For privacy-minded people who are skeptical of public health arguments in favor of face masks, the pandemic may prove to be less of a reason to wear face coverings than an excuse to do just that. And we may as well throw in sunglasses and a hat, just to be sure………

Face Masks Confuse Facial Recognition Technology

Americans can’t agree on whether face masks are a good way to reduce the threat of transmitting COVID-19. We’ve even turned mask-donning into a symbol of partisan affiliation; those who would make them compulsory everywhere face off against those who refuse them under all circumstances. But we should at least be able to agree that face coverings are a great way to defeat the surveillance state—especially now that the U.S. government has conceded that masks confuse the hell out of facial recognition technology.

“Using unmasked images, the most accurate algorithms fail to authenticate a person about 0.3% of the time,” the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a federal agency, reported last week. “Masked images raised even these top algorithms’ failure rate to about 5%, while many otherwise competent algorithms failed between 20% to 50% of the time.”

Notably, the NIST test focused on one-to-one matching of a face against a single photo, as you might do to unlock a cellphone or at a passport checkpoint. One-to-one systems are carried out under conditions of near-ideal lighting and camera placement, and so are more reliable than one-to-many matches of faces against databases that are conducted during surveillance of public places. Masks should be expected to be even more effective at increasing failure rates of one-to-many facial recognition systems.

“The more of the nose a mask covers, the lower the algorithm’s accuracy,” the NIST report adds of the digitally simulated coverings used in the study. “The study explored three levels of nose coverage—low, medium and high—finding that accuracy degrades with greater nose coverage.” Continue reading “”

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – Santayana

They have an agenda, a narrative to support it, and want to destroy the competition. What’s amazing is that they’re so open about it.

Chicago-Area Leaders Call for Illinois to Eliminate History Classes

At a news conference, State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford said current history teachings lead to a racist society and overlook the contributions of women and minorities.

Ford and other leaders have asked the ISBOE and school districts to immediately remove history books that “unfairly communicate” history.

“It costs us as a society in the long run forever when we don’t understand our brothers and sisters that we live, work and play with,” Ford said.

The state representative is sponsoring a bill that would require elementary schools to teach students about the civil rights movement

Data isn’t just being collected from your phone. It’s being used to score you.

Operating in the shadows of the online marketplace, specialized tech companies you’ve likely never heard of are tapping vast troves of our personal data to generate secret “surveillance scores” – digital mug shots of millions of Americans – that supposedly predict our future behavior. The firms sell their scoring services to major businesses across the U.S. economy.

People with low scores can suffer harsh consequences.

CoreLogic and TransUnion say that scores they peddle to landlords can predict whether a potential tenant will pay the rent on time, be able to “absorb rent increases,” or break a lease. Large employers use HireVue, a firm that generates an “employability” score about candidates by analyzing “tens of thousands of factors,” including a person’s facial expressions and voice intonations. Other employers use Cornerstone’s score, which considers where a job prospect lives and which web browser they use to judge how successful they will be at a job.

Brand-name retailers purchase “risk scores” from Retail Equation to help make judgments about whether consumers commit fraud when they return goods for refunds. Players in the gig economy use outside firms such as Sift to score consumers’ “overall trustworthiness.” Wireless customers predicted to be less profitable are sometimes forced to endure longer customer service hold times. Continue reading “”

Antifa Is the Natural Product of Our Educational System.

*************

Antifa is an excruciating public manifestation of a very deep infection that has metastasized throughout our society from the schools.

It will only get worse if we don’t change our educational system—pronto.

Ironically, the beginnings of this change are one of the few, perhaps the only, good things to emanate from the pandemic.

With schools shut or online, many are evaluating whether the system serves our young people, practically (in terms of careers) or ideologically.

What kind of education is it when 95 percent of college professors vote Democrat, and mostly left Democrat at that?

Viewpoint diversity, anyone? Shall I home school my child? Shall I send him or her to college so they can come back Thanksgiving in an Antifa t-shirt and accuse me of being a capitalist pig when I just spent fifty grand for their tuition?

Something is wrong with this picture.

Change is undoubtedly coming. As a wise man once said, “Faster, please.” I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of mush brains throwing fire bombs at police stations.

 

Waiting for the Umbrella Man or someone like him.

Who can take a city, burn it to the ground? The Umbrella Man can, at least according to the search warrant affidavit filed by Minneapolis police officer Erika Christensen last week.

The Star Tribune’s Libor Jany told me he came across Christensen’s affidavit in a routine review of new court filings. He reported on the allegations of Christensen’s affidavit in “Minneapolis police say ‘Umbrella Man’ was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting.” The story has made waves around the world.

According to Officer Christensen, Umbrella Man is a white supremacist who set off the week of riots and arson throughout the Twin Cities by knocking out the windows at AutoZone on Lake Street at Minnehaha Avenue in south Minneapolis on May 27. Did Umbrella Man also burn the AutoZone down? I can’t tell from Libor’s story, but it was in fact torched.

* * * * * * * *

Officer Christensen’s affidavit superimposes a mythical narrative over the events as we saw them unfold. Cockburn adds, by the way, that it took him “just a single minute on Google to discover rioting and destruction from May 26 — the day before Umbrella Man supposedly kicked everything off.” Spectator USA has made Cockburn’s column freely accessible at our request.

Officer Christensen, perhaps coincidentally, is “a frequent letter-writer to the Star Tribune” and the Minneapolis police department’s “rare ‘out’ liberal,” as she described herself in this Star Tribune column last year. See Christensen’s letters to the editor here (May 8, 2017) and here (March 25, 2019).

And now something of interest for our friends south of the border

Sao Paulo Police Select the Steyr AUG SMG in .40 Caliber

Brazil’s Military Police of São Paulo State (PMESP) have selected the Steyr AUG in its submachine gun configuration to fulfil an order for 1,000 submachine guns. The Steyr AUG A3 in submachine gun configuration, feeding from a .40 caliber extended Glock magazines was the winning bidder for the contract. The Steyr beat out competition from B&T and Shield Arms. In the negotiation phase, Steyr offered the lowest final bid, $2,580 per weapon.

St. Louis prosecutor to detective on McCloskey case: ‘I suggest you quickly reassess this evidence’
Documents show lead detective initially refused to sign documents prosecutors wrote about the case

ST. LOUIS — The lead St. Louis police detective investigating the McCloskey case refused to sign at least two versions of court documents prosecutors drafted, according to a review of those documents obtained by 5 On Your Side.

In addition, police contend at least one person in the crowd was armed and another was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, after analyzing videos taken June 28, when the couple confronted protesters with guns………..

The documents obtained by 5 On Your Side include an email Gardner’s Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Hinckley sent to the lead investigator on the case, Sgt. Curtis Burgdorf. Hinckley emailed police the day before the McCloskeys were served with a search warrant, stating it needed to happen “now.”

“At this point, everything points to these weapons being real and loaded, but no one has asked or confirmed,” he wrote. “Come trial, they’ll say they were waiving around a BB gun and an air rifle.”

Hinckley also wrote to Burgdorf’s commander, Maj. Angela Coonce.

“Our office is receiving inquiries from the public and press about a warrant application and potential charges. We’ve thus far said the matter ‘remains under investigation.’ I’d really like to avoid pointing to a police follow-up request as the hold-up, but I won’t control the messaging if this goes on any longer. Please see what you can do to help this along. Again, I’m asking for priority on the firearms issue.”……….

Continue reading “”

Estimated Firearms Sales In July 2020 Increased Year-Over-Year By 134.6%

Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting’s Chief Economist Jurgen Brauer:
“The firearms market continues at its far accelerated pace. Our estimates suggest that the market for the first seven months of 2020 now has nearly matched that of the entire year of 2019.”

Approximate United States Firearms Sales (January 2000 to July 2020).

Notes: Apart from obvious seasonality effects during the year, three massive demand spikes occurred in December 2013, December 2016, and as from March 2020 during the covid-19 crisis. Likely handgun unit sales overtook likely long-gun unit sales as from the year 2014.

 

 

What you won’t see on the national news:
Standard operational criminal extortion, just like the mobsters and their ‘protection’ rackets, which is all BLM is, a bunch of marxists formed into a criminal mob.

Cuban community plans rally at NuLu restaurant in response to Black Lives Matter demands

Members of Louisville’s Cuban community plan to gather Sunday in support of a NuLu restaurant owner who says he was threatened by Black Lives Matter protesters during a recent demonstration.

Fernando Martinez, a partner of the Olé Restaurant Group, was one of dozens of business owners in the downtown Louisville district who recently received a letter from protesters laying out demands that aim to improve diversity in the area, which is known for its locally-owned shops and restaurants.

Martinez has publicly denounced the demands on Facebook, calling them “mafia tactics” used to intimidate business owners. And on Thursday, a small group of protesters confronted him outside his newest restaurant, La Bodeguita de Mima, on East Market Street.

“There comes a time in life that you have to make a stand and you have to really prove your convictions and what you believe in,” Martinez wrote in his Facebook post. “… All good people need to denounce this. How can you justified (sic) injustice with more injustice?”……..

The demands and an attached contract, which were created by local organizers and activists, ask NuLu business owners to:

Adequately represent the Black population of Louisville by having a minimum of 23% Black staff;
Purchase a minimum of 23% inventory from Black retailers or make a recurring monthly donation of 1.5% of net sales to a local Black nonprofit or organization;
Require diversity and inclusion training for all staff members on a bi-annual basis;
And display a visible sign that increases awareness and shows support for the reparations movement.

Presidential Message on National Shooting Sports Month 2020

During National Shooting Sports Month, we commemorate our Constitutional right to bear arms by celebrating America’s cherished past time of recreational and competitive shooting sports.

Our great Nation has a rich history of fostering responsible gun ownership.  In the early days of our Republic, turkey shoots encouraged community engagement and brought families closer together.  As our country grew, these local events developed into large regional and national events and competitions that drew thousands of spectators.  By the late 19th century, sharpshooters such as Pawnee Bill and Annie Oakley established popular shows with Wild West and other themes, touring the country with acts featuring their talent with firearms.  These pioneering American folk heroes demonstrated the courage, skill, and persistence necessary to excel in shooting sports and that reflect our founding values.  Today, we continue to promote interest in such social pastimes that celebrate our rich and unique history of shooting sports.

As we encourage our fellow Americans to take part in learning more about firearms this month, including safety and proper instruction, we also pledge to continue doing our part to ensure that our rights are never infringed upon.  Enshrined in the Bill of Rights, our Second Amendment protects the individual liberties of Americans to keep and bear arms.  Since my first day in office, I have made clear that my Administration will always protect and defend the Second Amendment.  We will continue to oppose those individuals and policies that attempt to tread on this essential and cherished liberty.

This National Shooting Sports Month, I ask those Americans who currently participate in shooting sports to share this cherished tradition with others.  Together, we can proudly ensure that the next generation knows how to safely and responsibly enjoy their Second Amendment freedoms.

Portland Recorded More Homicides In July Than Any Month Over Last 30 Years

Chicago homicides increase 50 percent in 2020, 139 percent in July alone

New York City has already had more shootings in 2020 than in the whole of 2019 — with another seven attacks on Sunday morning alone.

Meltdown: Minneapolis violence nearing annual records — in July.

Minneapolis police tell residents to obey criminals and ‘be prepared’ to be robbed. (this is not a satirical BabylonBee article!!)

Need I point out again which party is in control of these city’s administrations?

Okay. Can you say: demoncrap?

I thought you could.

The demoncraps have called every Republican President since Eisenhower  a racist, fascist & the next reincarnation of Hitler. And yet unlike people living in all of those regimes, Clyburn is perfectly free to express his “feelings” to a national news network – and nothing will happen to him.
And you’ll notice he doesn’t add in Mao, Stalin, or Castro – communists.
These people who corruptly use their freedoms for mere political power grabbing are the true enemies of America

“Jim Clyburn: I Feel Very Strongly that Trump Is Like ‘Mussolini, Putin, Hitler’”

CLYBURN: “What I said started about two and a half, maybe three years ago after one of his state of the unions. That I feel very strongly that this man has taken on a strong arm tactics and I feel very strongly that he is Mussolini Putin and Hitler. I said that back then and I believe that. I believe very strongly this guy never had an idea about being want to peacefully transfer power. I don’t think he plans to leave the White House. He doesn’t plan to have fair election. I believe that he plans to install himself in some kind of emergency way to continue hold on to office and that is why the American people had better wake up.”

Wilford Brimley, star of ‘The Natural,’ ‘Cocoon’ and Quaker Oats ads, dead at age 85

LOS ANGELES — Wilford Brimley, who worked his way up from stunt performer to star of film such as “Cocoon” and “The Natural,” has died. He was 85.

Brimley’s manager Lynda Bensky said the actor died Saturday morning in a Utah hospital. He was on dialysis and had several medical ailments, she said.

The mustached Brimley was a familiar face for a number of roles, often playing gruff characters like his grizzled baseball manager in “The Natural.”

Brimley’s best-known work was in “Cocoon,” in which he was part of a group of seniors who discover an alien pod that rejuvenates them. The 1985 Ron Howard film won two Oscars, including a supporting actor honor for Don Ameche.

This was sedition, supported by a corrupt press.
The question is; will America see justice done?

New Disclosures Confirm: Trump Himself Was the Target of Obama Administration’s Russia Probe

Long-sought documents finally pried from U.S. intelligence agencies prove that the Obama administration used the occasion of providing a standard intelligence briefing for major-party candidates as an opportunity to investigate Donald Trump on suspicion of being a Russian asset.

I say investigate Donald Trump advisedly.

As I contended in Ball of Collusion, my book on the Trump-Russia investigation, the target of the probe spearheaded by the FBI — but greenlighted by the Obama White House, and abetted by the Justice Department and U.S. intelligence agencies — was Donald Trump. Not the Trump campaign, not the Trump administration. Those were of interest only insofar as they were vehicles for Trump himself. The campaign, which the Bureau and its apologists risibly claim was the focus of the investigation, would have been of no interest to them were it not for Trump.

Or do you suppose they moved heaven and earth, surreptitiously plotted in the Oval Office, wrote CYA memos to cover their tracks, and laboriously sculpted FBI reports because they were hoping to nail . . . George Papadopoulos? Continue reading “”

Feast or Famine, it seems.

Brownsville Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder Climbing Through Her Window

Miami-Dade police are investigating a shooting that left one man dead early Friday morning. He was shot by a woman who says the man was climbing into her apartment through a window.

Wentzville man killed after stabbing driver in the neck in Lincoln County

ELSBERRY, Mo. (KMOV.com) — An investigation is underway after deputies said a man shot another person to death after being stabbed in the back of the neck in Lincoln County.

The sheriff’s office said three people were in a car driving along Highway W just west of Elsberry on July 28. Around 9 p.m. the car stopped and the two passengers got out.

Law enforcement said when the driver tried to get out of the car, one of the passengers allegedly stabbed the driver in the back of the neck. Deputies said the driver then grabbed a gun and fired one shot at the passenger who stabbed him.

The man who did the stabbing, who law enforcement later identified as 54-year-old Stephen Johnson, of Wentzville, died at the scene. The driver was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

The prosecuting attorney will review the case.

Security guard shoots, kills knife-wielding man in midtown Saturday

TUCSON, Ariz. — Police say a man is dead after he was fatally shot by the security guard of an apartment complex in midtown Tucson over the weekend.

According to the Tucson Police Department, it happened at a building on the 3800 block of Fort Lowell Road, between Dodge and Alvernon.

Officers arrived at the scene just before 9 p.m. There, they came to an apartment where they found 49-year-old David Reed, who had been shot. Officers rendered first aid to the man before Tucson Fire Department responders took over. They took Reed to the hospital, where he later died, Police said.

Police say they later learned an armed security guard hired by the apartment complex was conducting a check of the building when he heard noise inside a vacant apartment. He spoke to two people inside — Reed and a woman. As he was detaining the woman, police say Reed took out a knife and the guard shot him. The security guard also suffered minor injuries.

Detectives have not made an arrest in the case and are continuing their investigation.

Off-duty Troy cop fatally shoots man to stop stabbing, victim in critical condition

TROY NY (WRGB) – An off-duty Troy police officer jumped into action Thursday night, attempting to stop a stabbing in process, according to Troy PD’s Deputy Chief Dan DeWolf.

According to police, the officer was off-duty Thursday night at his home on 17th Street in Troy, when he heard a domestic incident upstairs. He went to investigate, and discovered a 26-year-old man in the process of stabbing a 25-year-old woman.

Police say the officer repeatedly told the man to back off, before eventually firing a shotgun, stopping the stabbing.

Police say multiple people called 911 for reports of the stabbing.