Perspective: Detroit ‘Urban Roots’ Film

Editor’s Note:  ‘Urban Roots’ is another film focusing on Urban Farming in the Motor City.   We are taking a look at the people and groups behind the relatively recent mass interest in this movement :

This is the trailer for our new film Urban Roots. Detroit of the automotive days are over, Detroit has shrunk to half its size but out of the ashes rises a new city and new hope in the form of urban gardens. Urban Roots tells this tale of urban renewal through gardening and farming.

Social Engineering On Display In “Green” Super Bowl Ads

Predictive Programming ads for Eco Tyranny:

Related Flashbacks:

CFL Bulbs Have One Hitch:  Toxic Mercury

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, and it’s especially dangerous for children and fetuses. Most exposure to mercury comes from eating fish contaminated with mercury,

Some states, cities and counties have outlawed putting CFL bulbs in the trash, but in most states the practice is legal.

Pete Keller works for Eco Lights Northwest, the only company in Washington state that recycles fluorescent lamps. He says it is illegal to put the bulbs in the trash in some counties in Washington, but most people still throw them out…

General Electric has been making compact fluorescents for 20 years. Now the company admits that the little bit of mercury in each bulbs could become a real problem if sales balloon as expected.

“Given what we anticipate to be the significant increase in the use of these products, we are now beginning to look at, and shortly we’ll be discussing with legislators, possibly a national solution here,” says Earl Jones, a senior counsel for General Electric.

Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs raises burning questions on mercury poisoning

In 2007, Congress passed legislation requiring energy-efficient light bulbs.

I’m a big fan of energy efficiency. I’ve been using energy efficient appliances and building techniques since 1981 to cut utility costs.

So it seemed logical that using the new energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, would be a great idea — until I read the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines for cleaning up broken fluorescent bulbs.

The bulbs, according to the EPA, contain a small amount of mercury — but evidently, not an amount small enough to be safe if the bulbs are broken.

The EPA says that inhaling mercury vapor can affect the kidneys and central nervous system. Acute exposure can result in “tremors, irritability, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular changes, headaches, slowed sensory and motor nerve function, and reduction in cognitive function” and more.

Bin police rummage through rubbish at dawn

Wheelie bin bugging foreshadows ‘rubbish tax’

Bin Brother is watching you

Electronic spy chips have been surreptitiously planted in household wheelie bins by many councils in an attempt to gauge how much rubbish we’re chucking out.

The RFID-based chips are being hidden under the lip of bins used for non-recycled waste. Transponders fitted on rubbish trucks read the chip’s serial number when household waste is collected. As bins are hoisted up, another device on lorries weighs them. This data is then correlated alongside chip numbers to create a record of the quantity of waste each household discards.

Already 500,000 of the devices have been deployed in Peterborough, South Norfolk, and parts of Cheshire, Surrey, and Wiltshire. In most cases, home owners were not informed about the deployment of the technology.

An oldie- “Torches of Freedom“:

Federal Grants Give Cops Iris Scanners; Media Celebrates Police State

Arapahoe County will become the first law enforcement agency in Colorado to begin identifying criminals, missing children and seniors using biometric analysis of the human iris.

A technician from the software and hardware developer demonstrated how their device analyzes the iris, which has 235 identifying points of reference, versus a fingerprint’s 65.

“Fingerprints change but irises stay stable throughout your life,” said Patricia Lawton of Biometric Intelligence and Identifying Technologies, “Which is why it’s a great biometric to identify somebody with.”

Lawton helped develop this new technology application.

She said the iris is 12 times more reliable for identification than a fingerprint.

A National Sheriff’s Association technology grant allows Arapahoe County to be first in the state to apply it to law enforcement.

A deputy helped us demonstrate how it works while Lawton scanned his eyes.

Related Flashbacks:

Iris Scanners May Become Routine on Patrol and In Booking Process

Mobile Fingerprint Readers Being Used In Milwaukee

Related:

“Lid Locks“

Related:

The National Sheriffs’ Association has awarded the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office a grant of $10,000 to be among the first in the nation to use retinal scanning to identify people.

The technology, called biometrics, uses a high-resolution digital camera to take a photograph of a person’s eye. The scanning technology uses 235 unique identifying points to instantly determine the identity of a person, who could be a jail inmate, a lost elderly person or a missing child, said Peter Flynn, a consultant for BI2 Technologies…

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is the first of 45 law enforcement agencies to receive a grant from the National Sheriff’s Association for the retinal scanning technology

Related:

DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba held a press conference recently to accept the $11,000 grant award of a federally funded IRIS Biometric System from the National Sheriffs’ Association.

The grant will enable his office to be the first in Illinois to use IRIS recognition biometric technology…

Related:

The sheriffs departments for Plymouth and Barnstable counties and the Brockton Police Department said Monday they have received a federal grant to expand eye-image identification technology.

Click to find out more about tyranny at JUSTNET

Find out more about the tyranny being promoted by BI² Technologies.  Much of it revolves around promoting its “friendly” child and senior ID programs (Two groups who are always used to sell new track and trace technologies to society- emotional sales pitches work and who wouldn’t want to “help the kids?”  A third group often used to effectively scare and sell the public on tyranny are  “criminals.”)

Via their website:

BI² Technologies Products

BI² Technologies’ primary products are software applications and information technology hardware that enable public and private organizations to use iris biometric identification technologies to quickly and accurately identify a person.

The Child Project, Senior Safety Net and IRIS systems consist of Iridian Technologies Know Who® operating system, Panasonic’s Iris Camera, a personal computer, BI² Technologies’ software application, and required cabling and accessories.

The CHILD Project^TM

The Child Project is a secure nationwide network and registry, which enables law enforcement and social service agencies throughout the country to positively identify children through iris biometric recognition technology. Implementation of the CHILD Project began in early 2005 and is continuing in Sheriffs’ office across the country. More information is available here or by selecting the CHILD Project link at the top of the page.

Senior Safety Net^TM

Senior Safety Net is similar to The Child Project. This secure nationwide network and registry enables law enforcement and social service agencies to identify enrolled seniors who may be lost due to Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia. More information is available here or by selecting the Senior Safety Net link at the top of the page.

Search The Google Monster for more

Detroit: Lafayette Building Downed (Video)

Via Buildings of Detroit

Exclusive video of the north wall collapsing at 4:29 a.m. Feb. 6, 2010, of the Lafayette Building.

The Lafayette opened in 1924 and was designed by noted theater architect C. Howard Crane, who also did the Fox Theatre in Detroit. The demolition follows a lengthy preservation battle to save the unique Italian Renaissance landmark.
For more on the Lafayette Building’s history and for photos, go to www.buildingsofdetroit.com.

Flashback to January:

Perspective: Detroit’s only boom?: Training for Michigan’s medical marijuana industry

Via Infowars (Visit link to read the entire article and watch the videos)

It is an ironic and certainly controversial phenomenon: the pressures of economic downtown have challenged long-standing marijuana prohibition all across the country and created a new boom.

Now Detroit– where the unemployment rate has reportedly reached 50% and where 20th Century  industry has been all but hollowed out– one of the only opportunities presenting itself seems to be a fledgling above-board medical marijuana industry.

CNN Money carries an interesting interview today titled “Getting a degree growing pot.” This man found his way training for the new business because, well, so few other opportunities are on the table in Detroit, even though the legal framework for legal business is not yet totally worked out. Michigan voters approved medical marijuana in 2008.:

At MedGrow Cannabis College, Michigan students learn to grow medical marijuana in an effort to earn a living.

…A similar piercing through of marijuana legality has transformed the debate in California, as the state asserts its 10th Amendment rights against the Federal Government and its legislators eye the potential for legal marijuana tax revenue to save its dying coffers.

Kevin Booth continues his investigation in the follow up to his ground-breaking “American Drug War” with the fresh and powerful look at “How Weed Won the West.” It features Alex Jones and many other powerful subjects.

Related:

Related:

Ron Paul: ‘Yemen on the Brink: Implications for U.S. Policy’

Statement of Congressman Ron Paul
United States House of Representatives
Statement on House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing:
‘Yemen on the Brink: Implications for U.S. Policy’

February 3, 2010

Mr. Chairman, I am extremely concerned over current US policy toward Yemen, which I believe will backfire and leave the United States less safe and much poorer. Increasing US involvement in Yemen may be sold as a fight against terrorism, but in fact it is more about expanding US government control and influence over this strategically-placed nation at the gateway to Asia.

The current administration, according to today’s testimony of Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman, has dramatically increased foreign aid to Yemen, from $17 million in FY 2008 to $40 million in FY 2009, to $67 million for FY 2010, to, according to the president’s recent budget sent to Congress, $106 million for FY 2011. That represents an incredible six-fold increase in US aid to Yemen over just four years, at a time when the US economy continues to falter.

When I look at the US assistance plan for Yemen I see that it is primarily focused on nation-building. That is the failed idea that if the United States sends enough money to a foreign government, with which that government purchases US-manufactured weapons and hires US-based consultants and non-governmental organizations, that country will achieve a strong economy and political stability and in gratitude will become eternally friendly to the US and US interests. I have yet to see a single successful example of this strategy.

According to Assistant Secretary Feltman’s statement, “Priorities for U.S. assistance include political and fiscal reforms and meaningful attention to legitimate internal grievances; better governance through decentralization, reduced corruption and civil service reform; human rights protections; jobs-related training; economic diversification to generate employment and enhance livelihoods, and strengthened natural resource management.” How can we believe that the US government can achieve abroad what we know it cannot effectively achieve at home? We are going to spend millions of dollars to help create jobs in Yemen as we continue to shed jobs in the United States?

Yemen is a country mired in civil conflict. The Shi’ites in the north, who make up a significant percentage of the country’s total population and a majority in their region, have been fighting against what they see as the discriminatory policies of the Sunni-based government in the capitol, Sana’a, for years. Yemenis in the south, who up until 1990 were a separate country, likewise oppose the central government and threaten to escalate this opposition. Added into this mix are elements of what are called al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), some of whom are left over from the US-supported fight against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and others have been radicalized by their exposure to Wahhabi extremism in US-allied Saudi Arabia. Still others in AQAP are veterans of the insurgency against US occupation of Iraq. We cannot forget either those Yemenis who were held for years by the United States without charges at Guantanamo Bay. How many of those were innocent of terrorist actions or intent but became radicalized under such conditions?

Saudi Arabia’s concern over the Shi’ite unrest in north Yemen has led to unsubstantiated claims of Iranian involvement in attempt to draw the US into a regional problem that has nothing to do with the United States. Saudi Arabia has struggled with unrest among its own Shi’ite population and is determined to prevent any spill-over. There are some here in the US who repeat false claims of Iranian involvement in the hope of expanding the US military presence in the area. Others in the United States irresponsibly call for a US pre-emptive war in Yemen. We should be clear on this: expanded US involvement in Yemen plays into the hands of bin Laden and his organization as has been made clear on many occasions. Luring the United States into a conflict in Yemen by falsely advertising it part of a war on terror will certainly radicalize the Yemeni population against the United States. It will weaken our over-extended military and it will further destroy our economy.

Similarly, the US-backed central government in Sana’a stands to gain by claiming its internal problems are part of a global crisis that requires US intervention. The central Yemeni government has much to gain by making its battles and its problems our battles and our problems. But that gain will come at the expense of US soldiers, US security, and the American economy. I wonder how long it will be before the US establishes a permanent base on the strategic territory of Yemen?

I hope, as we begin to debate the foreign affairs budget for next year, that we may yet change course from that of the last administration, where the failed policies of interventionism, militarism, and nation-building have left the United States in a diminished position in the world.

Protected: Mexico Taps Unisys For National Biometric Enslavement Scheme

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Update: Governments Are Keeping Newborns’ DNA

Update on previous reports of DNA Databases.

Via CNN

It’s simple, the pediatrician answered: Newborn babies in the United States are routinely screened for a panel of genetic diseases. Since the testing is mandated by the government, it’s often done without the parents’ consent, according to Brad Therrell, director of the National Newborn Screening & Genetics Resource Center.

In many states, such as Florida, where Isabel was born, babies’ DNA is stored indefinitely, according to the resource center.

Many parents don’t realize their baby’s DNA is being stored in a government lab, but sometimes when they find out, as the Browns did, they take action. Parents in Texas, and Minnesota have filed lawsuits, and these parents’ concerns are sparking a new debate about whether it’s appropriate for a baby’s genetic blueprint to be in the government’s possession.

Related:

The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007

Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns’ DNA

State agrees to destroy controversial infant blood samples

AUSTIN — The Texas Department of State Health services has about four months to destroy blood samples taken and stored without permission from millions of babies.

State law allows the department to collect those blood samples for routine disease testing, but the state’s been hanging on to millions of blood samples since the testing began in 2002.

Dad Michael Neff says blood samples taken from his two daughters should have been destroyed.

He fears the state might have used those blood samples in research projects or sold them to insurance companies.

“I don’t think my kid’s DNA should be out there, and if it is it should be mine and their mother’s decision,” Neff said.

“When they do this secretly it raises the specter that their motives aren’t pure,” said Texas Civil Rights Project attorney Jim Harrington

As a result of the lawsuit, he explained, samples taken before May 27, 2009, will be destroyed by mid-March 2010.

Police Create Roadblock to Collect DNA Samples for Private Research Firm

The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado, a rural area not that far west of Denver, recently set up a highway checkpoint where motorists were stopped and, at least in some cases, not allowed to leave until they gave breath, blood, and saliva samples for the benefit of a private research firm. A report by Ernie Hancock says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was involved as well.

A Denver Post article is here:
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_6922089

DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show

Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.

The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva. They also showed that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without obtaining any tissue from that person.

“You can just engineer a crime scene,” said Dan Frumkin, lead author of the paper, which has been published online by the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics. “Any biology undergraduate could perform this.”

Research:

National Conference of State Legislators Guide to Genetic Screening and DNA Retention (State by State)

Citations and links to newborn screening program statutes in the states and the District of Columbia are below. Links to state legislative websites have been added, but please check the date of the on-line statutes to make sure that you are accessing the most current information. The information provided below does not necessarily include sections pertaining to program funding or payment for or coverage of services and treatment. A list of disorders screened for by state is available on-line through the National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center.

NOTE: NCSL does not have a position with respect to newborn screening or the ACMG report. The above links to outside organizations are provided for informational purposes only.

Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative

Welcome to the Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative. We are a collaborative network of genetics and newborn screening providers, advocates and other stakeholders from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota , Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory (Eugenics Record Office)

“Frustrated” Police Want Instant Access to Your Communications

Read the entire article at CNET:

Cybercrime investigators are frustrated by the speed of traditional methods of faxing, mailing, or e-mailing companies these documents. They’re pushing for the creation of a national Web interface linking police computers with those of Internet and e-mail providers so requests can be sent and received electronically.

CNET has reviewed a survey scheduled to be released at a federal task force meeting on Thursday, which says that law enforcement agencies are virtually unanimous in calling for such an interface to be created. Eighty-nine percent of police surveyed, it says, want to be able to “exchange legal process requests and responses to legal process” through an encrypted, police-only “nationwide computer network.”

The survey, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, is part of a broader push from law enforcement agencies to alter the ground rules of online investigations. Other components include renewed calls for laws requiring Internet companies to store data about their users for up to five years and increased pressure on companies to respond to police inquiries in hours instead of days.

But the most controversial element is probably the private Web interface, which raises novel security and privacy concerns, especially in the wake of a recent inspector general’s report (PDF) from the Justice Department. The 289-page report detailed how the FBI obtained Americans’ telephone records by citing nonexistent emergencies and simply asking for the data or writing phone numbers on a sticky note rather than following procedures required by law.

Related Update 2/6/10:

Via CNET:

FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited

The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years

“The Google Monster” and NSA Join Hands

Washington Post:

The world’s largest Internet search company and the world’s most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google — and its users — from future attack.

Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans’ online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users’ searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.

The partnership strikes at the core of one of the most sensitive issues for the government and private industry in the evolving world of cybersecurity: how to balance privacy and national security interests. On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence  Dennis C. Blair called the Google attacks, which the company acknowledged in January, a “wake-up call.” Cyberspace cannot be protected, he said, without a “collaborative effort that incorporates both the U.S. private sector and our international partners.”

But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates, concerned about a repeat of the NSA’s warrantless interception of Americans’ phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen.

“The critical question is: At what level will the American public be comfortable with Google sharing information with NSA?” said Ellen McCarthy, president of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an organization of current and former intelligence and national security officials that seeks ways to foster greater sharing of information between government and industry.

Related Perspectives and Flashbacks

March 2008 San Francisco Chronicle:

Google has lots to do with intelligence

The Mountain View company sold the agencies servers for searching documents, marking a small victory for the company and its little-known effort to do business with the government.

“We are a very small group, and even a lot of people in the federal government don’t know that we exist,” said Mike Bradshaw, who leads Google’s federal government sales team and its 18 employees.

The strategy is part of a broader plan at Google to expand beyond its consumer roots. Federal, state and local agencies, along with corporations and schools, are increasingly seen by the company as lucrative sources of extra revenue…

…Spy agencies are using Google equipment as the backbone of Intellipedia, a network aimed at helping agents share intelligence. Rather than hoarding information, spies and analysts are being encouraged to post what they learn on a secure online forum where colleagues can read it and add comments…

March 2008:

CIA and Google Team Up Again For More Spying

Google is supplying the software, hardware and tech support to US intelligence agencies who are in the process of creating a vast closed source database for global spy networks to share information.

Google is selling storage and data searching equipment to the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies, who have come together to build a huge internal government intranet.

Google is also providing the search features for a private Wikipedia-style site, called Intellipedia.

March 2008:

Wiretapping focus shifts to e-mail communications

Also related to the precedent of spying on Americans:

1994- present:  CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) Background

CALEA FAQ

CALEA Expansion and Comprehensive Study Guide

UPDATE:

EPIC Seeks Records on Google-NSA Relationship

Today EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Security Agency, seeking records regarding the relationship between Google and the NSA. The press reported that Google and the NSA have entered into a partnership following a recent hacker attack on Google originating from China. The EPIC FOIA request also seeks NSA communications with Google regarding Google’s failure to encrypt Gmail and cloud computing services. In March 2009, EPIC filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission urging it to investigate the adequacy of Google’s cloud computing privacy and security safeguards. Today EPIC also filed a lawsuit against the National Security Agency and the National Security Council, seeking a key document governing national cybersecurity policy. For more information, see EPIC FOIA Litigation and EPIC Cloud Computing.

UPDATE 2:

Via Wired.com’s Danger Room

‘Don’t Be Evil,’ Meet ‘Spy on Everyone’: How the NSA Deal Could Kill Google

The company once known for its “don’t be evil” motto is now in bed with the spy agency known for the mass surveillance of American citizens…

…So, in a sense, it’s only natural that Google would turn to the NSA after the company was hit by an ultrasophisticated hack attack. After all, the military has basically done the same thing, putting the NSA in charge of its new “Cyber Command.” The Department of Homeland Security is leaning heavily on the NSA to secure .gov networks.

But there’s a problem. The NSA and its predecessors also have a long history of spying on huge numbers of people, both at home and abroad. During the Cold War, the agency worked with companies like Western Union to intercept and read millions of telegrams. During the war on terror years, the NSA teamed up with the telecommunications companies to eavesdrop on customers’ phone calls and internet traffic right from the telcos’ switching stations. And even after the agency pledged to clean up its act — and was given wide new latitude to spy on whom they liked – the NSA was still caught “overcollecting” on U.S. citizens. According to The New York Times, the agency even “tried to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant.”