Tag Archives: Technocracy

Feds force Oregon to surrender medical marijuana patient records

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“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.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/12/feds-force-oregon-to-surrender-medical-marijuana-patient-records/

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Florida Police use Driver License Faceprints to Investigate Public At Large

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“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.”

http://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/florida-police-use-dmv-faceprints-to-investigate-public/

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

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“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.'”

http://www.naturalnews.com/039907_psychiatric_drugs_forced_medication_San_Diego.html

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

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“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.”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57579012-38/privacy-protections-booted-from-cispa-data-sharing-bill/

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First-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities

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“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.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2013/0318/First-ever-cyberattack-on-US-election-points-to-broad-vulnerabilities

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World landmarks go dark for Earth Hour

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“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.”

http://phys.org/news/2013-03-world-landmarks-dark-earth-hour.html

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

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“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?”

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/03/regulations-require-use-of-biofuel-that.html

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Maryland Gives Up On Traffic Camera Reform After $100,000 In Industry Contributions

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“Nearly $100,000 in direct contributions to Maryland lawmakers from speed camera companies paid off with the state dropping a proposed reform bill.  Maryland’s General Assembly adjourned for the year on Monday with balloons and confetti showering delegates. Governor Martin O’Malley (D) made the rounds, congratulating lawmakers on for a job he considered well done. Photo enforcement firms also ended the day with a celebration after their investment paid off with the defeat of all legislation that might have imposed limits or quality checks on their ticketing operations.”

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/40/4073.asp

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FOIA documents suggest IRS may have ignored court ruling on email privacy

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“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), commonly thought of as accountants with the power to garnish wages and seize property, is also a law enforcement agency with the power to spy on communications, so it’s not totally surprising that it has typically followed Supreme Court precedent regarding law enforcement’s broad spying powers when it comes to emails more than 180 days old.  However, in a ruling issued December 2010, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the IRS to always obtain a warrant before rifling through emails, no matter how old, contained on services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, which otherwise have significantly less privacy protections.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/10/foia-documents-suggest-irs-may-have-ignored-court-ruling-on-email-privacy/

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Secrets of FBI Smartphone Surveillance Tool Revealed in Court Fight

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“A legal fight over the government’s use of a secret surveillance tool has provided new insight into how the controversial tool works and the extent to which Verizon Wireless aided federal agents in using it to track a suspect.  Verizon reprogrammed his aircard so that when an incoming voice call arrived, the card would disconnect from any legitimate cell tower to which it was already connected, and send real-time cell-site location data to Verizon, which forwarded the data to the FBI. This allowed the FBI to position its stingray in the neighborhood where Rigmaiden resided. The stingray then ‘broadcast a very strong signal’ to force the air card into connecting to it.”

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/04/verizon-rigmaiden-aircard/

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