Nice

American Cities Are Installing DHS-Funded Audio Surveillance (csoonline.com)

"Audio surveillance is increasingly being used on parts of urban mass transit systems," reports the Christian Science Monitor. 

 Slashdot reader itwbennett writes "It was first reported in April that New Jersey had been using audio surveillance on some of its light rail lines, raising questions of privacy.

This week, New Jersey Transit ended the program following revelations that the agency 'didn't have policies governing storage and who had access to data.'"

 From the article:  

New Jersey isn't the only state where you now have even more reason to want to ride in the quiet car. The Baltimore Sun reported in March that the Maryland Transit Administration has used audio recording on some of its mass transit vehicles since 2012. 

It is now used on 65 percent of buses, and 82 percent of subway trains have audio recording capability, but don't use it yet, according to the Sun. And cities in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, Oregon and California have either installed systems or moved to procure them, in many cases with funding from the federal Department of Homeland Security. 

 ***

Just in case you are thinking that all of this has gone way to far, your laptop, your cell phones and other things you have connected to the internet have been listening to you for years.

And some of them even access your cameras.

Recently there was a photo of Mark Zukerberg, of facebook fame, and his laptop with tape over the cam and the mic.

Should you?

 What I am reporting on here is another kind of manipulation:

How Facebook and other social media use the information we for the most part unknowingly provide it—including even words we speak in the privacy of our own homes—to advertise products that we didn’t request and almost certainly don’t want, and pass data on to the government.

 Can it be stopped?

 Yes, it can.

You can restrict Facebook’s access to the iPhone or Android device’s microphone in order to limit its reach.

 The feature was introduced in 2014, targeting only US users.

 Turning it off is not only possible, but advisable.

UN Council: Seriously, Nations, Stop Switching Off the Internet! (article19.org)

"The United Nations officially condemned the practice of countries shutting down access to the internet at a meeting of the Human Rights Council on Friday," reports the Register newspaper, saying Friday's resolution "effectively extends human rights held offline to the internet," including freedom of expression.
 "The resolution is a much-needed response to increased pressure on freedom of expression online in all parts of the world," said Thomas Hughes, Executive Director of Article 19, a long-standing British human rights group which had pushed for the resolution.
 "From impunity for the killings of bloggers to laws criminalizing legitimate dissent on social media, basic human rights principles are being disregarded to impose greater controls over the information we see and share online." 

Thirteen countries, including Russia and China, had unsuccessfully urged the deletion of the text guaranteeing internet access, and Article 19 says the new resolution even commits states to address "security concerns on the Internet in accordance with their obligations to protect freedom of expression, privacy and other human rights online." But they also called the resolution a missed opportunity to urge states to strengthen protections on anonymity and encryption, and to clarify the boundaries between state and private ICT actors.

Ya stop turning off your internet because we can't spy on you if you do!

Send The Fire

Oh…and here is an old cassette tape that has been passed around so many times that I have no clue as to how many generations this particular copy is from the original tape.

My friend Erik has uploaded it to Youtube for everyone to have access to it.
 
If you will ignore the low quality and allow the content to come across to you, as have a lot of Christians, you might get a small taste of what the tip of revival feels like.

 When I first listened to it, I thought it was simple and corny, but as I continued to listen the Holy Spirit manifested His presence in the room and I soon enough had tears streaming down my face.

Why Did The Stars Wars and Star Trek Worlds Turn Out So Differently? (marginalrevolution.com)

 

In the Star Trek world there is virtual reality, personal replicators, powerful weapons, and, it seems, a very high standard of living for most of humanity.

 While in Star Wars there is widespread slavery, lots of people seem to live at subsistence, and eventually much of the galaxy falls under the Jedi Reign of Terror.

 Why the difference? 

Tyler Cowen writes about some of the factors differentiating the world of Star Wars from that of Star Trek: 

 1) The armed forces in Star Trek seem broadly representative of society. Compare Uhura, Chekhov, and Sulu to the Imperial Storm troopers. 

2) Captains Kirk and Picard do not descend into true power madness, unlike various Sith leaders and corrupted Jedi Knights. 

3) In Star Trek, any starship can lay waste to a planet, whereas in Star Wars there is a single, centralized Death Star and no way to oppose it, implying stronger checks and balances in the world of Star Trek. 

4) Star Trek embraces egalitarianism, namely that all humans consider themselves part of the same broader species. There is no special group comparable to the Jedi or the Sith, with special powers in their blood. 

5) Star Trek replicators are sufficiently powerful it seems slavery is highly inefficient in that world.

***

CBS/Paramount Sets Phasers To Kill On Star Trek Fan-Fiction With New Guidelines (audioholics.com) 

 The Star Trek fan-fiction controversy that resulted in legal battles between CBS/Paramount and Axanar Productions concluded last week. 

However, CBS/Paramount have finally put forth its long-awaited guidelines intended to clarify acceptable fan-fiction so that it won't get the creative Star Trek fan sued for copyright infringement.

 But in doing so, it may have launched Star Trek fan-fiction's torpedo casket into space with a solemn salute.

 To be or not to be is the question which we ask about the future of Star Trek fan film. 

Some of the new guidelines for avoiding objections when making your own Star Trek movies and posting them to YouTube include:

 The fan production must be less than 15 minutes for a single self-contained story, or no more than 2 segments, episodes or parts, not to exceed 30 minutes total, with no additional seasons, episodes, parts, sequels or remakes.

 Part of the non-commercial requirements include:

 CBS and Paramount Pictures do not object to limited fundraising for the creation of a fan production, whether 1 or 2 segments and consistent with these guidelines, so long as the total amount does not exceed $50,000, including all platform fees, and when the $50,000 goal is reached, all fundraising must cease. 

The fan production cannot be distributed in a physical format such as DVD or Blu-ray. 

If the fan production uses commercially-available Star Trek uniforms, accessories, toys and props, these items must be official merchandise and not bootleg items or imitations of such commercially available products.

I put together some equipment to do videocast bible studies. This was my quick test to see if the video and sound are good enough.

  I am using reasonably priced equipment, an off the shelf logitech webcam and an old Blue Snowball mic along with my well worn Toshiba Qosmio laptop to do this.

 Let me know what you think?