Google Glass user questioned by Homeland Security in Ohio theater for suspected piracy
John Ribeiro - PCWorld
1/22/14

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Google Glass has raised privacy concerns in many countries. It now appears that it is being monitored as a potential aid to copyright infringement.

A man who wore Google Glass to a movie theater in Ohio was detained and interrogated by officials of the Department of Homeland Security, highlighting concerns that the device may be used by people to illegally record movies at a theater.

A spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America, which works closely with theaters all over the U.S. to curb camcording and “theater-originated piracy,” said Tuesday that no such activity was discovered in the particular case.

The DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that agents of its Homeland Security Investigations interviewed the man, but did not take action after it was found that the recording device, suspected of being used to record a film at the theater, was also a pair of prescription eye glasses in which the recording function had been inactive.

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More: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2090140/google-glass-user-questioned-in-ohio-theater-for-suspected-piracy.html

New Virginia Attorney General Drops Defense of Gay Marriage Ban
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS -NYT
JAN. 23, 2014

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The attorney general of Virginia has concluded that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and has joined the suit that challenged the law in federal court, a spokesman for the office said Thursday.

Michael Kelly, a spokesman for Attorney General Mark R. Herring, said that instead of defending the ban, “the Commonwealth will side with the plaintiffs in seeking to have the ban declared unconstitutional.”

The decision by Mr. Herring, who took office as attorney general this month, follows recent rulings by federal court judges in Utah and Oklahoma that have struck down laws forbidding same-sex marriage in those states. The move is an abrupt shift from previous positions taken by Virginia’s socially conservative elected officials.

On Thursday, the attorney general filed a brief in federal court in Norfolk — where a lawsuit challenging the ban is being heard — to notify the court of the state’s change in position.

“After thorough legal review, I have now concluded that Virginia’s ban on marriage between same sex couples violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on two grounds: marriage is a fundamental right being denied to some Virginians, and the ban unlawfully discriminates on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender,” Mr. Herring told reporters at a news conference.

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More: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/us/new-virginia-attorney-general-drops-defense-of-gay-marriage-ban.html

Locally: California is supposedly about to have the worst drought in 500 years.

You know... California which feeds a large portion of the planet. Let alone basic drinking, cooking, showering water...

Nationally: THE REPUBLICANS COULD NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THEIR CONSTITUENTS !!!

Or the rest of us...

And apparently there are enough Dems who have been bought off as well.

Globally: Governments warned: Robots may take half our jobs in 20 years, so prepare for revolution
By Travis Gettys - RawStory
Friday, January 17, 2014 10:44 EST

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Nearly half of today’s jobs could be automated within the next two decades, according to one recent study, and no one seems to be prepared for what that will mean for society.

Study (.pdf file): http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf

The digital revolution, just as the industrial revolution before it, is increasing productivity but also transforming the workforce – putting workers out of some jobs and into others. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as many of the newly created jobs are higher-paying or less physically demanding, but rapidly changing economies dislocates many workers and transforms societies in unpredictable ways.

The technological “tornado” will hit the rich world first, reported The Economist, but will eventually sweep through poorer countries, reshaping politics and social organizations.

The Economist Article: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21594298-effect-todays-technology-tomorrows-jobs-will-be-immenseand-no-country-ready

Oxford University researchers predicted that 47 percent of U.S. jobs are “at risk” for being automated in the next 20 years – especially in transportation, logistics, office and administrative support work.

The researchers also expressed surprise that service occupations, where most recent U.S. job growth has occurred, are “highly susceptible” to computerization.

For example...

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More: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/17/governments-warned-robots-may-take-half-our-jobs-in-20-years-so-prepare-for-revolution/

Sometimes I wonder... if 2014/2016 is gonna do the trick.

I'm gonna vote... and hope for the best... but I doubt it will be enough...

Swiss Voters Consider Guaranteed Income For All
HereAndNow.org
Wednesday, November 27, 2013

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Swiss residents will soon vote on a referendum that would provide an unconditional monthly income to every adult. If passed, each citizen will be guaranteed $2,800 per month — that’s $33,600 a year.

The guaranteed income concept is gaining steam in many parts of the world: there are pilot projects in India, Brazil and Namibia.

Both liberals and conservatives find merit in providing basic incomes to individuals — for different reasons. Progressives see it as an anti-poverty measure; conservatives believe it will reduce the size of government by getting rid of food stamps and welfare programs.

There are concerns about whether it would create a disincentive to work, but some experts say the effect might be smaller than expected.

A study by economist Evelyn Forget of the University of Manitoba examined a small rural town in Canada, where...

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Link: http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/11/27/swiss-guaranteed-income

Priebus defends Christie against RGA resignation calls
By Mario Trujillo - TheHill
1/22/14

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The chairman of the Republican National Committee is defending New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) after calls for him to step down as head of the Republican Governors Association.

Reince Priebus said Christie should not resign his post after former Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli became the most high-profile Republican to call for him to step aside.

I don’t know of a better governor right now to lead that effort that is just a powerhouse across the country,” Priebus told CNN. “I have seen him in rooms and I have seen him turn crowds on and his job is to raise a lot of money for the RGA and he can do that and I am sure the RGA is proud to have him.”

When asked whether Priebus agreed with Cuccinelli, he said, “No, Not at all.”

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More: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/196123-priebus-defends-christie-against-rga-resignation-calls

Christie's popularity in wake of bridge scandal plummets in N.J., poll shows
By Brent Johnson/The Star-Ledger
on January 22, 2014 at 12:00 PM, updated January 22, 2014 at 1:07 PM

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TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie's popularity among New Jersey voters has plummeted in the wake of the George Washington Bridge The Rutgers-Eagleton poll, released today, shows 46 percent of voters view the Republican governor favorably, while 43 percent have an unfavorable view two weeks after e-mails surfaced that appear to link a Christie staff member to the bridge controversy.

That's a 19-point drop from the group's last survey, in November, when 65 percent of voters saw Christie favorably just before he was re-elected in a landslide.

The poll also reveals that Democrats are abandoning their support of Christie, who repeatedly touted a message of bipartisanship on the campaign trail last year and bolstered his re-election bid with the endorsements of more than 60 Democratic officials. While November's poll showed 45 percent of Democratic voters viewed him favorably, that number has fallen to 19 percent in today's survey — a 26-point decline.

As for Christie's own party, 78 percent of Republicans still have a favorable perception of the governor.

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More:

Feinstein and Rogers Blame Boris and Natasha
Bea Edwards - HuffPo
Posted: 01/22/2014 9:33 am

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On Sunday, January 19, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Ca.) and Representative Mike Rogers (R-Mi.) appeared on Meet the Press to announce their entirely speculative insinuation that Edward Snowden -- the contractor who disclosed the National Security Agency's (NSA) wholesale collection of Americans' digital information -- had help from the Russians (note: the segment aired on the web is sponsored by multibillion-dollar Defense Department contractor Boeing).

Also on Sunday, the New York Times published "Russians: Still the Go-To Bad Guys." The article, by Steven Kurutz, critiques the movie Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, which opened at multiple theaters last week. Jack Ryan revives the eponymous Tom Clancy hero who uncovers a financial terrorist plot hatched by a drug-addicted Russian sadist with advanced computer skills and peculiar tastes in interior design. The Russian, together with his sinister heavily-accented cronies, intends to crash the US economy.

On Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. day was unseasonably warm in Washington, D.C. A solemn wreath-laying at his new memorial belied the fact that the FBI tried for years to tie him to Soviet Communists, illegally tapping his phone and tracking his movements with the blessing of the US Attorney General. In 2014, we have occasion to recall this in some detail as it was only a few months ago that those responsible for the 1971 break-in at the FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania came forward. Among the documents they gave the press was the one that ultimately led to the exposure of COINTELPRO and the slander designed to portray Dr. King as a dupe of the Russians.

Never mind. Dr. King was not a Communist sympathizer. Nor is Mr. Snowden a Russian defector. Still the accusation carries a toxic charge. For those of us raised in America during the Cold War, the Russians are a terrifying people. We fear and loathe them. We grew up with the incessant warning: "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming." We believed that they were about to incinerate us and the rest of the world at any moment for no reason whatsoever.

But guess what? The Russians never came. Instead their ramshackle Union of Soviet Socialist Republics fell apart 25 years ago. Without a shot fired, the empire disintegrated in 1989.

Feinstein and Rogers must have missed that bit of news. This is unnerving because they both hold responsible posts in government. They are high-placed elected officials in the legislature of the United States and they chair committees with responsibility for oversight of the NSA. Of course, as we now know they both failed utterly in this job. Nonetheless, they are currently wondering whether the Russians were behind the exposure of NSA dragnet domestic surveillance that made them -- Feinstein and Rogers -- look like useless political hacks.

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More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bea-edwards/feinstein--rogers-blame-b_b_4644100.html

NSA Gave 2-3 ‘Daily Tips’ To The FBI For 3 Years
By: DSWright -FDL
Tuesday January 21, 2014 8:30 am

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So about that whole not spying on Americans thing, it seems the NSA has been having quite an exchange with domestic law enforcement. According to recently declassified FISA documents the NSA has been tipping off the FBI at least two to three times per day going back at least to 2006.

The legal rationale for the surveillance is a novel interpretation Section 215 of the Patriot Act, something that even the author of the law does not necessarily agree with.



Why is the NSA so involved in this, I thought they just did foreign intelligence? Every one of these daily “tips” is just about foreigners? Or, could it be, that any barriers between foreign intelligence and domestic spying on American citizens have been destroyed?

For those with short memories, the DEA was also caught having an inappropriate relationship with the NSA. The NSA supplied the DEA with intelligence information used to “make non-terrorism cases against American citizens.” The information the NSA supplied helped the DEA make drug and other organized crime cases that had nothing to do with terrorism. Apparently the FBI was also getting in on the action.

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More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2014/01/21/nsa-gave-2-3-daily-tips-to-the-fbi-for-3-years/

The ArsTechniica Piece: http://tinyurl.com/m7wm7a8

The Documents: http://icontherecord.tumblr.com/post/73652799309/dni-clapper-declassifies-additional-documents