Tag: surveillance

Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway Launches Lawsuit Against Baby Monitors and Home Cameras Company ‘Lorex’ Over Concealed CCP and Chinese Military Ties

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is taking aim at a major surveillance technology company over what she says are hidden ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese military.

Hanaway announced legal action against Lorex, a popular manufacturer of baby monitors, home security cameras, and surveillance systems sold by major American retailers including Costco, Best Buy, and Amazon.

“Families and retailers like Costco, Best Buy, and Amazon are being lied to,” Hanaway wrote. “Lorex, a leading manufacturer of baby monitors and home cameras, is concealing material ties to the CCP and Chinese military. We’re taking them to court.”

The company’s products have maintained deep ties to Dahua, its former owner and ongoing supplier of critical components, even after Dahua was designated a Chinese Military Company that poses a direct threat to U.S. national security. Researchers found Lorex firmware routing straight back to Dahua servers, giving the Chinese Communist Party potential real-time access to the most intimate moments inside American homes.

These are the cameras watching babies breathe in their cribs. Recording children’s voices. Capturing family life in bedrooms and living rooms across Missouri and the country. Sold at Costco, Best Buy, Amazon, Staples, Menards, Micro Center, Office Depot, and directly through Lorex’s own site.

“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world,” Attorney General Hanaway said in a statement. “Missouri will not allow the CCP to put its hand on our cradles. Parents place these cameras over cribs and in bedrooms to protect their children, not to invite a foreign adversary into their homes.”

“Lorex tells families its video cameras are ‘private by design’ while concealing ties to a Chinese military company,” she continued. “These cameras watch our babies breathe, capture our children’s voices, and record families’ most intimate moments. When companies won’t tell the truth about their connection to hostile foreign governments, my office will step in to protect families.”

The lawsuit, brought under Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act, seeks up to $1,000 in restitution for every Missouri consumer who purchased a Lorex camera in the last five years, plus more than $1.8 million in damages and a court order barring the company from continuing its deceptive practices.

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A Nation of Suspects

Some of the recent legal challenges to the use of surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security upon Americans have resulted in the revelation of truly terrifying behavior by the government, in direct defiance of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. We now know that the federal government spies on innocent Americans without suspicion and without warrants.

The spying seems to fall into several categories. The National Security Agency, which is in the Department of Defense, employs about 60,000 domestic spies. These are the folks who want us to believe that they go through the trouble of making applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for warrants to spy on foreigners.

Actually, from time to time they do go to this court, but their travels there — where judges are frisked upon entering and leaving the courthouse by the NSA agents who appear before them — serve as fig leaves for their massive warrantless spying on Americans. The FISA Court is unconstitutional because it issues warrants based on probable cause of communicating with a foreign person, rather than on probable cause of crime as the Fourth Amendment requires.

The courts have ruled consistently since the 1960s that spying — surveillance, as the feds call it — is a search, and the capture of data from a surveillance is a seizure.

The Fourth Amendment protects all persons in America — not just Americans — from warrantless searches and seizures of their “persons, houses, papers, and effects.” There are some well-recognized exceptions to this constitutional baseline, such as evidence that will quickly vanish or be seriously degraded, but those exceptions do not apply here as the NSA captures in real time all keystrokes on all digital devices and all fiber optic data transmitted into, out of and within the United States.

The judges of the FISA Court surely know that the Department of Justice lawyers and NSA agents who appear before them are going through a charade, and the court has been made a part of it. The charade is the pretense that all spying is done pursuant to the warrants that FISA Court judges issue. Former NSA agents have revealed publicly that this is hardly the case.

Nevertheless, the lowered standard from probable cause of crime to probable cause of communicating to a foreign person was crafted by Congress — in another of its many moments heedless of the Constitution. After a few years of this, the FISA Court began to issue warrants for spying on the Americans who communicate with foreigners, out to the sixth degree. A sixth grader can do the math, as this leads to hundreds of millions of Americans whose communications are captured.

A second category of spying is employed by the DHS. The DHS — now a 250,000-person strong federal police department nowhere countenanced by the Constitution — has sophisticated software that can read fingerprints at 15 feet and irises at 15 inches. So, if you wave goodbye or good riddance to an ICE agent, and he holds up his mobile phone, and you are in the federal system for any benign reason, he has captured your bank, health, legal and commercial records on the spot. If he talks to you in your car and is within 15 inches of your face, he can capture the same data.

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WHAT? China Demands Foreign Intelligence Services Stop Using ‘Spy Turtles’ To Scan Its Waters

The assets from the animal kingdom.

After India complained of the Mumbai ‘Chinese spy pigeon’ and the Ukrainians warned of the ‘Russian spy beluga whale’, the allegations of utilizing animals for information gathering see a new chapter.

China has warned against foreign governments using sensor-fitted fish and turtles to spy on its waters.

The Telegraph reported:

“In a post on social media, Beijing’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) claimed that ‘foreign intelligence services are continuously collecting and stealing sensitive marine data’.

Among the different types of espionage equipment allegedly in use, the agency claimed that fish and turtles had been fitted with sensors and were found to be collecting data such as ‘water temperature, salinity and ocean currents’, which were then transmitted via satellite in real time.”

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Under Pressure, Michigan Makes It Easier to Opt Out of Vaccine Tracking

Michigan health freedom and privacy advocates scored a win this month when the state’s health department stopped using a vaccine information handout that failed to explain to parents how they can opt out of the state’s vaccine tracking program, and didn’t include an opt-out form.

It’s the latest development in health freedom and privacy advocates’ efforts to get the state health department to stop adding a thick layer of bureaucratic red tape — which isn’t even required under state law — that makes it difficult for families to opt out of vaccines and vaccination tracking.

“While this is definitely a win, there is still a long way to go,” said journalist and Michigan resident Jeremy R. Hammond, who has a 13-year-old unvaccinated son.

Until now, the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) largely avoided telling parents what the tracking system is and how they can opt out of it, Hammond said.

This matters because the state’s vaccination tracking system, Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR), causes “pressure and coercion” for families who prefer not to vaccinate, according to Dr. Remington Nevin, medical director for the St. Clair County Health Department in rural eastern Michigan.

Dubbed “Michigan’s ‘RFK Jr.’” by Bridge Michigan, Nevin is an epidemiologist with multiple degrees from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a former U.S. Army major and preventive medicine officer.

Nevin spoke with The Defender about why it’s crucial for parents to be able to opt out of MCIR — and how he submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that likely led the state health department to stop using the old form and start making it easier for parents to opt out.

State health department violated Michigan law

The MCIR system sends reminders to medical staff to encourage them to keep their pediatric patients up to date with the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American Academy of Family Physicians childhood vaccine schedule.

When a child visits a clinic, front desk staff and nurses may tell parents their child is due for a particular vaccine, even though “the parent and the child’s physician may have decided together through shared clinical decision-making to not give that shot until later on in the child’s life,” Nevin said.

Michigan law requires the state health department to give parents a form — before vaccinating a child — notifying parents that they can object to having their child automatically enrolled in MCIR.

But for years, MDHHS failed to give parents any such form.

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Angry Pentagon Sources Leak Report Of Israel’s ‘Unhinged’ Spying On US Officials

It’s no secret that Israeli spying and surveillance is pervasive, and it is often even directed at its most powerful ally and backer, the United States. But the phenomenon has escalated of late, outraging Washington intelligence officials.

Behind the scenes of this alliance which mainstream media and pundits typically project as essentially untouchable, deep-seated friction is boiling over. In an unprecedented move, the Pentagon has officially elevated Israel’s counterintelligence threat level to its highest possible category, driven by surging internal alarm that this primary Mideast regional ally is aggressively ramping up espionage operations targeting senior US officials – even Trump’s own top Iran negotiator.

The intelligence warning, freshly reported this weekend by NBC News and The New York Times, highlights a profound rift within the national security apparatus as tensions mount between the Trump administration and Israel over the ongoing joint war on Iran.

The revelation’s timing is interesting, given it comes after Axios reported at the start of this month that on a phone call President Trump ‘steamrolled’ Prime Minister Netanyahu. Trump is said to have been “pissed” and at one point yelled and berated Netanyahu, saying “What the fuck are you doing?”

And now, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is broadcasting an internal alert raising Israel’s specific threat designation to “critical”. According to details revealed in a Sunday NBC report:

The designation stems from concerns within the Pentagon that Israel is making a particular effort to surveil top U.S. officials to get information on the Trump administration’s internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East, the officials said.

The DIA assessment includes a seven-page document and features a chart, according to one of the current U.S. officials. The document says the assessment of Israel is that its ability to conduct human espionage and technical collection is at a “critical level,” according to the official.

And parallel to this, a report by the NY Times lists out names that are very high level within the Trump administration. Israel has allegedly focused its electronic and human efforts to eavesdrop on the following officials (likely among others):

  • Steve Witkoff, Trump’s premier regional negotiator.
  • Elbridge A. Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official.
  • Michael P. DiMino IV, one of Colby’s primary deputies.

The Israeli embassy in Washingtons has slammed the reports as ‘completely false’: “This entire story is false and sourced to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of what’s going on,” it said in a statement.

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan Warns British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood To Stop Backdoor Spying on US Citizens

Not a friendly move by the Brits.

In the context of a grave crisis in the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK, a top House representative is warning the British government against ‘using sensitive backdoor technology’ to spy on Americans.

Yesterday (5), Donald J. Trump’s ally, Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood alerting her about a ‘lack of security cooperation’.

Jordan warned that Britain ‘may be using encryption to gain access to US citizens’ private data’.

The Telegraph reported:

“[Jordan] pointed to the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which allows the government to issue secret orders known as ‘technical capability notices’.”

As the leader of the House judiciary committee, Jordan has led investigations into the activities of the FBI and US spy agencies – and now he is targeting the United Kingdom.

“The UK may be building ‘backdoors into their encrypted services’, he wrote to Ms. Mahmood.

US companies would be prohibited from informing anyone about these backdoors without the express permission of the Home Secretary.”

Jordan told Sir Christian Turner, the ambassador to the UK, that a US company who wanted to discuss a ‘technical capability notice’ with members of Congress, something that would require Mahmood’s permission.

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Congress Has A New Intelligence Bureau and It’s Spying On Americans Critical Of AI

As rage about artificial intelligence and the data centers powering it grows, Congress is taking notice — not with any legislation or law, but by spying on public opposition.

A newly created intelligence agency of the Congress (yes, it has its own now) is warning that legislators are in danger from an angry public. The U.S. Capitol Police Intelligence Services Bureau, created after January 6 and in parallel to the 18-member Executive Branch intelligence community, laid out the warning in an internal intelligence report produced in April.

“ISB has prepared this Intelligence Note to provide the US Capitol Police and law enforcement personnel with information related to recent threats and attacks likely linked to grievances concerning data centers,” the report says.

There’s only one problem: the report admits that there is no evidence of any actual threat to Congress.

“The US Capitol Police is not investigating any data center-motivated threats to Members of Congress,” the report says.

Nonetheless, it goes on to warn that artificial intelligence “related policies introduced on the Hill and in local communities are likely to continue drawing opposition, increasing potential concerns for public officials.”

The Congressional intelligence office that authored the report was formed in the aftermath of January 6th and justified to bring the congressional police force “in line” with federal intelligence agencies and thereby gain more access to the massive existing intelligence community. The “intelligence note” was also distributed to police organizations and state-level fusion centers across the country.

“We now have a world class intelligence operation,” then-Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police Thomas Manger said last May. “We are significant players in the intelligence community in the Washington, D.C., region and, frankly, all over the country … Whereas before, we were basically just — we were consumers of information. The FBI would give us intelligence, other agencies would give us intelligence. Now we are gathering our own.”

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Aww Look At The Cute Dancing Robot Police State Surveillance Dog…

Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot dogs are being deployed at designated World Cup venues in the US to perform perimeter security inspections, prompting concerns over the advance of surveillance tech.

The company has stated that the machines “will be used to assist security personnel with investigating things like suspicious packages or other potentially hazardous materials.”

These four-legged fiends are set to roam, and even dance (oh how cute) around AT&T Stadium in Dallas and other FIFA sites ahead of the 2026 tournament, sending live feeds back to human teams with their 360-degree cameras, thermal sensors, acoustic pickups, and AI anomaly detection.

“The robots do not have facial recognition capabilities,” a Boston Dynamics spokesperson told WFAA, insisting they spot unauthorized people in restricted zones without utilising facial scans for now, after a viral TikTok video made the claim.

Hyundai, the South Korean owner of Boston Dynamics and major FIFA sponsor, added the bots “will support on-site security operations, helping contribute to a safer tournament environment.”

But peel back the puppy-like head tilts and choreographed spins and you see the real rollout: tireless mechanical sentries normalizing constant surveillance on American soil. They look fun today at the soccer spectacle expecting half a million visitors. Tomorrow the same platforms patrol streets, malls, and events nationwide, always watching, always recording.

This isn’t some isolated gimmick. It’s fast becoming commonplace in cities such as Atlanta, where robot security dogs prowl apartment complexes and parking lots issuing verbal commands to citizens.

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U.S. May Finally Allow Hantavirus-Exposed Americans to Leave Government-Mandated Biocontainment Facility — But Only Under 24/7 Surveillance

The mass-media driven hantavirus cruise ship panic has completely collapsed.

After weeks of fear-driven headlines about a so-called “person-to-person” hantavirus threat outside the MV Hondius, U.S. officials may finally allow the 18 American passengers to leave the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, and return home.

But there is a disturbing catch. They may only be allowed to finish quarantine at home if their state posts a monitor outside their house 24/7 for the remainder of the six-week quarantine period. That monitor could reportedly be a police officer or public health worker stationed outside their home around the clock…

The largest systematic review on the Andes strain looked at 22 studies and found NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE of human-to-human transmission.

There are still zero confirmed U.S. cases and no evidence of spread outside the cruise ship. In other words, this appears to be a dead-end outbreak.

Now, federal officials are moving from biocontainment confinement to home surveillance. Because of this unusual new requirement — a monitor posted outside the person’s home for the final half of the 42-day quarantine — at least one state, New York, has reportedly refused to allow passengers to return home under those conditions.

One passenger said:

“This is not acceptable. We’re not f*cking criminals. Unless you have a good reason to think that we are going to not comply, then treat us with respect.”

This is no different than the authoritarian biosecurity controls seen in Communist China: forced quarantine, movement restrictions, government monitors, and ordinary citizens treated as major biohazards even when the public risk is negligible.

Hantavirus will not become the next pandemic. But the biosecurity state will absolutely try to become permanent.

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Beware, AI cameras in the classroom filming your children and gathering personal data

There’s a new and dire threat to privacy that parents of school children need to be aware of and be prepared to fight against.

AI surveillance in the classroom.

Frank Landymore of Futurism.com reports, in a May 18 article, on a sinister plan hatched by the University of Washington to film pre-school children during class time. If this is going on in Washington, you have to believe it’s going on, at least in the planning stages if not already happening, across the 50 states.

The article reports that a planned University of Washington study would’ve had preschool teachers wear cameras to “record first-person footage of everything in the classroom,” including the children they were instructing, and use that footage to train AI models.

Remember, those behind the global technocracy movement believe the only value a human being will hold in the new society they are trying to create, is the data sets they produce. This was stated in the wide open a few years ago by World Economic Forum adviser Yuval Noah Harari. Without your personal data to be stolen, manipulated, and sold for profit, you are nothing to them but a useless eater.

Part of the plan is to create a “digital twin” of every person on earth as an anchor to the new digital control grid.

So why wouldn’t the Epstein class of entitled billionaire elites who harbor perverted, twisted views of children, want a daily video record of everything your child does in school? Every word uttered. Every facial expression. Every action and reaction. Year over year for comparison’s sake. Then they can use this data to create algorithms that predict everything your child will grow up to become before he or she is 10 or 12 years old?

Harari, an Israeli historian and chief adviser to the WEF, has said that if he had access to artificial intelligence when he was younger, he believes he would have discovered he was a homosexual at age 11 or 12 instead of at 17. In fact, a Newsweek article from September 8, 2017, made the case that AI can predict “with startling accuracy” whether a person is gay or straight.

But this particular story, in the case of Washington State, has a positive outcome. It exemplifies the kind of parental awareness and bold activism that is needed to shut down the illegitimate use of AI technology in the classroom.

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