All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

New Russian Facial-Recognition Tech May Fight Crime But It’s Already Misused Against Opposition

Clearly, FindFace and similar programs will be used not only by cities in CCTVs to fight crime and terrorism, and intelligence agencies everywhere, but will be used by all sides in every conflict, for good and ill. The policy question then will likely becomes how to create remedies for misuse rather than deterrence.Devising remedies means a lot more research is needed on the misuse of the technology. But in the Russian setting, there are so many factors at work against the opposition already — including covert surveillance of their private lives by state TV and broadcasting without their permission —  that isolating the effect of FaceFind could be difficult.

Source: New Russian Facial-Recognition Tech May Fight Crime But It’s Already Misused Against Opposition

Bombardier dispute risks Northern Irish peace, Ireland to tell U.S.

He does not care or know what Ireland is about – unless you want a Trump Resort there. DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s foreign minister will raise Dublin’s concerns over the impact a trade dispute between the United States and Canada’s Bombardier could have on Northern Ireland’s peace process when he meets Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross this week.

topNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA topNews?i=yNgi3U3XI1s:-G0EoBCQ2_M:V_sGLi topNews?i=yNgi3U3XI1s:-G0EoBCQ2_M:-BTjWO

Pinpointing Where the Lights Went Out in Puerto Rico : Image of the Day

After Hurricane Maria tore across Puerto Rico, it quickly became clear that the destruction would pose daunting challenges for first responders. Most of the electric power grid and telecommunications network was knocked offline. Flooding, downed trees, and toppled power lines made many roads impassable.In circumstances like this, quickly knowing where the power is out—and how long it has been out—allows first responders to better deploy rescue and repair crews and to distribute life-saving supplies. And that is exactly why teams of scientists at NASA are working long days to make sure that groups like the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) get high-quality satellite maps of power outages in Puerto Rico.These before-and-after images of Puerto Rico’s nighttime lights are based on data captured by the Suomi NPP satellite. The data was acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared, including reflected moonlight, light from fires and oil wells, lightning, and emissions from cities or other human activity.

Source: Pinpointing Where the Lights Went Out in Puerto Rico : Image of the Day

Inoreader – Put Some Knowledge in Your Pocket!

ChangeLab is grateful to our comrades at If You Don’t They Will for creating this awesome portable resource for understanding and defeating white nationalism. Download it, print it double-sided, and fold it into a pocket-sized guide! If You Don’t They Will is a collaboration that provides concrete and creative tools to counter white nationalism

Source: Inoreader – Put Some Knowledge in Your Pocket!

Tens of thousands take to streets of Catalonia on day of general strike

Two days after Catalonia held a banned independence referendum, the region was operating at half speed on Tuesday due to a general strike called by small unions. The two large Spanish general workers’ unions, UGT and CC OO, have encouraged people to demonstrate in a “paro de país” (country stoppage) to protest the police violence on Sunday, but underscored that they are not participating in the call for a general strike.

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Kim Wall ‘stabbed 15 times’ onboard Danish inventor’s submarine | World news | The Guardian

The suspected killer of Swedish journalist Kim Wall will be detained for four more weeks after a Copenhagen court heard that 15 stab wounds had been found on her body.Peter Madsen, 46, faces a murder charge over the death of the 30-year-old journalist, whose headless, dismembered torso was found floating off Denmark’s capital city 10 days after she boarded the inventor’s self-built submarine for an interview.Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen told the court that cause of death had not yet been formally established, but that the multiple knife wounds had been inflicted “at the time of death or shortly afterwards”.Traces of Madsen’s DNA had also been also recovered from Wall’s body, as well as traces of a saw blade consistent with the removal of her head and limbs after her death, Buch-Jepsen said. An examination of Madsen’s computer had also uncovered material featuring women being tortured and killed.

Source: Kim Wall ‘stabbed 15 times’ onboard Danish inventor’s submarine | World news | The Guardian

Las Vegas Is Only the Deadliest Shooting in US History Because They Don’t Count Black Lives

There is no official death toll, but most historians agree that the count was around 250, because many African Americans were buried in mass graves, while others fled the city. No one was ever convicted of a single crime.

Source: Las Vegas Is Only the Deadliest Shooting in US History Because They Don’t Count Black Lives

Facebook and Google promote politicized fake news about Las Vegas shooter | US news | The Guardian

Facebook and Google promoted false news stories claiming that the shooter who killed more than 50 people in Las Vegas was a Democrat who opposed Donald Trump. The misidentification spread rapidly from dark corners of the internet to mainstream platforms just hours after hundreds were injured at a festival near the Mandalay Bay casino, the latest example of fake news polluting social media amid a breaking news story.The flow of misinformation on Monday illustrated a particularly grim trend that has increasingly dominated viral online propaganda during US mass shootings – hyper-partisan trolls battling to blame the tragedy on opposing political ideologies.

Source: Facebook and Google promote politicized fake news about Las Vegas shooter | US news | The Guardian