Orwellian

MasterCard joining push for fingerprint ID standard

"MasterCard is joining the FIDO Alliance, signaling that the payment network is getting interested in using fingerprints and other biometric data to identify people for online payments. MasterCard will be the first major payment network to join FIDO. The Alliance is developing an open industry standard for biometric data such as fingerprints to be used for identification online. The goal is to replace clunky passwords and take friction out of logging on and purchasing using mobile devices. Google is part of the Alliance, and devices running Google's Android operating system will have fingerprint sensors by next year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMasterCard joining push for fingerprint ID standard

Credit card firm cuts off nation’s No. 1 gun store — for selling guns

"A subsidiary of Visa, a key Obama campaign donor, that specializes in credit card transactions has abruptly stopped servicing the nation’s largest gun store after four years because the store sells guns, a fact the owners never hid. Hyatt Gun Shop of Charlotte, N.C., told Secrets that the subsidiary, Authorize.net/CyberSource, simply sent an email to owner Larry Hyatt to announce that it was suddenly breaking off the business relationship. The reason: 'The sale of firearms or any similar product.' The brushoff of Hyatt's business has sparked a national boycott effort against Authorize.net and parent company CyberSource." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCredit card firm cuts off nation’s No. 1 gun store — for selling guns

Government’s definition of ‘terrorist’ encompasses practically everyone

"According to the US State Department, 'no one definition of terrorism has gained universal acceptance' within our government. And what constitutes a terrorist is rather expansive, as Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) explains. Even former White House Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel meets the criteria. Perianne Boring has more." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment’s definition of ‘terrorist’ encompasses practically everyone

Former MNPD Officer Attempted Child Porn Framing Of Ex-Girlfriend

"A former Metropolitan Nashville Police officer was arrested after authorities said he used his resources as a cop to try to get his ex-girlfriend fired from her job. In April, authorities said McShepard sent an anonymous letter to the Commissioner of the Department of Children's Services making allegations of prostitution and pornography against a DCS employee. The letter contained confidential biographical information and provocative photos of the employee, who was McShepard's ex-girlfriend. An investigation proved those allegations were unfounded and that McShepard sent the information in attempt to cause her harm at work after they broke up." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer MNPD Officer Attempted Child Porn Framing Of Ex-Girlfriend

Lawsuit settled accusing former police officer of stalking in uniform

"The city of Roseville has settled a lawsuit accusing a former police officer of stalking and harassing a married Roseville woman while he was on duty and in full uniform. The lawsuit, filed in July, accuses former Roseville police officer Tom Cabral of using his authority to stalk a woman he was sexually obsessed with. Court documents describe the story from the perspective of plaintiffs Victoria Guthrie and her husband Matthew Tullgren. They claim Cabral committed a series of major ethical violations while attempting to establish a sexual relationship with Guthrie. When she filed a complaint with the department, the couple said Roseville police officers ransacked their apartment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawsuit settled accusing former police officer of stalking in uniform

$3.4M settlement in deadly 2011 SWAT raid near Tucson

"The family of a man killed in a barrage of gunfire during a SWAT raid at a home southwest of Tucson has settled a lawsuit with four police agencies involved in the operation. Guerena, 26, was shot and killed by SWAT team members on May 5, 2011, when they raided his house. The former Marine had been asleep after working a night shift and was awakened by his wife, who thought intruders were in the yard. He was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was shot. A spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department disagreed with the decision to settle, but hinted a prolonged trial could wind up costing taxpayers even more." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$3.4M settlement in deadly 2011 SWAT raid near Tucson

Police in Peel Region using city buses to nab distracted drivers

"Did you hear Peel Regional Police officers are sitting on Mississauga buses and spying on would-be distracted drivers in cars below? Sound like something out of East Berlin when they were behind the wall. But it’s true. Be warned, if you are talking or texting while driving in Mississauga look up and smile if you notice a MiWay bus driving by you. Or quickly hide that smartphone, iPad, burrito, coffee or burger. But if you are soon pulled over by Peel copper and get a ticket you will know it was too late. Gotchya. Big Brother at work with a little help from public transit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice in Peel Region using city buses to nab distracted drivers

“For Their Own Protection”: Children in Long-Term Solitary Confinement

"Solitary confinement was once a punishment reserved for the most-hardened, incorrigible criminals. Today, it is standard practice for tens of thousands of juveniles in prisons and jails across America. Far from being limited to the most violent offenders, solitary confinement is now used against perpetrators of minor crimes and children who are forced to await their trials in total isolation. Often, these stays are prolonged, lasting months or even years at a time. How can a practice be both widespread and hidden? State and federal governments have two effective ways to prevent the public from knowing how deep the problem goes." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“For Their Own Protection”: Children in Long-Term Solitary Confinement

Making the Victim Pay for the Bullet

"A few months after being assaulted by police in an entirely unjustified raid, Mrs. Injeyan filed a $290,000 damage claim with the City of Laguna Beach – an impressively modest amount, given the expenses incurred to the victim as a result of grotesque police overkill. After that claim was rejected, Marilyn filed a federal lawsuit. The City responded with a motion for summary judgment on the basis of the spurious and all-sufficient doctrine of 'qualified immunity.' Judge O’Connell added another layer of vindictive privilege to this familiar ritual by ordering the elderly, impoverished victim of police abuse to pay the legal costs incurred by the government whose agent had assaulted her." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMaking the Victim Pay for the Bullet

Private Probation Firm Illegally Extended Sentences, Judge Finds

"Last week, a Georgia county judge ruled that Sentinel Offender Service had illegally extended the sentence of Mantooth and potentially thousands of others who were required to pay the firm monthly probation fees, and was illegally ordering electronic monitoring for misdemeanor offenders — prohibited by state law — while charging probationers for their own monitoring. Other named plaintiffs in the pair of cases were hauled off to jail and/or subjected to electronic monitoring for alleged probation violations six years after their probation had ended for minor offenses like possession of marijuana and no proof of insurance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate Probation Firm Illegally Extended Sentences, Judge Finds