Creeps Embrace a New Tool: Peeping Drones

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750x-1By Michael B. Marois. It was the blinking lights outside the 10th-story window of her San Jose, California, condo that startled Elsvette Buenaventura from her bed last year. When she drew back the curtain, a small drone hovered a few feet away. In the days that followed, it returned at least three more times.

Such stories have prompted lawmakers in a half-dozen U.S. states to outlaw the use of drones to snoop on people’s homes. More states are set to follow.

“We don’t know what he was looking for with his camera-drone,” said Buenaventura, 32. “All we felt was a violation of our privacy.”

For less than $1,000, small, remotely operated aircraft are increasingly available on the Internet and at hobby stores, and some can be equipped with equally affordable high-definition cameras. At the same time, some of America’s biggest companies — names like Chevron Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. — are pushing to use drones for everything from pipeline inspection to land surveys. Their use has pushed lawmakers to weigh the rights of drone pilots against the potential for nefarious intrusions.

Camera-equipped drones have commercial uses — they can inspect crops, photograph real estate and survey land. As the government figures out how to regulate that activity, it has begun rapidly granting waivers from federal rules to drones-for-hire. Scores of companies have obtained permission to fly them. (Read more from “Creeps Embrace a New Tool: Peeping Drones” HERE)

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Airplane Pilots Reporting Increase in Drone Encounters in the Sky

By CBS Denver. The Federal Aviation Administration bans the commercial use of drones but the high-flying devices are so popular with hobbyists, they are becoming a threat to airplanes.

Reports obtained by CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger found nearly 200 FAA reports of drone interference with planes and helicopters. The reports come from across the country.

There are also highly publicized incursions, such as the drone landing on the White House lawn and one flying over an appearance by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

And YouTube is filled with videos of drones crashing into everything from power lines to smokestacks and skyscrapers.

Companies that sell drones in Colorado are now trying to prevent problems. Josh Gilson is a co-owner of “Multicopter Warehouse” in Castle Rock, a store that offers free classes for drone users. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Geert Wilders: I Won’t Stop Warning the West About Islam

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Photo Credit: Right Side News

Photo Credit: Right Side News

By Matthew Vadum. After two Muslim lawmakers tried to block world-renowned activist Geert Wilders from entering the country, he defiantly vowed his Geert Wilders warnings about the existential threat Islam poses to Western civilization would never cease.

“I know one thing,” Wilders told the audience April 29 at a Capitol Hill reception co-sponsored by Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).

“They are very ineffective because I’m here,” he said to laughter and applause.

“It’s really risky to tell the truth about Islam,” said Wilders who has had round-the-clock bodyguards protecting him for more than a decade.

A frightening reminder of just how risky telling the truth about Islam can be was delivered Sunday to Wilders and 300 attendees at an art competition featuring works depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. (Read more from “Geert Wilders: I Won’t Stop Warning the West About Islam” HERE)


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The Hidden Agenda of Islam Immigration to America

By Fortress of Faith. Today we are going to talk about the hidden agenda in high places, including the White House, in our government, and in the United Nations, of bringing in Islamic refugees into our country. This agenda is being hidden from the local governments. Large groups of refugees are being dumped into various communities without sufficient notification ore input from those communities.

Shahram has been dealing with this in Idaho. There have been protests and the necessity of police intervention. The media has been at these events and does not seem interested in digging into the situation to find out what is causing the problem. There are plans to dump refugees in Idaho without consulting with local officials. In the Boise area alone there are plans to dump some 2,000 refugees.

We had a guest, Leo Hohmann, one of the editors of World News Daily, who has recently published some articles on how some cities are being secretly targeted for the dumping of refugees. Some in Congress are demanding to know why there is such an influx of Syrian refugees. Obama is demanding that we should welcome all refugees and illegal immigrants into our society.

Where can we be informed about who is coming, how many are coming, and where are they being dumped? Local officials need to have answers to these things.

We believe that the Obama administration is actually planing to build communities within communities so that the new immigrants can take over the existing communities. An example of where this has already happened is Dearborn, MI. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Louie Gohmert: “Appalled that Jade Helm hostile areas have Republican Majority”

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Photo Credit: National Journal

Photo Credit: National Journal

By Matt Berman. U.S. Special Operations Command is preparing to launch a five-month, multi-state exercise across private and public land to prepare Army special forces for threats anywhere in the world. Or at least that’s what the Pentagon would want you to believe. Officials and citizens in Texas, one of the states involved, see something potentially more nefarious in the exercise, dubbed Jade Helm 15. And now Rep. Louie Gohmert is joining them.

“Over the past few weeks, my office has been inundated with calls referring to the Jade Helm 15 military exercise scheduled to take place between July 15 and September 15, 2015,” Gohmert said in a Tuesday statement. “This military practice has some concerned that the U.S. Army is preparing for modern-day martial law. Certainly, I can understand these concerns.”

“When leaders within the current administration believe that major threats to the country include those who support the Constitution, are military veterans, or even ‘cling to guns or religion,’ patriotic Americans have reason to be concerned,” Gohmert wrote.

The congressman took particular issue with the layout and labels of the Pentagon map for the exercise. “Once I observed the map depicting ‘hostile,’ ‘permissive,’ and ‘uncertain’ states and locations, I was rather appalled that the hostile areas amazingly have a Republican majority, ‘cling to their guns and religion,’ and believe in the sanctity of the United States Constitution.” Gohmert called on the Pentagon to change the map, the names on the map, and said “the tone of the exercise needs to be completely revamped so the federal government is not intentionally practicing war against its own states.” (Read more from “Louie Gohmert: Appalled that Jade Helm Hostile Areas Have GOP Majority” HERE)

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Pentagon: Texas Has Nothing to Fear From Upcoming Military Exercise

By James Rosen. The Pentagon has a message for Texas: chill.

Defense officials Monday dismissed as “wild speculation” an Internet-fueled claim that a massive summertime exercise called Jade Helm 15 for special operations commandos is a covert operation by President Barack Obama to take over Texas.

That claim was given legitimacy by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott’s order last week for the Texas State Guard to monitor the exercises.

“Operation Jade Helm poses no threat to any American’s civil liberties,” Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday. “Operation Jade Helm is being conducted by Americans – by, specifically, American special forces personnel.”

Jade Helm 15 will be one of the biggest peacetime military exercises in six decades. Starting July 15 and lasting two months, thousands of Army Rangers, Green Berets, Navy SEALS and other special operations forces will simulate war missions in mainly remote areas of Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. (Read more from this story HERE)

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CDC: Hispanics to Reach 23% of U.S. Population by 2035, Faster Than Expected [+video]

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Photo Credit: Washington Examiner

Photo Credit: Washington Examiner

By Paul Bedard. America’s Hispanic population is projected to soar in the coming two decades to 85,543,000, faster than some have expected, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on Latinos.

CDC on Tuesday said the Hispanic population will total 22.8 percent of the U.S. population by 2035.

Others like the Brookings Institution predicted the Hispanic population would be a slightly higher 25.1 percent of the U.S. population but a whole decade later, in 2044. It is currently 17.7 percent of the U.S. population, at 56,754,000, said CDC.

The report studied the health and causes of death of the American Hispanic population and found that despite more living in poverty than whites, Hispanics live an average of two years longer than whites. (Read more from “CDC: Hispanics to Reach 23% of U.S. Population by 2035, Faster Than Expected” HERE)


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Spanish-Language Spelling Bees Taking off in the U.S.

By Soni Sangha. How do you spell success? At the mini-national spelling bee in Foxboro, Massachusetts, students spelled it en Español.

A growing number of schools, like the Foxborough Regional Charter School, are holding Spanish spelling bees, where students compete in much the same way as a traditional bee but they spell Spanish words (which can be translated for them into English if they need clarification) using the alphabet in Spanish, denoting a y as “y griega” or a v as “b corta,” for example.

“I believe you will be seeing more of these,” said David Briseño, executive director of the New Mexico Association for Bilingual Educators.

The association launched New Mexico’s state Spanish spelling bee in 1994. The spelling bee became so popular that the association began including other states into its fold. About eight states are participating in the regional contest and more are expected to be added. (Read more from this story HERE)

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New GPS Technology That Identifies Locations Within Centimetres Could Open Way for Advances in Virtual Reality

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Photo Credit: The Independent

Photo Credit: The Independent

New GPS technology that can identify locations accurate to within centimetres could open the way for huge advances in virtual reality and mobile mapping, scientists believe.

Researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas said the centimetre-accurate GPS-based positioning system could allow unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver packages to a specific spot on a consumer’s back porch.

The new system, which is far more precise than the orientation capability currently available on smartphones, could also enable collision avoidance technologies on cars and allow virtual reality (VR) headsets to be used outdoors.

Researchers said the advanced GPS coupled with a smartphone camera could be used to quickly build a globally referenced 3-D map of one’s surroundings that would greatly expand the radius of a VR game. Currently, VR does not use GPS, which limits its use to indoors and usually a two-to three-foot radius.

Todd Humphreys, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and lead researcher, said: “Imagine games where, rather than sit in front of a monitor and play, you are in your backyard actually running around with other players. To be able to do this type of outdoor, multiplayer virtual reality game, you need highly accurate position and orientation that is tied to a global reference frame.” (Read more from “New GPS Technology That Identifies Locations Within Centimetres Could Open Way for Advances in Virtual Reality” HERE)

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Here’s a State That Is Trying to Block Federal Gun Control

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Photo Credit: Scott Olson / Getty

Photo Credit: Scott Olson / Getty

On Thursday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill to prohibit the state from implementing or enforcing federal gun “laws,” rules, regulations and orders that are contrary to the Tennessee state constitution. It passed 74-20 in the House, and 29-1 in the Senate.

Introduced by Sen. Richard Briggs, Senate Bill 1110 (SB1110) will ban Tennessee state or local public funds, personnel or property from being used for the “implementation, regulation, or enforcement of any federal law, executive order, rule or regulation regulating the ownership, use, or possession of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories” if such use “would result in the violation of Tennessee statutory or common law or the Constitution of Tennessee.”

Originally introduced in the House as HB1341 by Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, the bill represents and important first step to ending federal gun control in the state.

“I’m from the cut that there is no need for Washington D.C. to be the end all and be all with regards to the regulatory world,” said Weaver. “We should respect our 10th Amendment and shift the power back to the states and that’s what House Bill 1341 does.” (Read more from “Here’s a State That Is Trying to Block Federal Gun Control” HERE)

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“Should We Get Rid of All the Jews?”: Megyn Kelly Accuses Bill O’Reilly Of “Catering to the Jihadis”

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Photo Credit: Salon

Photo Credit: Salon

On “The O’Reilly Factor” last night, Megyn Kelly shamed host Bill O’Reilly for daring to criticize Pam Geller’s absolutist version of free speech, saying that he was “catering to the jihadis.”

The pair were discussing the shooting of two Islamic extremists in Garland, Texas, on Sunday when O’Reilly echoed Donald Trump and claimed that Geller and the American Freedom Defense Initiative “provoked” the attempted attack.

Geller and the AFDI — an organization that has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) — were “trying to make a point about the First Amendment and free speech,” Kelly said, by hosting their “Draw the Prophet” contest at the same facility that had hosted a seminar on Islamophobia in January.

“So they wanted to defy the fear the jihadists have imposed on the world?” O’Reilly asked.

“On the free speech principle — on the First Amendment principle — she’s 100 percent correct,” Kelly responded. She claimed that the First Amendment was designed to defend “the most outrageous, offensive, incendiary speech — speech at the fringes, debate at the edges, things that make people upset.” (Read more from “Should We Get Rid of All the Jews?”: Megyn Kelly Accuses Bill O’Reilly Of “Catering to the Jihadis” HERE)

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Public School to Reward Students With Trip to Christian Ministry

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victoryministrysportscomplex_featuredThe North Middle School in Joplin, Missouri, is taking eighth-grade students to a Christian ministry on May 7.

The Friendly Atheist notes that the trip is a reward for the students who have been preparing for the Missouri Assessment Program tests.

The permission/liability form for parents lists the destination on the cover page as the “Victory Sports Complex,” but the Friendly Atheist notes it’s actually called the Victory Ministry & Sports Complex . . .

The Friendly Atheist notes that the permission/liability form states in the fine print:

“We (I) understand that the officers, officials, agents, other participants and employees of Victory Ministry and Sports Complex may be inviting me or (my) our students to Bible studies and local churches of the Christian faith. While at any Victory Ministry and Sports Complex location or event (my) our student(s) has permission to participate in worship services, Bible studies or any other activities that may pertain to the Christian faith.” (Read more from “Public School to Reward Students With Trip to Christian Ministry” HERE)

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Waiter’s Anti-Military Rant Sparks Outrage

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635664376260227640-ARM-Ruby-TuesdayA Ruby Tuesday’s server in Hawaii profanely lashed out at the entire military over an alleged stingy tip from a service member over the weekend, and the Facebook post created an Internet uproar.

In the heavily-circulated outburst, waiter Matt Heflin started off: “Next time some military piece of s— leaves me a quarter on $60 tab I’m going to jail! F— all those dumb uneducated motherf—ers. And f— you uncle sam.” His message also included “F— THE MILITARY” in call caps.

The brief soliloquy shared by Facebook page “U.S. Army W.T.F! moments,” among others, pushed Rick Nakashima, a co-owner of multiple Ruby Tuesdays in Hawaii, into damage-control mode. Nakashima told Army Times that “this is not us, this is not how we think” as he separated “one apple” from his more than 500 employees. He expressed appreciation for everything the military does . . .

Nakashima, after learning of the incident, wrote an apology on the Ruby Tuesday Hawaii Facebook page on Sunday:

“I am a partner in Ruby Tuesday Hawaii and have just been notified of one of my employees [sic] negative comments towards a Military guest. PLEASE accept my sincere apology and know that we appreciate all you do for us and your patronage. My father was a Captain in the USAF and I have the utmost respect for the Armed Forces. We will take immediate action on this employee. Thank You for your understanding.” (Read more from “Waiter’s Anti-Military Rant Sparks Outrage” HERE)

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What We Lose With Only Two Children per Family

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Ellen_H._Swallow_Richards_House_Boston_MA_01A mainland Chinese student visited my office last week, asking for a letter of recommendation for his transfer to another university. It is hard to lose a student like this—enthusiastic and bright, the sort who sits on the front row of a large auditorium lecture class and asks good questions.

He gave the usual reasons for wanting to transfer: he liked Pepperdine, of course, but it did not offer the technically specialized majors he or his parents were seeking. When asked where he was applying, he listed some elite East-Coast schools, but he seemed most interested in two Hong Kong universities. When asked why, he mentioned a girlfriend, but emphasized that he had a cousin back in China to whom he was extremely close: “He is like a brother to me.”

Since our conversation I keep returning in my thoughts to this student’s strong tie to his cousin. It is not unusual for cousins to be very close, of course, but that is not what is so striking in this case. I have been privileged to know many mainland Chinese students over the last two decades at Pepperdine, but none has ever mentioned so much as a brother or a sister, much less a cousin. On one side of this student’s family, his grandparents brought two children into the world in the teeth of a one-child policy backed by a totalitarian state.

I don’t know any details of how they managed it—through connections, wealth, or endurance amid persecution—only that they did. In bearing the cost, they realized a gift for themselves, and perhaps were aware that they were giving each of their children the gift of a sibling. I wonder if they realized what a gift they were giving to their grandson: a cousin who was “like a brother” to someone who had no brother or sister . . .

China’s one-child policy has stripped the social space between the state and the individual of every protection that the most natural community, the family, can provide. How much more damaging must be the collapse of family size in Chinese culture, in which family ties have played such an important role? I know I’m not saying anything new (see Nick Eberstadt on the economic effects of the policy), but we cannot remind ourselves too often of what is lost as family sizes have collapsed (through state coercion or, more sadly, voluntarily). (Read more from “What We Lose With Only Two Children per Family” HERE)

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