Free Republic

The Philadelphia Police Department is solving so many homicides and arresting suspects at nearly the same rate as the force was about four decades ago, according to a new report from The Philadelphia Inquirer. Homicide clearance rates have hovered between 86 and 91 percent this year, which is the highest it has since the department reached 95 percent in 1984. Technological advancements, including license plate readers and high-definition surveillance cameras have assisted the department greatly. The tools, along with social media and cell phone location analysis, not only provide more evidence for cases, but also make the crimes get solved...

Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media

LAS VEGAS -- A Nevada newspaper says it has been served a federal grand jury subpoena seeking information about readers who posted comments on the paper's Web site. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday that its editor, Thomas Mitchell, plans to fight the request, which the newspaper received after reporting on a federal tax fraud case against business owner Robert Kahre. The subpoena seeks the identities and personal information about people who posted comments on the story. The newspaper said prosecutors told the judge in the case that some comments hinted at acts of violence and the subpoena was issued...

Apparently Obama is set to appear on numerous channels, just announced on Neil Cavuto. History Channel, Style Channel (who knew?), Lifetime, something called "Chiller"...and something about SpongeBob Squarepants. Doesn't he listen to Bill Maher??? Can you say overexposed? This is astounding! But he has no comment on Iran, other than we don't want to "meddle."

ABC News will host an hour-long special on health care reform in the U.S. next Wednesday from the White House East Room -- a move that ABC is defending but critics are calling a surrender to the Obama administration's effort to control the debate. The prime time special -- called "Questions for the President: Prescription for America" by ABC News -- will be a nationally televised event during which President Obama will answer questions presented by audience members selected by ABC News. Participants will present a broad range of "divergent opinions in this historic debate," according to the press release...

Thousands of bloggers who operate behind the cloak of anonymity have no right to keep their identities secret, the High Court ruled today In a landmark decision, Mr Justice Eady refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of a police officer who is the author of a blog called NightJack. The officer, Richard Horton, 45, a detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary, had sought an injunction to stop The Times from revealing his name. *snip* Mr Horton has now deleted his website and received a written warning from his force. *snip* Coming down in favour of freedom of expression,...

(AP) - WASHINGTON-As Congress debates new rules for government eavesdropping, a top intelligence official says it is time that people in the United States changed their definition of privacy. Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence...Kerr's comments come as Congress is taking a second look at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Kerr said at an October intelligence conference in San Antonio that he finds concerns that the government may be listening in odd when people are "perfectly willing for a green-card holder at an (Internet service provider) who may or...

TOKYO - Tiny computer chips used for tracking food, tickets and other items are getting even smaller. Hitachi Ltd., a Japanese electronics maker, recently showed off radio frequency identification, or RFID, chips that are just 0.002 inches by 0.002 inches and look like bits of powder. They're thin enough to be embedded in a piece of paper, company spokesman Masayuki Takeuchi said Thursday. In this photo released by Hitachi, Ltd., new radio frequency identification, or RFID, chips are placed next to a human hair (that's running horizontally) for comparison in Tokyo, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007. Smart tags, or computer chips...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California prison officials have begun using Global Positioning System anklets to track known gang members. The gritty suburb of San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, this week became the first California city to use the GPS satellite navigation system to track gang members when the devices were strapped onto three parolees, state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Jeanne Woodford said. Six California counties began using GPS to monitor sex offenders in 2005 and some have already been arrested for violating parole after they were tracked to off-limits areas. "GPS tracking is just another tool...