Society's Child

'Spypod': Apple to release smart speaker to record owner's voice commands

Jasper Hamill
Metro.co.uk
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 19:19 UTC

Apple is preparing to lock horns with arch-competitors Amazon and Google by releasing a microphone-equipped smart speaker.

Its 'HomePod' will go on sale in a matter of weeks, the tech giant announced today.

The new smart speaker works a bit like the Amazon Echo, which is operated using voice commands, and features microphones so sensitive they can pick up your words even when loud music is playing.

When switched on, the device is always listening for orders, which it then encrypts and sends back to Apple's servers to be interpreted and sent back to the speaker.

Privacy advocates are becoming increasingly wary of devices which can record what's going on owners' homes.

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Violent deaths of LGBT Brazilians hits all-time high

Sam Cowie
The Guardian
Mon, 22 Jan 2018 02:15 UTC

Violent deaths of LGBT people in Brazil have hit an all-time high following a sudden spike last year, new research reveals.

At least 445 LGBT Brazilians died as victims of homophobia in 2017 - a 30% increase from 2016, according to LGBT watchdog group Grupo Gay de Bahia.

The victims - 387 murders and 58 suicides - include Dandara dos Santos, a transexual woman who was beaten to death in the north-eastern Brazil city Fortaleza in March. A video of her being beaten and kicked circulated on social media with her torturers calling her homophobic slurs.

Brazil is one of the world's most violent countries, with a record 62,000 homicides in 2016, but authors of the research say that the deaths were directly related to homophobia.

Luiz Mott, an anthropologist and president of Grupo Gay de Bahia, said the rising violence owed much to the prominence of ultraconservative politicians, many of whom are linked to the country's powerful evangelical caucus in congress.

"It's a discourse that destroys solidarity and equates LGBT people to animals," he said. TV programs linked to evangelical churches often compare homosexuality to the devil.

Families of Mali's military hostages killed in French airstrike look for answers

RT
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 04:39 UTC

The French government has never officially accepted responsibility for the deaths of 11 Malian soldiers in an October 2017 airstrike. Their distraught families, meanwhile, have yet to find closure or bury their dead.

Boubacar Kante was one of the soldiers kidnapped in northern Mali between July 2016 and March 2017. He was subsequently killed in an airstrike which targeted Islamist militants from Jamaah Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) on October 23 - less than a month after the terrorist group posted a video of the detainees. The French Foreign Ministry confirmed the airstrike, but denied any collateral damage, including civilians and hostages. It described such claims as "propaganda coming from an armed terrorist group."

Kante's family, who are yet to receive a conclusive answer about his fate, shared their anguish with the Ruptly news agency.

"On July 17, 2016, he was taken prisoner in the Nampala attack. There were people dead, people wounded and people missing. Boubacar is one of the missing. France says no, it's not true. So who is right? Is it France that is there? Mali is not there. What can we say? Nothing. France says that at the time of the operations there were no hostages there, that is what I heard from RFI [Radio France International]. But afterwards, Boubacar's supervisor phoned me to tell me that they have no information in relation to the situation. After checking, they found no clue as to whether Boubacar is dead or not. It was denied."

US citizen fatalities, injuries in Kabul hotel attack

RT
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 13:55 UTC

American citizens were killed and injured in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, according to a State Department official. "We can confirm that there were US citizen fatalities and injuries," a US official said, as quoted by AFP. He did not specify how many Americans were involved.

The State Department says the United States is sending "deepest condolences" to the families and friends of those killed, and wishing a speedy recovery to those wounded, Reuters reported.

The attack occurred when gunmen burst into the hotel on Saturday night, opening fire on guests and staff members and taking dozens of people hostage. The incident led to a 12-hour standoff with police, with all of the attackers ultimately being shot dead by authorities. Desperate hostages were seen using bedsheets to shimmy to the ground from their balconies during the standoff.

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said on Sunday that 18 people had been killed in the incident, including 14 foreigners. Six of the foreigners were Ukrainian citizens, according to Kiev. Eleven of those killed reportedly worked for KamAir, a private Afghan airline.

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Schumer caves on shutdown, leftists lose their minds

Katie Pavlich
Townhall
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 07:00 UTC

It's been nearly 24 hours since Minority Leader Chuck Schumer got Democrats in line to end the #SchumerShutdown. It was the right thing to do but leftists, who Schumer usually sides with, are absolutely enraged by the cave.

ACLU:

"Enough is enough. We cannot rely on empty promises from those who have already proven to play politics with the lives of Dreamers. Today, Republicans - and too many Democrats - in Congress betrayed our American values and allowed bigotry and fear to prevail. But too many lives are on the line and too much is at stake to give up on this fight. Let it be known - we will be watching, and will make sure voters this November know if their representatives stood for Dreamers or for their deportation."

Comment: See also:

Man who committed attack against London Muslims obsessed with Islam, contacted far right leaders

RT
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 18:58 UTC

© AFP
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, the co-founder, spokesman and leader of the English Defence League

A man accused of driving a van into a crowd of Muslims near a London mosque received direct Twitter messages from British far-right figures Tommy Robinson and Jayda Fransen in the weeks leading up to the attack, a court has heard.

Darren Osborne, 48, from Cardiff, denies deliberately mowing down 51-year-old Makram Ali, who died from his injuries, and nine other people shortly after 12.15am on June 19 last year. He is charged with terrorism-related murder and attempted murder. The case is being heard at Woolwich Crown Court this week.

The court heard that Osborne became "obsessed" with Islam and the Rochdale grooming scandal after watching a BBC TV drama. He is said to have believed that all Muslims were rapists and belonged to pedophile gangs.

Comment: The implication here is that these far right leaders were somehow influential or involved in the attack on Muslims at the London mosque. It's basic guilt by association, yet it's pretty obvious Osborne contacted them rather than the other way around. While these groups aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, there's no reason at this point to assume any direct connections with the attack.

Brits laugh off crazed General's anti-Russian hysteria, saying they wish Putin ran their country

Inessa Sinchougova (translator)
Fort Russ
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 18:23 UTC

The head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Great Britain, General Nicholas Carter, suggested that Russia could begin "hostile actions" suddenly and in such a way that no one expects. According to Carter, Moscow's possible aggression may be directed against the security infrastructure in Europe, and its goal may also be to undermine the credibility of NATO.

Unarmed high school athlete killed by police as he backed out of his own driveway

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:55 UTC

A family grieving and a town left in shock after police responded to a welfare check of a beloved high school student Saturday afternoon-and killed him. Blue Valley Northwest High School junior John Albers was unarmed and backing out of his garage when an Overland Park Police Officer opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.

The incident happened on Saturday but the dispatch recordings were released Monday night which paint a picture of what happened. The most crucial part of the picture, however, is missing, and that is why the officer felt the need to kill the 17-year-old wrestling and track star.

Naturally, the officer is claiming that he feared for his life as the teen backed out of the garage, so he had no other choice but to kill him. Apparently, stepping sideways was not an option.

Police said that "as the responding officers approached the residence to make contact, the garage door opened and a vehicle exited the garage, moving rapidly toward one of the responding officers. The officer discharged his service weapon striking the male driver," the statement said. "The driver died at the scene."

Los Angeles teacher stripped naked on elementary school playground and chased nearby students

CBS Los Angeles
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 18:56 UTC

A physical education teacher at Carthay Center Elementary School outraged parents and upset students when he stripped naked on campus Friday and proceeded to chase nearby second-graders and fifth-graders.

"He was supposed to be helping them learn P.E., run around and have fun," one parent told CBS2's Adrianna Weingold. "But he undressed and started chasing the kids while he was naked, and then the kids ducked and dodged, ran into some of the classrooms and got safe haven that way."

A video taken by a construction worker passing by captured the unidentified teacher putting his pants back on in the middle of the playground.

Parents were notified of the incident via robocall as well as a letter that was sent home with students.

Military intelligence unit to enter Israeli high school curriculums in search of recruits

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 18:27 UTC

Israeli military intelligence unit 8200 plans to enter Israeli high school curriculums, as announced by the Israeli outlet 'Calcalist'.

"The elite unit that is losing manpower which goes to industry and high-tech, wants to attract and train students in order to incorporate them in the intelligence and security bodies. The students would be able to obtain credit points during the project, valid towards a university degree", the article (Hebrew) by Yoav Stoler tells us.

Unit 8200 is not just any unit. It spies within Israel, outside it, and on occupied territories. In September 2014, 43 reserve soldiers of the unit signed a protest letter, saying they "refused to take part in actions against Palestinians and refuse to be a tool for the deepening of the military regime in the occupied territories".

"During our military service we learned that intelligence is an inseparable part of military rule in the Territories. The Palestinian population, living under a military regime, is completely exposed to spying and surveillance of Israeli intelligence. As opposed to Israeli citizens and citizens of other nations, there is no supervision of methods of gathering, tracking or using intelligence information related to the Palestinians, whether they are involved in violence or not. Information gathered damages the innocent and is used for political persecution and creating divisions within Palestinian society through recruitment of collaborators and turning of Palestinian society against itself", they wrote in their letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Head of Military intelligence and Commander of Unit 8200.

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.. .. today's' atta bot' awards nominee: [Link]

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Society's Child

'Spypod': Apple to release smart speaker to record owner's voice commands

Violent deaths of LGBT Brazilians hits all-time high

Families of Mali's military hostages killed in French airstrike look for answers

US citizen fatalities, injuries in Kabul hotel attack

Schumer caves on shutdown, leftists lose their minds

Man who committed attack against London Muslims obsessed with Islam, contacted far right leaders

Brits laugh off crazed General's anti-Russian hysteria, saying they wish Putin ran their country

Unarmed high school athlete killed by police as he backed out of his own driveway

Los Angeles teacher stripped naked on elementary school playground and chased nearby students

Military intelligence unit to enter Israeli high school curriculums in search of recruits

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