Guess facial rec doesn't work for head shots.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Experts are sounding the alarm about techniques used to identify the assassin who tried to kill Donald Trump, saying the methods raise grave concerns about privacy.
The gunman, 'loner' Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was not carrying an ID, had no criminal record, nearly zero digital footprint and no friends, forcing the FBI to resort to DNA analysis to identity him.
As Kevin Rojek, the special agent-in-charge (SAIC) for the FBI's Pittsburgh field office, told reporters just hours after the shooting on Saturday, 'We're trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation.'
While the FBI declined to answer DailyMail.com's requests for details on how they did this DNA analysis, experts say it has often included scouring consumer genealogy databases like Ancestory.com and 23andMe — which store tens of millions of Americans' biometric data each.
And now, newer private DNA database companies have entered the market, firms that cater explicitly to the federal government and law enforcement as their clients.
SAIC Rojek added that the Bureau was also 'looking at photographs' to help ID the shooter, part of a multi-agency effort to put a name to the dead would-be assassin.
As experts told the DailyMail.com, a state-level facial recognition database held by Pennsylvania's Department of Motor Vehicles, fingerprints held as part routine criminal background checks by Crooks' employers and other government registries — while unnamed by the FBI — likely also played a role.
One parallel effort conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) 'completed an urgent trace' that ultimately led to the 'business records from a closed gun dealer,' according to an ATF statement.
That effort, a frantic, manual search through the closed gun shop's paper records, helped trace the rifle to the Crooks' father, according to a report by CNN.
'Results were provided to the FBI and Secret Service in less than 30 minutes that helped identify the shooter,' ATF reported a day after the FBI's DNA announcement.
Civil liberties advocates, however, noted that the increasing reliance on DNA databases by police not only raises privacy concerns, but the tactics have also led to false identifications and wrongful arrests, court records show.
An attorney who overturned one such case told DailyMail.com that these sprawling DNA databases can lead to misidentifications because today's crime scene forensics can recover DNA from extremely small and too often unrelated human debris.
As we have been warned.
The Fed's don't need a warrant, since Social Media and many Commercial / Internet companies supplement their income by selling user / customer data.
All the FED's or anyone (China, Russia, Iran and etc.. ) else needs is $$$$$ to buy the data.
Even Politico ran an article back in 02/2024 on this.
#2
Well, once thay've taken your life and have your body, your identity is kinda an afterthought.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/19/2024 10:08 Comments ||
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#3
The DNA stuff is sexy but dubious. What database would you be checking against? More likely fingerprints, the fact that the parents called in a report earlier, and a vehicle license plate. Facial recognition with the Dept of Motor Vehicles database would depend on having a mostly intact face. Mining ATF records for ammo and gun sales could turn up some leads.
#8
Possible Ways.
Fingerprint comparison to abandon van. prints.
Vehicle License Tag used for Owner ID discovery.
Address of tag used to verify home and parents.
Firearm Serial # used to acquire possible ID then from there use to trace/track.
#11
#9 is spot-on. You have no expectation of privacy and the DNA data banks are open for exploitation of familial connections for investigations of known suspects. It will allow the ID of remote family members who might be confederates or accessories of know criminal suspects.
[KCCI] Bob Newhart, the deadpan accountant-turned-comedian who became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album, has died at 94.
Jerry Digney, Newhart's publicist, says the actor died Thursday in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses.
Newhart, best remembered now as the star of two hit television shows of the 1970s and 1980s that bore his name, launched his career as a standup comic in the late 1950s. He gained nationwide fame when his routine was captured on vinyl in 1960 as "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart," which went on to win a Grammy Award as album of the year.
[GEO.TV] A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck northern Chile on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, with no tsunami warning immediately issued.
The epicenter of the tremor was located 164 miles (265 kilometers) east of the coastal city of Antofagasta, at a depth of 78.5 miles (126 kilometers).
Chile is situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude quake unleashed a tsunami that swept away entire villages in the south and center of the country, leaving about 520 people dead.
Bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes mountain range to the east, Chile is also one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
The epicenter of Thursday's earthquake was located about 50 miles from Chile's border with Argentina, and less than 20 miles from its border with Bolivia.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2024 2024-07-19 00:14 ||
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[GEO.TV] As sweltering weather in Karachi has claimed two more lives, various hospitals of the metropolis received at least 20 bodies during the last 24 hours.
The rescue officials said on Thursday they have received eight more bodies from different areas of the city today as well, bringing the total number to 20.
The bodies appear to be of drug addicts, they said adding that the bodies have been shifted to the Civil Hospital, Jinnah Hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospita
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2024 00:00 ||
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The fed up Mayor of San Francisco has said the time for compassion is over as she announced plans to tackle the city's homeless crisis which has left locals fearing for their safety.
Mayor London Breed revealed the city is set to take a 'very aggressive' approach to remove encampments from the streets which have blighted the City by the Bay for the past four years.
Certain parts of the city, including the troubled Tenderloin district have become known for their squalor and misery, becoming so bad that local businesses unable to recruit staff and residents have felt forced to flee.
The rise in the number of homeless, now about 8,300 people, has brought with it a myriad of other associated problems filling the sidewalks with illegal drug dealers, fentanyl users and all round violent and intimidating behavior close to the tent encampments.
'We have had to move from a compassionate city to a city of accountability, and I have been leading the efforts to ensure that we are addressing this issue differently than we have before,' Breed said on Thursday in a change of tack on the issue.
'We are going to be very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments which may even include criminal penalties,' she explained with the 'sweeps' scheduled to begin in less than two weeks once staff are retrained to follow new legal guidance.
Her comments come just three weeks after the Supreme Court granted cities the power to evict unhoused people from encampments.
'The problem is not going to be solved by building more housing,' Breed said. 'Thank goodness for the Supreme Court decision.'
In December 2022, a federal magistrate judge prevented the city of San Francisco from clearing homeless tents although it was not banned from sweeping encampments.
The judge ordered city officials to stop forcing homeless people from public camping sites unless they have been offered appropriate shelter indoors.
Officials were also prevented from issuing citations or arresting people who refused to move.
But now the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling bestows more power to the city in assisting with the clearing, officials plan to offer shelter and support to help those affected.
The case was the most significant on the issue to come before the high court in decades and comes as cities across the country have wrestled with the politically complicated issue of how to deal with a rising number of people without a permanent place to live and public frustration over related health and safety issues.
'We will continue to lead with services, but we also can't continue to allow people to do what they want on the streets of San Francisco, especially when we have a place for them to go,' Breed said.
[NEWARAB] Bangladeshi students set fire to the country's state broadcaster on Thursday as protests against civil service hiring rules escalated, with the death toll mounting to at least 39 and authorities imposing what one monitor called a "near-total" internet blackout
Police fired rubber bullets at hundreds of protesters, who fought back and chased retreating officers to the headquarters of Bangladesh Television (BTV) in the capital Dhaka.
Demonstrators set ablaze the broadcaster's reception building and dozens of vehicles parked outside. A station executive later told AFP that staff had safely evacuated the building.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave a national address on the network seeking to calm the escalating clashes.
"Our first demand is that the prime minister must apologise to us," protester Bidisha Rimjhim, 18, told AFP.
"Secondly, justice must be ensured for our killed brothers," she added.
As night fell, Bangladesh was plunged into a "near-total" internet shutdown, outage monitor NetBlocks said.
It said the latest outage "follows earlier efforts to throttle social media and restrict mobile data services" - key communication tools for protest organisers.
Near-daily marches this month have demanded an end to a quota system that reserves more than half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Critics say the scheme benefits children of pro-government groups that back Hasina, 76, who has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
[AFRICANEWS] In an address to the nation Wednesday, Haiti's Prime Minister called gangs to surrender their weapons.
“Life every day in Port-au-Prince has turned into a battle for survival,” Gary Conille said.
According to the UN, 2,500 people, including at least 82 children, were killed, or injured because of gang violence in the first three months of the year.
It is estimated that gangs control about 80% of the capital.
“Drop your weapons and recognize the authority of the state,” Conille said in a message to gangs.
When assuming office in June, Conille promised to "deliver" for the Caribbean nation grappling with overlapping security, humanitarian and political crises.
Earlier this month, Jimmy Cherizier, a powerful gang leader accused the Prime minister of not opening dialogue with the alliance that he represents.
Cherizier who is best known as Barbecue called for a national dialogue.
A Multinational Security Support Mission comprising police officers from Kenya, Chad and Benin is deploying to Haiti with a mandate to help their local counterparts restore security.
In late February, gangs launched coordinated attacks targeting key state infrastructure. They seized control of more than two dozen police stations; opened fire on the main international airport, forcing it to close for nearly three months; and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
The violence led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry in late April and the installation of a transitional presidential council and Conille as the new prime minister.
Diego Da Rin, with the International Crisis Group, noted that gang violence began diminishing in late May, with the first contingent of Kenyans arriving in late June.
He noted that so far, Kenyans appeared to have limited their patrols to neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince that have not been seized by gangs.
[ABC] LONDON -- Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in a Russian penal colony on charges of espionageafter a guilty verdict was announced in the American journalist's trial on Friday.
The State Prosecutors Office in Russia were looking for a sentence of 18 years but was given 16 instead.
The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter moved to closing arguments early Friday morning after only two days of hearings in a case his newspaper and the United States have denounced as a sham.
Gershkovich has already been in detention for 15 months.
The exceptional speed of the trial has prompted speculation that Russia may be hurrying to convict Gershkovich in order to conduct a prison exchange that may have been agreed. In the past, Russia has preferred to only trade people once they have been convicted. However, the State Department on Thursday said it doesn’t have any assessment of why the trial was moved up so quickly.
[MSN] A major IT outage reportedly linked to the U.S. cybersecurity company Crowdstrike has caused chaos for businesses across the world.
The global software issue has forced many banks, airlines and broadcasters to go offline, and caused many Windows computers to crash suddenly.
In a post on its website, Crowdstrike said: "Crowdstrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows related to the Falcon Sensor."
Microsoft has warned of a "severe degradation" to its services, but added that a number of its products had been restored.
Among the services still impacted is Microsoft Teams, on which users may be unable to access group chats. Microsoft Purview, Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft Fabric, and PowerBI are all still affected, the company said.
Commenting on the outages, Microsoft said: "We're continuing to progress on our mitigation efforts for the affected Microsoft 365 apps and services. We still expect users to see remediation as we address residual impact." Yep. Got a call after midnight MST and still on at 3am. BSOD loop. Only way to fix it is to boot the computer into safe mode and remove the bad driver. I work for a hospital that has bitlocker too so we are looking at thousands of computer that need to be physically touched to fix this since it can't be automated. Expect banking, finance, hospitals, airlines and government sites to be offline for a couple days.
#1
I am supposed to be on a flight from LAX to RDU. It was suppose to leave at 11 pm, then 12:30. Eventually, they had us deplane. Now the flight is supposed to go at 3 AM. We shall see.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
07/19/2024 5:22 Comments ||
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#2
New departure time is 4:15, 5 hours late. I guess it's better than predicted.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
07/19/2024 6:42 Comments ||
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#4
Today is my county's deadline for real estate tax payments. I submitted an online payment days ago and my bank account didn't show it as being processed. This evening I went to the county fiscal office website to check my tax account's status & found I was unable to do so. Fortunately my bank website is still working and it shows the payment has having been made (a few minutes ago).
🚨#BREAKING American Airlines, United, and Delta Airlines have just implemented a global ground stop on all flights due to the current significant Microsoft outage that is occurring
12-hour timelapse of American Airlines, Delta, and United plane traffic after what was likely the biggest IT outage in history forced a nationwide ground stop of the three airlines. pic.twitter.com/wwcQeiEtVe
#18
We had ~8,000 computers down this morning including several critical systems. Needless to say not many surgeries will be done today and everyone went back to paper for downtime procedures.
We apologise for any technical difficulties you may be experiencing. Our engineers are working on a solution as we speak. Please stand by. pic.twitter.com/Tf0Mp73GAg
#26
...everyone went back to paper for downtime procedures...
Might be a good idea to exercise those paper for downtime procedures every once in a while, just like fire drills. Either that or switch to Linux.
Yes, indeed. Two of my all time favorite tech companies (NOT) choking on their own hubris. LOL.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
07/19/2024 11:33 Comments ||
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#27
a good idea to exercise those paper for downtime procedures every once in a while
Most hospitals do as they are all on Epic. Nice to use, but clunky to manage. Of course when Obumble mandated electronic records, the contract went to his buddy that owned the company and thus we have this.
#28
Since this update put a wide variety of machines (bare metal as well as virtual) in a very conspicuous service-denied state one of the following assumptions is true.
1.) A billion dollar software company selling a crucial security software package released a patch without even performing a basic automated token test on its own hardware before publication.
2.) This was a deliberate act of sabotage. Perhaps some nefarious action somewhere in the world can only be taken if certain IT systems are disabled for a couple of hours.
This is not a subtle error and it affects mostly corporate customers who are running the software on standardized hardware and software environments known to Crowdstrike.
We would have to assume that this patch was released before being tested at all, either on real hardware in VMs customized to resemble customer's IT infrastructure or in full emulation.
Interesting things of this nature would have caught by even trivial automated testing.
#38
CrowdStrike is a U.S. cybersecurity company that provides software to companies around the world and across industries. It bills itself as being the globe's most advanced cloud-based security technology provider. “We stop breaches,” the cybersecurity firm writes on its website. AP News
Founded in 2011 and based in Austin, Texas, CrowdStrike operates in more than 170 countries and employed more than 7,900 people as of January. The U.S. accounted for nearly 70% of the more than $900 million in revenue it reported for the quarter ended April. Reuters.com
CrowdStrike Competitors
SentinelOne Singularity Platform.
Harmony Endpoint.
Trend Micro XDR.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
Cortex XDR.
ThreatDown Endpoint Detection and Response.
Cybereason Defense Platform.
WatchGuard EPDR.
Posted by: Whavick Scourge of the Apes9857 ||
07/19/2024 16:20 Comments ||
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#39
^DEI in action?
Gold Partner of Bright Network, if the ad is authentic.
I'd laugh too... if I hadn't spent half the night trying to get the gparted GUI working on a PC I wouldn't pay twenty bucks for at a garage sale. Nostalgia. Which excuse does not apply... for my battle with a pi... over 4k. Why, G-d, why?
#42
We would have to assume that this patch was released before being tested at all
I did say hubris, did I not? They think they're so good they don't have to test. Shooting from the hip when it was totally unnecessary. Or it could have been deliberate.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
07/19/2024 19:35 Comments ||
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#7
Crowdstrike. Now where have I heard that name before?
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/19/2024 8:24 Comments ||
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#8
"Crowdstrike, you may remember, is the Democratic-Party-connected “security” company that “investigated” the nonexistent Russian hacking." - Instapundit
#7
The massive Chinese commitment of capital to build plants in Mexico to flood the US with cheap "Chinese EV-Yugos" might just be a strategic mistake after all?
#10
I'll admit, I work in the oilfield and yet our minivan is a hybrid. Plug in hybrid. And yes, it's saved us money. We used to have a Honda Pilot, very nice, touring model. But it did it's job and sacrificed itself to protect my wife when someone T-boned the car next to her and threw them at her. She was okay, just some bruises. Good car, did it's job. Now I have to replace it. Needed kidmobile for short haul trips mostly. So we found a used Pacifica hybrid and bought it, got a fast charger installed. So now my wife can take the kids to school and sports, all of which are less than 16 miles so she can make the entire trip on electric. Costs maybe $17 for an entire month. That's about $40 less than the pilot for one fill up and she was doing 2-3 month. So $17 vs $150/month for gas. In this case, it makes sense. We got a decent deal on it used. Would I get a purely electric one? HELL NO. There is a use for them, as a supplement, not as a primary drive train and sole source of power for a car. I'm also already looking for a future replacement that's an ICE. Hopefully around the time my kids can be trusted not to cave in the doors of cars parked next to us.
#13
Silentbrick #10 - if it works for you, awesome.
The issue is they want to MANDATE it for everyone. I drive to NV/Sierras a couple times a yr (600 Mi ea way). 11 hrs or so with dependable 300+ mi range on fill up. Charging? A couple days at best
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/19/2024 21:01 Comments ||
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[MAIL] Ford has decided to repurpose an Ontario production plant it had originally intended to use solely for electric vehicles.
Instead, the automaker's Oakville assembly complex will pivot to produce large, gas-guzzling Super Duty trucks, which, depending on the model, weigh between 13,800 and 22,000 pounds.
The move will also see the company invest some $2.3 billion into the Super Duty truck production, while welcoming 1,800 workers to plant a year earlier than expected.
#6
Ford management says "Oh, by the way, We're in this to turn a profit."
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/19/2024 10:11 Comments ||
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#7
Yeah, the Super Duty series is for folks that actually need real towing and hauling capacities and don't have a 200 <100-mile battery limitation while working under load.
You know, like real truck users and not suburban posers.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/19/2024 10:11 Comments ||
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#8
"We're a truck company" that puts out a few automobiles. Sort of the inverse of the old Japanese entry into the transportation market. Wonder when they'll move on to motorcycles.
#9
"Tut, tut! All you geniuses mocking
These vehicles worthy of Hawking
Have left the Mail stunned
[whine of chair motor gunned]
By suggesting the blow should be 'Shocking!'"
#10
Wow! Trump gets shot because people want to M.A.G.A. and he's winning.
Simply stated, the far left crossed the line for even left of center democrats, and the nation overall is fed up with the Weird Far left.
Now, suddenly 5 days later.
* The LSD's can see Biden is an empty brain cavity and needs to quit.
*Corporate America starts dumping a number of Far left Radical / Racial / Climate / ESG, and etc. agenda items (for now).
* The DC Swamp actually starts inditing (D's) and etc.
Corporate America sees the writing on the wall and wants to be Profitable.
The Liberals, Socialist and Democrats want to stay out of Jail and/or get re-elected to help avoid it. Are desperately trying to find a viable candidate, or changing their political tone or party.
The Liberal Left DC Swamp sees it is going to lose cover and control.
Now, I wonder if there is a Biden Blanket Pardon in the works to Cover Their Crimes. Before DR. J get a settlement fund and Biden steps down.
[MAIL] The state of Saxony-Anhalt has cut the benefits of asylum seekers who refused to pick up debris following heavy flooding in east Germany for less than a pound an hour.
64 migrants had been written to by local authorities demanding they help clear rubbish and erect dykes for a wage of just 80 cents (68p) per hour after devastating floods in the area at the end of last year which saw hundreds of residents in parts of Germany forced to evacuate.
39 people agreed to help, while the rest, who are said to be from Syria, Afghanistan, Niger, Mali and Albania, failed to turn up.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A major IT outage reportedly linked to the U.S. cybersecurity company 
