Network Archives

California Elementary School Hosts Toy Gun Buyback, Fingerprinting Fair

"An elementary school in Hayward California held a toy gun exchange Saturday (6/8/13), offering students a book and a chance to win a bicycle if they turned in their play weapons. At Saturday’s event, called Strobridge Elementary Safety Day, a Hayward police officer demonstrated bicycle and gun safety, and the Alameda County Fire Department sent a rig and crew to talk about fire safety. Fingerprinting and photographing of children was offered, with the information put on CDs for parents. All youngsters who attended were given a ticket to exchange for a book." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Elementary School Hosts Toy Gun Buyback, Fingerprinting Fair

Cops Use YOUR Children As Props For Homeland Security “School Shooter Drills”

"Hundreds of emergency responders, students and school officials in Eatonville participated in an active shooter drill coordinated by Pierce County Emergency Management and hosted by the Eatonville School District that took over two schools and several blocks in the Mount Rainier foothills community. Sixth-grader Brooklyn Welch, 12, was the first victim in one of two simulated shooting scenarios. She waited on the floor of the school’s front office for about 40 minutes with a fake gunshot wound to the shoulder, before being carried out by a SWAT team officer in full gear." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops Use YOUR Children As Props For Homeland Security “School Shooter Drills”

French government minister urges public e-cigarette ban

"French Health Minister Marisol Touraine has called for electronic cigarettes to be banned from public places and their sale to be restricted to over-16s only. In an interview with French radio station France Info on Friday morning, Touraine urged that electronic cigarettes be treated in the same way as normal cigarettes. 'We want the same laws that apply to normal cigarettes to apply to electronic cigarettes,' she said, adding that advertisements for e-cigarettes should also be banned. The pen-sized instruments have grown increasingly popular among the smoking community, especially young bar-goers. 'I want us to rally against smoking,' she said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench government minister urges public e-cigarette ban

Colorado Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Bills

"In a public ceremony at the state capitol in Denver Tuesday, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) signed into law four bills that will establish a legal, regulated marijuana market for adults and begin the development of a regulatory framework for industrial hemp production. The package of bills had passed the legislature earlier this month in accord with the requirements of Amendment 64, which won with 55% of the popular vote last November. That groundbreaking vote led Hickenlooper to sign an order legalizing marijuana possession and to appoint an Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force late last year, which provided guidance to the legislature." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Bills

Bank of America blocks $25,000 transfer to Julian Assange’s political party

"Bank of America, one of a number of major financial institutions including Visa, American Express, Mastercard and Western Union that since December 2010 have refused to transfer funds to WikiLeaks, blocked the transfer to the new WikiLeaks Party of a $25,000 prize awarded to Assange by the Japanese musician, artist and philanthropist Yoko Ono. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade acknowledged to the Senate estimates hearing that WikiLeaks, and by implication Assange, continued to be under investigation by the US Justice Department." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of America blocks $25,000 transfer to Julian Assange’s political party

Burner Phone – A Simple and Anonymous Disposable Cell Phone

"Our Burner Kit is the simplest, most secure, and most affordable pre-paid cell phone kit in the US. The Burner Kit comes with a quality disposable cell phone, in addition to unlimited voice and SMS messaging for 30 days. After 30 days, just throw away your Burner Kit and you'll never have to worry about compromising your identity. We take your privacy seriously. You can purchase your Burner Kit using Credit or Debit card or Bitcoin (an anonymous digital crypto currency). Every time you make a purchase we'll package and ship your order, then destroy all transaction records in our system. We make it impossible to give or share your information with anyone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBurner Phone – A Simple and Anonymous Disposable Cell Phone

U.S. Collects Vast Data Trove, Including Credit Card Transactions

"The National Security Agency's monitoring of Americans includes customer records from the three major phone networks as well as emails and Web searches, and the agency also has cataloged credit-card transactions, said people familiar with the agency's activities.The Obama administration says its review of complete phone records of U.S. citizens is a 'necessary tool' in protecting the nation from terror threats. The NSA's efforts have become institutionalized under laws passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most members of Congress defended them Thursday as a way to root out terrorism, but civil-liberties groups decried the program." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Collects Vast Data Trove, Including Credit Card Transactions

Meet the nice-guy lawyers who want $1,000 per worker for using scanners

"Starting late last year, hundreds of US businesses began to receive demand letters from secretive patent-holding companies with six-letter gibberish names: AdzPro, GosNel, and JitNom. The letters state that using basic office equipment, like scanners that can send files to e-mail, infringes a series of patents owned by MPHJ Technologies. Unless the target companies make payments—which start at around $9,000 for the smallest targeted businesses but go up from there—they could face legal action." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMeet the nice-guy lawyers who want $1,000 per worker for using scanners

Sears Plans To Retrofit 2,500 “Ghostbox” Stores As Data Centers

"There are over a billion square feet of vacant commercial space in the US right now, most of it in the form of big box stores. This month, Sears announced the formation of a stand-alone company—the ominously-named Ubiquity Critical Environments LLC—to handle to conversion of thousands of Sears and KMart stores into data centers. Ultimately, the structural skeletons of these stores will house servers, chillers, and generators, as well as roof-mounted antennas. In a crushingly ironic twist, the centers will target medium-sized e-commerce retailers—the very companies helping to put department stores out of business." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSears Plans To Retrofit 2,500 “Ghostbox” Stores As Data Centers