NJ TRANSIT defends recording conversations, video on trains

The director of NJ TRANSIT on Tuesday defended the use of audio surveillance systems on some of its trains Tuesday, as some questioned the monitoring’s legal and ethical underpinnings.Audio and video recording currently is in use on the River Line between Trenton and Camden and will be in use on similar light rail trains in Newark and in Hudson County, NJ TRANSIT said Tuesday. … the agency is using whatever tools at its disposal to “deter criminal activity” and keep passengers safe, citing global terror attacks.

“In light of terrorist attacks on mass transit facilities around the world, New Jersey Transit is availing itself of the latest technology to deter that, always keeping in mind the privacy rights of our customers,”

Source: NJ TRANSIT Defends Recording Conversations On Light Rail

Oregon Truth | The KrisAnne Hall Show, Jan. 27th 2016

The death of radio frequency scanning and monitoring? Federal FirstNet project gets underway in New Jersey as JerseyNet.

Click to go over to FirstNet Home site

FirstNet is an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. FirstNet is governed by a 15-member Board consisting of the Attorney General of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and 12 members appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. The FirstNet Board is composed of representatives from public safety; local, state and federal government; and the wireless industry. These dedicated individuals bring their expertise, experience and commitment to serving public safety and meeting the FirstNet mission…

Fierce Wireless Tech reports:

Setting out to meet an ambitious timeline, first responders in three regions of New Jersey are expected later this year to use a new dedicated public-safety LTE network composed entirely of deployable infrastructure operating on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), IWCE’s Urgent Communications reports.

PMC Associates, a New Jersey-based company specializing in mission-critical radio solutions for first responders, is teaming up with Oceus Networks and Fujitsu Network Communications to build the proof-of-concept network, known as JerseyNet.

PMC Associates is providing integration and support services, while Oceus Networks is supplying the LTE core and the radio access network (RAN). Fujitsu is designing, equipping and managing the wireless and wireline backhaul portions of the network.

Bryan Casciano, vice president of sales for PMC Associates, told IWCE’s Urgent Communications that JerseyNet is designed to include more than 30 cells on wheels (COWs) and six systems on wheels (SOWs) that can be deployed in various locations via SUVs, vans or trailers.

Under the terms of its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding, the JerseyNet deployment must be completed by September, a requirement that is expected to be met under the current schedule. “We want to have all of this installed by June,” Casciano told the publication….

See these and other comments from various posters over at Radio Reference:

How to End the Public-Sector Pension Crisis | Reason

Comcast calls rumor that it disconnects Tor users “wildly inaccurate” | Ars Technica

Comcast calls rumor that it disconnects Tor users “wildly inaccurate” | Ars Technica.

Reviews Mostly Positive Following Metal-Detector Debut At Yankee Stadium

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Seriously? The folks are happy about this ?
Tell me more CBS News.
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Property tax a ticking time bomb | Early & Often

… The nuclear tax bomb is ticking.  No one will be spared.

via Early & Often.

It’s That Time Of Year Again | Market-Ticker

It’s That Time Of Year Again.  What time?  College decision time….

If you have one or more kids that are approaching the time when they fly the nest, you’re either involved in this in some way or likely will be.

I’ve hammered on this nail many times, but I’m going to do it again today, because right about now is when decisions have to be made about next year and bad decisions here can cripple or even economically destroy a young adult.

This is not overstating the case folks.

In the 1970s and early 80s you could spin pizzas or wash cars and put yourself through school, and many people did.  Today that is nearly impossible, and a big part of the reason is that schools have gotten predatory and treat young adults not as a mission but as a revenue source to be extracted from to the maximum possible extent.

I look at balance sheets literally all day long.  Guess what: So do colleges, and the balance sheets they’re looking at are yours, having essentially forced your disclosure through the FAFSA.

NY Paper Publishes Legal Gun Permit Holders Names in Print & Online | AMI Global Security

click here to go to AMI

…December 23rd 2012 a New York Newspaper Printed the names and addresses of every Licensed Pistol Permit holder in two Counties [poster’s note: Rockland and Westchester]  and another County is being posted shortly! This is a massive privacy breach and the latest in a series of over the top emotional reactions to the latest shooting tragedy in Sandy Hook CT meant to intimidate the lawful and  prey on peoples fears to exploit the gun grabbing agenda.

In an article title “The gun owner next door: What you don’t know about the weapons in your neighborhood” the paper linked to an interactive map titled: “Map: Where are the gun permits in your neighborhood?” where you can search neighborhoods to see who received a legal permit to own a hand gun license listed by name and address…

Public-Private Partnership – Another Phrase for Fascism | Zerohedge

The word “privatization” is a loaded term these days.  Unions and big government worshippers scoff at the idea of any public services being in the hands of ruthless, greedy capitalists.  The left has the distorted view that people in the private sector are driven primarily by their desire to cut costs and throw workers out on the street.  To them, government workers are angels sent from heaven to do God’s work like picking up the neighborhood trash or maintaining a public pool filled with the bodily discharges of kids whose derelict parents decided to drop off and go shopping for a few hours.  On the right, conservatives who supposedly hold high regard for market forces and Ronald Reagan’s classic declaration “government is the problem,” typically have a favorable view of privatization schemes.

US Retirement Benefits Underfunding Rises To Record $1.4 Trillion | ZeroHedge

The Pew Center has released its annual summary of US pension and retirement health care (under)funding.

As of 2010, the total underfunding gap rose by $120 billion from the prior year’s $1.26 trillion deficit to a record $1.38 trillion underfunding. This number consists of $757 billion in pension promises, not backed by any hard cash, representing pension liabilities of $3.07 trillion and assets of $2.31 trillion. In 2000, more than half of the states had their pensions 100 percent funded, but by 2010 only Wisconsin was fully funded, and 34 were below the 80 percent threshold—up from 31 in 2009 and just 22 in 2008.

But that pales in comparison to the ridiculous spread between retiree health care liabilities of $660 billion and assets of, drum roll, $33 billion, or a funding shortage that is $627 billion, roughly 19 times the actual assets in the system! Just seven states funded 25 percent or more of their retiree health care obligations: Alaska, Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin. What this means is soon US pensioners will have no choice but to experience not only austerity unlike any seen in Europe, but broken promises of retirement benefits which will never materialize. The response will likewise be proportional.  Sadly, it is only going to get worse: …. go here ZeroHedge.

Michelle Obama’s August 2010 Vacation in Spain Cost American Taxpayers $467,585 | Judicial Watch

 

…. Michelle Obama’s August 2010 Vacation in Spain Cost American Taxpayers $467,585 According to Records Obtained by Judicial Watch… see here: Judicial Watch.

 

 

 

Just weeks after 17-day Hawaii holiday Michelle Obama takes daughters on ski trip to Aspen | Mail Online

FIRST LADY OF LUXURY TRAVEL:  THE COSTLY TRIPS

SPAIN: AUGUST 2010

• Michelle Obama and 40 of her friends paid for personal expenses, such as hotels and meals themselves.
• But the U.S. taxpayer would have paid for the 68-strong security detail, personal staff and use of presidential jet Air Force Two.
• Payment for the secret service team ran at around $281 each – nearly $98,000 for the duration of the summer break.
• Use of Air Force Two comes in at $149,900 for the round trip, not including time on the ground.
• Mrs Obama’s personal staff, of which there were an unknown number, should also be taken into account

HAWAII: DECEMBER 2010

Drive-by Scanning: Officials Expand Use and Dose of Radiation for Security Screening | ProPublica

U.S. law enforcement agencies are exposing people to radiation in more settings and in increasing doses to screen for explosives, weapons and drugs. In addition to the controversial airport body scanners, which are now deployed for routine screening, various X-ray devices have proliferated at the border, in prisons and on the streets of New York.

Not only have the machines become more widespread, but some of them expose people to higher doses of radiation. And agencies have pushed the boundaries of acceptable use by X-raying people covertly, according to government documents and interviews…  via ProPublica.