dhs considers searching for blogs with terrorism clues from fcw: The Homeland Security Department might soon start searching the Internet for blogs and message boards that terrorists are using to plan attacks in the United States, USA Today reports. Researchers say terrorists are increasingly using the Internet to plan operations and spread propaganda, according to a DHS statement. The newspaper reports that the department is looking for companies that can help it find relevant information online.
websites could be given 'cinema-style age ratings' from telegraph: In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Andy Burnham says he believes that new standards of decency need to be applied to the web. He is planning to negotiate with Barack Obama’s incoming American administration to draw up new international rules for English language websites. The Cabinet minister describes the internet as “quite a dangerous place” and says he wants internet-service providers (ISPs) to offer parents “child-safe” web services. Giving film-style ratings to individual websites is one of the options being considered, he confirms. When asked directly whether age ratings could be introduced, Mr Burnham replies: “Yes, that would be an option. This is an area that is really now coming into full focus.”
homeland security forecasts 5yr terror threats from ap: The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks are considered the most dangerous threats that could be carried out against the U.S. But those threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaida and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots, according to the internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013... Officials also predict that domestic terrorists in the forms of radical animal rights and environmental extremists will become more adept with explosives and increase their use of arson attacks.
US needs nuclear explosion to turn the world into dictatorship from pravda: Is the United States going to put dictatorship into effect under the guise of the anti-terrorist struggle? What may trigger another major transformation in 2009? The answer is obvious: another 9/11 in the USA. Terrible and bloody events are in store for the world in the beginning of 2009. Most likely, the world will witness a reality show with a nuclear blast, which will be used as a reason for the US administration to change the world order again and leave the new Great Depression behind. There is every reason to believe that the Russian Federation may suffer as a result of this possible initiative too.
police in the US could soon have 'pain ray' guns from futurestorm: Imagine a world where police have the ability to fire pain ray guns at protesters that instantly cause them excruciating pain as soon as they are activated. Imagine a world where police have the ability to torture from a distance anyone they want at the touch of a button. Does that sound like something out of a science fiction novel? It's not. It is in the final stages of development and could soon be a reality on the streets of America. NewScientist is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice is developing two portable "non-lethal" weapons that inflict severe pain from a distance using either microwave technology or laser beams.
will the US break up? from george washington: The larger and more complex a system, the more likely it is to break down. Something like a simple pendulum with few moving parts could last many years. But very large, complicated things like the Large Hadron Collider break down much more quickly. America now has some 300 million people, 50 states, and more federal, state and local agencies than anyone can possibly list. It is hard to govern such a large, complex and populous system when anything goes seriously wrong. And a lot is going wrong right now. The U.S. military agrees that the chance of a break down in the system is real.
nsa revelations to have lasting implications from raw story: Following the (actually-not-all-that-surprising) bombshell that the National Security Agency has been eavesdropping on calls between innocent US citizens, activists are considering re-opening a lawsuit alleging the government's infringement upon constitutional rights. An appeals court last year dismissed a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against the NSA, arguing the plaintiffs the ACLU represented could not prove they had been targets of warrantless surveillance the NSA had engaged in. Now that ABC News has revealed evidence of NSA spooks listening to innocent Americans' private phone calls, the civil liberties group may ask the court to reconsider. "Everything is being discussed right now," ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer told RAW STORY this week.
pint-size eco-police, making parents proud & crazy from nytimes: Sometimes, Jennifer Ross feels she cannot make a move at home without inviting the scorn of her daughters, 10-year-old Grace and 7-year-old Eliza. The Acura MDX she drives? A flagrant polluter. The bath at night to help her relax? A wasteful indulgence. The reusable shopping bags she forgot, again? Tsk, tsk.
“I have very, very environmentally conscious children — more so than me, I’m embarrassed to say,” said Ms. Ross, a social worker in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. “They’re on my case about getting a hybrid car. They want me to replace all the light bulbs in the house with energy-saving bulbs.”
Ms. Ross’s children are part of what experts say is a growing army of “eco-kids” — steeped in environmentalism at school, in houses of worship, through scouting and even via popular culture — who try to hold their parents accountable at home. Amid their pride in their children’s zeal for all things green, the grown-ups sometimes end up feeling like scofflaws under the watchful eye of the pint-size eco-police, whose demands grow ever greater, and more expensive.
'drop guns' coming to america? from infowars: In this video, former U.S. soldiers explain how they were told to carry “drop guns” to cover up the murder of Iraqi citizens. According to the soldiers, this is an informal military policy.
army orders pain ray trucks; new report shows 'potential for death' from danger room: After years of testing, the Active Denial System - the pain ray which drives off rioters with a microwave-like beam - could finally have its day. The Army is buying five of the truck-mounted systems for $25 million. But the energy weapon may face new hurdles, before it's shipped off to the battlefield; a new report details how the supposedly non-lethal blaster could be turned into a flesh-frying killer... The announcement arrives on the same day as a new report from less-lethal weapons expert Dr. Jürgen Altmann that analyzes the physics of several directed energy weapons, including Active Denial, the Advanced Tactical Laser (used as a non-lethal weapon), the Pulsed Energy Projectile (a.k.a. "Maximum Pain" laser) and the Long Range Acoustic Device (a.k.a. "Acoustic Blaster")... "As a consequence, the ADS provides the technical possibility to produce burns of second and third degree"
'credible threat' at middle tennessee state from usnews: Middle Tennessee State University was shut down Thursday around noon after authorities determined there was a "credible threat" to campus, according to Sidelines. The announcement was made after multiple university officials received E-mails Wednesday and Thursday threatening the student body, and authorities responded to three suspicious small fires set in a dorm Thursday. According to the campus police chief, at least one of the E-mails references "killing, bombing, and destruction," but does not specify a location. Authorities are still unsure whether the fires and threats are related. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the week as state and local police sweep the campus, with their weapons drawn, according to the Tennesseean, looking for a male suspect. Officials did not reveal why he is being sought. MTSU is one of the largest undergraduate colleges in Tennessee with almost 24,000 students, most of whom live off campus. Class will restart October 15, after a previously scheduled fall break.
sheriff begins taking away concealed weapons permits from oc register: The Sheriff’s Department has begun the process of revoking hundreds of concealed weapon permits across Orange County. This week, department officials confirmed that 146 letters have been sent out advising current license holders that their permits to carry firearms in public – called CCWs – are being revoked. There are currently 1,024 permit holders. "The Department has determined that your identified risk does not meet the good cause threshold as required under the new CCW policy based upon the information you provided. As a result of this determination, the Department’s present intention is to revoke your CCW license," reads the form letter sent out this month...
[COMMENT: It is clear that the intention is to demonize gun ownership while making the ‘permit’ aspect convey a privilege rather than a right, as guarded by the 2nd amendment of the Constitution. Further, the claim that the former sheriff was ‘corrupt’ is meant to justify the revoking of permits, which are also associated emotionally as being wrong to hold.]
from raw replay: CBS News’ David Martin reports that the Pentagon’s Active Denial System is basically a ray gun that’s perfect for crowd control. This non-lethal weapon could help eliminate the deaths incurred while trying to control crowds, especially in Iraq. But it’s not in Iraq yet. This video is from CBS’s 60 Minutes, broadcast June 1, 2008.
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video: full-body scan technology deployed in street-roving vans* 
from fcw: The Homeland Security Department might soon start searching the Internet for blogs and message boards that terrorists are using to plan attacks in the United States, USA Today reports. Researchers say terrorists are increasingly using the Internet to plan operations and spread propaganda, according to a DHS statement. The newspaper reports that the department is looking for companies that can help it find relevant information online.
from raw story: Following the (actually-not-all-that-surprising) bombshell that the National Security Agency has been eavesdropping on calls between innocent US citizens, activists are considering re-opening a lawsuit alleging the government's infringement upon constitutional rights. An appeals court last year dismissed a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against the NSA, arguing the plaintiffs the ACLU represented could not prove they had been targets of warrantless surveillance the NSA had engaged in. Now that ABC News has revealed evidence of NSA spooks listening to innocent Americans' private phone calls, the civil liberties group may ask the court to reconsider. "Everything is being discussed right now," ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer told RAW STORY this week.
from nytimes: Sometimes, Jennifer Ross feels she cannot make a move at home without inviting the scorn of her daughters, 10-year-old Grace and 7-year-old Eliza. The Acura MDX she drives? A flagrant polluter. The bath at night to help her relax? A wasteful indulgence. The reusable shopping bags she forgot, again? Tsk, tsk.
from danger room: After years of testing, the Active Denial System - the pain ray which drives off rioters with a microwave-like beam - could finally have its day. The Army is buying five of the truck-mounted systems for $25 million. But the energy weapon may face new hurdles, before it's shipped off to the battlefield; a new report details how the supposedly non-lethal blaster could be turned into a flesh-frying killer... The announcement arrives on the same day as a new report from less-lethal weapons expert Dr. Jürgen Altmann that analyzes the physics of several directed energy weapons, including Active Denial, the Advanced Tactical Laser (used as a non-lethal weapon), the Pulsed Energy Projectile (a.k.a. "Maximum Pain" laser) and the Long Range Acoustic Device (a.k.a. "Acoustic Blaster")... "As a consequence, the ADS provides the technical possibility to produce burns of second and third degree" 
from usnews: Middle Tennessee State University was shut down Thursday around noon after authorities determined there was a "credible threat" to campus, according to Sidelines. The announcement was made after multiple university officials received E-mails Wednesday and Thursday threatening the student body, and authorities responded to three suspicious small fires set in a dorm Thursday. According to the campus police chief, at least one of the E-mails references "killing, bombing, and destruction," but does not specify a location. Authorities are still unsure whether the fires and threats are related. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the week as state and local police sweep the campus, with their weapons drawn, according to the Tennesseean, looking for a male suspect. Officials did not reveal why he is being sought. MTSU is one of the largest undergraduate colleges in Tennessee with almost 24,000 students, most of whom live off campus. Class will restart October 15, after a previously scheduled fall break.