Yearly Archives: 2017

Leaked Cable Confirms Israeli-Saudi Coordination To Provoke War

"The classified embassy cable, written in Hebrew, constitutes the first formal evidence proving that the Saudis and Israelis are deliberately coordinating to escalate the situation in the Middle East. As is already well-known, the Saudi and Israeli common cause against perceived Iranian influence and expansion in places like Syria, Lebanon and Iraq of late has led the historic bitter enemies down a pragmatic path of unspoken cooperation as both seem to have placed the break up of the so-called 'Shia crescent' as their primary policy goal in the region."

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Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive

"In 2016, Alwaleed bin Talal, an influential Saudi prince called for an 'urgent' end to the ban, saying it is a matter not just of rights but economic necessity. He also detailed the 'economic costs' of women having to rely on private drivers or taxis, since public transit is not a viable alternative in the kingdom. Using foreign drivers drains billions of dollars from the Saudi economy, Alwaleed said. He calculated that families spend an average of $1,000 a month on a driver, money that otherwise could help household income at a time when many are making do with less."

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Is Silicon Valley Building the Infrastructure for a Police State?

"Silicon Valley firms are building surveillance and profiling tools to help government agents make sense of the massive amount of information available on social media and in publicly accessible data sets. Are they using cutting-edge technologies to keep Americans safe, or laying the groundwork for a police state?"

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LA cops plant drugs on black suspect – unaware their body cams were on

"The body cam of a fellow officer showed one officer picking up the small packet from the ground and placing it in the suspect’s wallet — before making a show of discovering it multiple times for the camera. According Shields’ attorney, Steve Levine, officer Lee seemed stunned when he was shown the video while on the witness stand, saying the officer, 'Looked dumbstruck to me. Period. He had really no answer.' According to an expert discussing how the body cams work, the officer may not have realized that the camera was running 30 seconds before he believed he activated it."

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Under Proposal, New Hampshire Would Opt Out of Federal Program that Militarizes Local Police

CONCORD, N.H. (November 13, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the New Hampshire House would opt the state out of a federal program that facilitates the sale or transfer of certain military equipment from the federal government to state and local law enforcement. A coalition of eight legislators introduced HB1431 (HB1431) for the 2018 session,…

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Permission Not Required: “Constitutional Carry” Bill Introduced in Kentucky House

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2017) – A so-called  “Constitutional Carry” bill prefiled in the Kentucky House of Representatives would make it legal for most Kentuckians to carry a firearm without a license, and foster an environment hostile to federal gun control. Rep.  C. Wesley Morgan (R-Richmond) pre-filed BR172 in August. The legislation would allow persons…

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Homeland Security Wants Facial Recognition To Identify Travelers

"US Customs and Border Protection considers its jurisdiction to be anything within 100 miles of the border, so naturally one of the privacy questions for Americans is whether this tech would be deployed inside the United States. CBP did not respond to a request for comment on this story that was sent yesterday evening. We’ll update this post if we hear back."

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Privacy fears over artificial intelligence as crimestopper

"Police in the US state of Delaware are poised to deploy 'smart' cameras in cruisers to help authorities detect a vehicle carrying a fugitive, missing child or straying senior. The program is part of a growing trend to use vision-based AI to thwart crime and improve public safety, a trend which has stirred concerns among privacy and civil liberties activists who fear the technology could lead to secret 'profiling' and misuse of data."

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