Technocracy

Cost of New Virginia Bus Stop: $1 Million

"A new bus stop on Columbia Pike cost more than $1 million to build, according to a county spokeswoman. The new prototype 'Super Stop' at the corner of Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive cost $575,000 for construction and fabrication and $440,000 for construction management and special inspections, according to Arlington County Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel. Of the $1 million cost, just over $200,000 was paid for by the county, with the rest coming from VDOT, Whalen McDaniel said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCost of New Virginia Bus Stop: $1 Million

Bloomberg on NYC drone program vs. street cameras: ‘What’s the difference?’

"New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in an interview on Friday that the city may turn to the use of a drone program for public safety monitoring. According to CBS New York, the mayor believes that the thousands of surveillance cameras already mounted all around the city are not enough, but that a program of unmanned surveillance drones would not be a significant incursion into resident’s privacy. 'What’s the difference whether the drone is up in the air or on a building?' the mayor asked. 'I have trouble making the distinction.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBloomberg on NYC drone program vs. street cameras: ‘What’s the difference?’

New Zealand Plans Cyprus-Style Bank Confiscations

"Is it coincidence or something more? Globalists that are trying to create an international monetary solution often implement programs in various countries at once. The question arises as to whether Money Power itself – the banking entities and those behind them that control a good deal of the world's wealth – have decided to 'send a message' about the relationship between citizens and their banks. Cyprus and New Zealand are well down this road. Is a message being sent to savers? Is this going to become the new normal in the West?" Continue reading →

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CIA’s big data mission: ‘Collect everything and hang onto it forever’

"'It is really very nearly within our grasp to be able to compute on all human generated information,' he added, explaining that nearly all mobile phones now contain a camera, a microphone, a light sensor, an accelerometer and GPS, among other sensors. The prevalence of sensors has led to a whole new world of biometric information, Hunt said, listing off a variety of ways the sensors in a mobile device can be used to identify the person carrying it. He pinpointed the most effective method as gait analysis, or watching the way a person walks and creating a complex data profile based upon their movements." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA’s big data mission: ‘Collect everything and hang onto it forever’

Smart Drones

"IF you find the use of remotely piloted warrior drones troubling, imagine that the decision to kill a suspected enemy is not made by an operator in a distant control room, but by the machine itself. Imagine that an aerial robot studies the landscape below, recognizes hostile activity, calculates that there is minimal risk of collateral damage, and then, with no human in the loop, pulls the trigger. Welcome to the future of warfare. While Americans are debating the president’s power to order assassination by drone, powerful momentum — scientific, military and commercial — is propelling us toward the day when we cede the same lethal authority to software." Continue reading →

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US plan calls for more scanning of private Web traffic, email

"The U.S. government is expanding a cybersecurity program that scans Internet traffic headed into and out of defense contractors to include far more of the country's private, civilian-run infrastructure. As a result, more private sector employees than ever before, including those at big banks, utilities and key transportation companies, will have their emails and Web surfing scanned as a precaution against cyber attacks. The Department of Homeland Security will gather the secret data and pass it to a small group of telecommunication companies and cyber security providers that have employees holding security clearances, government and industry officials said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS plan calls for more scanning of private Web traffic, email

Crime Lab Scandal Leaves Mass. Legal System In Turmoil

"A scandal in a Massachusetts crime lab continues to reverberate throughout the state's legal system. Several months ago, Annie Dookhan, a former chemist in a state crime lab, told police that she messed up big time. Dookhan now stands accused of falsifying test results in as many as 34,000 cases. As a result, lawyers, prosecutors and judges used to operating in a world of 'beyond a reasonable doubt' now have nothing but doubt. Already, hundreds of convicts and defendants have been released because of the scandal. Now, the state's highest court may weigh in on how these cases should be handled." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCrime Lab Scandal Leaves Mass. Legal System In Turmoil

Bipartisan bill would require a warrant for police to search emails

"A bill introduced Tuesday by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) would require police obtain a warrant before scouring a suspect’s email accounts. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act (PDF), which was also introduced in the last Congress, returns right as the Obama administration has signaled readiness to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 by applying the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure to some emails stored on cloud services. Good news for Leahy and Lee: It appears the Obama administration agrees, at least in principle." Continue reading →

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Airport security set for boom despite budget cuts

"The airport security sector is still expected to soar despite US budget cutbacks as air traffic grows and the threat of terrorism persists, analysts say. Screening passengers and baggage as well as surveillance at airports is a business that has boomed as countries radically tightened security in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In addition to new types of screening equipment, the drive to better target screening by use of information on travellers available to border control agencies will rely heavily on technology and data gathering." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAirport security set for boom despite budget cuts