The last few years have seen the rapid rise of body-worn cameras used by police departments around the United States, fueled by tens of millions of dollars in Justice Department funding. While originally justified on the basis of increasing police accountability and transparency, however, body cameras' usefulness is in question as they begin to incorporate … Continue reading Police body cameras increasingly incorporate facial recognition
Last week, I deigned to cite a hidden-camera hit job on my one-time employer CNN by conservative activist James O'Keefe when I quoted John Bonifield, a medical unit producer for the network, saying that based on his conversations with others at the company, including high-level executives, that it was his opinion that allegations of Donald … Continue reading Trump Jr. emails breathe new life into Russia collusion investigation
Officials from the so-called "Five Eyes" group of English-speaking countries, which closely cooperate on surveillance and intelligence matters, are pushing to work even more closely not only with each other, but with major private sector players in the tech industry. Following a conference late last month in Ottawa, official representatives of the countries involved -- … Continue reading Five Eyes look to ‘engage’ with tech companies
It’s been a rough couple of weeks, to say the least, for CNN. Since June 26, the network has accepted resignations from three journalists over a story it had to retract regarding a Trump associate’s alleged ties to Russia, been the subject of a series of hidden-camera hit pieces by controversial conservative activist James O’Keefe’s … Continue reading More battles erupt in Trump-CNN war
Have you overheard the fry cooks at your local fast food establishment furtively discussing jihad amidst seemingly harmless banter about how customers are really better off not knowing what's in the secret sauce? What about that potential Salafist lurking at the salad bar, measuring the dimensions of the sneeze-guard? If you've seen this kind of … Continue reading DHS embraces poisoned candy paranoia
It is no secret that the United States spends lavishly on its military, far more than any other country in the world. The reason U.S. politicians often give for this is that America faces unparalleled threats, largely from rogue non-state terrorist groups waging unconventional, asymmetric warfare against it. Yet while such groups, almost by definition, … Continue reading U.S. arms sales ‘busier than ever,’ oversight of military ‘a joke’
Silicon Valley behemoth Google was hit with a record €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine Tuesday from the European Union for improperly promoting its own services in search results, and ordered to change its practices within 90 days or face further penalties. "We respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today," Google's general counsel reportedly said, adding … Continue reading Despite Google record fine, ‘super-monopolies’ unlikely to change much
As the U.S. military pushes forward with ambitious artificial intelligence initiatives, those responsible can't seem to resist describing them in unsettling terms. Col. Drew Cukor, a project manager for the new "Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team" (AWCFT) established in April, this week enthusiastically compared recent AI developments to the advent of the atomic bomb during a … Continue reading AI rivals nukes, DoD algorithmic warfare team leader says
"The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," U.S. President Donald Trump said last week, after several countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar over alleged connections to extremist groups. Announcements of decisions to cut diplomatic ties … Continue reading Trump admin to sell $12b in arms to ‘funder of terrorism’ Qatar
In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in England, many in Western policy-making circles appear to be grasping desperately for ways to prevent similar violence. One proposed solution, according to retired U.S. Army Col. Stefan Banach, lies in the ability to out-maneuver the enemy in the "Virtual Battle Space." As the United States and … Continue reading The ‘virtual battle space’ and the ‘system of opposition’
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