68149473
submission
v3rgEz writes:
In a terse form letter responding to a FOIA request, the FBI has confirmed it has an open investigation into Gamergate, the loose but controversial coalition of gamers calling for ethics in gaming journalism — even as some members have harassed and sent death threats to female gaming developers and critics
67471921
submission
v3rgEz writes:
You may have heard that the image-conscious Los Angeles Unified School District chose to return the grenade launchers it received from the Defense Department’s surplus equipment program. You probably have not heard about some of the more obscure beneficiaries of the Pentagon giveaway, but now you can after MuckRock got the Department of Defense to release the full database, letting anyone browse what gear their local department has received.
66400015
submission
v3rgEz writes:
Civil forfeiture allows police to seize cash, cars, houses, and more, all without law enforcement even needing to charge, let alone convict, suspected drug dealers with a crime. While those who have had their assets seized have judicial remedies, the lower bar for confiscation has enough states concerned that they've placed severe limits over what and how much local police can take. New documents and data, however, show that the Justice Department has partnered with local police in order to get around these state laws, with the federal government acting as a "proxy" — in exchange for a cut (often around 20%) of the proceeds.
64742899
submission
v3rgEz writes:
Advanced cell phone tracking devices known as StingRays allow police nationwide to home in on suspects and to log individuals present at a given location. But before acquiring a StingRay, state and local police must sign a nondisclosure agreement with the FBI, documents released via a MuckRock FOIA request indicate. As Shawn Musgrave reports, it's an unusual setup arrangement for two public agencies to swear each other to secrecy, but such maneuvers are becoming more common.
63724439
submission
v3rgEz writes:
The intersection between pop culture and nerd culture can be narrowed down to one number: The number of steps between any given person and both prolific actor Kevin Bacon and prolific science paper author Paul Erds. Now the steps for a documentary to find (or create) the lowest Erds-Bacon is about to be one shorter as the film Erds-Bacon closes in on its Kickstarter goals, with just over 24 hours left to go.
63659749
submission
v3rgEz writes:
Wondering how the St. Louis County Police ended up armed with surplus military gear, and what other departments have? A FOIA request at MuckRock has turned up every item given to local law enforcement under the Pentagon's 1022 program, the mechanism by which local law enforcement can apply for surplus or used military gear.
63394397
submission
v3rgEz writes:
As part of MuckRock's Drone Census, the San Jose twice denied having a drone in public records requests — until the same investigation turned up not only a signed bid for a drone but also a federal grant giving them money for it. Now, almost a full year after first denying they had a drone, the department has come clean and apologized for hiding the program, promising more transparency and to pursue federal approval for the program, which the police department had, internally, claimed immunity from previously.
62896289
submission
v3rgEz writes:
When federal agencies adopt new technology, they're required by law to do Privacy Impact Assessments, which is exactly what the FBI did regarding its secretive drone program. The PIAs are created to help the public and federal government assess what they're risking through the adoption of new technology. That part is a little trickier, since the FBI is refusing to release any of the PIA on its drone project, stating it needs to be kept, er, private to protect national security.
62077331
submission
v3rgEz writes:
Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel Prize, has put together a fascinating history of people patenting the wheel, including one inventor that did it to prove how ridiculous Australia's patent system was and another that put wheels on a wheel so it could wheel while it wheels.
61809109
submission
v3rgEz writes:
A month before Comcast's announcement of a $45B takeover of rival Time-Warner, Comcast's top lobbyist invited the US government's top antitrust regulators to share the company's VIP box at the Sochi Olympics. A Freedom of Information Act request from Muckrock reveals that the regulators reluctantly declined, saying "it sounds like so much fun" but the pesky "rules folks" would frown on it, instead suggesting a more private dinner later.
61776871
submission
v3rgEz writes:
The casual outfit that Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg sported in front of elegantly dressed bankers and investors just before his company went public generated much clamor in the media. While some observers judged the young entrepreneur’s choice to wear his typical hoodie and jeans on such an official occasion as a mark of immaturity, others defended it as a sign of boldness that helped spread publicity about the deal. The research seems to be on Zuck's side: Dressing down might help you get ahead in many environments.
61463185
submission
v3rgEz writes:
New documents released on MuckRock show the Illinois State Police crying "Terrorist" in order to get funding and approval for a $250,000 Stingray cell snooping system, even though, as Mike Masnick at Techdirt notes, the technology is being used to fight regular crime. The ToS on the device actually prevent officers from seeking a warrant to use it, because doing so would disclose the device's use to the courts. MuckRock currently has a crowdfunding campaign to fund similar requests across the country.
61267721
submission
v3rgEz writes:
In the age of camera-equipped smart phones and inexpensive digital cameras, many high schoolers have never seen a roll of film or used an analog camera — much less developed film and paper prints in a darkroom. Among those that have, however,
old school development has developed a serious cult following, with a number of high schools still finding a dedicated audience for the dark(room) arts.
61239119
submission
61049177
submission
v3rgEz writes:
With a bit of self-effacing spy humor, the CIA joined Twitter with a couple tweets and promises to disclose #unclassified information going forward. Unfortunately, this comes as the CIA still requires those filing FOIAs to mail or fax their requests in rather than use email or even a web portal, as more and more agencies are increasingly doing. The FOIA filers at MuckRock have a run down on just how hard it is to get declassified info, hashtag or no, out of America's most prominent spy agency.
