Free Republic

A liberal media watchdog group was purportedly given a grant to expand their monitoring and fact checking of religious broadcasts. According to a weeklong "inside" series by The Daily Caller, Media Matters for America once received a $50,000 grant to "monitor and attack" religious news outlets like the Christian Broadcasting Network and Focus on the Family, though the exact details remained unclear. Tax returns allegedly revealed that the ARCA Foundation, a grant making organization focused on advancing social equity, justice and democracy in the U.S. and abroad, allotted the money in 2006 when Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Maryland's 4th District,...

Court Reverses Red-Light Camera Conviction A court ruling that reversed a red-light camera conviction for a Los Angeles woman could have implications for drivers throughout California, including San Diego County, a local attorney said. Last month, the state’s 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles agreed with the woman’s argument that a Beverly Hills police officer who testified at her traffic court trial was unqualified to do so because he was not the one who monitored and calibrated the red-light camera that cited her. Instead, Annette Borzakian — an attorney who represented herself in the case — argued that...

A mother in Hoke County complains her daughter was forced to eat a school lunch because a government inspector determined her home-made lunch did not meet nutrition requirements. In fact, all of the students in the NC Pre-K program classroom at West Hoke Elementary School in Raeford had to accept a school lunch in addition to their lunches brought from home. NC Pre-K (before this year known as More at Four) is a state-funded education program designed to “enhance school readiness” for four year-olds. The mother, who doesn’t wish to be identified at this time, says she made her daughter...

The U.S. government is seeking software that can mine social media to predict everything from future terrorist attacks to foreign uprisings, according to requests posted online by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Hundreds of intelligence analysts already sift overseas Twitter and Facebook posts to track events such as the Arab Spring. But in a formal "request for information" from potential contractors, the FBI recently outlined its desire for a digital tool to scan the entire universe of social media — more data than humans could ever crunch.

The entire New York State Inspector General's Office has now been granted the authority to snoop into the tax returns of not only the state employee workforce, but anyone they deem to be relevant to an investigation. This level of investigative power is unprecedented, and is something even the State Attorney General has not been granted. Let me reiterate... The entire staff of the IG's Office can now look into your taxes in New York State. If you're a state employee, look around your office right now. Now imagine, there are similar levels of riffraff in the IG office that...

FORT LAUDERDALE— Tania Ouaknine is convinced the police are watching her. She's not paranoid — it says as much on the red sign painted along the side on the hulking armored truck that's been parked in front of her eight-room Parisian Motel for several days. "Warning: You are under video surveillance," reads the bold message on the side of the truck. From the front bumper of the menacing vehicle, another sign taunts: "Whatcha gonna do when we come for you?"

Senator Lamar Smith, lead sponsor of the currently dead SOPA bill you’ve heard so much about, has another bill in the works that uses Child Pornography as a screen to push through an amendment that’ll have your internet service provider tracking all of your financial dealings online. Each time you use a credit card, each time you read your bank statement, all of your IP information and your search history will be required by your ISP to be stored for 18 months at all times. This bill is H.R. 1981 and will have more dire consequences than SOPA or PIPA...

The Google logo has been blacked out today. Wikipedia, reddit, Mozilla and Twitpic are all blocking access to content. Even Star Trek icon George Takei has blocked his site. The moves are displays of cyber-protest against the heavy-handed and ill-conceived Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). From a political and public relations standpoint, this has already been a complete and utter failure for Hollywood and their formerly formidable lobbying arm, the Motion Picture Association of America. Former Sen. Chris Dodd became the new CEO of the MPAA after he realized he would never be re-elected in his home state of Connecticut...

Big Brother is joining the battle of the bulge. A group of Long Island students will soon be wearing controversial electronic monitors that allow school officials to track their physical activity around the clock. The athletics chair for the Bay Shore schools ordered 10 Polar Active monitors, at $90 a pop, for use starting this spring. The wristwatchlike devices count heartbeats, detect motion and even track students’ sleeping habits in a bid to combat obesity. The information is displayed on a color-coded screen and gets transmitted to a password-protected Web site that students and educators can access

Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that emerged from the Department of Homeland Security in November, Washington has written permission to collect and retain personal information from journalists, news anchors, reporters or anyone who uses “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.” According to DHS, the definition of personal identifiable information can consist of any intellect “that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.” RT adds: "Previously established guidelines within the administration say...

Harsh Punishments for Poor Mourning The North Korean authorities have completed the criticism sessions which began after the mourning period for Kim Jong Il and begun to punish those who transgressed during the highly orchestrated mourning events. Daily NK learned from a source from North Hamkyung Province on January 10th, “The authorities are handing down at least six months in a labor-training camp to anybody who didn’t participate in the organized gatherings during the mourning period, or who did participate but didn’t cry and didn't seem genuine.” Furthermore, the source added that people who are accused of circulating rumors criticizing...

Just prior to his appointment as President Obama’s so-called regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein wrote a lengthy academic paper suggesting the government should “infiltrate” social network websites, chat rooms and message boards. Such “cognitive infiltration,” Sunstein argued, should be used to enforce a U.S. government ban on “conspiracy theorizing.” Among the beliefs Sunstein classified as a “conspiracy theory” is advocating that the theory of global warming is a deliberate fraud. The find comes as a government document reportedly relates the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news sites...

It's unclear exactly why, but the Department of Homeland has been operating a "Social Networking/Media Capability" program to monitor the top blogs, forums and social networks online for at least the past 18 months. Based on a privacy compliance review from last November recently obtained by Reuters, the purpose of the project is to "collect information used in providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture." Whatever that means. Either way, the list of sites reported by Reuters reveals in a Wednesday afternoon exclusive is pretty intriguing...

<p>President Obama is putting plans in motion to give the Commerce Department authority to create an Internet ID for all Americans, a White House official told CNET.com.</p> <p>White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt told the website it is "the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government" to centralize efforts toward creating an "identity ecosystem" for the Internet.</p>

2012 National Agricultural Classification Survey

28 Signs That U.S. Public Schools Are Rapidly Being Turned Into Indoctrination Centers And Prison CampsDecember 30, 2011 It has been said that children are our future, and right now the vast majority of our children are being "educated" in public schools that are rapidly being turned into indoctrination centers and prison camps. Our children desperately need to focus on the basics such as reading, writing and math, but instead a whole host of politicians, "education officials" and teachers are constantly injecting as much propaganda as they possibly can into classroom instruction. Instead of learning how to think, our children...

It figures. The Obama-Pelosi stimulus package failed in its objective to create jobs. It added a trillion dollars to the national debt and didn’t even dent the record unemployment rate. But it did allow the government to snoop into personal information about your child. The New York Post reported: ...The department has taken a giant step toward creating a de facto national student database that will track students by their personal information from preschool through career. Although current federal law prohibits this, the department decided to ignore Congress and, in effect, rewrite the law. Student privacy and parental authority will...

An online privacy group is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security accusing it of not releasing records from the agency's covert surveillance of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. The DHS creates accounts solely to monitor social media sites and establish a system of records of the information gathered. The agency does not post information, seek to connect with other users, accept invitations to connect or interact with others according to a statement on their website. The agency scans social media sites for a list of words that include "dirty bomb," "hostage," "exercise," "task force," "explosion," "lockdown," "riot,"...

Would it bother you to know that the federal Centers for Disease Control had been shown your daughter’s health records to see how she responded to an STD/teen-pregnancy-prevention program? How about if the federal Department of Education and Department of Labor scrutinized your son’s academic performance to see if he should be “encouraged” to leave high school early to learn a trade? Would you think the government was intruding on your territory as a parent? Under regulations the Obama Department of Education released this month, these scenarios could become reality. The department has taken a giant step toward creating a...

Would it bother you to know that the federal Centers for Disease Control had been shown your daughter’s health records to see how she responded to an STD/teen-pregnancy-prevention program? How about if the federal Department of Education and Department of Labor scrutinized your son’s academic performance to see if he should be “encouraged” to leave high school early to learn a trade? Would you think the government was intruding on your territory as a parent? Under regulations the Obama Department of Education released this month, these scenarios could become reality. The department has taken a giant step toward creating a...

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman has called for states to mandate a total ban on cellphone usage while driving. She has also encouraged electronics manufacturers -- via recommendations to the CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Consumer Electronics Association -- to develop features that "disable the functions of portable electronic devices within reach of the driver when a vehicle is in motion." That means she wants to be able to turn off your cellphone while you're driving. With very little evidence, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration claims that there were some 3,092 roadway fatalities last year that involved...

WESTLAKE VILLAGE (CBS) — The “pinging” of an iPad led police to a burglary suspect and more than 40 stolen Christmas presents. Around 3:30 AM on Christmas Sunday, a Westlake Village man was awakened by the sounds of a burglary in progress in his home on the 4000 block of Whitesail Circle. Lt. James Royal of the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station says the man confronted the intruder and chased him a short distance before losing sight of him. The burglar made off with an Apple iPad. “Later that morning, the victim called the station and told the deputies his iPad...

Since my first deployment to South East Asia, I have seen this great country gradually slip away. America has gone from being the world's greatest creditor nation, standing as a beacon of hope for the world, to the world's biggest debtor nation, where 42 million Americans rely on food stamps to survive...it is happening right now in front of us. Like it or not, America is a Totalitarian Dictatorship, and this article will help you understand why. After the Oklahoma City Bombing, my job required that I attend a two-day briefing on counter terrorism. At that meeting, several people from...

The door to door assessment will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. It will be in 30 neighborhoods in Davidson County that have been randomly selected to be the target of a door to door assessment. Saturday will be used as a backup day if the assessments are not completed by Friday. Participants will be asked a list of 22 questions. They may include: What is your primary way of getting information during a disaster or emergency? What special assistance might you need from emergency responders during an emergency?...

If you are like us, every day you pick up a smartphone and you send email, visit with friends on Facebook, send a text message or even log into your bank's website and pay a bill. These modern day conveniences have become routine. We all believe that our passwords are secure, our data is protected, and life is easier if we don't have to write a check to pay a bill or dig around and find a stamp to send a friend a quick note. But this morning we are no longer sure. The tech world is in a fury,...

(Department of Homeland Security to step up monitoring of Twitter and other social network sites ) The wave of uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East that have overturned three governments in the past year have prompted the U.S. government to start developing guidelines for culling intelligence from Twitter and other social media networks. Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Caryn Wagner said the use of such technology in uprisings that started in December in Tunisia shocked some officials into attention. It prompted questions of whether the U.S. needs to do a better job of monitoring domestic social networking activity...

In an effort to push back against criticism of its health care reform plans, the Obama administration is sending one of the many former journalists in its employ onto the digital airwaves of Youtube to attack Matt Drudge and other critics for spreading "disinformation" and "lies." Since "we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House," health reform Communications Director Linda Douglass says, "we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov." Reason.tv's Dan Hayes is nothing if...

An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users. In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ recorded in real time the keys he pressed into a stock EVO handset, which he had reset to factory settings just prior to the demonstration. Using a packet sniffer while his device was in airplane mode, he demonstrated how each numeric tap and every received text message is logged...

How would you feel if the government told you that you couldn’t smoke in your own car? Perhaps you’d endorse the idea that public health officials were trying to make it harder for people to maintain a habit that increases their risk of developing lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease and a host of other problems. Maybe you’d rejoice that you’d never again be forced to carpool to a meeting with a chain-smoking colleague. You might even breathe a sigh of relief for all the children of smokers who would be able to ride to school, soccer practice and piano lessons...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will run the first-ever Emergency Alert System (EAS) test for 30 seconds Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST, which will be used to inform Americans in the case of a national emergency. *snip* The alert, administered in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will be used to inform Americans in the event of a national emergency, should other modes of communication be unavailable.

...What that basically means is that in an emergency situation, such as a declaration of martial law, chipping stations will be immediately deployed. It will be for you and your family, and will ensure that you’ll receive emergency rations and other services in the event of a serious catastrophe. Next, they’ll require all government healthcare recipients to be chipped in order to prevent rampant fraud. An off-shoot may be to implement nationwide chipping programs for those receiving any government benefits including social security, Medicaid, Medicare, and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance. Prisoners and even detainees will be part of the first adopter...

CONROE, Texas -- A Houston area law enforcement agency is prepared to launch an unmanned drone that could someday carry weapons, Local 2 Investigates reported Friday. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in Conroe paid $300,000 in federal homeland security grant money and Friday it received the ShadowHawk unmanned helicopter made by Vanguard Defense Industries of Spring. A laptop computer is used to control the 50-pound unmanned chopper, and a game-like console is used to aim and zoom a powerful camera and infrared heat-seeking device mounted on the front. "To be in on the ground floor of this is pretty exciting...

... If that's not enough to get your antenna up, here's another bit of news that most people missed. In April 2010 it was announced that every 140-character snippet you have ever posted on Twitter has been committed to the U.S. Library of Congress. The Library of Congress and our friends at Twitter have agreed to archive every single tweet since its inception on March 21, 2006, when the first tweet was launched. It is now estimated that together we send a billion tweets a week – and all of it is be preserved forever. ... In September of this...

On November 9th, 2011 Americans will get an up close and personal demonstration of the new powers the US government has given itself over America’s broadcast services. There will be a complete take over of the nation’s air waves, both television and radio – plus — cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) providers, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers. The power to do this is now in the hands of the President. Only he has the authority to do this. On November 9th there will be a test of how effectively the system will...

Imagine that you couldn't drive on major highways without agreeing to put a camera in your car -- one that could film either the occupants or the vehicle’s surroundings and transmit the images back to a central office for inspection... It's hard to imagine Americans would tolerate such a direct, Big-Brotherish intrusion. But they might not notice if the all-seeing cameras were tucked inside another kind of government tracking technology that millions of Americans have already invited into their cars. Kapsch TrafficCom AG, an Austrian company that just signed a 10-year contract to provide in-car transponders such as the E-Z...

(snip) The government is showing interest in the idea. This summer a little-known intelligence agency began seeking ideas from academic social scientists and corporations for ways to automatically scan the Internet in 21 Latin American countries for “big data,” according to a research proposal being circulated by the agency. The three-year experiment, to begin in April, is being financed by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, or Iarpa (pronounced eye-AR-puh), part of the office of the director of national intelligence. The automated data collection system is to focus on patterns of communication, consumption and movement of populations. It will use...

We're not exactly lacking in opportunities for Minority Report references these days, but sometimes they're just unavoidable. According to a new report from CNET based on documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the US Department of Homeland security is now working on a system dubbed FAST (or Future Attribute Screening Technology) that's designed to identify individuals who are most likely to commit a crime. That's not done with something as simple as facial recognition and background checks, however, but rather algorithms and an array of sensors and cameras that can detect both physiological and behavioral cues that are...

The FBI by mid-January will activate a nationwide facial recognition service in select states that will allow local police to identify unknown subjects in photos, bureau officials told Nextgov. The federal government is embarking on a multiyear, $1 billion dollar overhaul of the FBI's existing fingerprint database to more quickly and accurately identify suspects, partly through applying other biometric markers, such as iris scans and voice recordings. Often law enforcement authorities will "have a photo of a person and for whatever reason they just don't know who it is [but they know] this is clearly the missing link to our...

<p>The Obama administration says that it has the right to attach a GPS unit to your vehicle and watch where you go, with whom you meet, where your children visit friends, whether you go to church or a bar or a bank – all in the hope that investigators could develop the "probable cause" they would need to get a formal court order to search you and your possessions.</p>

Get Big Brother out of my medical records John Rossomando Follow John on Twitter According to Kansas GOP Congressman Tim Heulskamp, Big Brother could be peering into your health records and finding out everything about you – including things you would rather keep private. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, he says, wants a national database where every American’s health records could be warehoused, for states to have their own databases, and for federal bureaucrats to have access to these records. But this sets off the specter of political mischief using your most sensitive personal information. We’ve seen things like this done...

Get Big Brother out of my medical records John Rossomando Follow John on Twitter According to Kansas GOP Congressman Tim Heulskamp, Big Brother could be peering into your health records and finding out everything about you – including things you would rather keep private. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, he says, wants a national database where every American’s health records could be warehoused, for states to have their own databases, and for federal bureaucrats to have access to these records. But this sets off the specter of political mischief using your most sensitive personal information. We’ve seen things like this done...

CHICAGO — A few months ago, Saman Jayasekara was shopping online for cheaper car insurance when he came across a new product from Progressive Corp. that offered him the chance to save as much as 30 percent. But there was a catch. He would have to install a device in his Hyundai Sonata that would monitor his driving habits, such as when he drove, miles driven and number of sudden stops. Progressive would analyze the data to determine whether he deserved a discount.

The Federal Reserve Plans To Identify “Key Bloggers” And Monitor Billions Of Conversations About The Fed On Facebook, Twitter, Forums And Blogs The Federal Reserve wants to know what you are saying about it.  In fact, the Federal Reserve has announced plans to identify "key bloggers" and to monitor "billions of conversations" about the Fed on Facebook, Twitter, forums and blogs.  This is yet another sign that the alternative media is having a dramatic impact.  As first reported on Zero Hedge, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has issued a "Request for Proposal" to suppliers who may be interested...

THIS IS NOT A JOKE, I WAS TOLD THIS AND CHECKED IT OUT MYSELF, I MADE A COMMENT AND WENT TO THIS PAGE, RELOADED IT AND THERE WAS MY COMMENT!!

By Michael van der Galien Facebook is supposed to be one of the most innovative social networking websites on the Net. It is, at the very least, the biggest — by far.But for how long will Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard project remain number one? It’s a fair question to ask now that the changes Facebook announced Thursday at its f8 conference are being criticized by virtually everybody — except for Zuckerberg himself, that is.When Google+, the new social network of Google, was launched, many were critical. The criticism disappeared at the very moment people starting using it, however: all its new...

UC Berkeley scientists have developed a system to capture visual activity in human brains and reconstruct it as digital video clips. Eventually, this process will allow you to record and reconstruct your own dreams on a computer screen. I just can't believe this is happening for real, but according to Professor Jack Gallant—UC Berkeley neuroscientist and coauthor of the research published today in the journal Current Biology—"this is a major leap toward reconstructing internal imagery. We are opening a window into the movies in our minds." Indeed, it's mindblowing. I'm simultaneously excited and terrified. This is how it works: They...

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Motorcyclists are allowed to use the new freeway HOT lanes toll-free so many are wondering why they have to register with The State Road and Tollway Authority. They also want to know who is paying for the thousands of transponder devices that are being sent to them if they’re not required to mount the Peachpass on their motorcycles.

With legislation pending both in the U.S. Congress and the Michigan House of Representatives to require employers to use a new federal immigration database, even conservative and Tea Party groups are speaking out against the idea.

Chuck and Stephanie Fromm already have been fined $300 for holding Bible studies for their friends at their home, and they face the potential for additional fines of $500 for each study held, according to a legal team taking their case to court. The newest conflict over Bible studies in homes in America arose in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where city officials say city code section 9-3.301 prohibits religious organizations in residential neighborhoods without a conditional-use permit, a sometimes very expensive procedure. The code cites "churches, temples, synagogues, monasteries, religious retreats, and other places of religious worship and other fraternal...

Barack Obama's "Obama for America" group has launched a website called AttackWatch. And what this site is supposed to do, ostensibly, it is to provide a place for Americans to snitch on their fellow Americans. Well, to be honest, if I report that Barack Obama is the worst president ever because of his economic, military, constitutional rights, energy, immigration, healthcare policies, then little Obamaites can run to AttackWatch.com and report me. AttackWatch will kindly then provide them all the facts and figures to counter my "attack." Because to Barack Obama, facts are not acceptable, they are ATTACKS! (His emphasis, not mine.)...