A series of behind-the-scenes mistakes by educators in a Florida school district led to children€™s’ biometric information being culled without their parents’€™ permission,
The future is now. Sadly.
Pope Francis blesses hundreds of Harley Davidsons.. The story reminded me of the scene from PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE when Pee Wee makes the almost life threatening mistake of knocking down rows of motorcycles, only leading him to put on the large shoes and dance on stage for the motorcycle gang.. In this instance, Francis has apparently accepted the bike culture at Vatican City.. Oh, and in Pee Wee’s movie, ‘Francis’ was the neighbor who wanted Pee Wee’s bike.. another weird connection, don’t you think?
The number of Americans earning minimum wage has grown significantly since the recession hit; here, stories of getting by.
Good read. And important..
Where are we going as a nation? Is it acceptable that we are not creating good jobs anymore, but instead expanding the base of the minimum wage earners—a future where the middle class will not exist and it will only be a rich vs poor Robinhood society..
Exclusive: phones were monitored and fake internet cafes set up to gather information from allies in London in 2009
If the Edward Snowden story has not had global ramifications, it certainly will now.. this is a barn burner of a GUARDIAN exclusive..
National Security Agency discloses in secret Capitol Hill briefing that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. That authorization appears to extend to e-mail and text messages too. Read this article by Declan McCullagh on CNET News.
Clearly the numbers for the movie have been swelling to epic proportions over the weekend. We know Friday night and Saturday night date nights went well for the MAN OF STEEL.
Mother’s day came first. Dad was an afterthought. And then Father’s day followed.
But that’s fine.
You see, Mother’s Day, in many respects, is what matters. ‘Mom’ goes through the nine months of changes, the labor pains.. the glorious feeling when she holds her child. Dad of course had a hand in the whole affair, but.. .. .. and for that, we know why dads mean something.
I have sought to be the best father, ever. Period. I don’t know how often I sink or swim with my son, Ayden, but I certainly try..
Since the first time I looked at my son’s face, I felt a connection that is stronger than the physical form. This may sound corny, and for non-believers, potentially repugnant, but I see “God” in my son’s eyes. Whatever your idea of God is, of course. Because God may not be the God we think God is, or he may be a she, or maybe just electricity.. or maybe nothing. But I see more than nothing in my son’s eyes, therefore I know there is something more than nothing—and the something is something I have no clue how to even try to understand..
And re-re-reading that paragraph, I know it makes little sense. But life sometimes just… makes little sense.
What does make sense, though, is being a father. Sharing laughs, wrestling matches (without real punches), fights, and love.
Family first. At least according to Adam Sandler in CLICK.
And I follow that motto. Family first.
We certainly don’t have to be friends. But we need to be family.
In 1993, I received a Christmas gift: My mom subscribed me to TIME magazine. I have been a reader since. Though I will admit now over the past 10 years I sometimes page through the smaller than ever print edition and just toss it aside. But in 1993 I read a story called ‘FATHERHOOD’… Never of course, at the age of 13, realizing that 20 years later I’d be celebrating my third father’s day…
And in 2003, ten years after that TIME edition was printed on old paper, I was cruising around in my 1999 RED Volkswagen Jetta, searching for a mate and not realizing my best friend Tara would soon be my wife… While cracking the windows, I played my COMPACT DISC of Simple Plan. I’d Do Anything… And now, ten years later, my son Ayden is watching 2003 reruns of SCOOBY DOO and he is singing along to songs by Simple Plan, as they did the theme songs and background music for the show.. At one point about three weeks ago, I had Ayden in my car and put my old scratched up CD of Simple Plan in.. and me and my son shared a moment of singing along to music. In 2003 did I ever think I’d have a child, let alone be married? No.. I did not.
This is what happens. Life happens when you are busy making other plans. Right, Mr. Holland? Your Opus proved that..
I think I may go back to the 1993 article of TIME and read what being a father is all about..Though I think I know.
Being a dad is being there. Being the wrestler in Chief and sometimes the disciplinarian in chief. Easing mom’s tension by taking the child away for a while. Being a friend. A foe. And an ally to the end.
Yes, fatherhood is interesting, beautiful, and amazing. All at the same time. I am glad I am taking part in this grand experiment.
To all the dads out there, including my own: Happy Father’s Day. For a few hours Mom may tell you it’s “your” day. Actually it’s not. It is your child’s day — everyday..
JAMISON CITY, Pa. (AP) — Four central Pennsylvania residents said they used only a rope and a flashlight during a wild chase to rescue a young bear whose head had been stuck in a plastic jar for at least 11 days.
Clearly one of those ‘only in Pennsylvania’ type of stories.. The AP has now recorded it forever..
It is a beautiful weekend and in my opinion either a sin crime against humanity if you don’t get out and enjoy it..
But in the meantime my lines are open throughout the weekend.. ask me anything, tell me anything. I’m calling it the ‘DO ASK, DO TELL’ weekend in June..
Enjoy life, all.
Incidentally, my dad is a pretty good cook. And over the past few months, each time he made pork chops, he has claimed the meat is getting tougher and tougher—and he cooks it the same as he did years back when a pork chop was tender and juicy. If GM feed has this much of an effect on the pigs’ organs, does it not make sense to think the meat would also change in texture and taste?
What if they ask for your liver?
If you were pulled over at roadblocks this past weekend in Alabama, chances are you were asked for a DNA sample.. AL.COM is reporting that St. Clair and Bibb County residents who were stopped at several roadblocks set up and were asked for a voluntary samples of blood and DNA (for a study, according to the report) .. a study.. hmm.. were they studying something for scientific research, or were they studying how far they could make innocents motorists go in giving their own blood and DNA?
This does not effect my life, and it certainly won’t have an impact on yours. But Hollywood insiders are thumbing through images of Megan Fox. And they speculate that the NINJA TURTLES star is losing her hair due to hair dye. More here.
Ok, go back to your regularly scheduled worries and ambitions.
BUT.. if this happen?
Well then I expect a Presidential address to the nation.
Population over 25 without a high school diploma (by percent)
This is a very, VERY, interesting map. Take it for what it is..
I take it this way: The Civil War had permanent repercussions and the sins of the past are still evident in the actions of the present.
Never noticed until now, but apparently David Letterman likes drums. Like a lot..
There is something about this song I love. Maybe it’s because my wife recently introduced it to me and it reminds me of my relationship as it first started with her.. Maybe the restaurant theme is what makes me so into it.. or maybe just because it’s a plain old cool song with a great sound.
If you don’t know who George Noory is you may not appreciate this video. Or maybe you will because of how much of a train wreck this man is.
Either way, some inside baseball for Coast to Coast AM fans *or former fans* to enjoy..
This is someone interviewing Noory about his new “TV” show.. it’s Coast to Coast ‘in a tie.’
Two points that made me chuckle more than anything. Eight seconds in, you see Noory’s larger than life producer “Tommy” turning around to make sure his boss isn’t saying anything stupid again. And .. at about 1:27 into the video, we start getting a closer look at the rug that sits atop Noory’s head. The adhesive tape is clearly coming off around his ear where his sweat is building up under the hot lights of the health expo he pretended to know what he was doing at.
I don’t know what he reminds me more of: A used car salesman or a fraud minister asking for money.
What a freak show of a human..
The land of incarceration…….. I will go out on a limb and say that Sesame Street is doing the right thing in this regard.
(Maybe now it’s time to look deeper into the drug laws)
Handing genetically engineered seed giant Monsanto Co. another legislative defeat, the Maine Legislature has passed a bill requiring the labeling of foods made from genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Time to move to Maine…………..
The UK and the USA are now in agreement that Syria has used chemical weapons against ‘rebels’ in Syria. THE NEW YORK TIMES reports ..
So what does this mean?
Will we take action?
Stinky wants to..
Will we not?
War?
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that human genes cannot be patented.
But in something of a compromise decision, all nine justices said a synthetic version of the gene material may be patented.
Initial reaction from investors sent the stock of Myriad Genetics, the company involved, higher.
Storms are slamming right now.. And thousands are already without power in the northeast, including NYC.. Stay tuned to your favorite source of weather.. Be aware..
So this is how to start your vanishing act: Make yourself Ungoogleable.
Steven Spielberg on Wednesday predicted an “implosion” in the film industry is inevitable, whereby a half dozen or so $250 million movies flop at the box office and alter the industry forever. What comes next — or even before then — will be price variances at movie theaters, where “you’re gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you’re probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln.” He also said that Lincoln came “this close” to being an HBO movie instead of a theatrical release.
This is actually quite an amazing story.. The ‘implosion of the film industry’ as predicted by film industry insiders is like the President saying that the government has failed.. Amazing stuff. And they are right, though, really. Big budget films so often don’t do much for people anymore. Sometimes, in summer, one makes a couple bucks. But in the end, people are searching for something more.
I hate to keep coming back to this, but it brings me back to the PURGE. Some have called the movie disgusting, and revolting. I even got a private message informing my that a room in hell is awaiting me for even writing about the PURGE. But it’s how movies should be marketed in our age. Twitter. Facebook. Tumblr. These are the places where this generation go, nightly.. daily.. whenever-ly.
To make cash, these films are going to have to present not only big CGI effects, but also ………a story. Remember when movies had a story?
Think about this: The ONLY reason anyone knows someone is making another TRANSFORMERS movie is because there are rumors that Thumbsy-Megan Fox is going to make a cameo in it. Hollywood is clearly out of ideas. They may have state of the art graphics, but certainly not state of the art storylines…
I still think that is movie theaters disappear we will miss them. Hell, I miss drive-ins, and I wasn’t even alive for the period of time in which they were held in high esteem!
Indie movies will rule.. the future is bright for bright people—and not for the old and antiquated Hollywood sign that still hovers over a dilapidated and polluted city.
There is nothing wrong with change. And when change is good, it’s even better.
I predict movies of the future will be better than movies of today.
And that isn’t bad at all, if you want true entertainment.
(But… I hope we keep the stadium seating and the popcorn.. because ‘date night’ on an iPhone just sounds plain boring)
It’s Snowden-slime time.
Get ready.
He leaked big information about what the government does to surveil people. And now embarrassing photos are being sent online of him in 2002 (when he was much, much younger) .. if this is the worst they got?? well.. that’s not bad. But I am sure his calls were traced and recorded too. So get ready for that.
I have been reminded in my previous post that there have often been Superman-Jesus comparisons. I agree.. I dug up this article from the year 2002 talking about the very subject..
The only point I tried to make in my last post was that it appears they are actually trying to market the new Superman movie as Jesus.. perhaps because they know that people who are religious often go to movies if there is some type of religious connotation *(think PASSION OF THE CHRIST)* It’s smart marketing. Just as smart as the marketing was for THE PURGE (who didn’t go on Tumblr or Twitter and see those creepy masks since December?) …
So it’s all about marketing. And marketing Superman as Jesus is what they are doing. Even if they are trying to claim they are not.
Get ready for people to make constant comparisons between Superman and Jesus..
It seems that the new filmmakers of SUPERMAN actually are utilizing it to their benefit to market the film..
Will people worship SUPERMAN? Did the Bible actually mean the ‘second coming’ was going to be the sequel in a new SUPERMAN franchise??
And why isn’t SUPERMAN American!
Oh.. that’s the Mormons..
I am confused..
And haven’t we heard this story before anyway?
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans are quitting their jobs, suggesting many are growing more confident in the job market.
Really? Maybe people are just quitting before they get fired.. or just tired of dead end jobs.
I love economists.. they see so much in something that’s not there.. Any little thing—and the amazing thing is those small little events, like people quitting their jobs, are enough to move money markets around the globe..
Update from post earlier today.. Be aware everyone..
No ice please!
According to information being reported in the UK, ice in six out of ten restaurants has more bacteria than water from the toilets .. and it would make sense. Anyone who worked in a restaurant knows the perils of the ice machine—the mold, the mildew, and the bacteria..
Those machines must be cleaned.
But interestingly enough, it’s not just McDonalds and Burger King that was found in the UK to have the issue, but also Starbucks too..
One comical suggestion from a reader:
"Perhaps they should be making ice from toilet water"
Rare scare …
It’s beyond rare for this to happen in France, but it did: A tornado waterspout ripped through the South of France, shocking locals and tourists in the area.. There is video..
You can Google your own name.. you can deeply search images on Facebook.. but do you really want to know what is known about you but the ‘powers that be?’ By the man?
A new pop industry has developed helping you request your NSA or FBI file from the government!
It’s called GetmyFBIfile.com and it’s free of charge.. Ahhhh.. yes, the creativity of the net..
Of course you can just do it the ‘old fashioned’ way and ask for the file yourself from the FBI. But … asking for a file perhaps creates a file that didn’t exist to begin with? Oh the irony.. What to do, what to do..
Research at Russia’s North Pole-40, a station located aboard an ice floe in the Arctic, has ceased following an emergency evacuation of personnel. The ice upon which the station was built had begun to melt at an alarming rate and split into six pieces.
And they say the planet isn’t changing…
This is an extremely significant and dangerous weather situation developing for Thursday.. (Warnings like this are not common for the area where the purple shaded color on the map is) .. big thunderstorms with high winds are likely.. In the purple: Tornadoes are not only possible but likely—and there will be massive power outages if storms truly knock these areas..
The threat is Baltimore/DC/Philly.. a lesser threat but still potent exists back to Harrisburg PA and the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania..
Places like New York City, New Jersey, and other areas along the coast line could see wind gusts topping 50mph.. 37 million people are in the area where the most dangerous weather could occur Thursday..
Tomorrow is Tornado Thursday for someone, and maybe more than one city.
As I wrote here on Coal Speaker only yesterday *(about this upcoming threat as a matter of fact)*, we see now that tornadoes don’t care if you’re a populated area or a trailer park.
Pay attention to your favorite source of weather today and especially tomorrow. This could be a very bad day for millions of people, let’s hope it’s not.
StartPage.com is a good Google alternative. The front porch with a cold beer is better than Facebook. Except all your neighbors will probably still be on Facebook..
Pootie Poot strikes…
You read the headline correct, Russia is giving the United States lessons on when to surveil its citizens.
This brings me back to when former Pres. George W. Bush looked into Vlad the Impaler’s eyes and saw deep into his soul, or so he said.
Is it possible Putin has done the same to America?
If you’re in any of the colored parts on these maps you need to be aware and read this!
This portends to be a dramatic weather situation setting up in the eastern half of United States both Wednesday and Thursday of this week..
We are hours away from what may be 75 mile-per-hour winds ingrained in the storms and also widespread tornadoes. As we’ve seen with recent developments severe weather does not care if you are from a rural town or a big city..
Pay attention to your favorite source of weather, and be aware of the sky above you.
Is this really lightning hitting the new World Trade Center building in New York City? ACCUWEATHER investigates..
This amazing video from NASA shows dancing tornadoes on the sun.. and when I see something like this it makes me realize that we, as humans, may think we understand everything but really, actually, understand next to nothing.
Being a parent means you have to keep your guard up.. know what the kids’ lingo of the hour is, know what their every movement is even when they don’t know.. be aware of the total situation of their lives but at the same time let them live it and permit them to think they have freedom to do what they want, even though you know the perfect moment to reign them in. To borrow a theme from our latest headlines, basically, a parent is the NSA, constantly spying on its citizens..
And now it’s time, for me and my wife, to learn more about asthma. After a medical appointment yesterday, little Ayden was diagnosed with it officially. We somewhat knew it would going to occur sooner or later.. we were warned by pediatricians for a year. But it’s it’s more real to hear the real diagnosis made.
Millions of kids are diagnosed with something every day.. asthma, while awful in its own right, isn’t nearly as severe a condition as what some other children are living through right now. It is hell on earth for so many as I type and as you read this..
This did, however, bring up in my mind an important question for our time. We know autism is skyrocketing.. and allergies.. and asthma.. and other conditions affecting the behavior and health of children. While all of these specific conditions are completely separete, is there a common lining that ties them together? One that trained researchers have yet to see?
A SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN article from 2011 details the surging asthma rates among kids.. (They have continued surging since 2011 and are doing so to this day) .. And the basic premise of the theory presented in this article: We live in a world too clean and therefore better sanitary conditions deprive the immune system of ‘training’ needed to keep the body healthy. So ragweed, dust, and everything else become bigger threats.
Ok. I get that. We are pretty clean. Well, most of us. With the exception of some names floating through my head that I’d never publish online..
But let’s think outside the box for a moment. This may require a nicely fitted tin foil hat.
Here’s a link that shows asthma rates across the world in 2004:
Here is a map that shows autism rates across the world:
And finally.. here is a map that shows the countries across the world who use genetically modified food and where GMO use is widespread in the food supply.
A few maps and a few links don’t solve mysteries or answer questions. But you see a theme here? You see the same countries shaded darker? Oh sure, maybe some just have ‘more people’ and therefore rates are higher.. and maybe there’s other environmental factors.. and maybe ‘better observations’ and diagnosis.. and maybe ‘better medicine’ that spots these things in our children.. and the beat goes on. There could be a number of things that have nothing in common leading to the maps to look almost roughly exact..
But for as for me? Maybe my tin foil hate is too tight.. but I have no questions. Do you?
One of the journalists who has been working with Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor who leaked NSA documents, says more secrets are set to be revealed soon.
He’s not done yet.. more secrets are set to come out.. and more ‘invasive’ spying programs are about to be revealed by the UK GUARDIAN thanks for the leaking of Edward Snowdown—who by the way has suddenly vanished from the Hong Kong hotel he was staying it..
This has been quite the made-for-TV movie.. or book. If it was 1984.
As if you really needed more evidence of the Obama administration’s culture of corruption, today documents revealed that the State Department has engaged in large-scale coverups of illegal activity. The illegal activity includes everything from sexual assault to prostitution to drug rings at…
This is Edward Snowden. He is 29. And he is the leaker who told everything and anything about the NSA and the FBI to the UK GUARDIAN.
He also explained to the GUARDIAN as to why..
He spoke about his actions in 12 minute interview posted on the GUARIDAN.. He defended Bradley Manning, and on whether what he did was a crime, he said “we have seen enough criminality on the part of the government.”
He said ‘nothing good’ is going to happen to him. . And now he lives in Hong Kong
He voted for Barack Obama in 2008.
Clearly he wouldn’t do the same now.
This is a major story.. perhaps the story of the year..decade.. our age? This is the main issue at hand right now. Terrorism and defeating it, but defending person liberty and cherishing what makes America great.
Some may wish Snowden ”disappears” as was overheard at a security conference about the leaker and the journalist who reported these secrets over the past week… Some may hail him as a hero.
Either way, is it fair to say the investigation into the leaking of this classified information should now be over..? The Boundless Informant has now revealed his face..
The Guardian newspaper has named Edward Snowden, 29, as the source who leaked material from the National Security Agency.
His identity is being revealed at his request, the paper reported Sunday on its website.
He is a former technical assistant for the CIA and has been working at the NSA for the past four years as an employee of various outside contractors, the paper reported.
CNN news alert..
The leaker leaks his own name..
Every now and then I learn something new and completely kick myself for never knowing it.. and being born in a town that had a plane crash right into it, you’d think I would have known about that.. But I did not.
To my credit, it occurred on June 17, 1948—long before I was born..
United Airlines Flight 624 crashed at 1:41 PM daylight time just between Aristes, PA and Centralia, PA. Four crew members and 39 passengers on board all perished in the accident..
Among the dead: A Broadway famous man, a fashion designer, and the co-founder of ESQUIRE magazine. It almost hit the then-active Midvalley Colliery 2..
And now I am drowning myself in every bit of history I can on it.. the story absolutely fascinates me. I was born about three blocks from where the crash took place..
It also amazes me that somehow, somewhat, I never knew about this. It completely slipped away.
I heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend.. And I confirmed it through Google searches.. and one on one conversations.
My father is a bastion of history and intelligence.. he gave me some back story on it, and also knew that some bodies were buried in St. Ignatius cemetery in Centralia..
The more we think we know the more we don’t have a clue..
Time to open my mind up to some more coal region history that perhaps has been unknown to me for a lifetime..
While plane crashes occur now and then, this certainly is a strange tale.
Centralia already seemed cursed with the tale of a priest damning the town to misery in the late 1800s after the Molly McGuires attacked him in the back of the St. Ignatius Cemetery.. .. perhaps this plane crash only added to the inevitable misery that the town was yet to endure when a mine fire started deep underground and led all but ten people to vacate it decades later…
The PURGE is overperforming at the box office this weekend. Nikki Finke from DEADLINE.COM attributes it in part to Tropical Storm Andrea.. I’m not buying into that logic though. Instead I think the folks at Universal Pictures marketed THE PURGE for months in a pretty genius way.. they also utilized TUMBLR and pretty much took over Twitter every time I signed on..
So who out there has seen THE PURGE and what did you make of it?
Here is some interesting news direct from Art Bell on his Facebook page.. apparently ArtBell.com is coming back after many years of dormancy..
I bet the ‘under construction’ sign on the page is already getting tenfold more hits than the current Toast to Toast AM site is..
Incidentally, XM radio just dropped Coast to Coast .. and Ground Zero—which is too bad, I like Clyde Lewis..
We’ll be watching Artbell.com with anticipation.
We all need something to get us through life… And if this is how people cope with the insanity in the world, so be it. Jedi.
It’s summer. No better time like the present to get revolted at that American classic: the mysterious hot dog…
This headline reminded me of the scene in THE HAPPENING when the wind just stops..
Before the real storm.
Creepy and unsettling stuff that may be explainable with science but notable since it shows a major change in something is occurring.
Sean Benschop, the 42-year-old crane operator wanted on involuntary manslaughter and other charges stemming from a deadly building collapse in Philadelphia, has turned himself in, Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. John Stanford said Saturday.
Six people died and 13 were injured Wednesday when a wall of a building being torn down collapsed onto a thrift store.
For the first time since this whole cicada thing started I finally heard them way off in the distance just right now.. When the forest is rocking don’t go a’knockin.. 17 years is a long time..
`Cause I live and breathe this Philadelphia austerity
From the day that I was born I’ve waved the dime
Philadelphia austerity took me knee high to a man
Yeah gave me a piece of mama, daddy never had
I suppose this truly is cutting off your nose to spite your face…
I like Alexa Ray Joel—not as much as a friend who harbors a long standing crush on her.. But I find her talented like her dad. The problem is she doesn’t have the same attitude that tells the world to go to hell.
Here’s info on an interviewwith her in which she opened up about bullying and plastic surgery.. She appears to have never gotten over when Perez Hilton labeled her a slut at the age of 19..
Worth reading..
And asteroid four times closer than the moon just flew by earth.. It was the size of a truck..
And if you’re wondering why you didn’t hear about it until now, it’s because it wasn’t discovered about a day ago..
When will earth’s luck run out?
Parenting is great….until he weekend virus hits. I assume they occur to my son at the end of the week because five days of germs and filth at day care..
It hopefully will be a silent and peaceful night for the boy. He needs sleep.
As does his parents..
Wish us luck.
Day three; another GUARDIAN blockbuster report…
Amazing how all of these tech companies suddenly DON’T know what we are doing online when they bragged for years that they knew everything..
Everyone wants to.. Break out of the PRISM they suddenly find themselves in…
News of the strange got stranger as an actress has now been arrested in connection with the recent batch of ricin mailings..
She has appeared in WALKING DEAD and the VAMPIRE DIARIES..
U.S. intelligence has access to the servers of nine Internet companies as part of top-secret effort.
I suppose if the government would have attempted to extract data from Tumblr servers, they would have consistently received the same message that users typically receive when they try to update their websites: ‘WE’RE SORRY, SERVICE IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE’
Police believe a 9-year-old boy was shot by a gunman who had been aiming at his mother’s boyfriend as they drove on the South Side.
Stories like this do nothing but make me sick… totally sick, and frustrated with the inhumanity people harbor..
Wow.. This is a MUST read from the NEW YORK TIMES..
And this was written BEFORE we found out that the FBI and the NSA tap directly into severs of nine top net companies getting just about everything that everybody does online..
Wow..
The UK GUARDIAN reporting continues.. This new amazing story is rocking the rest of the world that wasn’t rocked by the Verizon story this morning…
15 years ago, the Internet pioneer was remarkably prophetic about where journalism was headed.
Interesting story.. And he was right, regardless of your opinion on him. He called this one..
Every era of news reporting has a pioneer.. And often they are flawed, often we’re in awe.. but in the end they are human.
Reporters 15 years ago had disdain for Drudge. They may have more now that he turned out to be spot on..
There are some pretty tough images to see in this story.. But we need to perhaps at least be aware of the issue. If this claim is true, then we are seeing horror before our eyes taking place.
Read the story at your own risk..
No images re-printed on here on purpose..
He asked this:
In the digital era, privacy must be a priority. Is it just me, or is secret blanket surveillance obscenely outrageous?
I ask the same. Is it?
According to this document obtained by The Guardian, the federal government, through a court order granted to the National Security Agency, is using the Patriot Act to collect the phone records of millions of Verizon users over a three-month period. Awesome. Read the full document here. It’s like the AP thing, except extended to everyone else.
The court order doesn’t allow the NSA to collect any information whatsoever on the contents of phone calls, or even to obtain any names or addresses of customers. What’s covered instead is known as “metadata”: the phone number of every caller and recipient; the unique serial number of the phones involved; the time and duration of each phone call; and potentially the location of each of the participants when the call happened. All of this information is being collected on millions of calls every day – every conversation taking place within the US, or between the US and a foreign country is collected.
Telephone metadata and what it can tell the authorities about you | James Ball (via rubenfeld)
Big data, federal-style.
(via shortformblog)Exclusive: Top secret court order requiring Verizon to hand over all call data shows scale of domestic surveillance under Obama administrationThe National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America’s largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April.
