America's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has "canceled its contract for a surveillance tool that enables warrantless tracking of mobile devices," reports the Associated Press.
They note the move comes "after lawmakers, a prosecutor and a judge raised concerns about the legality of the tool in criminal investigations."
ATF, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation's gun laws, told The Associated Press that it discontinued what it called a "pilot" program using a tool called Webloc after Rep. Michael Cloud, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, expressed reservations about the agency's use of bulk commercial location data. Webloc, which is made by a vendor called Penlink, sources data from consumer apps and advertising networks, which collect the location of mobile devices from consumers who download apps or browse the web...
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that police needed a warrant to obtain historic movement data from cellphone companies on a criminal suspect. But it has never addressed the growing practice of commercially acquired data.
Other users of Webloc include the U.S. military and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but also local law enforcement agencies such as police in places like Elk Grove, Calif. and Durham, N.C. The technology has also expanded around the world, with the national police in El Salvador and Hungarian intelligence agencies as customers, according to a report from earlier this year from Citizen Lab, a group of researchers at the University of Toronto who investigate digital threats to civil society.
The article notes that other U.S. law enforcement agencies continue to buy commercial geolocation data, "including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security."
They note the move comes "after lawmakers, a prosecutor and a judge raised concerns about the legality of the tool in criminal investigations."
ATF, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation's gun laws, told The Associated Press that it discontinued what it called a "pilot" program using a tool called Webloc after Rep. Michael Cloud, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, expressed reservations about the agency's use of bulk commercial location data. Webloc, which is made by a vendor called Penlink, sources data from consumer apps and advertising networks, which collect the location of mobile devices from consumers who download apps or browse the web...
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that police needed a warrant to obtain historic movement data from cellphone companies on a criminal suspect. But it has never addressed the growing practice of commercially acquired data.
Other users of Webloc include the U.S. military and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but also local law enforcement agencies such as police in places like Elk Grove, Calif. and Durham, N.C. The technology has also expanded around the world, with the national police in El Salvador and Hungarian intelligence agencies as customers, according to a report from earlier this year from Citizen Lab, a group of researchers at the University of Toronto who investigate digital threats to civil society.
The article notes that other U.S. law enforcement agencies continue to buy commercial geolocation data, "including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Students are using AI-powered smart glasses to cheat on tests, reports CNN. "And in East Asia's test-obsessed societies, where a single exam could impact the trajectory of a student's future career and social status, educators are scrambling to get ahead of the problem."
Already, countries are stepping up inspections for test-takers. For China's grueling annual college entrance exam earlier this month — which more than 10 million hopefuls take each year — authorities required screening of all glasses. In the United Kingdom, the head of England's exam watchdog warned earlier this month that AI glasses and smart devices like earpieces could worsen cheating in exams... [T]wo incidents in South Korea were the country's first reported cases of cheating with AI glasses... In Taiwan, the university where a prospective student was caught cheating is now reviewing rules and standard operating procedures for AI eyewears during examinations.
But experts worry these individual cases point to a more widespread issue. "If we're seeing a few cases being reported, we're seeing a lot more cases not being reported," said Thomas Corbin, lecturer at Deakin University in Australia, who has conducted research around the usage of AI-powered glasses and other smart devices in academic assessment. With the rapid development of AI technology, however, smart glasses are becoming slimmer, less noticeable, while integrating AI models that can operate independently with connectivity, raising concerns not only about exam integrity, but also about broader privacy risks... "Wearable AI is as much of a challenge to exams as ChatGPT was to essays in 2022 and I just don't think there is any real way that we can reliably have exam practices moving forward," Corbin said.
Already, countries are stepping up inspections for test-takers. For China's grueling annual college entrance exam earlier this month — which more than 10 million hopefuls take each year — authorities required screening of all glasses. In the United Kingdom, the head of England's exam watchdog warned earlier this month that AI glasses and smart devices like earpieces could worsen cheating in exams... [T]wo incidents in South Korea were the country's first reported cases of cheating with AI glasses... In Taiwan, the university where a prospective student was caught cheating is now reviewing rules and standard operating procedures for AI eyewears during examinations.
But experts worry these individual cases point to a more widespread issue. "If we're seeing a few cases being reported, we're seeing a lot more cases not being reported," said Thomas Corbin, lecturer at Deakin University in Australia, who has conducted research around the usage of AI-powered glasses and other smart devices in academic assessment. With the rapid development of AI technology, however, smart glasses are becoming slimmer, less noticeable, while integrating AI models that can operate independently with connectivity, raising concerns not only about exam integrity, but also about broader privacy risks... "Wearable AI is as much of a challenge to exams as ChatGPT was to essays in 2022 and I just don't think there is any real way that we can reliably have exam practices moving forward," Corbin said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Onion joked the new movie Supergirl is about a hero who must single-handedly save the world "after the catastrophic collapse of interest in the genre."
Unfortunately, The Hollywood Reporter says the film's reviews "range from negative to tepid praise (averaging a 58 percent Rotten Tomatoes score)."
Many point fingers at the film's script, with Variety's line — "a comic-book movie with the worst script I can remember" — going viral... Not to pile on, but there's another recurring gripe from the reviews that stood out: Critics bashed the film as being murky, dark and gray, with poor VFX: "Muddy CG sludge" wrote one. Another said the film was full of "sludgy browns and grays" and "the visual murkiness of the settings makes it hard to follow the already unintelligible action sequences." A third wrote the "VFX is so rough it makes The Flash look like Avatar." Moviegoers increasingly despise murky, dark visuals (often used to hide weak effects), along with obvious CGI and incoherent action. They've seen it so many times they've become allergic.
The Bulwark agreesterribly lit, incoherently staged, and just generally weightless and ugly... [I]t's reminiscent of the disaster that was The Flash: It's just very obvious during certain sequences that everyone was in a big green-screen warehouse and the camera was whipping around with the knowledge that everything would be painted in later, so who really gives a crap how anything looks on the day of." They call the movie "a tremendous slog of a film, a real step backwards for the James Gunn-overseen DC Universe of movies and TV shows" that's "neither fun nor exciting" and "feels empty."
The film does have one bright spot: Lobo, who is played by Jason Momoa as something like Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice by way of Jason Momoa's Aquaman. He's blustery and cantankerous and saucy and just a little menacing; it's a perfect piece of casting and a really nice performance. Unfortunately, it's the only spark of life in what is otherwise a deeply dour, deeply boring piece of filmmaking... Supergirl is just a misfire on nearly every level, one that lacks the sincerity and fun of last year's reboot of this universe or the comic pathos present in Gunn's Peacemaker series on HBO Max.
Reason calls it "dark, depressive, and dull" and "a downer of a movie in nearly every way."
It's not fun. It's barely even righteous. It's just miserable. At one point, Supergirl flat-out murders a guy by pushing a giant sword through his neck. Somehow, I suspect even Zack Snyder would be appalled.
Time argued fans of last decade's superhero movies "should be demanding more, not less." Though "Will there be rioting in the streets once audiences get some idea of how lousy Supergirl is? Probably not."
Unfortunately, The Hollywood Reporter says the film's reviews "range from negative to tepid praise (averaging a 58 percent Rotten Tomatoes score)."
Many point fingers at the film's script, with Variety's line — "a comic-book movie with the worst script I can remember" — going viral... Not to pile on, but there's another recurring gripe from the reviews that stood out: Critics bashed the film as being murky, dark and gray, with poor VFX: "Muddy CG sludge" wrote one. Another said the film was full of "sludgy browns and grays" and "the visual murkiness of the settings makes it hard to follow the already unintelligible action sequences." A third wrote the "VFX is so rough it makes The Flash look like Avatar." Moviegoers increasingly despise murky, dark visuals (often used to hide weak effects), along with obvious CGI and incoherent action. They've seen it so many times they've become allergic.
The Bulwark agreesterribly lit, incoherently staged, and just generally weightless and ugly... [I]t's reminiscent of the disaster that was The Flash: It's just very obvious during certain sequences that everyone was in a big green-screen warehouse and the camera was whipping around with the knowledge that everything would be painted in later, so who really gives a crap how anything looks on the day of." They call the movie "a tremendous slog of a film, a real step backwards for the James Gunn-overseen DC Universe of movies and TV shows" that's "neither fun nor exciting" and "feels empty."
The film does have one bright spot: Lobo, who is played by Jason Momoa as something like Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice by way of Jason Momoa's Aquaman. He's blustery and cantankerous and saucy and just a little menacing; it's a perfect piece of casting and a really nice performance. Unfortunately, it's the only spark of life in what is otherwise a deeply dour, deeply boring piece of filmmaking... Supergirl is just a misfire on nearly every level, one that lacks the sincerity and fun of last year's reboot of this universe or the comic pathos present in Gunn's Peacemaker series on HBO Max.
Reason calls it "dark, depressive, and dull" and "a downer of a movie in nearly every way."
It's not fun. It's barely even righteous. It's just miserable. At one point, Supergirl flat-out murders a guy by pushing a giant sword through his neck. Somehow, I suspect even Zack Snyder would be appalled.
Time argued fans of last decade's superhero movies "should be demanding more, not less." Though "Will there be rioting in the streets once audiences get some idea of how lousy Supergirl is? Probably not."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
He ended Qualifying in the wall, but ended the race on the podium. A characteristically gutsy drive from Max Verstappen included some thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing with his old adversary Lewis Hamilton and culminated with a season-best second place at Red Bull’s home race.
Charles Leclerc endured a race to forget at the Red Bull Ring as he tumbled from P2 to P8.
Toto Wolff expressed his satisfaction as Mercedes immediately returned to the top step of the podium at the Austrian Grand Prix following Lewis Hamilton’s victory for Ferrari in Barcelona.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri was pleased to finish ahead of both Ferraris at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Mercedes' George Russell has returned to P2 in the Drivers' Championship standings after winning the Austrian Grand Prix.
George Russell hailed an “incredible” feeling as he returned to the top step of the F1 podium with a confident drive to victory in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli maintained his lead in the standings with a P3 finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen reflected on an "extremely positive" Austrian Grand Prix, as the Dutchman finished on the heels of race winner George Russell in Sunday's race.
Danny Ghosen, goed ventje. Dan kijkt hij heel ernstig en dan wandelt hij door het beeld, in een polo van Fred Perry. Volgende scene, kijkt hij nog steeds heel ernstig, draagt hij ineens een overhemd, ook al Fred Perry. Weer een scene, zit-ie in de auto, jack van Fred Perry. Nieuwe aflevering, polo, Fred Perry. Ernstige blik, t-shirt, Fred Perry. Strenge vragen, milde verontwaardiging, zomerjas, Fred Perry. Echte journalistiek, ergens naartoe rijden, uitstappen, aanbellen, trui, Fred Perry. Gefronste wenkbrauwen, polo, Fred Perry. Hij heeft iets ontdekt, winterjas, Fred Perry. Afijn, ze betalen hem in ieder geval goed in Hilversum, en in het geval van Ghosen is dat ook nog eens volkomen terecht. Neem zijn nieuwe, driedelige serie, Danny en de Medicijnmaffia. Er wonen in Nederland allerlei mensen en die willen medicijnen slikken, bijvoorbeeld opiaten, maar die krijgen ze dan niet van de huisarts, en dus proberen ze het via digitale kanalen. Vaak zijn die mensen een beetje triest, soms gaan ze ook dood. Ja je kan ook zeggen, dan moeten die mensen dat niet kopen, stelletje sufferds, en dat is niet per se onwaar, maar ja, verslaafden hè, we kennen de beelden uit Amerika. Hoe dan ook, moet je net Ghosen hebben, die komt gewoon bij je thuis langs, ook als je in modderfokking Roemenië woont. Wat een menselijke tragedie joh, dooie vaders, vaders die hun jonge kind bijna laten verzuipen, dode kinderen. De goorlappen die daar rijk van worden, de goorlappen die weigeren daar ook maar enige verantwoordelijkheid voor te nemen. Kijken die serie, Danny Ghosen, monter als het kan, ernstig als het moet. Erg knap gedaan, werkelijk uitstekende tv, lauwerkrans, Fred Perry.
Social
The court martial system for personnel on overseas airbases serves US interests – but what about those of their host nations?
A British victim of crime, on British soil, might reasonably expect their assailant to be tried in the British justice system. That was not Sarah Steele’s experience. US military police quickly took charge of investigating her assault by Jacob Wulfson in late 2023, and the airman was prosecuted in a US court martial – for a crime that took place off duty and off base, in an English city. Downing Street said on Friday that it was “very concerning” that the case never reached the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Ministry of Justice has said it will look into it.
Dr Steele waived her anonymity to speak to the Guardian about the “distressing and degrading” experience, casting light upon the little-known US military justice system and its use within the UK. Wulfson was convicted of strangling an intimate partner but acquitted of sexual assault and “aggravated sexual contact” by an all-male panel of air force officers stationed at the same base, RAF Lakenheath. Legal experts said the latter offence would probably have been categorised as rape in a British court. Dr Steele faced invasive, aggressive and lengthy questioning; her attacker chose not to testify.
Continue reading...Unfair changes to student loans and concerns about job prospects must be weighed against the life-changing potential of education
Is going to university financially worthwhile? New research on graduate incomes is unlikely to help the beleaguered sector’s reputation. Even though most benefit from an earnings premium, worth around £100,000 on average over a lifetime (after tax and student loan repayments), the finding that one in four people end up worse off proves that there are no guarantees. The premium has shrunk by around 30% compared with forecasts from six years ago.
The study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) could be viewed as a vindication of the latest British Social Attitudes survey. It found that the proportion of people who think a degree is not worth the time and money has risen from 14% to 34% in 20 years. While the research predated Rachel Reeves’s most recent, unfair worsening of the terms on which graduates repay loans, it arguably reflected reduced confidence in the government’s commitment to protect the graduate earnings premium, as well as anxiety about salary prospects and the economy more broadly.
Continue reading...
In de Bedevaartkerk in Brielle werd onlangs het bedevaartseizoen geopend met een speciale mis. Deze kerk staat op de plek waar ooit negentien Rooms-Katholieken werden opgehangen en wordt nog steeds door pelgrims bezocht: “Ik ben hier in mijn zoektocht.”
Some highlights from special collections libraries' blogs this week.
Rescued from the flames: New multispectral imaging at the British Library has helped us to read more clearly one of the earliest surviving illuminated Bibles.
Inside Darwin's bookshelves: a project to catalogue his personal library
The wedding that inspired "Save the Last Dance for Me": from the papers of Doc Pomus at the Library of Congress
Title-Pages Through Time: A History of One Page
Rescued from the flames: New multispectral imaging at the British Library has helped us to read more clearly one of the earliest surviving illuminated Bibles.
Inside Darwin's bookshelves: a project to catalogue his personal library
The wedding that inspired "Save the Last Dance for Me": from the papers of Doc Pomus at the Library of Congress
Title-Pages Through Time: A History of One Page