Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

House Bill Would Ban Federal Use of Flock ALPR Data

A new US bill, Ban Flock Act, has been introduced, with the aim of stopping the federal government from using automated license plate readers (ALPRs).

“Flock is eviscerating the very notion of privacy by installing tens of thousands of cameras in communities across America without their consent,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, who is planning a Senate version.

“Going to the doctor? Flock knows. Dropping your kid off at school? Flock is tracking you. Flock is always watching,” he continued.

According to the text of the House bill, H.R. 10691, federal agencies and officials are to be banned from acquiring, possessing, accessing or using ALPRs, or data collected by these devices, without an Act of Congress that explicitly authorizes it.

This would include data collected by private security networks, homeowners’ associations, commercial parking operators, and data brokers.

Any such authorization must set data retention at no more than 48 hours, and “rigorous protections for due process, privacy, free speech and association.”

State and local governments that have ALPRs would not be eligible for grants from the Justice, Transportation, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Homeland Security departments.

The bill, whose sponsors in the House are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and in the Senate Jeff Merkley, also seeks to make sure that no federal money is used to buy, lease, or operate ALPRs, while evidence obtained in violation of the proposed legislation would be inadmissible in federal court.

Individuals would be able to sue for actual and punitive damages, while state attorneys general would be able to sue to enforce the ban.

Toll systems would be exempt from the ban, but the data collected would have to be deleted within 48 hours of payment, and could not be checked against a law enforcement hot list.

“AI-powered cameras are keeping track of our every move and weaponizing this data against working people to make record profits,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Merkley noted that the right to privacy includes the freedom to move around the community without every move being monitored.

The Ban Flock Act is not the first attempt of its kind – in early September, Republicans Thomas Massie and Eric Burlison introduced the Flock-Off Act, H.R. 10221, that also seeks to cut federal funding to state and local governments that use ALPRs, as well as biometric surveillance cameras.

In August, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered Flock cameras to be removed from state highways within 30 days, a year after the state approved $4.6 million for 440 of these devices.

Earlier in the summer, Senator Josh Hawley launched an investigation into Flock, and later expanded it to include Axon, Motorola Solutions, and Verkada.

Keep reading

NATO chief says ‘almost sure’ is enough to blame Russia

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has urged member states to blame any incident they find suspicious on Russia even if they lack irrefutable evidence. He also hailed a recent accusation made by Estonia against its eastern neighbor and called on other nations to follow suit.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius this week, Rutte encouraged a public blame game over what he called “malign grey zone activities” routinely attributed to Russia by NATO members.

“You have heard the Supreme Allied Commander yesterday saying, ‘Hey, when able, when you are sure it is the Russians, or almost sure it is the Russians, attribute it to the Russians’ – exactly like Estonia did today. I applaud it,” Rutte said.

Keep reading

Crooked, Partisan Former Special Counsel Jack Smith Spotted Wearing ‘No Kings’ Shirt at Anti-Trump Festival as Foo Fighters Dedicate Song to Him

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith turned up at a left-wing political music festival Saturday wearing a “No Kings” shirt.

Smith attended the “Power to the People” festival in Columbia, Maryland, which featured performances from Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters and other anti-Trump activists.

Photos from the event showed Smith wearing a shirt emblazoned with “Bruce Springsteen & E Street Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour No Kings.”

Foo Fighters frontman David Grohl even gave the former prosecutor his own rock-star treatment from the stage.

“This one goes out to my new friend Jack,” Grohl said before the band launched into its hit song “My Hero.”

Smith was appointed special counsel by the Biden Justice Department in 2022 and subsequently brought two federal criminal cases against Trump around the January 6th protests with a view to derailing his presidential campaign.

Both cases were ultimately abandoned after Trump defeated Kamala Harris.

Smith’s festival appearance came just days after he perjured himself while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his investigations into Trump.

Keep reading

British Government Caught Handing Out Thousands of Hijabs to Illegal Boat Migrants

The British government has handed out more than 1,000 taxpayer-funded hijabs to migrants arriving illegally across the English Channel.

According to internal Home Office figures reported by The Daily Mail, officials distributed 974 of the Islamic head coverings to small-boat migrants, an average of 162 every month between January and June.

At that rate, the total handed out at taxpayer expense is likely in the thousands

“The Government must stop handing out hijabs to illegal immigrants immediately,” Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said.

“It’s an insult to hard-working British taxpayers that they’re funding religious items for people who have broken into our country. It should not be for us to fund someone else’s religious practices.”

Many are also wondering why British taxpayers are paying to promote a symbol of female subservience.

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott recently came out against hijabs forming part of school uniforms.

“I do not believe the state should be party to an instrument of female suppression,” she said.

The taxpayer-funded clothing is being distributed as Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government refuses to stop the boats despite promises to do so.

More than 19,000 migrants have made the journey so far this year, with hundreds, if not thousands, more arriving every week.

Although overall crossings are down from 2025, boats have become increasingly crowded, carrying an average of 67 people per vessel.

The Home Office defended the practice by claiming it has obligations to provide appropriate basic clothing to migrants in short-term holding facilities.

“All arrivals receive a basic dry clothing pack where required,” a spokesman said. “The items available form part of standard welfare arrangements.”

Keep reading

Dem Sen. Mark Kelly Says His Solution to Cost of Living Crisis is Raising Taxes

Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly said Sunday that Democrats plan to lower costs for Americans in part by raising taxes on people earning more than $1 million a year.

Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, the Arizona senator was pressed by host Margaret Brennan to explain his party’s plan for tackling the cost of living.

“Well, we’re going to lower costs for the American people,” Kelly said.

“How?” Brennan asked.

Kelly responded by pointing to legislation he introduced with Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

“We’ve got to win the House and, or the Senate. Well- well, how will we do this? I have legislation with Chris Van Hollen. We’ve got to get Republicans on board.”

”It raises taxes for people who make over a million dollars a year in income, and it provides tax cuts for people, individuals, and even couples who make up to about $160,000 a year, that’s some relief.”

Keep reading

U.S. Marine Arrested in Okinawa on Suspicion of Robbing and Murdering 39-Year-Old Japanese Woman — Japan Lodges “Strong Protest” with United States

A 20-year-old U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa has been arrested by Japanese authorities on suspicion of robbing and murdering a 39-year-old woman inside a hotel in Naha, triggering a formal protest from the Japanese government.

Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was taken into custody early Sunday in connection with the death of Anna Yagi, 39, a resident of Naha.

According to Stars and Stripes, Okinawa Prefectural Police allege that Ballard killed Yagi at the Naminoue Crystal Hotel in Naha’s Wakasa district sometime between approximately 2:10 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. Saturday. Police also accuse him of stealing her wallet and another personal item.

Police say surveillance footage showed Yagi entering the hotel with a man before the man later left alone carrying her belongings.

When Yagi failed to leave by checkout time, a hotel employee entered the room and discovered her unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities later located Ballard walking alone in an entertainment district and detained him before formally arresting him on suspicion of robbery and murder. Ballard has denied the allegations.

The precise cause and circumstances of Yagi’s death have not yet been publicly disclosed, and investigators are still working to determine the relationship, if any, between Yagi and Ballard.

Keep reading

Department of Energy employee arrested for allegedly trying to provide material support to Houthis

Federal authorities arrested a Department of Energy employee Thursday in Washington state for allegedly trying to provide material support to the foreign terrorist organization, the Houthis.

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy has been charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to the Houthis after he allegedly purchased precursor chemicals for homemade explosive devices and provided guidance to an undercover FBI source.

Court records alleged Ellaboudy traveled to Oman in 2024, before crossing the border into Houthi-occupied Yemen. He allegedly told U.S. officials upon his return that he traveled to the Middle East on official government business, but Ellaboudy’s supervisor said he did not have authorized official government travel to that region. 

“A U.S. government employee traveled overseas and used his specialized expertise in an attempt to aid the Houthis, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization backed by Iran,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said. 

“Additionally, Ellaboudy acquired materials for the construction of explosive material and drones capable of delivering these explosives,” he continued. “These allegations are so deeply disturbing that they almost defy imagination.”

The Justice Department claimed that an investigation found Ellaboudy communicated with an FBI confidential human source who claimed to work for a Houthi “Colonel” to acquire communications equipment that would be sent to Yemen for use in a mobile communications center. 

Ellaboudy provided expert advice and assistance to the individual, based upon his background in electrical engineering, by helping them test and modify solar power generators and communication equipment.

He also provided guidance on how the power and communication systems integrated, provided schematics and diagrams for the proper setup of the systems and provided information on other equipment that could enhance the communication equipment of the Houthis.

Ellaboudy has not entered a plea yet and is expected to appear before a federal magistrate judge on Friday. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Keep reading

Egypt Arrests, Disappears Entire Newsroom Over ‘Fake News’ Allegations

Egyptian authorities have detained the entire newsroom of one of the country’s only independent media outlets in a move that rights groups have denounced as a “first” and an “alarming escalation” on free speech.

On September 28 and 29, security forces raided the homes of the six journalists – Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Abdallah Qadry, Islam Barakat, Omar Helal, Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel – who constitute the entire team working for Matsada2sh (Arabic for “Don’t believe”). The arrests bring the number of journalists detained in Egypt to 24.

“It is a first in Egypt: an entire newsroom behind bars,” press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said, criticising the authorities for failing to reveal the journalists’ whereabouts.

“It’s a violation of the Egyptian Constitution, even though this is common practice. Journalists detained in Egypt are often forcibly disappeared for several days before being officially charged and brought before a court,” the group added.

According to multiple accounts by rights groups, the officers confiscated the phones and laptops belonging to the journalists as well as those of their family members during the raids. They also did not present any arrest warrants and refused to disclose where the journalists would be held.

The interior ministry later published a statement confirming the arrests and accusing the journalists of running an unlicensed platform that is “run from abroad” and of spreading “fake news”.

It also accused its journalists of being affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition group that has been outlawed under the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi since 2014.

One of the platform’s editors was previously detained in 2023 over similar allegations but was released two days later.

Matsada2sh was founded in 2018 as a fact-checking outlet that corrects misleading or inaccurate information by various sources, including those by official government sources or opposition media.

“Independent journalism is critical in any free society and Egyptian authorities’ failure to allow free exercises of expression to thrive flies in the face of a purported commitment to dialogue, transparency, anti-corruption, and regional leadership,” more than 80 rights groups and independent media outlets said in a statement.

“The crackdown on the Matsada2sh platform and these arrests are alarming escalations on independent media and freedom of expression that cannot be allowed to stand.”

One of the founders of Matsada2sh, Abdelrahman Mansour, who is not based in Egypt, told the Associated Press on Thursday that the families do not know where the journalists are.

“Everyone on this team knew the risks when they went to work every day, but it’s unacceptable for the government to make false accusations and forcibly disappear journalists just because they’re afraid of a free press,” AP quoted Mansour as saying. “Their families are worried, we’re worried, we just want them released unharmed.”

Keep reading

We Cannot Trust the CDC Estimates of Flu Vaccine Effectiveness

Each year the CDC publishes an estimate of the effectiveness of the flu vaccine in the previous flu season. Recently, the NIH director criticized the test-negative design from which the estimates are derived. He was right. The basic premise of the design is a two-edged sword: on the one hand, restricting the sample to people who sought medical care might reduce confounding by healthcare-seeking behavior; on the other hand, that restriction might add another type of bias — colliding bias — which is not as widely appreciated. The net bias remains unknown.

This, however, is not the only shortcoming of test-negative case-control studies of the flu vaccine. In this post, I will expose the shaky results of a large study of the flu vaccine in 2022–2023, when the vaccine was well-matched to the dominant strain. The study was based on the VISION Vaccine Effectiveness Network, one of several networks that collaborate with the CDC. Below are the published results.

Given a changing risk of infection, a valid comparison of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated requires similar distributions of the two populations over time. This is not the case because vaccination is associated with calendar time (rollout).

[The authors show the vaccination status at the time of seeking care, but most people got vaccinated by the end of December, and the percentage of vaccinated people stabilized in January at about 45% of the encounters.]

As shown below (Table), the share of the vaccinated population in October through December (47%), a period of high background risk, was lower than the comparable share in the unvaccinated population (61%). Of course, the complementary shares in January through March, a period of low risk, were reversed: 53% versus 39%.

Keep reading