National Preparedness Month, Sept. 2018

National Preparedness Month (NPM), recognized each September, provides an opportunity to remind us that we all must prepare ourselves and our families now and throughout the year.

Take time to learn lifesaving skills − such as CPR and first aid, check your insurance policies and coverage for the hazards you may face, such as flood, earthquakes, and tornados. Make sure to consider the costs associated with disasters and save for an emergency. Also, know how to take practical safety steps like shutting off water and gas.

Make an Emergency Plan

Build a Kit
 
Take a Course - Learn to Protect Your Home or Small Business from Disaster

Los Angeles to Become First in US to Install Subway Body Scanners

The Los Angeles subway system will become the first in the U.S. to install body scanners that screen passengers for weapons and explosives, officials said Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Transportation Security Administration had been testing several different types of body scanners for about a year.

The scanners that are being deployed are portable, and project waves to do a full-body screening of passengers walking through a station without slowing them down.

The machines, which scan for metallic and non-metallic objects on a person's body, can detect suspicious items from 30 feet (9 meters) away and have the capability of scanning more than 2,000 passengers per hour. (KOMO 4 News, August 14, 2018)
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No!, No!, No! & No! - Scanners that can be used from 30 feet away can scan you without your knowledge or consent. And while those who like the idea of body scanners in subway stations may envision something like the Total Recall Body Scanner (Movie Clip), the reality I think will be far worse.

Social Engineering

This is how hackers hack you using simple social engineering (YouTube Video).

If you want to learn more about social engineering, check out
"The Art of Deception" by Kevin Mitnick.

 



 

Selling Your Car? Clear Your Personal Data From The Vehicle's Systems First

Is a new car in your future? You might first have some unfinished business with your old one. While you’re cleaning out your personal items, think about the personal information stored in the car’s electronic system.

Your car is a computer that stores a lot of information about you — just like your smartphone or home computer. When you sell or donate your car, that personal data might be accessible to the next owner if you don’t take steps to remove it.

Some cars have a factory reset option that will return the settings and data to their original state. But even after a factory reset, you may still have work to do. For example, your old car may still be connected to subscription services like satellite radio, mobile wi-fi hotspots, and data services. You need to cancel these services or have them transferred to your new vehicle.

Here are types of data you want to remove from the electronic system before selling or donating your car:

• Phone contacts and an address book may have been downloaded when you synced your phone with your vehicle.
• Mobile apps’ log-in information, or data that’s gathered and stored on mobile apps, may be stored in the car.
• Digital content like music may be stored on a built-in hard drive.
• Location data like addresses or the routes you take to home, work, and favorite places may be stored in your navigation system.
• Garage door codes for your home or office may be on your system.

Besides the information stored on your vehicle, check to make sure you’ve cleared connections between your devices and the car as well. For example, car manufacturers may provide an app that lets you control the car’s functions or find the car — you should disconnect the app from the car when you sell it or trade it in.

For more information about resetting and removing your information, check your owner’s manual, contact your dealer, and visit your vehicle manufacturer’s website. (Federal Trade Commission, August 27, 2018)


-- Think about this when returning a rental car as well. --

 

 

 

School Shooting Data Is Massively Inflated

According to a Mises Institute report (August 29, 2018) Shooting Data Is Massively Inflated.

The report states: "This spring the U.S. Education Department reported that in the 2015-2016 school year, "nearly 240 schools ... reported at least 1 incident involving a school-related shooting." The number is far higher than most other estimates.

But NPR reached out to every one of those schools repeatedly over the course of three months and found that more than two-thirds of these reported incidents never happened. Child Trends, a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization , assisted NPR in analyzing data from the government's Civil Rights Data Collection.

We were able to confirm just 11 reported incidents, either directly with schools or through media reports.

In 161 cases, schools or districts attested that no incident took place or couldn't confirm one. In at least four cases, we found, something did happen, but it didn't meet the government's parameters for a shooting. About a quarter of schools didn't respond to our inquiries.

The Education Department, asked for comment on our reporting, noted that it relies on school districts to provide accurate information in the survey responses and says it will update some of these data later this fall. But, officials added, the department has no plans to republish the existing publication .

A separate investigation by the ACLU of Southern California also was able to confirm fewer than a dozen of the incidents in the government's report, while 59 percent were confirmed errors. ...

Most of the school leaders NPR reached had little idea of how shootings got recorded for their schools. For example, the CRDC reports 26 shootings within the Ventura Unified School District in Southern California. "I think someone pushed the wrong button," said Jeff Davis, an assistant superintendent there. The outgoing superintendent, Joe Richards, "has been here for almost 30 years and he doesn't remember any shooting," Davis added. "We are in this weird vortex of what's on this screen and what reality is."
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The FBI is Seeking Victims of Seattle Sex-Trafficker David Delay

Seattle-Area Sex Trafficker, David Delay, Duped Victims With Promise of Fame and Riches.

Delay was indicted in 2015 and was convicted last November on 17 charges related to sex trafficking and child pornography. He was sentenced in April to 33 years in prison. Comer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in 2015 and was later sentenced to three years in prison. Although the case is now closed, the FBI is asking for Delay’s other victims to come forward so they can be provided with services, such as counseling.

If you or someone you know was one of David Delay’s victims, the FBI can connect you to services you are entitled to, such as mental health counseling. If you believe you may be a victim of David Delay, please e-mail ReportDDMC@fbi.gov.

There are 15 known victims in this case, and investigators believe there could be more, both victims of his prostitution scheme, as well as possible victims of child pornography that he may have coerced others into creating.

“[Delay] is already going to be in prison for a very long time,” said FBI Seattle Victim Specialist Stefanie Hanley. “But it’s really about trying to make right those other wrongs and helping those victims with where they are at and what they have been through, which we can’t do unless they come forward.”  (FBI, August 30, 2018)
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Court May Reconsider Ruling on Police Deadly Force Measure I-940

The question of whether Washington voters will have their say on a measure designed to make it easier to prosecute police for negligent shootings might not be over, after all.

The day after ruling that Initiative 940 should appear on the November ballot, the state Supreme Court requested briefing by the end of the day Wednesday about how the justices' various opinions should be interpreted.

De-Escalate Washington submitted I-940 to the Legislature early this year after collecting nearly 360,000 signatures. The measure is designed to improve police training in de-escalation tactics and to eliminate a requirement that prosecutors prove officers acted with malice to get a conviction in negligent shootings.

Law enforcement groups objected to some of the initiative's provisions, however, and both sides came together with lawmakers to craft a compromise. The Legislature then passed the original as well as a bill to amend and replace it with the compromise language.

That was unprecedented. Under the state Constitution...  (KOMO 4 News, August 29, 2018)
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According to Kris Carrasco, Attorney at Law:

"Washington Law allows any person to use reasonable force to defend themselves when they are being attacked or have a reasonable belief that they are about to be attacked. A person may not use more force than is necessary given the situation. The law does not impose a duty to retreat.

Washington Law states that the use of force is lawful whenever used to prevent an offense against another person.

Under certain situations, a person may use force to defend against a “malicious trespass or interference" with real or personal property. This means that if someone is entering your home or taking or damaging your property and they are doing so with an evil purpose, you can defend your property by force."

So, the question posed by I-940 and similar debates is whether police officers should have some special privilege and immunity when it comes to use of deadly force against others?

A Seattle Times review of 213 fatal encounters with police in Washington state from 2005 to 2014 found only one where a police officer was charged. An opinion piece by Jason Rantz from February 2018, "I-940 is absolutely anti-cop" 16 percent (34 people) shot by police did not have weapons on them when they were killed.

Mr. Rantz suggests that I-940 will make it easier for an "anti-cop jury" to put a police officer in jail after he or she kills someone while on duty. This is true if we accept the idea that there is such a thing as an "anti-cop" jury, that all 12 jurors would return a verdict against a police officer simply because he or she is a police officer. - I think however that such an "anti-cop jury" is an extremely unlikely scenario - just as unlikely as police officers shooting subjects when there was not a clear self-defense (defense of self or others) need to do so.

The Gun That Isn't - 26,5mm Flare Guns

 

The 26.5mm Flare Gun is available from various sources for $80 - $100. A flare gun is NOT a firearm and can be purchased by anyone - no paperwork required.

 

Sub-caliber devices allow you to shoot pistol ammunition from your flare gun. A sub-caliber device is NOT a firearm and can be purchased by anyone - no paperwork required. Sub-caliber devices are available for around $50.

 

 

When the flare gun is combined with the sub-caliber device, you now have a "firearm" according to BATF definitions. However, this is a firearm that has no registration and is not traceable to anyone.

We have recently seen concern about 3D printed gun plans being posted on-line. The thought being that this would somehow allow convicted felons and others who shouldn't have a firearm to obtain one. Perhaps this is the case, but if someone wants a firearm the 26.5mm flare gun with a sub-caliber device will make for a better and more easily obtained untraceable firearm than will a 3D printed gun.

 

So for someone who cannot legally purchase a firearm, or for someone who wants to assemble a untraceable firearm, this combination is a possibility. The 26.5mm flare gun combined with a .410 / .45LC might make for an interesting "bedside gun" for someone wanting a self-defense option in a place where "firearms" are prohibited. 



To Purchase A Gun in WA State You Must Waive Your Medical Privacy Forever

The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that the proposed gun-regulations measure, Initiative 1639, will appear on November’s election ballot.

The ruling comes after a Thurston County judge earlier this month blocked the proposed initiative after Alan Gottlieb of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association challenged the legality of the campaign’s signature-gathering petitions.

The measure would make several changes to the law. Aside from raising the purchase age to 21 for semi-automatic rifle purchases, it would mandate training, enhanced background checks and waiting periods in order to obtain them... IT WOULD ALSO REQUIRE THAT YOU WAIVE YOUR HEALTHCARE PRIVACY FOREVER, ALLOWING FOR ANNUAL CHECKS OF YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS.

Sec. 15 (a) requires the state to: "Verify, on an annual or more frequent basis, that persons who acquired pistols or semiautomatic assault rifles pursuant to this chapter remain eligible to possess a firearm under state and federal law..."



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I-1639 is a poorly written initiative that will destroy the medical privacy rights of individuals, cause gun owners to face misdemeanor or felony charges if someone prohibited from possessing a weapon accessed their firearm, and allow government intrusion into the privacy of individual homes without warrant.

 

There is the proposed law and there is what people signed to get the initiative on the November ballot: the two documents are-not-the-same. Here is the initiative people signed. The red ink indicates where the language has been altered, ignored or changed. This is-not-the-full-text of the measure.

 

In other words what the new law will say (if passed) and what people were shown when asked to sign to put I-1639 on the ballot are two different things!

 

Shooting Suspect Was Twice Hospitalized for Mental Illness

24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore, the suspect in a deadly shooting at a Florida video game tournament, had previously been hospitalized for mental illness, according to court records in his home state of Maryland.

Richard Katz, (David's father), a NASA engineer, said his ex-wife had "an obsession with using mental health professionals and in particular psychiatric drugs to perform the work that parents should naturally do." He said she routinely gave false information to mental health care providers. He described one incident in which his son was handcuffed by police after locking himself in his mother's car in an attempt to avoid going to a mental health appointment with her.

Katz opened fire Sunday at a gaming bar inside a collection of restaurants and shops in Jacksonville. He killed two people and wounded 10 others before fatally shooting himself during the "Madden NFL 19" tournament, authorities said.  (KOMO 4 News, August 28, 2018)
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Four assumptions frequently arise in the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States: (1) that mental illness causes gun violence, (2) that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, (3) that shootings represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners, and (4) that gun control “won’t prevent” another mass shooting. Each of these statements is certainly true in particular instances.

Such associations make sense on many levels - who but an insane person would do such horrifying things? And, of course, scripts linking guns and mental illness arise in the aftermath of many US mass shootings in no small part because of the psychiatric histories of the assailants. Reports suggest that up to 60% of perpetrators of mass shootings in the United States since 1970 displayed symptoms including acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their crimes.

The Wolf - True Alpha

The third installment in The Wolf series sees Mr Robot’s Christian Slater return to clash with Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks to see who is the ‘True Alpha’. The company has released a teaser to promote the 20-minute film which centres heavily on technology, cyber-warfare and espionage – creating a platform with which to showcase HP products.

A 1:32 teaser hinted at the events which will land in the movie which will be released on YouTube later this year and will see Slater’s Wolf face off with Bank’s The Fixer. Notably, Harvey Keitel carries the same nickname in the Direct Line creative.

A previous installment of The Wolf is available here.

The Problem with Mobile Phones

Mobile phones have become ubiquitous and basic communications tools—now used not only for phone calls, but also for accessing the Internet, sending text messages, and documenting the world. Unfortunately, mobile phones were not designed for privacy and security. Not only do they do a poor job of protecting your communications, they also expose you to new kinds of surveillance risks...

This article, "The Problem with Mobile Phones" by the EFF (February 10, 2018) is recommended reading for anyone who carries a mobile phone (most of us) and is concerned about data privacy and personal security.

Privacy International explains IMSI Catchers

How StingRay Cell-phone Surveillance Devices Work
(YouTube Video / Washington Post, April 11, 2018)

What is a Stingray? - Stingray Documentary Clip (2016)

Cell phones and other wireless electronic devices are vital communications tools that have become necessary for full participation in modern life. But they are also powerful tracking devices that can be used to infringe on individual privacy.

Knowing where a person’s phone is located can reveal sensitive information, like when they go to the doctor or psychologist, what political activities they engage in, who they spend time with, and where they sleep at night. Law enforcement agencies can often obtain this personal information without ever getting a warrant from a judge. The federal government also invokes powerful surveillance authorities to collect this information and more, including our call records, contact lists, and even the contents of our text messages and calls.

Judge Blocks 3D Gun Plans From Internet

A U.S. judge in Seattle has blocked the Trump administration from allowing a Texas company to post online plans for making untraceable 3D guns.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had sought an injunction to stop a settlement that the government had reached with Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed.

The states argued that online access to the undetectable plastic guns would pose a security risk and could be acquired by felons or terrorists.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik agreed Monday, saying the government's actions "not only impact national security but have domestic repercussions as well."

The State Department had reached the deal with the company after the agency removed the 3D gun-making plans from a list of weapons or technical data that are not allowed to be exported. (KOMO 4 News, August 27, 2018)
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This is a bad decision and appears to be more "anti-Trump" then anything based of public safety or national security. Any time that the government engages in censorship we have a serious concern. If the government can restrict our access to this information, what information will it next choose to deny to the American people? This is a slippery slope, and one which must be avoided less we end up like China where all access to data must pass through a government firewall, and where your every Internet search is monitored and recorded.   

American Spies: Modern Surveillance...

American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, and What to Do About It
by: Jennifer Stisa Granick

"US intelligence agencies - the eponymous American spies - are exceedingly aggressive, pushing and sometimes bursting through the technological, legal and political boundaries of lawful surveillance. Written for a general audience by a surveillance law expert, this book educates readers about how the reality of modern surveillance differs from popular understanding. Weaving the history of American surveillance - from J. Edgar Hoover through the tragedy of September 11th to the fusion centers and mosque infiltrators of today - the book shows that mass surveillance and democracy are fundamentally incompatible. Granick shows how surveillance law has fallen behind while surveillance technology has given American spies vast new powers. She skillfully guides the reader through proposals for reining in massive surveillance with the ultimate goal of surveillance reform."

Ms. Granick also has a talk on YouTube by the same name "American Spies: Modern Surveillance and What We Can Do Speaker: Jennifer Granick"

 

 

 

Privacy Add-ons for Firefox

Getting tired of businesses and out-of-control government employees tracking every single thing you do and sharing all of your private data with whomever they want?

Starting with a browser like Firefox, that’s built for privacy out of the box, you can use extensions to customize your browser to suit your personal privacy needs.

The Mozilla Blog offers some suggested add-ons that can help protect your privacy on-line.

For general use I recommend using the Firefox browser. Add-ons can help protect your on-line activity, but of course are not 100% secure (nothing is). Still, making it harder for someone to monitor your activity may just mean they will go search for an easier target.

 

Smartphone Snooping Hidden Tracking System (Location Services)

A USA Today video shows how smartphone location services track and store your location.

This isn't new, we talked about the Creepy Tech back in February 2018. It does however serve as a reminder that your smartphone is a tracking device, and that you need to be aware of what data is being collected about you, and with whom that data is being shared.

 

Addalock (Travel Lock)

Do you travel a lot? Do you want to add additional security to your hotel room, or maybe add additional security to your home?

* The Addaock is a portable door lock that installs in seconds without any tools required.

* The Addalock gives you additional safety, security and privacy.

* Use it at home or take it with you when you travel, apartment living, hotel students, school lock down.

* The Addalock is great if you are staying at an AirBNB or any other short term rental.

* The Addalock lets you quickly secure a room that you are in, even if there is no other lock on the door.

Addalock - Installation Instructions (YouTube Video)

Addalock is available from Amazon (see link below).

Was Donna Castleberry Murdered by Columbus Police?

According to WSYX 6  ABC News (August 23, 2018) A woman was shot multiple times and killed in a police-involved shooting in Franklinton. An officer was also injured when he was stabbed in the hand, according to police.

Authorities say 23-year-old Donna Castleberry was shot multiple times and taken to Grant Medical Center in critical condition. She later died from her injuries. Columbus Police say an altercation occurred when an undercover vice officer attempted to arrest a suspected prostitute in an unmarked Columbus Police vehicle behind an apartment house.

At some point there was an altercation between the two of them and he was stabbed in the hand and he fired multiple times striking her, said a Columbus Police spokesman.
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One might listen to this news report and think that a police office trying to perform an arrest was forced to shoot a suspect when she attacked him with a knife. A sad loss of life, but justified self-defense by the police officer. But there are many on-line comments that take a different view of this shooting...

 

Comments suggest that Ms. Castleberry was trying to protect herself from what she believed to be a kidnapping / abduction because the police officer was undercover (not in uniform), the vehicle was not marked as a police vehicle and no other uniformed officers were present.

 

As we saw yesterday in an unrelated incident, the question was asked:

Was Jeffrey Dennis Murdered by the Philadelphia Police?  Many people see officer involved shootings and police use of deadly force as murder committed by the police.

 

There is a growing mistrust, and even an open hatred, for police in some segments of the population; and that mistrust and hate is spreading into an ever-widening demographic.

 

Nobody yet has all the facts in this case. An investigation will be conducted - and the officer will likely be cleared of any criminal wrong-doing. (A Seattle Times review of 213 fatal encounters with police in Washington state from 2005 to 2014 found only one where a cop was charged. And while these statistics are from WA not OH, the trend is about the same nationally. Most officer involved shooting are found to be justified.)

 

 

 

 (Donna Castleberry was her married name. Born Donna Dalton.)

 

 

 

FBI Surveillance Devices May Interfere with 911 Calls

Cellphone tracking devices commonly used by the FBI and other federal and local law-enforcement agencies have the potential to disrupt emergency 911 communications, a U.S. senator said this week, raising new concerns about whether the devices are a threat to individuals' personal safety.

In a Tuesday letter addressed to Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked the Department of Justice to be more forthcoming about the potentially disruptive nature of cell tower simulators -- also known as IMSI Catchers or Stingrays -- which law enforcement agencies and others use to covertly track suspects’ movements through their cellphones.

Citing conversations with unnamed executives from Harris Corporation, a Florida-based government contractor that makes a widely used cell tower simulator, Wyden wrote that the devices “completely disrupt the communications of targeted phones for as long as the surveillance is ongoing.”

The devices work by effectively posing as a cellphone tower and tricking targeted cellphones into connecting with them, giving the user a sense of where the targeted phone is located. They can also be used to eavesdrop or plant malware.

In a 2017 FBI search warrant request to track the phone of a drug trafficking suspect, for example, an FBI agent wrote that the devices “may interrupt cellular services” of nearby phones... Anything that significantly interferes with 911 is a problem.  (Washington Post, August 24, 2018)
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These Stingray cell site simulators are used by local police departments, not just by the FBI.

"In July 2018, Tacoma appealed a court decision that resulted in a nearly $300,000 payout after a judge ruled the city violated state law by withholding records related to a police surveillance device called a cell site simulator. The documents concerned the use of the surveillance device — known as a Stingray — which mimics a cell phone tower and compels all nearby devices — not just the target’s phone — to connect to it. That concerned the ACLU and other civil liberties or privacy-focused groups."

"By its very nature, then, the use of a cell site simulator intrudes upon an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy, acting as an instrument of eavesdropping and requires a separate warrant supported by probable cause," wrote NY state Supreme Court Judge Martin Murphy. - The question of course is whether police are obtaining warrants when they use these devices, and since the devices capture all cell-phones in the area how can a warrant ever be justified.

According to the Desert Sun (August 23, 2018) "the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said it used a cell-site simulator 231 times in 2017, but only 20 times for emergencies. The technology media outlet Ars Technica reported that San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department had used a cell-site simulator 201 times in 2014 and 102 during the first five months of 2015, all without search warrants."

What was once the military-industrial complex has rapidly transformed into a military-industrial information complex, with data flowing seamlessly between intelligence agencies and even local police departments, sending our society on slow descent into Orwellian dystopia.