creators posted a YouTube video explaining the program's technology on Monday. But the 72-second clip, which only garnered 59 views, was inexplicably deleted on Wednesday when their website became password-protected, Motherboard reported.

"The world's first community-based navigation app for migration," as it bills itself, was first discovered on Monday in an email pitch from "The Bienvenidos Team" to Motherboard.

The app's website, Bienvenidosapp.com, had claimed it offers undocumented migrants a streamlined means of navigating the hardships associated with border crossing. However, It is not known how many other media outlets received the email besides Motherboard.

Comment: See also:
WH cancels rollout of immigration plan as Schumer demands more concessions
Dems show true colors on immigration after Trump's provocation

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Bad Guys

Foreign YPG fighters join the fight in Afrin to battle Turkish-led forces

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 00:00 UTC
YPG Fighters
The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has seen the arrival of many foreign fighters to help them in their battle against Turkish-led forces in the Syrian northwest canton of Afrin.

The YPG foreign fighter battalion, "international volunteers," announced that they would leave other areas of northern Syria to join in the "struggle".

"We joined the fight against ISIS for years, we will not stay silent while Afrin is being attacked by Turkish occupation army" one foreign fighter said.

Comment: The YPG seem to be unwitting dupes of US plans to carve out a statelets in Syria. The sooner they realize this, the better off they'll be. Until that time, they will remain cannon fodder.

The moral excellence of the Kurdish YPG is a Washington-promoted myth

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Attention

Unstable Georgetown professor sued for calling German airport police Nazis


RT
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 19:16 UTC
Frankfurt airport police
© Stefanie Loos / Reuters
An American professor is being sued for slander by German police who allege she called their colleague a 'f**king Nazi' during a heated argument about carry-on liquids at Frankfurt International Airport.

C. Christine Fair, an associate professor at Georgetown University, got into the argument when airport police told her she had too many liquids in her carry-on baggage. As the 49-year-old outlined in a lengthy article on Huffington Post the row escalated over a 'Lady Speed Stick' deodorant which the police confiscated because they said the professor had too many liquids.

Fair argued that the deodorant was a solid and not a liquid and, despite risking missing her flight, she tried to make a complaint to customer service.

During the heated exchange the police allege that she called them "f**king German Nazi police" and "f**king bastards". However Fair, who works for the Rand Corporation, insists she never called the officers Nazis. She admits she did use the word Nazi, but claims she was referring to a man behind her in the line who had a "Hitler youth haircut."

Comment: All that drama over a stick of deodorant that costs a few bucks? Take a look at the hysterical screed she penned for the Huffington Post. In it she manages a dig at Trump and later accuses the German police of targeting her because of her gender. This is the same Georgetown professor called to task for the following:

Georgetown professor launches social media attack on Muslim woman who voted for Trump, equates her to Nazis and tells her 'F*** You. Go To Hell'

You get no sympathy, professor.

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Attention

Fans of Sean Hannity are furious after his Twitter account disappears - blame 'deep state'


RT
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 09:48 UTC
Sean Hannity
© Mike SegarFox News Channel anchor Sean Hannity
Fox News broadcaster Sean Hannity disappeared from the Twittersphere overnight - and all he left behind was one cryptic 'clue.'

The account of the conservative television host was apparently removed from the platform late on Friday or in the early hours of Saturday morning. Hannity's last tweet, which read "Form Submission 1649 #Hannity," was reportedly taken down and reposted three times.

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Dollars

Florida Dem mayor arrested in FBI sting, took 'Russian' checks

Ryan Saavedra
The Daily Caller
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 19:32 UTC
Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper
© Thaddaeus McAdams/Getty ImagesHallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper
"Law enforcement officials in Florida arrested Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooperon Thursday after an FBI sting caught her allegedly involved in money laundering and corruption-related activities.

The Broward State Attorney's Office said that Cooper surrendered on charges of "money laundering, official misconduct and exceeding limits on campaign contributions, all of which are third-degree felonies," ABC 10 reported. "Prosecutors also charged her with soliciting contributions in a government building, which is a first-degree misdemeanor."

Florida Governor Rick Scott suspended Cooper from her role as Mayor of Hallandale Beach on Friday following her arrest.
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Pistol

Fearing for his life, cop aims at family dog and shoots little girl in the head instead

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 19:08 UTC
gun aiming at dog
In just a matter of a few days, cops in Wichita proved their incompetent and dangerous nature and showed the country that they are in dire need of de-escalation training. In December, an innocent man was murdered by Wichita police for the 'crime' of opening his front door in front of frightened trigger happy cops. Now, a cop has actually been fired after he shot a little girl inside her own home just two days after they killed the innocent man.

At the beginning of the month, a Witchita cop was placed on administrative leave after discharging his firearm inside a family's home-in a cowardly attempt to kill a dog-and hitting a little girl instead. Now, in an actual moment of accountability, Officer Dexter Betts was fired this week in response to his potentially deadly act.

The officer was hired last January and barely made it a year before being fired.

As KAKE reports, officers were called at around 6:15 p.m. to the report of a domestic disturbance and suicidal person in the 1500 block of North Gentry, near 13th and Hillside. Officer Paul Cruz said in a news release that officers were told a 33-year-old man in the home had held a gun in his mouth and choked a dog.

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Newspaper

Helping people to change their news opinions? Nobody cares about 'the News'

Patrick Armstrong
Strategic Culture Foundation
Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00 UTC
trump/news
© Politico
In his mordant novel Scoop, Evelyn Waugh has one of his characters explain what "The News" is:
News is what a chap who doesn't care much about anything wants to read. And it's only news until he's read it. After that it's dead.
There is a great deal of wisdom in this little remark that I will attempt to unpack. It also, in my opinion, succinctly explains why we, who believe ourselves to be so brilliantly analytical and persuasive on sites like this one, have so little success in changing the opinions of our friends and neighbours (or awakening them as we might prefer to say).

Comment: See Tracking the life and death of news
They found a consistent rhythm as stories rose into prominence and then fell off over just a few days, with a "heartbeat" pattern of handoffs between blogs and mainstream media. In mainstream media, they found, a story rises to prominence slowly then dies quickly; in the blogosphere, stories rise in popularity very quickly but then stay around longer, as discussion goes back and forth. Eventually though, almost every story is pushed aside by something newer.


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Bomb

At least 95 killed, more than 150 injured as deadly blast rocks Kabul - Taliban claims responsibility


RT
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 19:11 UTC
People carry an injured man
© Mohammad Ismail / ReutersPeople carry an injured man to a hospital after a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan January 27, 2018
At least 95 people were killed and more than 150 injured by an explosion in a central district of Kabul, close to where several embassies and government buildings are located, Reuters said citing a health ministry official.

Preliminary reports say the explosion occurred close to the building which formerly housed Afghanistan's Interior Ministry. An eyewitness told the news outlet the blast was caused by a car bomb, which detonated near the gates of the former ministry building.

The explosive device was hidden in an ambulance and detonated at a police checkpoint in the Afghan capital.


A thick plume of smoke is coming from the blast site, according to TOLO News

Comment: See also: Afghanistan: Gunmen attack Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul - All 3 attackers killed - UPDATE

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