Technocracy

The Google Executive Chairman on Private Drones vs. Government Armed Drones

"'You're having a dispute with your neighbor. How would you feel if your neighbor went over and bought a commercial observation drone that they can launch from their backyard. It just flies over your house all day. How would you feel about it?' Schmidt went on to bring up military and terrorist concerns. 'I'm not going to pass judgment on whether armies should exist, but I would prefer to not spread and democratize the ability to fight war to every single human being. It's got to be regulated... It's one thing for governments, who have some legitimacy in what they're doing, but have other people doing it... it's not going to happen.'" Continue reading →

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Maryland ‘rain tax’ to be enforced through satellite surveillance?

"The tax, officially known as a 'storm water management fee,' will be enforced in nine of the state's counties. Former 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino bashes the tax in a Wednesday afternoon press release. The law 'requires individuals, businesses, and even charitable organizations and houses of worship to pay a tax based on the amount of rain that falls on their property and the 'impervious surfaces' on their land,' he says. The tax, mandated by the EPA and enforced locally, will be calculated 'through satellite surveillance of your property,' the statement claims." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMaryland ‘rain tax’ to be enforced through satellite surveillance?

Missouri Highway Patrol gave concealed carry permits data to feds

"Missouri's database of concealed weapon permits was twice given to federal authorities investigating Social Security disability fraud in a move that has enraged lawmakers already angry over potential abuses in a new driver's licensing system. Missouri State Highway Patrol Col. Ron Replogle was questioned for nearly an hour this morning by the Senate Appropriations Committee after he revealed to Chairman Kurt Schaefer yesterday that his agency had turned over the data. The delivery of the information to federal authorities has become a huge issue for lawmakers since they began raising questions about new driver's licensing procedures." Continue reading →

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Feds force Oregon to surrender medical marijuana patient records

"Federal agents have forced the Oregon Public Health Division to turn over an untold number of patients’ medical marijuana records. Department of Justice Special Agent Michael Gutensohn applied for a warrant to seize the records that was executed in November as part of an investigation into medical marijuana growers who were suspected of selling goods illegally. 'I have probable cause to believe that records from the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program will contain evidence and instrumentalities of marijuana manufacturing and trafficking and conspiracy to commit marijuana manufacturing and trafficking offenses,' he wrote." Continue reading →

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Florida Police use Driver License Faceprints to Investigate Public At Large

"In Florida, the police are using facial biometrics gathered and stored by the DMV for Real ID with facial recognition technology to identify and investigate individuals in public, at will. Presumption of innocence? Probable cause? Not necessary when everyone is a suspect. We are just at the edge of an onslaught of similar stories that whether revealed or not are rooted in Real ID. You and I have the dubious honor of being located in the slice of our generation that is going to gain a deep understanding of the value of our privacy. We will learn because we are the ones who once, having the luxury of relative obscurity, are watching it slip away." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida Police use Driver License Faceprints to Investigate Public At Large

San Diego County plans to forcibly medicate residents under Laura’s Law

"San Diego County in California is considering implementing Laura's Law, which would give the state's second most populous county - home to over three million people - the uncontested right to force psychiatric medication upon its residents. Funds for the forced inpatient or outpatient psychiatric incarceration, known as 'assisted outpatient treatment' are to be provided by taxpayers. Other bills under consideration would extend Laura's Law to schoolchildren, at the discretion of school administrators. Laura's Law is heavily supported by law enforcement, the press, the American Psychiatric Association and host of 'consumer and family advocate groups.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSan Diego County plans to forcibly medicate residents under Laura’s Law

Privacy protections booted from CISPA cybersecurity bill in closed-door hearing

"A controversial data-sharing bill won the approval of a key congressional committee today without privacy amendments, raising concerns that the National Security Agency and other spy agencies will gain broad access to Americans' personal information. The House Intelligence committee, by a vote of 18 to 2, adopted the so-called CISPA bill after an unusual session closed to the public where panel members debated and voted on the proposed law in secret. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said afterward she was disappointed her colleagues did not limit the NSA and other intelligence agencies from collecting sensitive data on Americans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivacy protections booted from CISPA cybersecurity bill in closed-door hearing

First-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities

"The fake requests for ballots targeted the Aug. 14 statewide primary and included requests for Democratic ballots in one congressional district and Republican ballots in two state House districts, according to a recent Miami Herald report. The fake requests were done so clumsily that they were red-flagged and did not foul up the election. In any case, they would not have been enough to change the outcome. But now confirmed as the first cyberattack aimed at election fraud, the incident is further evidence that the vote-counting process is vulnerable, particularly as elections become more reliant on the Internet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirst-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities

World landmarks go dark for Earth Hour

"The Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower and the Kremlin—along with a slew of other landmarks around the world—went dark to draw attention to climate change. In a symbolic show of support for the planet, people across the continents switched off their lights for 60 minutes—all at 8:30 pm local time—to make 'Earth Hour.' In bustling New York, that's exactly what happened when the Empire State Building pulled the plug on its nighttime brilliance. In Paris, the city of light, the Eiffel Tower turned off its illumination—but only for five minutes due to security reasons." Continue reading →

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U.S. Regulations Require Use of Biofuel That Doesn’t Exist

"What is really crazy is that the law caps the amount of ethanol allowed at around 15 billion gallons. The law requires refiners to blend advanced cellulosic biofuels, despite that they are not being commercially produced. Up until this year, the requirement has been relatively minimal ~500 million gallons, but by 2017 the amount reaches 5 billion gallons. The US produces about 3 – 3.5 billion bushels of soybeans annually. A bushel of beans yields 11lbs of oil, and a gallon of biodiesel weighs ~7.3 lbs. Therefore even if we devoted all of the soybeans produced (3.015 bb) in the 2012/13 season it would only amount to 4.5 billion gallons. Where is all this biofuel going to come from?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Regulations Require Use of Biofuel That Doesn’t Exist