...And Making it Easier for Post-Nuclear Holocaust Video Games to Create Scenery...
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
PlayStation-Controlled DIY Tank May Be the Wildest Weapon Yet in the Syria War
Syrian rebels, claiming to have spent over a month designing, assembling, and developing a garage-made armored vehicle, debuted the Sham II fighting vehicle near the besieged city of Aleppo earlier today. The Sham II, a reference to ancient Syria (ash-Sham), is a boxy, light armored vehicle built upon a car chassis and is outfitted with a 7.62mm machine gun (which appears to be a Russian-designed PKM) that is controlled from inside the vehicle. The Sham II is also outfitted with five cameras -- three in the front, one mounted on or near the machine gun, and one in the back -- all of which are seemingly controlled by -- a Sony PlayStation remote control. It should be noted that, apparently on the side of caution, Syrian rebels have even outfitted the Sham II with an operable headlight.
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/12/syrian_rebels_debut_homemade_f.php#ixzz2EliTrsPI
Monday, December 10, 2012
Rachel Maddow gets her Boxers all in a twist because a Billboard discourages Voter Fraud
I occasionally punish myself and take a fantastical journey into the wacky nether realms of hate, anger and dishonesty called MSNBC, the mouthpiece and co-conspirators of the Usurper Obama.
MS. Maddow refers to this billboard as a "Scary Billboard"; who exactly would this be scary to other than someone who was engaging in voter fraud? She believes it is her calling to fight against the fight against voter fraud. The Liberal Agenda reveals itself.
Hottie Mugshot of the Day
Because laughing at Liberals is our Patriotic
duty!
Felons vote Democratic, see here:
Public Buses Across Country Quietly Adding Microphones to Record Passenger Conversations
Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly
installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would
give them the ability to record and store private conversations, according to
documents obtained by a news outlet.
The systems are
being installed in San Francisco, Baltimore, and other cities with funding from
the Department of Homeland Security in some cases, according
to the Daily, which obtained copies of contracts, procurement requests,
specs and other documents.
The use of the equipment raises serious questions about
eavesdropping without a warrant, particularly since recordings of passengers
could be obtained and used by law enforcement agencies.
It also raises
questions about security, since the IP audio-video systems can be accessed
remotely via a built-in web server (.pdf), and can be combined with GPS data
to track the movement of buses and passengers throughout the city.
The RoadRecorder 7000 surveillance system being
marketed for use on public buses consists of a high-definition IP camera and
audio recording system that can be configured remotely via built-in web
server.
According to the product pamphlet for the RoadRecorder 7000 system made by SafetyVision (.pdf), “Remote connectivity to the RoadRecorder 7000 NVR can be established via the Gigabit Ethernet port or the built-in 3G modem. A robust software ecosystem including LiveTrax vehicle tracking and video streaming service combined with SafetyNet central management system allows authorized users to check health status, create custom alerts, track vehicles, automate event downloads and much more.”
The systems use cables or WiFi to pair audio conversations
with camera images in order to produce synchronous recordings. Audio and video
can be monitored in real-time, but are also stored onboard in blackbox-like
devices, generally for 30 days, for later retrieval. Four to six cameras with
mics are generally installed throughout a bus, including one near the driver and
one on the exterior of the bus.
Cities that have installed the systems or have taken steps to
procure them include San Francisco, California; Eugene, Oregon; Traverse City,
Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore Maryland; Hartford, Connecticut; and Athens,
Georgia.
San Francisco transit authorities recently approved a $5.9
million contract to install an audio surveillance system on 357 buses and
vintage trolley cars, paid for in full with a grant from DHS. The contract
includes the option to expand the equipment to an additional 600 vehicles.
Concord, New Hampshire also used part of a $1.2 million
economic stimulus grant to install its new video/audio surveillance system on
buses, according to the Daily.
Transit officials say the systems will help improve the safety
of passengers and drivers and resolve complaints from riders. But privacy and
security expert Ashkan Soltani told the Daily that the audio could easily be
coupled with facial recognition systems or audio recognition technology to
identify passengers caught on the recordings.
In Eugene, Oregon, the Daily found, transit officials
requested microphones that would be capable of “distilling clear conversations
from the background noise of other voices, wind, traffic, windshields wipers and
engines” and also wanted at least five audio channels spread across each bus
that would be “paired with one or more camera images and recorded synchronously
with the video for simultaneous playback.”
In 2009, transit officials in Baltimore, Maryland, backed down
briefly from plans to install microphones in buses in that city after civil
liberties groups complained that the systems would violate wiretapping laws and
constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure. Transit
authorities then asked the state’s attorney general to weigh-in on whether the
systems violated wiretapping laws. After the attorney general indicated that
signs warning passengers of the surveillance would help combat any legal
challenges, transit officials pressed forward with their plans last month and
announced the installation of an audio recording system on 10 public buses. The
city plans to roll out the system on at least 340 additional buses.
(via wired)
Your Vote Counted: A Damn Lie
I was walking past a polling place the other day and saw this lost and lonely sticker just lying there. I stopped, I looked down. A sense of irony came over me, the sticker said: "My Vote Counted". I don't believe it did. When more votes were cast then there are registered voters, my vote did not count. Some unknown organized force conspired to steal the election and I believe it was successful, the will of the people was thwarted. The sticker is an illusion, a false appeasement, an opiate that cures no pain or suffering administered by the same oppressors who are responsible for the pain and suffering in the first place. In my youth I was idealistic, a bright eyed true believer in our democracy. I believed that most men were good men of high character. Honesty and truth meant something, the good were rewarded and recognized. I think this once was true. Is this some terrible bad dream? The imperfect but noble people that worked so hard to build this country, to create a perfect union, what would they think of us?
They would have it torn asunder and so would I.
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