• May, 2023
  • May 18, 2023
  • 'Cartels control everything that happens here': Arizona rancher | Morning in America - YouTube 

  • One of the only recent headlines I've seen where police appear benevolent to society. They should stick to violent crime and important theft, and they might do a lot better.
  • May, 2023
  • May 12, 2023
  • A paper says governments aren't responding to private sector or voter demand with new (anti-globalism) trade restrictions, but are instead driving this trend.

    The data shows that right after Covid, firms were looking to add new suppliers to diversify supply chains but crucially trying to maintain their relationships with existing suppliers.


    Is the Global Economy Deglobalizing? And if so, why? And what is next? | NBER 
  • Apr, 2023
  • Apr 12, 2023

  • Juice jacking. If you use a cable that has 4 wires (which are fairly standard, the kind you can use to connect your phone to your computer), obviously data can be transferred through them, including malware. So use a power outlet and your wall charger for your phone. Technically speaking, you can use a 2-wire cable (only transmits power) even with a unit set up to send malware.

     
  • Apr, 2023
  • Apr 09, 2023

  • 1000 a month. 'Now not just the rich.'

    'These kidnappers know your every move.'

    'Men posing as police...'

    'Positive paranoid psychopaths.'
  • Apr, 2023
  • Apr 08, 2023
  • BREAKING NEWS: Florida Sheriff Announces Arrest Of 12-Year-Old And 17-Year-Old For Triple Murder - YouTube 
  • Mar, 2023
  • Mar 26, 2023

  • One idea presented is that this type of criminal feels more safe making threats (and maybe actions) from inside that he would if he were on the street where he would have to face repercussions for such things.
  • Jan, 2023
  • Jan 28, 2023

  • The problem that can arise when populations allow governments to grant professional licenses, which serve the purpose traditionally of giving clients accountability from their professionals.
  • Nov, 2022
  • Nov 20, 2022

  • Lots of people talking about these new couple ways to hack / scam phones and accounts (like bank accounts).

    Prevention: never tell anyone your email address you use for those accounts, have a phone number you use for them which no one knows, don't publish any information about yourself on social media so people can't just look you up and get it, never let your phone or computer be touched by anyone else ever, and never put anything in your computer (flash card, SD card) which has been out of your sight ever. You can also change your phone number frequently. You perhaps should change it when a spouse becomes an ex, or a friend becomes not a friend. Never click on links on any message sent to you ever, even if it's a job offer or a friend saying it's urgent. Don't open attachments either. (You can also check the domain in any link and the domain in the email very carefully, and know what you're looking for). Since you can't run a cursor over a linked text on phones (and on desktop you might accidentally click it when you hover over it) all email services should auto-print all links as the actual link).
     
  • Aug, 2022
  • Aug 18, 2022
  • Two judges ordered to pay $200M to victims of 'kids for cash' scheme - YouTube 
  • Jul, 2022
  • Jul 29, 2022

  • First use of term 'climate criminals' for celebs I've heard.
     
  • Jul, 2022
  • Jul 08, 2022

  • May, 2022
  • May 31, 2022
  • 7 wounded in Vegas biker gangs freeway shooting, police say - ABC News 
  • May, 2022
  • May 13, 2022
  • Catalytic converters being stolen from parked cars in US

    They saw the catalytic converters off (filled with platinum, rhodium, and palladium) by sliding underneath the vehicle.

    Fixing them costs about $1500 on some vehicles. To protect against this, people are covering them with metal grills.

    A guy used Apple Airtags under the cars he wanted to target so he could track where they park. He used security cameras to avoid apprehension.

    He found a loophole to sell more than the usual limit of 1 per day per scrap yard. He formed company with the Secretary of State's office, so he could sell as many as he wanted and without proving ownership.
     
  • Apr, 2022
  • Apr 23, 2022

  • Apr, 2022
  • Apr 12, 2022
  • US-Mexico border: More US citizen teens being used to transport migrants because they're minors and not likely to face legal consequences

    They can make hundreds of dollars per run.

    Authorities say they saw a rise in teens doing this work in 2021. They also say that the transporters know that if they drive fast enough the authorities will not pursue.

    People don't want to give these young people a record that might prevent them from being able to join the army or get certain jobs (especially if they are poor, it was said).

     
  • Apr, 2022
  • Apr 09, 2022
  • Hackers are now obtaining emails and contact stuff from PDs and gov offices, then using those to contact ISPs, tech giants, social media companies, with a fake "emergency data request."

    The companies being contacted often comply. They say the matter can't wait for a court order because it relates to an urgent matter of life and death.

    Police are allowed to bypass the need for a warrant if there's some urgent need.
  • Kidnapping ransom scam

    You get a call, and a female actress says "Dad, help me!" and the dad might say his daughters name ("Is that you, Mary?") and then they have the daughter's name.

    Or they might get the name and some other info from social media.

    They're probably not using this yet, because it's not tech that's so easily available, but be aware that DeepFake calls/videos can do this sort of thing, too. This is especially a risk if you or your loved one posts a lot of videos with them talking on social media. Henry from Techlore noted that this could even just become an automated thing one day after a data breach of phone numbers.

     
  • Dec, 2021
  • Dec 07, 2021
  • Israeli police caught again planting weapons

    After pulling a guy over for using his phone driving, they planted a gun and arrested him for it. He spent a month in confinement before he was released because a video came to light.

    An Israeli docudrama in 2018 was famous because the officers in it planted a rifle in a Palestinian man's home and depicted it as a discovery. The police in that show were accused of planting a few other weapons, too.
  • Nov, 2021
  • Nov 15, 2021
  • FBI's email was hacked and used to send emails

    Sent emails from the actual @fbi.gov email.

    Current proposed hacker: pompompurin.

    #hacking
  • Settler violence is a 'tool' Israel uses to take over Palestinian land - B'Tselem

    According to B'Tselem's recent report, Israel uses 2 techniques to take over land in the West Bank:

    1) Official annexation through the judicial system

    2) Acts of violence carried out by settlers

    B'Tselem called settler violence there systemic, organized and institutionalized.

  • Nov, 2021
  • Nov 13, 2021
  • Maybe UK special forces concealed unlawful killings of Afghan detainees

    Their word for it was 'failing to fix systemic issues.'

  • Nov, 2021
  • Nov 03, 2021
  • The Hill and others are talking still about the problem of labeling 'half of America' 'domestic terrorists'

    About 3 homicides per year in the US are possibly motivated by racial hatred. There are 15-20k homicides in the US per year.

    Below is a chart the Hill shared, which shows attacks and deaths for each year.

    The second image shows PayPal Park in San Jose, which has a capacity of 18k. So that many people are murdered per year (is that accurate?). Three of those guys on that bleacher over on the other side were possibly motivated by hate, ie possibly 'racial supremacists.'

    When they talk about the current attempt to create a political cause for 'domestic terrorism' critics talk about 'the war on terror' which they see as doing the same thing for the past 20 years.

    According to AP, this many people died in America's 'Longest War' in Afghanistan:

    American service members killed in Afghanistan through April: 2,448.

    U.S. contractors: 3,846.

    Afghan national military and police: 66,000.

    Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states: 1,144.

    Afghan civilians: 47,245.

    Taliban and other opposition fighters: 51,191.

    Aid workers: 444.

    Journalists: 72

    In the Iraq War (2003-2011), between 151k and 1m Iraqis died, estimated, and 4500 US troop deaths.




     
  • Oct, 2021
  • Oct 13, 2021
  • Netherlands struggles with drug mafia threats

    Earlier this year, a journalist covering the 'Mocro Mafia' trial of 17 members was killed. Now the PM of the country has to step up his security following threats.

    "This is completely undermining our rule of law, which has led many Dutch people to be terrified..." one of their suits said at Congress.

    Analysts drew comparisons with other drug cartel leaders, like ones in days gone by in Latin America: "It's them showing how powerful they are... saying, 'Look, we are even considering doing this.' The threats to (PM) Rutte show that in a way the Netherlands is descending into a narcostate. Not in the sense of that we have a lot of corruption at government level, or that police are crooked, but in the sense that organized crime is so big."

    Drugs in this story means cocaine and MDMA/ecstasy. These are the two drugs that follow at a distance marijuana as the most popular recreational substances there. Drug use is concentrated among young adults age 15-34.

     
  • Bow and arrow attack in Norway left some dead, others wounded

    First question that arises in my (everyone's?) mind: Was it a Muslim extremist or an anti-immigration native extremist?

     
  • Sep, 2021
  • Sep 28, 2021
  • Murders up 30% in US in 2020

    ... according to the FBI's annual report. Largest increase since the report started in the 60s.
  • Aug, 2021
  • Aug 26, 2021
  • Australian whistleblower's house attacked

    ... reportedly they smashed her windows in, and when she called local police they took 40 minutes to arrive, because when she called a second time while waiting she was told they were already there (they were at a different address).

    'Captain Louise' served in Afghanistan 2012-2013. She blew the whistle on a patrol who killed a group of farmers (10 civilians, goes the report) after the patrol commander accidentally shot one and they decided they couldn't leave witnesses.

    "Blooding"

    News reporting on this reference another story, from 2020, in which an Australian intelligence officer who said he had evidence of crimes in Afghanistan was found dead at a Canberra headquarters.

     
  • Aug, 2021
  • Aug 18, 2021
  • Nigeria governor tells locals to arm themselves against bandits

    For years there've been kidnappings of schools full of students in Nigeria. Sometimes they're held for years waiting for ransoms. Sometimes ransoms are paid, sometimes other strategies are used.

    Katsina State's governor has told people there to pick up guns and protect themselves, that they are not currently doing enough. He said it was morally wrong for people to sit back and allow bandits to take control of their lives.

    Katsina is the home state of the president of Nigeria. For many, if the pres can't secure that state he can't secure any part of the country, and last December bandits abducted around 300 students there. Those in charge have reportedly blamed the citizens, saying that because they're not fighting back, it's emboldening the criminals.

    Other officials have said the same thing in the past. The defense minister recently said the defense of the people should be in the hands of the people. They feel that because the government has problems protecting people, it sends the wrong message to the bandits.

     
  • Jun, 2021
  • Jun 12, 2021
  • Most disruptive infrastructure attack ever on U.S. soil

    Apparently. Colonial Pipeline hack. This pipeline sends a lot of the oil from Texas to New Jersey, from where it's distributed to other places. Hackers gained control of Colonial's system and are doing a ransomware action. Colonial took their all their operations offline because they didn't want the hackers to gain access to the IT that controls the pipes. They're currently handling some segments of the pipelines manually.

    We don't know too many details because Colonial hasn't given them to the DHS, reportedly.

    Some gas stations have run dry. Price of gas has already gone up 7 cents in the week, following the regular demand-supply equation. There's been panic buying and long queues, and the airline industry has been affected. Flights have been stopped and they've additional stops in order for planes to fuel up.

    The pipelines serve 90 U.S. military installations and 26 oil refineries, so the ripple effects are still to be seen.

    FBI is saying the hacker is Darkside from Russia, who usually works on big money ransom projects. They have a published list of things they won't hack, and don't seem to want to hurt normal people, although in this case gas prices effects everyone.

    A massive effort is expected to get things running again about a week after the problem started, involving the FBI and other government agencies and a task force assembled by the White House. But it depends whether they can resolve the ransomware situation.

    In recent years, the U.S. has scaled up its oil production and became a net exporter, but is now looking at returning to being an importer of oil.

     
  • Apr, 2021
  • Apr 30, 2021
  • Haiti, kidnapped priests, nuns and others

    All nine people have all been released - including the two Frenchmen. No word made public if the $1m ransom was paid. The local religious society of the kidnapped Haitians thanked the French and American ambassadors for their 'discreet and effective diplomatic support.' [RFI]

    Some have noted a rise in gang kidnappings for ransom in the country over the past year.

    #Haiti #Ransom
     

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