#Government File Tracking Software
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aidc-india · 3 days ago
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File Tracking Software: Best Solutions for Smart Management 2025
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Introduction to File Tracking Software in 2025
As we move deeper into the digital era, the need for smart file and document management is more important than ever. Businesses across all industries are looking for solutions that can track physical and digital files efficiently. That’s where File Tracking Software comes in. In 2025, this technology plays a major role in improving data visibility, operational efficiency, and compliance.
What Is File Tracking Software?
File Tracking Software is a digital system that helps organizations monitor, manage, and locate files—both physical and digital—throughout their lifecycle. It is especially useful for organizations that handle large volumes of documents, such as legal firms, hospitals, government agencies, and corporate offices. The software offers real-time status updates, location tracking, audit trails, and access control.
Why File Tracking Software Is Essential for Smart Management
In 2025, the business environment demands accuracy, speed, and accountability. Lost or misplaced files can lead to delayed decisions, legal risks, and reduced trust from clients. File Tracking Software helps eliminate these problems by ensuring every file is accounted for, tracked, and secured. This improves transparency and allows teams to access the right information at the right time.
Top Features of Modern File Tracking Solutions
Modern File Tracking Software comes with smart features designed to meet industry demands:
Real-time file location updates
Barcode or RFID tag integration
Role-based access control
Custom notifications and alerts
Detailed audit trails and reporting
Integration with existing document management systems
These features provide end-to-end file visibility and reduce the time spent searching for documents.
Benefits of Using File Tracking Software in 2025
Organizations using File Tracking Software gain several advantages:
Improved productivity: Less time is wasted searching for files
Better compliance: Maintains records for audits and regulations
Enhanced security: Only authorized personnel can access files
Reduced operational cost: Cuts down on manual file management
Data accuracy: Ensures all file movements are tracked accurately
In the long run, companies that adopt file tracking tools gain a significant edge over competitors still relying on manual methods.
Best File Tracking Software Solutions to Consider in 2025
While there are many software providers in the market, choosing the best one depends on your business size, file volume, and integration needs. Some top solutions in 2025 include:
RFID-based tracking systems for high-security environments
Cloud-enabled platforms for remote accessibility
Barcode-based systems for physical file archives
Custom-built enterprise file tracking systems tailored to your operations
Before making a selection, always check whether the software is scalable, easy to integrate, and supports regulatory compliance.
How File Tracking Enhances Workflow and Productivity
By implementing File Tracking Software, organizations streamline their document flow. For example, in a legal firm, every case file can be tagged and tracked. If someone checks out a file, the system records who accessed it and when. This ensures full accountability and eliminates the hassle of searching for lost documents. The result is faster service delivery and improved employee focus.
File Tracking for Various Industries: Healthcare, Legal, Logistics & More
Each industry has its own file tracking needs:
Healthcare: Track patient records to ensure fast and accurate treatments
Legal: Manage case files securely and reduce file misplacement risks
Logistics: Handle shipping documents and receipts in real-time
Government: Ensure transparency and easy access to official records
Regardless of the industry, File Tracking Software simplifies how documents are handled.
Cloud-Based vs On-Premise File Tracking Software
In 2025, most organizations prefer cloud-based File Tracking Software due to its remote access, easy updates, and lower upfront costs. However, some institutions with strict security requirements opt for on-premise solutions. Your choice depends on your IT policies, file sensitivity, and budget. Cloud solutions work well for scalable operations, while on-premise systems offer tighter control.
Security and Compliance in File Tracking Systems
File security is a top priority in any organization. With File Tracking Software, businesses can assign role-based access, enforce file permissions, and monitor every action taken on a file. The system also generates audit logs that are useful for both internal reviews and external compliance checks. This ensures that all document handling follows legal and regulatory frameworks.
How to Choose the Right File Tracking Software for Your Business
Before investing in any file tracking system, consider these factors:
Scalability: Can the system grow with your business?
Integration: Will it work with your current document systems?
Ease of use: Is the interface user-friendly for your staff?
Support: Does the vendor offer reliable technical support?
Customization: Can the software be tailored to your workflows?
A well-planned selection will save time and costs in the long run.
AIDC Technologies India: Smart File Tracking Solutions for 2025
AIDC Technologies India is a leading provider of automated data capture and tracking solutions, including advanced File Tracking Software. The company specialises in implementing RFID, barcode, and cloud-enabled systems that improve file visibility and operational control. With over two decades of industry experience, AIDC customises file tracking tools for sectors like healthcare, government, education, and logistics.
Their solutions are secure, scalable, and compliant with global standards. AIDC's expert team also ensures smooth deployment and training support, helping organizations switch from manual to digital tracking effortlessly.
Book Now – AIDC Technologies India
Ready to transform your file management system? Choose smart, efficient, and reliable solutions from AIDC Technologies India. Whether you need an RFID-based tracker or a cloud-enabled file management system, AIDC has the tools and expertise to match your needs.
Book Now AIDC Technologies and take your document tracking to the next level in 2025.
Customer Success Stories: Real-World Impact of File Tracking Tools
Many organizations have already benefited from implementing file tracking systems. A government department in Delhi reduced file loss by 90% after switching to RFID tracking. A hospital chain in Mumbai reported a 40% increase in patient file handling speed. These real-world examples show how File Tracking Software delivers measurable improvements in daily operations.
Future Trends in File Tracking and Document Management
Looking ahead, file tracking will become more intelligent. AI-powered analytics will predict file usage patterns, while IoT sensors will enable real-time tracking across wider geographies. Integration with mobile apps will also give employees access to document location and history on the go. Businesses investing early in these innovations will stay ahead in terms of efficiency and compliance.
Conclusion: Streamline Operations with File Tracking Software in 2025
In conclusion, File Tracking Software is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. With increasing document volumes, data security concerns, and regulatory demands, having a smart file tracking solution is critical. From boosting productivity to ensuring legal compliance, these systems offer unmatched value.
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onionsites · 1 year ago
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ONİONSİTES - DRAGON+ (2)
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Onion sites, also known as.onion sites, are a unique type of website that can only be accessed through the Tor network. The Tor network, short for The Onion Router, provides a layer of anonymity and encryption for users accessing these sites, making them popular for those seeking privacy and security online. Unlike traditional websites that can be accessed through standard web browsers, onion sites list require special software, such as the Tor browser, to navigate. Individuals can create onion versions of regular websites or develop standalone onion sites for specific purposes. The exclusivity and privacy features of onion sites contribute to their appeal for various users, ranging from privacy advocates to individuals navigating the dark web for specific content.
There are several reasons why individuals choose to use onion sites, with privacy and anonymity being at the forefront. Onion sites offer a level of confidentiality that is not typically found on the surface web, making them attractive to individuals seeking to protect their identity and browsing habits. Moreover, best onion sites can provide access to content that may be restricted or censored in certain regions, allowing users to circumvent such limitations and access information freely. The encrypted nature of the Tor network adds an additional layer of security, reducing the risk of surveillance and tracking by third parties, including governments and internet service providers.
Common types of content found on onion sites range from forums and marketplaces to news outlets and secure communication platforms. While exploring onion sites, individuals may come across forums, chat rooms, file-sharing platforms, and other interactive spaces that facilitate communication and information exchange in a secure environment. The anonymity and encryption offered 2024 onion sites contribute to a unique online experience, enabling users to engage with content and communities that may not be easily accessible through conventional web browsers.
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rasberrybabez · 1 month ago
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let’s get some love for Kyle mf Garrick ༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.
⛧°. ⋆༺as always mdni~18+༻⋆. °⛧
like realistically, in my head, if you met any of the 141 irl, Kyle (in my humble opinion) is OBJECTIVELY the greenest flag of the bunch.
now I love all of the men, but I am also a writer who knows how unhinged they can be. And I’m saying that Kyle/Gaz could too, probably is too actually but not in the way you would automatically know. So I raise you:
🗝️⋆。𖦹°‧★Bf!Kyle:
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─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
You and Kyle met on a dating app, cliche I know.
But it wasn’t intentional. Your profile was more of a gag one, set up on a drunken night with too many mimosas and too many friends telling you that maybe, you just need a man.
Your bio was short, sweet, with a little bit too many spelling errors for most guys to swipe right on. The picture? You on a beach, this one had won the most votes from your friend. Cute little hearts here and there, just your age and name. Nothing special.
What you didn’t expect, however, is for the absolute 10/10 that is Kyle Garrick to message you on some random Friday night.
Hey, saw your profile sweetheart… drinks tomorrow at 8:00? I can pick you up. ;)
And from then on, you were Kyle’s. Whether you knew it or not at the time, you were his. From the second he ended up at your doorstep and you stepped out in that little red dress? All dolled up for him?
That was it.
Drinks went smoothly, and you talked about a lot, especially for a first date. One date of overhearing turned into two, two dates into three and a kiss, four into the most mind blowing sex you’ve ever had.
Sure, he could have just left it at that, moved along at whatever pace felt right at the moment. But no, Kyle Garrick is a gentlemen. Showed up to your house to whisk you away to the beach, roses in the sand with the sunset overhanging it all.
Will you be my girlfriend, sweetheart? I promise I’ll make you so happy…
And that was that.
You moved into his flat after a couple of months, Kyle arguing that he needed to know that you were safe during his deployments. What was once a bachelor’s pad was now furnished with flowers and a feminine touch, new paintings of poppy fields and beach waves crowding the hall.
You’d lost count of how many dates you two had been on, the memories overwhelming and pure. Lego in the living room, baking on the kitchen, out at a restaurant or on the beach, always together.
You had your fair share of fights, of course. All couples do… but Kyle made sure he was always the first to apologize.
Because at the end of the day, he’d rather lay down his pride for the love of his life than return the shiny ring tucked away in the back of his drawers.
🗝️⋆。𖦹°‧★Unhinged!Kyle:
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─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Kyle Garrick is a force to be reckoned with, on duty and off of it.
You never meant to fall in love, and you definitely shouldn’t have, either. Because a man who confidently starts to show up everywhere you go is never there for a good reason.
Kyle had been tracking you ever since a mission hit a little bit too close to home. A staged robbery gone wrong, originally set up by a much larger crew to cover up the fact that they were looking for government files. You, the soft spoken bank teller, were one of the lucky ones.
Your boyfriend wasn’t.
But then again, Kyle never thought he was good enough anyways. And what would have happened if he had survived, and Kyle walked onto the scene and hadn’t seen you sitting on the curb, puffy eyed and crying?
Sweet, sweet thing you were… he doubted you’d ever remember him, just the man in a cap and glasses, staring a little bit too close.
Since then, he couldn’t get you out of his mind. Ended up looking back on the case files to find your IDs, and may have down a little bit of digging. What was government issued software used for if not dedication and devotion to a woman Kyle was sure could be his?
Day by day for months, he tracked you. Watched you, memorized your schedule. Showed up at the coffee shop Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays because those were the days that you frequented.
He dropped off roses every other Sunday and Saturday, at different times so that you wouldn’t catch him. The man could pick a lock too, and if he used that skill to creep inside your house and find out what groceries you needed… no harm no foul, right?
And when he finally worked up the courage to ask you out, you don’t know why you said yes. It had only been a few months since your boyfriend’s death, but Kyle just seemed so… kind. So familiar. It was easy with him, he seemed to know you inside and out already, knew everything you’d ever need.
You shouldn’t have been surprised that when he took you to bed, he knew everything there too. Like he had been waiting for this moment.
Because a part of you knew he had. You had seen him, caught glimpses of the tall, brooding man that was everywhere you were, like he didn’t exist if not in your presence. The way that any man that threatened you had wound up tossed up somewhere, Prison or an early grave… cases usually covered by the British SAS.
Maybe you just had bad luck, criminals and scum making their way into your life. The darker parts of society creeping in.
Or maybe, you already had your own dark angel that refused to share.
🗝️⋆。𖦹°‧★Jealous!Kyle:
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─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Kyle Garrick does not share his pretty things.
And definitely not you.
Because at the end of the day, it’s your hand that holds his as you walk down the street, fingers linked and swinging as you laugh, and all he can do is watch. Sure, your lips are moving and yeah, he probably should be paying more attention to what you’re saying, and not just the way your cheeks flush in the evening chill.
But who can blame a man for doting on his spoiled little dove? You wanted salmon tonight, with thyme and lemon and crispy skin, specifically. Now Kyle may love you, but he sure as hell isn’t any special chef.
So your favorite restaurant will have to do.
It’s bustling and crowded on a Friday night, wide ceilings and white brick walls that glow with the soft whiskey colored lights hanging low over tables. Men and women on dates, a group of young lads by the bar.
Even the sight of another man who has the privilege of seeing you sets his heckles arise.
Nonetheless, you convince him to sit down, frowning as you recognize the telltale sign of his notorious jealousy. It’s better on other days, where you’re not dressed up in some skimpy little skirt for all the world to see in a crowded place with men already eying you up.
You huff, brows pinching at his tensed shoulders. He relaxes, reluctantly.
The night goes relatively well, and you squeaky with soft happiness at the sight of your salmon. All Kyle can do is watch you with a wide smile, hands constantly on you. Thighs, hands, arms, shoulders, neck, whatever. He just needs to feel your skin.
It’s a nice date night, up until you’re about three-quarters of the way done with your meal. Kyle reminders, because that’s always when you offer him a bite.
It’s just when he reaches for the fork, as the voices approaching the two of you start to get louder, louder than most of the busy restaurant, in fact, which had filled out completely with your time there.
Kyle looks up to see a group of drunk men, presumably the ones from the bar earlier, moving towards your table. They have to be drunk, he thinks, because no sober person would walk up to a table with a couple clearly in a date, with a man who clearly looks like he wants to kill them.
And the words that come out of their mouth only spurs him on.
“A’ lass who ain’t afraid ‘da get a lil messy, eh? Wanna put it to ‘ta test wit me an ma mates, eh?”
The man’s words re slurred as he leans over the table, a few of his friends chuckling and patting his back. They lean uncomfortably close into your space, leaving you wide eyed and red cheeked, scooting closer into Kyle with a squeak. Kyle’s jaw ticks as the grip on his steak knife tightens, and he squeezes your thigh whilst tugging you to his side.
His response is immediate.
“She’s already got somethin’ to test it on, and it’s my dick, so no thanks. Oh, and if you want to lose yours, feel free to keep talking.”
The man’s face falls a little, and he grunts to turn to him. His mates, previously jeering and supportive, now go quiet. Some looks round nervously, one proceeds to back away.
The man grunts, looking Kyle up and down. Broad chest and tall form, even when sitting, hugging you close and protectively to his side. He leans back against the booth of the table in a way that feigns nonchalance, but the tick of his jaw and his grip on his steak knife say otherwise.
“…tha’ right, tough guy? Or do ya’ dove just need a real man ta’-”
Kyle is out of his seat before the man can even finish, the tables surrounding the two of you wide eyed and shocked. A woman even brings her phone out.
Kyle slams the man into the wall next to the booth, his powerful form much taller and larger up close. The man’s eyes go wide, bloodshot, threatening to pop out of his head.
Kyle just chuckles.
“I assure you, my dove is just fine. In fact, she’d be better if you can go and wanker off somewhere else, or preferably rid the world of the waste of oxygen that your mother put in it.”
He leans in closer, a few of the staff members calling out, running over to see what the fuss is.
“Yeah? Because I’d hate for something bad to happen to a guy like you. But if it would make my dove feel better…”
The man cries out as Kyle is pulled off of him, just for him to land a left hook to his face. He goes down with a wail, blood spurting from his nose and bruising appearing around his eyes.
You sit, slack jawed and wide eyes in the booth, a little bit shaken up from what just happened. You should be used to it by now, Kyle’s done much more to a guy for much less.
But he pulls away from the waiters, jaw still ticking with jealousy as the manager demands the men leave. But all it takes are a few whispers and a couple of bills, and Kyle is back beside you in the booth. The man he attacked is dragged out, drunken ass still blubbering on and on, not that Kyle cares.
Because at the end of the day, it’s the smile that you try to hide Heaney your scolding look, and the kiss he can plant to your head despite some bloody knuckles.
🗝️⋆。𖦹°‧★Fussy!Reader x Fussy!Kyle:
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─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
They were all out of your favorite sushi.
It was annoying, because you and Kyle both knew that you only like one type. The salmon platter, but nothing spicy. You could never handle it as well as Kyle could.
Today was definitely not your day.
You started off every morning with the same, solid and strict routine, because that’s how you liked it. Alarm set for 7:30, so that you were up in time to take out your heartless curls. Skincare with Kyle, always, sometimes even doing eachothers. Only because Kyle was the only person who knew exactly how to do it right. It’s what he did every morning to.
But today, your alarm has gone off late. In the hurry through your bathroom cabinets, you had dropped your bottle of serum on the ground and it shattered. Kyle had to pull you back from tears, especially when you had stepped on the glass and cut your toe.
Breakfast couldn’t happen like normal either.
Your toast had burnt, your eggs were expired, and your milk had also curdled away in the fridge. A busy week was to blame with your lack of ingredients, which is how you had dragged Kyle to the store for food and groceries, only for him to find you with tears in your eyes, standing over the sushi counter.
You whine softly as he sighs and walks over, pulling you close to rub your back.
“oh lovey…”
he whispers, because he knows how important your schedule is. You can’t function without a few specific things, because you only liked a few specific things, and Kyle knows that best of all.
He presses a firm kiss to your temple, sighing softly and tubbing your back.
“Wait here, I’ll be back.”
And Kyle Garrick is not the type of man to let the woman he loves have a bad day just because things go wrong. So he picks up his basket filled about halfway full of groceries, and walks over to the meats counter. Grabs the attention of the butcher, asks if there’s anything in the back he can look at, the sushi
It takes a few wads of cash, but Kyle walks back with his head held high, salmon sushi platter in his hand, putting it in your barren basket.
“See lovey? Nothin’ to worry about… got it just the way ya’ like.”
Because Kyle knew best of all how you liked your day to go, because that’s how he liked his to. Fussy or not, he’d do anything to keep those pretty tears away.
🗝️⋆。𖦹°‧★Sick!Reader x Kyle:
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─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
You never liked being sick, and you hated admitting it even more.
But Kyle could always tell.
Your coughs and sneezes had gotten worse throughout the day, and you seemed more disgruntled than usual. Snappy and whiny, and tired. So, so tired.
All it took was the back of his hand on your forehead for him to know, your feverish skin practically burning him. He clicks his tongue and pulls you close, rubbing your back.
“Sweetheart…”
He whispers, ushering you off to bed against your will. Strips you down and controls himself at the sight of your soft body, tucks you into bed and forces a glass of water to your lips. You argue with him, of course, but take the medicine he passes you anyways.
Because it’s hard to keep up your independence when your no duh can’t even keep itself working. You’re constantly burning up, and your head has been pounding all day.
But you have a report due by Monday, and you really need to finish it. Your cold doesn’t care.
Kyle keeps you tucked into bed, fussing over you like some mother duck. Suddenly he has no mind about his gaming or the fact that he was supposed to visit Price’s later on today, and in a few quick calls he’s cleared both of your schedules for the next five days.
You try to protest, but he silences you with soup and tissues and water, leaving your side for five minutes max. Gets you in a cold shower when your fever spikes, holds you up and washes your body, massage a your sore muscles.
Let’s you lay right back down and use him as your own huge, muscular, lumpy hot water bottle. He doesn’t mind, though.
And when you as him why he’s doing it, being so thorough when he could have just gave you some meds and left? He just smiles.
“Practicing for when you’re pregnant, love… first trimester will be a bitch.”
🗝️⋆。𖦹°‧★Hybrid!Reader x Kyle:
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─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
All you’d ever known before Kyle Garrick entered your life was steel bar and carbon fiber cages.
Testing until your fluffy white dog ears were marred with blood, and your tail was no better. The testing lab that you had grown up on was no different to hundreds of hybrid labs around the country, all mutating and messing with human and animal genes to create a new species.
Hybrids.
Some were more horrific than others, messed up in a way that you didn’t want to look at. You got it good compared to others, just an extra pair of fluffy white ears and a matching bushy tail. But you were scared out of your mind half the time, for a good reason.
Until Kyle.
He came along with the rest of the team, stormed the illegal lab you were being tested under. And from the minute you tumbled out of your cage and into his arms, he was the human you had imprinted on.
It started off small. Following him around base, never leaving his side like the skitter little shadow you were. Took your lunch right by his side, lived in the spare room of his quarters.
The non that you two had was natural, easy, instinctual. The way you two drifted towards eachother, the way Kyle welcomed you with open arms and a constant reassurance.
You’re safe, sweetheart.
You started wearing his clothes, since you had none of your own. During thunderstorms, he would keep you company on the couch, didn’t want to overwhelm you and force you into bed. But he never opposed it when you chose to.
Kyle couldn’t deny what he felt for you. The skittish, malnourished, jumpy little thing that deserved just as much love and affection as anyone else. It made swell with hope at the way you trusted him so easily, bared yourself open to him with wide, trusting eyes. He could never hurt you, not when you look at him like that. Like he hung the fucking stars in the sky.
So when you let him in like you have no other man? Let him lay you down on his bed and turn sex into a worship at your altar?
He’s never been happier. He wants to make it up to you, all the abuse that you’ve faced, whispering praises as he rocks into you, never hard. Not unless you want it. He treats you like a porcelain doll that he knows is strong, but shouldn’t need to handle her cracks by herself.
That’s what he’s here for, sweetheart.
。 ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ 。
Also-thanks to Expired-Goth-Juice for some tips and ideas! Looking forward to some more help in the future lol ‧₊ ᵎᵎ 🍒 ⋅ ˚✮
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ralfmaximus · 9 days ago
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tl;dr: the ICEBlock app appears to be safe to use, does not share personal data, and cannot (now) be used by the government to track anyone. The reports that get filed even self-destruct after awhile to prevent future search warrants from scooping them up.
So if you want to use the thing, go ahead. It seems safe. That's good news! ICEBlock has been getting a lot of press lately.
HOWEVER
I am not a fan of these kinds of crowd-sourced reporting tools. Even if the creator has the best of intentions, knows what they are doing, and creates a safe app... that doesn't mean it'll stay safe.
Also, using your phone AT ALL during a protest or at an ICE intervention is risky as fuck, since law enforcement can collect your device ID/IP passively. Just by being near it. That's the way cell phones work. Every wifi hotspot & cell tower records your passage, even if you don't connect.
Apple phones can even be tracked while powered down -- that's how the Find My Device feature works. As long as the battery has 0.01% charge, it's still gonna fire off location signals occasionally even when "off". Android phones don't (typically) do that unless you have an app installed specifically to locate your device.
The only ways to avoid this are (1) leave your phone at home and use a cheap burner phone instead, or (2) acquire a small faraday pouch which blocks radio signals.
Also, friendly reminder that modern cars have the equivalent of a cell phone built in and can be tracked the same way. If your car offers over-the-air software updates or has OnStar or offers navigation without a phone, it's got that capability. So maybe leave your car at home too unless it's old as hell. (For reference I drive a 2016 Dodge with the old 3G transmitter and that can still be tracked by law enforcement. It needs to be older.)
And please, be vigilant about what software you install on your phone.
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metalheadsagainstfascism · 19 days ago
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I feel like I need to clarify how fucking... random the Big Ugly Bill is.
I do admit. I'm not reading 1000 pages. I did use AI to read it. I know, I know. You can hate me, but my attention span and reading comprehension are not great enough for that.
So here's 25 random ass points in the Big Ugly Bill.
Environment and Energy
1. Repeals grants and rebates from the government for clean energy projects
2. Reduces financial incentive and technical assistance to reduce methane production
3. Ends EPA initiative to label and certify greenhouse gas materials
4. Revokes money meant for modernizing and digitizing environment permitting process
5. Ends federal aid to states and tribes to improve emissions tracking and public access to environmental compliance data
Agriculture and Conservation
6. Reauthorizes major farm safety net programs
7. Rescinds unspent Inflation Reduction Act funds for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and others
8. Provides $15 million/year to continue controlling the spread of destructive feral swine populations on agricultural lands
9. Continues payments to private landowners who open land for hunting, fishing, and conservation through 2031
10. Increases federal support for groundwater and drinking water safety projects via the USDA
Nutrition and Social Programs
11. Revises definitions of “qualified” non-citizens, likely restricting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) access
12. Reauthorizes through 2031 with ongoing food commodity purchases and distribution logistics support
Defense and National Security
13. Raises the multiplier for calculating military pensions, enhancing the defined-benefit portion for service members
14. Lets DoD keep using private contractors for base housing through September 2029
15. Adds appropriations for expanding the U.S. Navy fleet—part of a broader military-industrial buildup
Infrastructure and Industry
16. Eliminates tax incentives and grants for EV purchases and charging network development
17. Mandates quarterly oil and gas lease sales in areas like the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, including ANWR
18. Adds metallurgical coal (used for steelmaking) to the list of industries eligible for domestic manufacturing tax credits
IRS and Taxes
19. Eliminates the free government-run tax filing system, reinstating reliance on private tax software providers
20. Doubles the estate tax threshold to $15 million per individual, shielding ultra-wealthy inheritances
21. Temporarily allows Americans to deduct interest on car loans for U.S.-made vehicles
22. Sets up “American Freedom Accounts” seeded with $1,000 at birth and available for tax-free growth
23. Codifies lower individual income tax brackets and corporate rates from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Other
24. Bars local governments from regulating artificial intelligence for 10 years, centralizing control at the federal level
25. Creates a new EPA division for restoring abandoned hardrock mine sites in western regions
This could all be... a dozen bills... at least. The Big Ugly Bill should be renamed the special interest lobbying bill.
"BUT! NO TAXES ON TIPS! IT'S GOOD!"
But it revokes grants for clean energy and methane control, instead providing grants for coal production.
"BUT CHILD SAVINGS ACCOUNT"
But it creates stricter work requirements for SNAP eligibility.
"BUT CLEAN WATER"
But it eliminates the free government funded tax filing system.
We can do this all day. This is trash. The bill is trash. It's a "EVERYONE SHOVE WHATEVER SHIT YOU WANT INTO IT" bill.
And don't get me started on Obama's "EVERYONE SHOVE AS MUCH SHIT AS YOU CAN INTO IT." Bill. I'm tired of every time I criticize the current administration people want to say "BUT OBAMA". I wasn't okay with it when he did it. I'm not okay with it now. Besides, by your logic. Just because one person does something, that makes it okay for EVERYONE to do it.
How about "it wasn't okay for Obama to do it and it's not okay for Trump to do it"? Eh?
-fae
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misfitwashere · 3 months ago
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April 11, 2025
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
APR 12
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On April 4, Trump fired head of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and director of the National Security Agency (NSA) General Timothy Haugh, apparently on the recommendation of right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who is pitching her new opposition research firm to “vet” candidates for jobs in Trump’s administration.
Former secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall wrote in Newsweek yesterday that the position Haugh held is “one of the most sensitive and powerful jobs in America.” Kendall writes that NSA and CYBERCOM oversee the world’s most sophisticated tools and techniques to penetrate computer systems, monitor communications around the globe, and, if national security requires it, attack those systems. U.S. law drastically curtails how those tools can be used in the U.S. and against American citizens and businesses. Will a Trump loyalist follow those laws? Kendall writes: “Every American should view this development with alarm.”
Just after 2:00 a.m. eastern time this morning, the Senate confirmed Retired Air Force Lieutenant General John Dan Caine, who goes by the nickname “Razin,” for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by a vote of 60–25. U.S. law requires the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have served as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of staff of the Army, the chief of naval operations, the chief of staff of the Air Force, the commandant of the Marine Corps, or the commander of a unified or specified combatant command.
Although Caine has 34 years of military experience, he did not serve in any of the required positions. The law provides that the president can waive the requirement if “the President determines such action is necessary in the national interest,” and he has apparently done so for Caine. The politicization of the U.S. military by filling it with Trump loyalists is now, as Kendall writes, “indisputable.”
The politicization of data is also indisputable. Billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) claims to be saving Americans money, but the Wall Street Journal reported today that effort has been largely a failure (despite today’s announcement of devastating cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that monitors our weather). But what DOGE is really doing is burrowing into Americans’ data.
The first people to be targeted by that data collection appear to be undocumented immigrants. Jason Koebler of 404 Media reported on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using a database that enables officials to search for people by filtering for “hundreds of different, highly specific categories,” including scars or tattoos, bankruptcy filings, Social Security number, hair color, and race. The system, called Investigative Case Management (ICM), was created by billionaire Peter Thiel’s software company Palantir, which in 2022 signed a $95.9 million contract with the government to develop ICM.
Three Trump officials told Sophia Cai of Politico that DOGE staffers embedded in agencies across the government are expanding government cooperation with immigration officials, using the information they’re gleaning from government databases to facilitate deportation. On Tuesday, DOGE software engineer Aram Moghaddassi sent the first 6,300 names of individuals whose temporary legal status had just been canceled. On the list, which Moghaddassi said covered those on “the terror watch list” or with “F.B.I. criminal records,” were eight minors, including one 13-year-old.
The Social Security Administration worked with the administration to get those people to “self-deport” by adding them to the agency's “death master file.” That file is supposed to track people whose death means they should no longer receive benefits. Adding to it people the administration wants to erase is “financial murder,” former SSA commissioner Martin O’Malley told Alexandra Berzon, Hamed Aleaziz, Nicholas Nehamas, Ryan Mac, and Tara Siegel Bernard of the New York Times. Those people will not be able to use credit cards or banks.
On Tuesday, Acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Melanie Krause resigned after the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security agreed to share sensitive taxpayer data with immigration authorities. Undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes, in part to demonstrate their commitment to citizenship, and the government has promised immigrants that it would not use that information for immigration enforcement. Until now, the IRS has protected sensitive taxpayer information.
Rene Marsh and Marshall Cohen of CNN note that “[m]ultiple senior career IRS officials refused to sign the data-sharing agreement with DHS,” which will enable HHS officials to ask the IRS for names and addresses of people they suspect are undocumented, “because of grave concerns about its legality.” Ultimately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the agreement with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Krause was only one of several senior career officials leaving the IRS, raising concerns among those staying that there is no longer a “defense against the potential unlawful use of taxpayer data by the Trump administration.”
Makena Kelly of Wired reported today that for the past three days, DOGE staffers have been working with representatives from Palantir and career engineers from the IRS in a giant “hackathon.” Their goal is to build a system that will be able to access all IRS records, including names, addresses, job data, and Social Security numbers, that can then be compared with data from other agencies.
But the administration’s attempt to automate deportation is riddled with errors. Last night the government sent threatening emails to U.S. citizens, green card holders, and even a Canadian (in Canada) terminating “your parole” and giving them seven days to leave the U.S. One Massachusetts-born immigration lawyer asked on social media: “Does anyone know if you can get Italian citizenship through great-grandparents?”
The government is not keen to correct its errors. On March 15 the government rendered to prison in El Salvador a legal U.S. resident, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whom the courts had ordered the U.S. not to send to El Salvador, where his life was in danger. The government has admitted that its arrest and rendition of Abrego Garcia happened because of “administrative error” but now claims—without evidence—that he is a member of the MS-13 gang and that his return to the U.S. would threaten the public. Abrego Garcia says he is not a gang member and notes that he has never been charged with a crime.
On April 4, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. no later than 11:59 pm on April 7. The administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which handed down a 9–0 decision yesterday, saying the government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release, but asked the district court to clarify what it meant by “effectuate,” noting that it must give “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
The Supreme Court also ordered that “the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.”
Legal analyst Joyce White Vance explained what happened next. Judge Xinis ordered the government to file an update by 9:30 a.m. today explaining where Abrego Garcia is, what the government is doing to get him back, and what more it will do. She planned an in-person hearing at 1:00 p.m.
The administration made clear it did not intend to comply. It answered that the judge had not given them enough time to answer and suggested that it would delay over the Supreme Court’s instruction that Xinis must show deference to the president’s ability to conduct foreign affairs. Xinis gave the government until 11:30 and said she would still hold the hearing. The government submitted its filing at about 12:15, saying that Abrego Garcia is “in the custody of a foreign sovereign,” but at the 1:00 hearing, as Anna Bower of Lawfare reported, the lawyer representing the government, Drew Ensign, said he did not have information about where Abrego Garcia is and that the government had done nothing to get him back. Ensign said he might have answers by next Tuesday. Xinis says they will have to give an update tomorrow.
As Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently warned, if the administration can take noncitizens off the streets, render them to prison in another country, and then claim it is helpless to correct the error because the person is out of reach of U.S. jurisdiction, it could do the same thing to citizens. Indeed, both President Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have proposed that very thing.
Tonight, Trump signed a memorandum to the secretaries of defense, interior, agriculture, and homeland security calling for a “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions.” The memorandum creates a military buffer zone along the border so that any migrant crossing would be trespassing on a U.S. military base. This would allow active-duty soldiers to hold migrants until ICE agents take them.
By April 20, the secretaries of defense and homeland security are supposed to report to the president whether they think he should invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to enable him to use the military to aid in mass deportations.
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mariacallous · 5 months ago
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This month, Andrew Bernier, a US Army Corps of Engineers researcher and a union leader, says that he has received a barrage of menacing messages from the same anonymous email account. Unfolding like short chapters in a dystopian novel, they have spoken of the genius of Elon Musk, referenced the power of the billionaire’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and foretold the downfall of “corrupt” union bosses.
But the most eerie thing about the emails, which Bernier says began arriving after he filed an official charge accusing the Trump administration of violating his union’s collective bargaining agreement, is that they included personal details about his life—some of which he believes might have come from surveillance of his work laptop. The author referenced Bernier’s union activities, nickname, job, travel details, and even the green notebook he regularly uses. The most recent email implied that his computer was loaded with spyware. “Andy's crusade, like so many before it, had been doomed from the start,” one email stated. “The real tragedy wasn't his failure—it was his belief that the fight had ever been real.”
The unsettling messages, which were reviewed by WIRED, are an extreme example of the kinds of encounters that workers across the US government say they have had with technology since President Donald Trump took office. WIRED spoke to current employees at 13 federal agencies for this story who expressed fears about potentially being monitored by software programs, some of which they described as unfamiliar. Others said that routine software updates and notifications, perhaps once readily glossed over, have taken on ominous new meanings. Several reported feeling anxious and hyperaware of the devices and technology around them.
At the General Services Administration (GSA), one worker cited a Chrome browser extension called Dynatrace, an existing program for monitoring app performance. Inside the Social Security Administration (SSA), another employee pointed to Splunk, a longstanding tool that’s used to alert IT staff to security anomalies like when an unauthorized USB drive is plugged into a laptop. At the US Agency for International Development (USAID), one worker was caught off guard by Google’s Gemini AI chatbot, installations of which kicked off days before Trump took office.
“Everyone has been talking about whether our laptops are now able to listen to our conversations and track what we do,” says a current GSA employee, who like other workers in this story, was granted anonymity because they didn’t have authorization to speak and feared retaliation.
Dynatrace and Splunk did not respond to requests for comment from WIRED.
The workers’ accounts come as Musk’s DOGE organization is rapidly burrowing into various government agencies and departments, often gaining access to personnel records, logs of financial transactions, and other sensitive information in the process. The efforts are part of the Trump administration’s broader plan to terminate thousands of government employees and remake the face of federal agencies.
Like many private companies, US federal agencies disclose to staff that they have tools to monitor what workers do on their computers and networks. The US government’s capabilities in this area have also expanded over the past decade.
It couldn’t be learned whether the Trump administration has begun using existing tools to monitor employees in new ways; multiple agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the General Services Administration, denied that they have. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Public evidence has not emerged of new government purchases of user-monitoring software, which is generally needed for detailed surveillance such as tracking which files a worker has copied onto a thumb drive. Some of the updates and changes that have been noticed by federal workers date back to software purchases and plans enacted long before Trump was in power, WIRED reporting shows.
“I will say my concerns are primarily based in general fear as opposed to specific knowledge,” says a worker at the Department of Homeland Security, who adds: “I’d love to be told I’m wrong.”
But activity that some workers perceive as signs of increased surveillance has prompted them to take precautions. Bernier, who works as a civil engineer for the Army Corps based in Hanover, New Hampshire, says the messages he received spooked him enough that he asked local police to keep an eye on his home, removed the battery from his work-issued laptop, and kept his work phone on airplane mode while traveling to a non-work conference last week. “There are things I don’t control but actions I can take to protect myself and my family,” he says.
Bernier’s anonymous emailer and the Army Corps did not respond to requests for comment.
A person inside the Environmental Protection Agency told WIRED last week that they’ve witnessed coworkers back out of Microsoft Teams meetings, which can be easily recorded and automatically transcribed, when they are related to topics they believe could get them fired. “Definite chilling effect,” the person says. The EPA did not respond to a request for comment.
An employee at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whose work with international partners is being audited by DOGE operatives, says they and their colleagues began avoiding messaging one another and have “really cut down on putting things in writing” in recent weeks. They report that correspondence from their supervisors has also significantly dropped off. NOAA declined to comment.
At the Federal Bureau of Investigation, anxiety around officials possibly targeting officers and activities perceived as being disloyal to the president has cratered morale, a federal law enforcement source with knowledge of the agents' concerns tells WIRED. The FBI declined to comment.
Aryani Ong, a civil rights activist and cofounder of Asian American Federal Employees for Nondiscrimination, a group that advocates for government workers, says those she’s been in contact with are in a heightened state of alert. In response, some federal employees have turned to encrypted communications apps to connect with colleagues and taken steps to anonymize their social media accounts, Ong says. (Federal workers are granted an allowance to use non-official communication tools only “in exceptional circumstances.”)
Insider Threat
Long before Trump’s inauguration, user activity monitoring was already mandated for federal agencies and networks that handle classified information—the result of an executive order signed by then-president Barack Obama in the wake of a massive breach of classified diplomatic cables and information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010. The capability is part of government-wide insider threat (InTh) programs that greatly expanded after Edward Snowden’s leak of classified surveillance documents in 2013, and again after an Army specialist murdered four colleagues and injured 16 others at Fort Hood in 2014.
The US government’s current approach to digitally monitoring federal workers has largely been guided by a directive issued by the Committee on National Security Systems in 2014, which orders relevant agencies to tie user activity to “specific users.” The public portions of the document call for “every executive branch department and agency” handling classified information to have capabilities to take screenshots, capture keystrokes, and intercept chats and email on employee devices. They are also instructed to deploy “file shadowing,” meaning secretly producing facsimiles of every file a user edits or opens.
The insider threat programs at departments such as Health and Human Services, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs, also have policies that protect unclassified government information, which enable them to monitor employees’ clicks and communications, according to notices in the Federal Register, an official source of rulemaking documents. Policies for the Department of the Interior, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporate (FDIC), also allow collecting and assessing employees’ social media content.
These internal agency programs, overseen by a national task force led by the attorney general and director of national intelligence, aim to identify behaviors that may indicate the heightened risk of not only leaks and workplace violence, but also the “loss” or "degradation" of a federal agency’s “resources or capabilities.” Over 60 percent of insider threat incidents in the federal sector involve fraud, such as stealing money or taking someone's personal information, and are non-espionage related, according to analysis by Carnegie Mellon researchers.
“Fraud,” “disgruntlement,” “ideological challenges,” “moral outrage,” or discussion of moral concerns deemed “unrelated to work duties” are some of the possible signs that a worker poses a threat, according to US government training literature.
Of the 15 Cabinet-level departments such as energy, labor, and veterans affairs, at least nine had contracts as of late last year with suppliers such as Everfox and Dtex Systems that allowed for digitally monitoring of a portion of employees, according to public spending data. Everfox declined to comment.
Dtex’s Intercept software, which is used by multiple federal agencies, is one example of a newer class of programs that generate individual risk scores by analyzing anonymized metadata, such as which URLs workers are visiting and which files they’re opening and printing out on their work devices, according to the company. When an agency wants to identify and further investigate someone with a high score, two people have to sign off in some versions of its tool, according to the company. Dtex’s software doesn’t have to log keystrokes or scan the content of emails, calls, chats, or social media posts.
But that isn't how things work broadly across the government, where employees are warned explicitly in a recurring message when they boot up their devices that they have "no reasonable expectation of privacy" in their communications or in any data stored or transmitted through government networks. The question remains if and to what extent DOGE’s operatives are relying on existing monitoring programs to carry out Trump’s mission to rapidly eliminate federal workers that his administration views as unaligned with the president’s agenda or disloyal.
Rajan Koo, the chief technology officer of Dtex tells WIRED that he hopes the Trump administration will adjust the government’s approach to monitoring. Events such as widespread layoffs coupled with a reliance on what Koo described as intrusive surveillance tools can stir up an environment in which workers feel disgruntled, he says. “You can create a culture of reciprocal loyalty,” says Koo, or “the perfect breeding ground for insider threats.”
Already Overwhelmed
Sources with knowledge of the US government’s insider threat programs describe them as largely inefficient and labor intensive, requiring overstretched teams of analysts to manually pore through daily barrages of alerts that include many false positives. Multiple sources said that the systems are currently “overwhelmed.” Any effort by the Trump administration to extend the reach of such tools or widen their parameters—to more closely surveil for perceived signs of insubordination or disloyalty to partisan fealties, for instance—likely would result in a significant spike in false positives that would take considerable time to comb through, according to the people familiar with the work.
In an email last month seeking federal employees’ voluntary resignations, the Trump administration wrote that it wanted a “reliable, loyal, trustworthy” workforce. Attempts to use insider threat programs to enforce that vision could be met by a number of legal challenges.
US intelligence community analysts are required by law and directive to provide unbiased and objective work. That means avoiding cherry-picking information to deliberately alter judgements or falling prey to outside pressure, including from personal or political biases. These standards, even when not officially codified, are core to the professional ethics of any intelligence practitioner or law enforcement analyst conducting assessments of insider threats.
A 2018 national insider threat task force framework notes that federal programs should comply with “all applicable legal, privacy and civil liberties rights, and whistleblower protections.” Bradley Moss, an attorney representing US intelligence and law enforcement personnel, says that "disloyalty" to the Trump administration is “too vague” an excuse to terminate employees with civil service protections, adding that if "they're going to go through the statutory process, they need to demonstrate actual cause for termination."
A federal law enforcement source warns that monitoring could theoretically be used to gather political intelligence on federal employees, while the administration looks for more palatable reasons to terminate them later; similar to how law enforcement may obtain evidence that's inadmissible in the course of a criminal investigation, but then search for another evidentiary basis to file charges.
Joe Spielberger, senior legal counsel at the Project On Government Oversight, a nonpartisan group fighting alleged corruption, says that if Musk were serious about cutting government waste, he would be strengthening protections for people who report corruption and mismanagement. Any warrantless or mass surveillance of federal workers without transparent guidelines, he says, would represent a major concern.
“When you create this culture of fear and intimidation and have that chilling effect of making people even more fearful about calling out wrongdoing, it ensures that corruption goes unnoticed and unaddressed,” Spielberger says.
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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 months ago
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Matt Davies
* * * *
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
April 11, 2025
Heather Cox Richardson
Apr 12, 2025
On April 4, Trump fired head of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and director of the National Security Agency (NSA) General Timothy Haugh, apparently on the recommendation of right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who is pitching her new opposition research firm to “vet” candidates for jobs in Trump’s administration.
Former secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall wrote in Newsweek yesterday that the position Haugh held is “one of the most sensitive and powerful jobs in America.” Kendall writes that NSA and CYBERCOM oversee the world’s most sophisticated tools and techniques to penetrate computer systems, monitor communications around the globe, and, if national security requires it, attack those systems. U.S. law drastically curtails how those tools can be used in the U.S. and against American citizens and businesses. Will a Trump loyalist follow those laws? Kendall writes: “Every American should view this development with alarm.”
Just after 2:00 a.m. eastern time this morning, the Senate confirmed Retired Air Force Lieutenant General John Dan Caine, who goes by the nickname “Razin,” for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by a vote of 60–25. U.S. law requires the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have served as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of staff of the Army, the chief of naval operations, the chief of staff of the Air Force, the commandant of the Marine Corps, or the commander of a unified or specified combatant command.
Although Caine has 34 years of military experience, he did not serve in any of the required positions. The law provides that the president can waive the requirement if “the President determines such action is necessary in the national interest,” and he has apparently done so for Caine. The politicization of the U.S. military by filling it with Trump loyalists is now, as Kendall writes, “indisputable.”
The politicization of data is also indisputable. Billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) claims to be saving Americans money, but the Wall Street Journal reported today that effort has been largely a failure (despite today’s announcement of devastating cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that monitors our weather). But what DOGE is really doing is burrowing into Americans’ data.
The first people to be targeted by that data collection appear to be undocumented immigrants. Jason Koebler of 404 Media reported on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using a database that enables officials to search for people by filtering for “hundreds of different, highly specific categories,” including scars or tattoos, bankruptcy filings, Social Security number, hair color, and race. The system, called Investigative Case Management (ICM), was created by billionaire Peter Thiel’s software company Palantir, which in 2022 signed a $95.9 million contract with the government to develop ICM.
Three Trump officials told Sophia Cai of Politico that DOGE staffers embedded in agencies across the government are expanding government cooperation with immigration officials, using the information they’re gleaning from government databases to facilitate deportation. On Tuesday, DOGE software engineer Aram Moghaddassi sent the first 6,300 names of individuals whose temporary legal status had just been canceled. On the list, which Moghaddassi said covered those on “the terror watch list” or with “F.B.I. criminal records,” were eight minors, including one 13-year-old.
The Social Security Administration worked with the administration to get those people to “self-deport” by adding them to the agency's “death master file.” That file is supposed to track people whose death means they should no longer receive benefits. Adding to it people the administration wants to erase is “financial murder,” former SSA commissioner Martin O’Malley told Alexandra Berzon, Hamed Aleaziz, Nicholas Nehamas, Ryan Mac, and Tara Siegel Bernard of the New York Times. Those people will not be able to use credit cards or banks.
On Tuesday, Acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Melanie Krause resigned after the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security agreed to share sensitive taxpayer data with immigration authorities. Undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes, in part to demonstrate their commitment to citizenship, and the government has promised immigrants that it would not use that information for immigration enforcement. Until now, the IRS has protected sensitive taxpayer information.
Rene Marsh and Marshall Cohen of CNN note that “[m]ultiple senior career IRS officials refused to sign the data-sharing agreement with DHS,” which will enable HHS officials to ask the IRS for names and addresses of people they suspect are undocumented, “because of grave concerns about its legality.” Ultimately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the agreement with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Krause was only one of several senior career officials leaving the IRS, raising concerns among those staying that there is no longer a “defense against the potential unlawful use of taxpayer data by the Trump administration.”
Makena Kelly of Wired reported today that for the past three days, DOGE staffers have been working with representatives from Palantir and career engineers from the IRS in a giant “hackathon.” Their goal is to build a system that will be able to access all IRS records, including names, addresses, job data, and Social Security numbers, that can then be compared with data from other agencies.
But the administration’s attempt to automate deportation is riddled with errors. Last night the government sent threatening emails to U.S. citizens, green card holders, and even a Canadian (in Canada) terminating “your parole” and giving them seven days to leave the U.S. One Massachusetts-born immigration lawyer asked on social media: “Does anyone know if you can get Italian citizenship through great-grandparents?”
The government is not keen to correct its errors. On March 15 the government rendered to prison in El Salvador a legal U.S. resident, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whom the courts had ordered the U.S. not to send to El Salvador, where his life was in danger. The government has admitted that its arrest and rendition of Abrego Garcia happened because of “administrative error” but now claims—without evidence—that he is a member of the MS-13 gang and that his return to the U.S. would threaten the public. Abrego Garcia says he is not a gang member and notes that he has never been charged with a crime.
On April 4, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. no later than 11:59 pm on April 7. The administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which handed down a 9–0 decision yesterday, saying the government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release, but asked the district court to clarify what it meant by “effectuate,” noting that it must give “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
The Supreme Court also ordered that “the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.”
Legal analyst Joyce White Vance explained what happened next. Judge Xinis ordered the government to file an update by 9:30 a.m. today explaining where Abrego Garcia is, what the government is doing to get him back, and what more it will do. She planned an in-person hearing at 1:00 p.m.
The administration made clear it did not intend to comply. It answered that the judge had not given them enough time to answer and suggested that it would delay over the Supreme Court’s instruction that Xinis must show deference to the president’s ability to conduct foreign affairs. Xinis gave the government until 11:30 and said she would still hold the hearing. The government submitted its filing at about 12:15, saying that Abrego Garcia is “in the custody of a foreign sovereign,” but at the 1:00 hearing, as Anna Bower of Lawfare reported, the lawyer representing the government, Drew Ensign, said he did not have information about where Abrego Garcia is and that the government had done nothing to get him back. Ensign said he might have answers by next Tuesday. Xinis says they will have to give an update tomorrow.
As Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently warned, if the administration can take noncitizens off the streets, render them to prison in another country, and then claim it is helpless to correct the error because the person is out of reach of U.S. jurisdiction, it could do the same thing to citizens. Indeed, both President Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have proposed that very thing.
Tonight, Trump signed a memorandum to the secretaries of defense, interior, agriculture, and homeland security calling for a “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions.” The memorandum creates a military buffer zone along the border so that any migrant crossing would be trespassing on a U.S. military base. This would allow active-duty soldiers to hold migrants until ICE agents take them.
By April 20, the secretaries of defense and homeland security are supposed to report to the president whether they think he should invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to enable him to use the military to aid in mass deportations.
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
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saltlakritsegott · 1 month ago
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A smuggled North Korean smartphone has exposed how tightly the regime monitors and censors its citizens. According to a BBC report, the device blocks South Korean language, autocorrects phrases like “Oppa” to “Comrade,” and secretly takes screenshots every five minutes to track what people are doing. These images are stored in hidden folders only accessible to state authorities. Radios and phones are sealed against modification, with any exposure to foreign culture seen as a crime. Testimonies from defectors show increasing repression under Kim Jong Un’s leadership.
A smuggled North Korean smartphone has revealed just how far the regime goes to control information.⁠ ⁠ The phone—built to look like a normal Android—censors words in real time (even replacing “oppa” with “comrade” accompanied by an on -screen warning), South Korea is changed to puppet state, takes hidden screenshots every 5 minutes and saves them in hidden folders, these files are inaccessible to the user but can be reviewed by authorities, and blocks any attempt to access foreign content.⁠ ⁠ It only connects to a state-run intranet and erases data if tampered with.⁠
Automatic censorship
Users are limited to a domestic intranet called Kwangmyong, which provides access to government-approved websites.
the phone is configured to block foreign networks and prevents the installation of unauthorized apps.
Attempts to alter the device's software can trigger automatic shutdown or data deletion, according to anlalysts.
Laws in North Korea prohibit access to foreign media and violations can result in imprisonment, forced labor or even death. Devices capable of circumventing official controls are banned.
older brother
“Oppa” (오빠) literally translates to “older brother” in Korean. It's a term younger females use to address older males, such as older brothers, cousins, or male friends. In Korean culture, calling someone “oppa” suggests a close bond and trust.
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aoikiri · 4 months ago
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having trouble trying to figure out how to interact with nagisa ?? here's a cheat sheet i made 9 years ago... improved !!
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i wrote this... 9 years ago, jesus christ. i think it's time to expand bc i wrote this 3 months after the anime ended.
some ways your muses can know nagisa if you'd like some ides without knowing all too much ab the series !! ( you should watch the official trailer, it's a good rundown !! ) (im the only one here... sobs.)
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if your muse is an assassin, contract killer, hitman, mercenary
they could have had access to the bounty on koro-sensei's head, the file was out for a lot of people to jump on (irina, red-eye, irina's sketchy hires, takaoka, takaoka's hires, reaper,
the government was scouting countless people to teach the students how to properly be assassins, hiring people with history in these fields, (hiring irina who ended up teaching long term, takaoka who got fired after one day)
they could have been hired for a one off attempt hit (like lovro came in once bc he taught irina, irina was supposed to be one day as well, like red-eye being hired for a class trip, reaper being hired by the government for a single day)
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if your muse is a government official, special forces agent, secret service type deal (like sonic has gun, marvel has shield, the anime has the ministry of defense in charge of the kids)
your muse probably had access to the files going on in japan due to the fact that koro-sensei was an "active hostile threat" (the lie that the japanese ministry of defense told the world) due to him "threatening to destroy the earth" (and koro-sensei going along with the lie) everyone thought he was a active threat if they weren't apart of the members speaking to karasuma on the screen/his board of directors, the original creators of the lab experiments
your muse could have been assigned to keep track of all the events going on in the class. there was a lot of mishaps, it takes paperwork and surveying. irina's failed attempt, nagisa's failed attempt, ritsu's "failed software", itona's "failed" experiments, the kids almost getting themselves outed while doing parkour in public, the aftermath of takaoka being unstable and that they personally assigned them to someone abusing trainees.
or they could just be there to scold them after a big mess up... again there's been lots of those. the parkour exposure, koro-sensei getting too comfortable in public, the students getting kidnapped... a few times. the takaoka poisoning and stalking situation, so on so forth.
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if your muse is some sort of villain, hero, anti-hero, military, cops, agents outside of this program
HEROES, COPS, MILITARY: they were probably going to hide this from you, the government doesn't want super heroes finding out that they're weaponizing A WHOLE CLASSROOM OF KIDS. and experimented on one of them, and nearly let him die.
VILLAINS: easy access to files, they had less savory people come around often to try and take a hit at the bounty
IN BETWEEN ???: well, this depends... if you had seedy backgrounds or had done grittier work... you could find your way to those files. but if the work you do is usually on the lighter end, it'd be harder to find the access to them.
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if your muse is a civilian. . . (pre-established friends and family)
family: maybe they're cousins, an uncle, a aunt, so on ?? possibly taking care of nagisa for a weekend, slip ups, tutoring. family bonding or catching up, family vacation. noticing a change in nagisa, he's not the soft spoken depressed kid they used to baby sit. did they know him well ?? or did they not see deeper into this till now. did they see him before the assassination... or after they saw him plastered all over world wide news ?? taking him on as your own kid, knowing what is going on and trying to help him get out of his mom's house.
friends: nagisa had a rough time growing up, you know that and tried to help him stay busy to stay out of the house. but... he for sure ghosted everyone during the classroom. did they get mad, seek him out, or accept the severance of the friendship. and... do they seek him out after he's plastered on every tv, news article, or blog post.
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if your muse is a civilian. . . (new/non-established friends and family)
friends: meeting by chance while he's out on a mission, him lying about it. studying together at the same library, getting takeout at the same restaurant waiting for their orders, school trip and being in their area. study abroad and they stay at your house temporarily. did they meet before, or did they find nagisa out and about after the assassination and just... have to ask him ??
family: did you not try to hang out with nagisa till you heard about him doing better in school ?? did you get estranged from the family and finally try to step in after witnessing his stress ?? does he turn you down, does the go along ?? realizing that your cousin's or nephew's face you've never met, is now plastered on tv as a killer ??
adopt a boy !!: your muse can be anyone, a hired assassin, a government worker, a family member, a older friend he made... so on. you find out about nagisa's abuse from his mother, and him getting drugged by her. you step in, he's your kiddo now. do you know about the assassination if you relate to any above scenarios ?? do you help train along with parent him ?? are you a unaware party, is he hiding all of this from you and trying to still train behind your back ?? or is it all over... and you're just trying to give him a normal life.
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tinywonders8 · 1 month ago
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Tally Training in Chandigarh: Build a Successful Accounting Career
In today’s fast-paced digital economy, proficiency in accounting software like Tally is no longer optional — it’s a necessity. Whether you’re a student, a working professional, or someone planning a career shift into finance, Tally training in Chandigarh offers a golden opportunity to build a solid foundation in business accounting. With growing business activity in the region, mastering Tally can set you apart in the competitive job market.
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Introduction to Tally and Its Relevance
Tally is one of the most widely used business accounting software in India. It simplifies complex financial operations such as invoicing, inventory management, taxation, payroll processing, and financial reporting. Tally ERP 9, the earlier version, was known for its robust features, while Tally Prime — the latest iteration — offers an intuitive interface and smarter navigation for enhanced productivity.
In a country where small and medium enterprises form the economic backbone, Tally plays a critical role in helping businesses maintain compliance and streamline operations. From automating GST filings to tracking stock levels in real time, Tally’s capabilities are deeply aligned with the needs of modern Indian enterprises.
Why Choose Tally Training in Chandigarh?
Chandigarh has steadily grown into a major educational and business center in North India. With its well-connected infrastructure and proximity to Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, it attracts students and professionals from across the region.
The city boasts several reputed training institutes that specialize in job-oriented programs, including Tally training in Chandigarh. These institutes not only provide structured learning but also offer real-world exposure through internships and industry interactions. The business-friendly environment of Tricity — comprising Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula — further enhances placement opportunities for Tally-trained individuals.
Key Features of a Good Tally Training Institute
Selecting the right institute can make a big difference in how effectively you master Tally. Look for the following features when choosing your Tally course:
Certified and experienced trainers ensure you’re learning from professionals who understand both the software and its industry applications. Practical exposure through case studies and real-time projects helps you gain confidence in using Tally in real-world scenarios.
Modern Tally courses now include essential modules like GST compliance, inventory control, payroll processing, MIS report generation, and taxation management. Institutes that regularly update their syllabus in sync with government norms and business trends are more valuable.
Personalized mentorship, flexible batch timings (weekend/evening), and career support services like resume building and mock interviews can significantly enhance your learning experience.
Career Scope After Tally Training
Completing a certified Tally course can unlock a variety of career paths. Common roles include:
Accountant
GST Consultant
Billing Executive
Finance Executive
Audit Assistant
Tally skills are especially in demand in sectors like retail, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and professional services. Small and mid-sized businesses across the Tricity area consistently hire Tally-certified professionals for daily bookkeeping, tax filing, and reporting.
The average starting salary for a fresher with Tally training ranges from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month, with rapid growth potential as you gain experience and industry exposure.
Tally ERP 9 vs Tally Prime: What You’ll Learn
A well-rounded Tally training program in Chandigarh covers both Tally ERP 9 and the newer Tally Prime. While ERP 9 remains in use across many companies, Tally Prime introduces improved usability with a simplified menu structure, enhanced multi-tasking, and better data tracking.
Key modules you’ll explore include:
Financial Accounting and Ledger Management
Inventory Management and Stock Control
Payroll Setup and Salary Processing
GST and TDS Return Filing
MIS Reports and Business Intelligence
Data Backup and Security Features
You’ll also learn how to use Tally as a business management tool that integrates seamlessly with compliance and audit requirements.
Best Tally Training Institutes in Chandigarh
When choosing an institute, reputation matters. The best Tally training institutes in Chandigarh offer practical curriculum, certified trainers, placement assistance, and flexible learning schedules.
Bright Career Solutions Mohali stands out as a highly rated institute offering in-depth Tally training with practical exposure. With expert faculty, dedicated career support, and strong student feedback, BCS Mohali has become a trusted name in Tally education in the region.
Students regularly highlight the institute’s hands-on training approach, one-on-one mentorship, and successful placement records across local businesses and startups.
FAQs About Tally Courses in Chandigarh
Q. Is Tally useful for non-commerce students? Ans. Yes. Tally is designed to be user-friendly and can be learned by students from non-commerce backgrounds. Institutes usually begin with accounting basics before diving into software-specific training.
Q. What is the typical duration and cost of Tally training? Ans. The duration can range from 1 to 3 months depending on the course level (basic to advanced). Fees generally range from ₹5,000 to ₹15,000. Institutes like BCS Mohali also offer installment plans.
Q. Is a Tally certification necessary to get a job? Ans. While not mandatory, a certification adds credibility to your resume and significantly boosts your chances during hiring. Certified professionals are often preferred for finance and accounts roles.
Conclusion
Tally training in Chandigarh is more than just a short-term course — it’s a launchpad for a rewarding career in finance and accounting. With businesses increasingly relying on Tally for daily operations and compliance, skilled professionals are in high demand.
Whether you’re a student, job seeker, or professional looking to upgrade your skills, enrolling in a Tally course from a reputed institute like Bright Career Solutions Mohali can help you take a decisive step toward career success. The right training, combined with dedication and practice, can turn you into a valuable asset for any business.
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mcginnlawfirm · 3 months ago
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How Do Criminal Defense Attorneys Handle Search and Seizure Issues?
When you’re facing criminal charges, understanding your rights is essential. Search and seizure laws play a critical role in protecting people from unlawful actions by law enforcement. If these laws are in question in your case, an experienced criminal defense attorney can help ensure your rights are upheld.
Understanding the Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. Law enforcement officers must have a valid warrant or probable cause to conduct a search. If they operate outside these boundaries, any evidence collected could be ruled inadmissible in court, thanks to the "exclusionary rule."
This means that if the police violated your Fourth Amendment rights, the evidence obtained through their unlawful actions may not be used against you.
How Criminal Defense Attorneys Address Search and Seizure Issues
Criminal defense attorneys are vital in challenging unlawful searches and ensuring your rights are protected. Here’s how they typically handle these situations:
Thorough Investigation: Attorneys examine the circumstances surrounding the search, including police reports, witness statements, and evidence collection methods. This helps identify whether law enforcement violated proper procedures.
Identifying Unlawful Searches: Defense attorneys carefully review whether the police had the required warrant, probable cause, or followed legal procedures. If not, they can argue that the search was illegal.
Challenging Evidence: Attorneys can file a motion to suppress evidence obtained from an unlawful search. If the court agrees, this evidence cannot be used in the case, potentially weakening the prosecution’s argument.
Advocating for You: Throughout the legal process, your attorney ensures your rights are upheld, offering guidance and representation in court.
What to Do if You Believe Your Rights Were Violated
If you suspect law enforcement conducted an unlawful search, here’s what you can do to protect yourself:
Document the Incident: Write down everything you remember about the search, including the officers involved, what was said, and any actions they took.
Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney: Seek legal advice immediately. An experienced attorney can review your case and advise you on the next steps.
Consider Filing a Complaint: If you believe law enforcement acted improperly, you may file a complaint with the appropriate agency. This could lead to an investigation into their conduct.
Navigating Modern Search and Seizure Challenges
With advancements in technology, new issues have emerged around privacy and search laws. Tools like facial recognition software, digital surveillance, and cell phone tracking have raised questions about government overreach. A knowledgeable attorney can help you understand how these evolving issues may affect your case.
Legislative Reforms and Your Rights
Laws surrounding search and seizure are constantly evolving at both state and federal levels. Changes often aim to strengthen privacy protections and establish stricter rules for law enforcement. Staying informed about these developments—and having an attorney who understands them—is crucial to defending your rights.
Navigating the complexities of search and seizure laws can be overwhelming. Having an experienced criminal defense attorney in your corner ensures that your rights are safeguarded and that law enforcement is held accountable for any misconduct.
If you believe your Fourth Amendment rights have been violated, don’t hesitate to seek legal guidance. A skilled attorney can help you challenge evidence, build your defense, and protect your future.
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reddanceragain · 3 months ago
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Heather Cox Richardson
April 11, 2025 Heather Cox Richardson Apr 12 On April 4, Trump fired head of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and director of the National Security Agency (NSA) General Timothy Haugh, apparently on the recommendation of right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who is pitching her new opposition research firm to “vet” candidates for jobs in Trump’s administration.
Former secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall wrote in Newsweek yesterday that the position Haugh held is “one of the most sensitive and powerful jobs in America.” Kendall writes that NSA and CYBERCOM oversee the world’s most sophisticated tools and techniques to penetrate computer systems, monitor communications around the globe, and, if national security requires it, attack those systems. U.S. law drastically curtails how those tools can be used in the U.S. and against American citizens and businesses. Will a Trump loyalist follow those laws? Kendall writes: “Every American should view this development with alarm.”
Just after 2:00 a.m. eastern time this morning, the Senate confirmed Retired Air Force Lieutenant General John Dan Caine, who goes by the nickname “Razin,” for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by a vote of 60–25. U.S. law requires the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have served as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of staff of the Army, the chief of naval operations, the chief of staff of the Air Force, the commandant of the Marine Corps, or the commander of a unified or specified combatant command. Although Caine has 34 years of military experience, he did not serve in any of the required positions. The law provides that the president can waive the requirement if “the President determines such action is necessary in the national interest,” and he has apparently done so for Caine. The politicization of the U.S. military by filling it with Trump loyalists is now, as Kendall writes, “indisputable.”
The politicization of data is also indisputable. Billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) claims to be saving Americans money, but the Wall Street Journal reported today that effort has been largely a failure (despite today’s announcement of devastating cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that monitors our weather). But what DOGE is really doing is burrowing into Americans’ data.
The first people to be targeted by that data collection appear to be undocumented immigrants. Jason Koebler of 404 Media reported on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using a database that enables officials to search for people by filtering for “hundreds of different, highly specific categories,” including scars or tattoos, bankruptcy filings, Social Security number, hair color, and race. The system, called Investigative Case Management (ICM), was created by billionaire Peter Thiel’s software company Palantir, which in 2022 signed a $95.9 million contract with the government to develop ICM.
Three Trump officials told Sophia Cai of Politico that DOGE staffers embedded in agencies across the government are expanding government cooperation with immigration officials, using the information they’re gleaning from government databases to facilitate deportation. On Tuesday, DOGE software engineer Aram Moghaddassi sent the first 6,300 names of individuals whose temporary legal status had just been canceled. On the list, which Moghaddassi said covered those on “the terror watch list” or with “F.B.I. criminal records,” were eight minors, including one 13-year-old.
(NOTE: AND MOGRHADDASI IS AN IRANIAN NAME, I BELIEVE!!!!) The Social Security Administration worked with the administration to get those people to “self-deport” by adding them to the agency's “death master file.” That file is supposed to track people whose death means they should no longer receive benefits. Adding to it people the administration wants to erase is “financial murder,” former SSA commissioner Martin O’Malley told Alexandra Berzon, Hamed Aleaziz, Nicholas Nehamas, Ryan Mac, and Tara Siegel Bernard of the New York Times. Those people will not be able to use credit cards or banks.
On Tuesday, Acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Melanie Krause resigned after the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security agreed to share sensitive taxpayer data with immigration authorities. Undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes, in part to demonstrate their commitment to citizenship, and the government has promised immigrants that it would not use that information for immigration enforcement. Until now, the IRS has protected sensitive taxpayer information.
Rene Marsh and Marshall Cohen of CNN note that “[m]ultiple senior career IRS officials refused to sign the data-sharing agreement with DHS,” which will enable HHS officials to ask the IRS for names and addresses of people they suspect are undocumented, “because of grave concerns about its legality.” Ultimately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the agreement with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Krause was only one of several senior career officials leaving the IRS, raising concerns among those staying that there is no longer a “defense against the potential unlawful use of taxpayer data by the Trump administration.”
Makena Kelly of Wired reported today that for the past three days, DOGE staffers have been working with representatives from Palantir and career engineers from the IRS in a giant “hackathon.” Their goal is to build a system that will be able to access all IRS records, including names, addresses, job data, and Social Security numbers, that can then be compared with data from other agencies.
But the administration’s attempt to automate deportation is riddled with errors  Last night the government sent threatening emails to U.S. citizens, green card holders, and even a Canadian (in Canada) terminating “your parole” and giving them seven days to leave the U.S. One Massachusetts-born immigration lawyer asked on social media: “Does anyone know if you can get Italian citizenship through great-grandparents?” The government is not keen to correct its errors. On March 15 the government rendered to prison in El Salvador a legal U.S. resident, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whom the courts had ordered the U.S. not to send to El Salvador, where his life was in danger. The government has admitted that its arrest and rendition of Abrego Garcia happened because of “administrative error” but now claims—without evidence—that he is a member of the MS-13 gang and that his return to the U.S. would threaten the public. Abrego Garcia says he is not a gang member and notes that he has never been charged with a crime.
On April 4, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. no later than 11:59 pm on April 7. The administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which handed down a 9–0 decision yesterday, saying the government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release, but asked the district court to clarify what it meant by “effectuate,” noting that it must give “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.” The Supreme Court also ordered that “the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.”
Legal analyst Joyce White Vance explained what happened next. Judge Xinis ordered the government to file an update by 9:30 a.m. today explaining where Abrego Garcia is, what the government is doing to get him back, and what more it will do. She planned an in-person hearing at 1:00 p.m.
The administration made clear it did not intend to comply. It answered that the judge had not given them enough time to answer and suggested that it would delay over the Supreme Court’s instruction that Xinis must show deference to the president’s ability to conduct foreign affairs. Xinis gave the government until 11:30 and said she would still hold the hearing. The government submitted its filing at about 12:15, saying that Abrego Garcia is “in the custody of a foreign sovereign,” but at the 1:00 hearing, as Anna Bower of Lawfare reported, the lawyer representing the government, Drew Ensign, said he did not have information about where Abrego Garcia is and that the government had done nothing to get him back. Ensign said he might have answers by next Tuesday. Xinis says they will have to give an update tomorrow.
As Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently warned, if the administration can take noncitizens off the streets, render them to prison in another country, and then claim it is helpless to correct the error because the person is out of reach of U.S. jurisdiction, it could do the same thing to citizens. Indeed, both President Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have proposed that very thing.
Tonight, Trump signed a memorandum to the secretaries of defense, interior, agriculture, and homeland security calling for a “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions.” The memorandum creates a military buffer zone along the border so that any migrant crossing would be trespassing on a U.S. military base. This would allow active-duty soldiers to hold migrants until ICE agents take them.
By April 20, the secretaries of defense and homeland security are supposed to report to the president whether they think he should invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to enable him to use the military to aid in mass deportations.
WILL NO ONE STOP THIS FASCIST FROM MAKING OUR GOVERNMENT INTO AN AUTHORITARIAN DICTATORSHIP?  I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE WHAT IS HAPPENING BEFORE OUR VERY EYES!!!!!
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dailyanarchistposts · 1 year ago
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J.4.7 What about the communications revolution?
Another important factor working in favour of anarchists is the existence of a sophisticated global communications network and a high degree of education and literacy among the populations of the core industrialised nations. Together these two developments make possible nearly instantaneous sharing and public dissemination of information by members of various progressive and radical movements all over the globe — a phenomenon that tends to reduce the effectiveness of repression by central authorities. The electronic-media and personal-computer revolutions also make it more difficult for elitist groups to maintain their previous monopolies of knowledge. Copy-left software and text, user-generated and shared content, file-sharing, all show that information, and its users, reaches its full potential when it is free. In short, the advent of the Information Age is potentially extremely subversive.
The very existence of the Internet provides anarchists with a powerful argument that decentralised structures can function effectively in a highly complex world. For the net has no centralised headquarters and is not subject to regulation by any centralised regulatory agency, yet it still manages to function effectively. Moreover, the net is also an effective way of anarchists and other radicals to communicate their ideas to others, share knowledge, work on common projects and co-ordinate activities and social struggle. By using the Internet, radicals can make their ideas accessible to people who otherwise would not come across anarchist ideas. In addition, and far more important than anarchists putting their ideas across, the fact is that the net allows everyone with access to express themselves freely, to communicate with others and get access (by visiting webpages and joining mailing lists and newsgroups) and give access (by creating webpages and joining in with on-line arguments) to new ideas and viewpoints. This is very anarchistic as it allows people to express themselves and start to consider new ideas, ideas which may change how they think and act.
Obviously we are aware that the vast majority of people in the world do not have access to telephones, never mind computers, but computer access is increasing in many countries, making it available, via work, libraries, schools, universities, and so on to more and more working class people.
Of course there is no denying that the implications of improved communications and information technology are ambiguous, implying Big Brother as well the ability of progressive and radical movements to organise. However, the point is only that the information revolution in combination with the other social developments could (but will not necessarily) contribute to a social paradigm shift. Obviously such a shift will not happen automatically. Indeed, it will not happen at all unless there is strong resistance to governmental and corporate attempts to limit public access to information, technology (e.g. encryption programs), censor peoples’ communications and use of electronic media and track them on-line.
This use of the Internet and computers to spread the anarchist message is ironic. The rapid improvement in price-performance ratios of computers, software, and other technology today is often used to validate the faith in free market capitalism but that requires a monumental failure of historical memory as not just the Internet but also the computer represents a spectacular success of public investment. As late as the 1970s and early 1980s, according to Kenneth Flamm’s Creating the Computer, the federal government was paying for 40 percent of all computer-related research and 60 to 75 percent of basic research. Even such modern-seeming gadgets as video terminals, the light pen, the drawing tablet, and the mouse evolved from Pentagon-sponsored research in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Even software was not without state influence, with databases having their root in US Air Force and Atomic Energy Commission projects, artificial intelligence in military contracts back in the 1950s and airline reservation systems in 1950s air-defence systems. More than half of IBM’s Research and Development budget came from government contracts in the 1950s and 1960s.
The motivation was national security, but the result has been the creation of comparative advantage in information technology for the United States that private firms have happily exploited and extended. When the returns were uncertain and difficult to capture, private firms were unwilling to invest, and government played the decisive role. And not for want of trying, for key players in the military first tried to convince businesses and investment bankers that a new and potentially profitable business opportunity was presenting itself, but they did not succeed and it was only when the market expanded and the returns were more definite that the government receded. While the risks and development costs were socialised, the gains were privatised. All of which make claims that the market would have done it anyway highly unlikely.
Looking beyond state aid to the computer industry we discover a “do-it-yourself” (and so self-managed) culture which was essential to its development. The first personal computer, for example, was invented by amateurs who wanted their own cheap machines. The existence of a “gift” economy among these amateurs and hobbyists was a necessary precondition for the development of PCs. Without this free sharing of information and knowledge, the development of computers would have been hindered and so socialistic relations between developers and within the working environment created the necessary conditions for the computer revolution. If this community had been marked by commercial relations, the chances are the necessary breakthroughs and knowledge would have remained monopolised by a few companies or individuals, so hindering the industry as a whole.
Encouragingly, this socialistic “gift economy” is still at the heart of computer/software development and the Internet. For example, the Free Software Foundation has developed the General Public Licence (GPL). GPL, also know as
“copyleft”, uses copyright to ensure that software remains free. Copyleft ensures that a piece of software is made available to everyone to use and modify as they desire. The only restriction is that any used or modified copyleft material must remain under copyleft, ensuring that others have the same rights as you did when you used the original code. It creates a commons which anyone may add to, but no one may subtract from. Placing software under GPL means that every contributor is assured that she, and all other uses, will be able to run, modify and redistribute the code indefinitely. Unlike commercial software, copyleft code ensures an increasing knowledge base from which individuals can draw from and, equally as important, contribute to. In this way everyone benefits as code can be improved by everyone, unlike commercial code.
Many will think that this essentially anarchistic system would be a failure. In fact, code developed in this way is far more reliable and sturdy than commercial software. Linux, for example, is a far superior operating system than DOS precisely because it draws on the collective experience, skill and knowledge of thousands of developers. Apache, the most popular web-server, is another freeware product and is acknowledged as the best available. The same can be said of other key web-technologies (most obviously PHP) and projects (Wikipedia springs to mind, although that project while based on co-operative and free activity is owned by a few people who have ultimate control). While non-anarchists may be surprised, anarchists are not. Mutual aid and co-operation are beneficial in the evolution of life, why not in the evolution of software? For anarchists, this “gift economy” at the heart of the communications revolution is an important development. It shows both the superiority of common development as well as the walls built against innovation and decent products by property systems. We hope that such an economy will spread increasingly into the “real” world.
Another example of co-operation being aided by new technologies is Netwar. This refers to the use of the Internet by autonomous groups and social movements to co-ordinate action to influence and change society and fight government or business policy. This use of the Internet has steadily grown over the years, with a Rand corporation researcher, David Ronfeldt, arguing that this has become an important and powerful force (Rand is, and has been since its creation in 1948, a private appendage of the military industrial complex). In other words, activism and activists’ power and influence has been fuelled by the advent of the information revolution. Through computer and communication networks, especially via the Internet, grassroots campaigns have flourished, and the most importantly, government elites have taken notice.
Ronfeldt specialises in issues of national security, especially in the areas of Latin American and the impact of new informational technologies. Ronfeldt and another colleague coined the term
“netwar” in a Rand document entitled “Cyberwar is Coming!”. Ronfeldt’s work became a source of discussion on the Internet in mid-March 1995 when Pacific News Service correspondent Joel Simon wrote an article about Ronfeldt’s opinions on the influence of netwars on the political situation in Mexico after the Zapatista uprising. According to Simon, Ronfeldt holds that the work of social activists on the Internet has had a large influence — helping to co-ordinate the large demonstrations in Mexico City in support of the Zapatistas and the proliferation of EZLN communiqués across the world via computer networks. These actions, Ronfeldt argues, have allowed a network of groups that oppose the Mexican Government to muster an international response, often within hours of actions by it. In effect, this has forced the Mexican government to maintain the facade of negotiations with the EZLN and has on many occasions, actually stopped the army from just going in to Chiapas and brutally massacring the Zapatistas.
Given that Ronfeldt was an employee of the Rand Corporation his comments indicate that the U.S. government and its military and intelligence wings are very interested in what the Left is doing on the Internet. Given that they would not be interested in this if it were not effective, we can say that this use of the “Information Super-Highway” is a positive example of the use of technology in ways un-planned of by those who initially developed it (let us not forget that the Internet was originally funded by the U.S. government and military). While the internet is being hyped as the next big marketplace, it is being subverted by activists — an example of anarchistic trends within society worrying the powers that be.
A good example of this powerful tool is the incredible speed and range at which information travels the Internet about events concerning Mexico and the Zapatistas. When Alexander Cockburn wrote an article exposing a Chase Manhattan Bank memo about Chiapas and the Zapatistas in Counterpunch, only a small number of people read it because it is only a newsletter with a limited readership. The memo, written by Riordan Roett, argued that “the [Mexican] government will need to eliminate the Zapatistas to demonstrate their effective control of the national territory and of security policy”. In other words, if the Mexican government wants investment from Chase, it would have to crush the Zapatistas. This information was relatively ineffective when just confined to print but when it was uploaded to the Internet, it suddenly reached a very large number of people. These people in turn co-ordinated protests against the U.S and Mexican governments and especially Chase Manhattan. Chase was eventually forced to attempt to distance itself from the Roett memo that it commissioned. Since then net-activism has grown.
Ronfeldt’s research and opinion should be flattering for the Left. He is basically arguing that the efforts of activists on computers not only has been very effective (or at least has that potential), but more importantly, argues that the only way to counter this work is to follow the lead of social activists. Activists should understand the important implications of Ronfeldt’s work: government elites are not only watching these actions (big surprise) but are also attempting to work against them. Thus Netwars and copyleft are good examples of anarchistic trends within society, using communications technology as a means of co-ordinating activity across the world in a libertarian fashion for libertarian goals.
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the-heart-of-a-monster · 2 years ago
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OKAY AS PROMISED IM BACK WITH SOME GOOD OL GOVERNMENT SLANDER LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOO
And as usually I haven’t read the page in the past 5 minutes so some details are most certainly lost within the inner machinations of my mind so please don’t excuse me if I get some things wrong. I’m also a high school student so I also don’t know every little detail about how government organizations work but let’s pretend I do for the funny.
Now, what we see of GUN (Will not be using the periods because that’s too much work lmfao) is pretty antagonistic at first glance. First they won’t permit Amy to be in the base without specific permission from anyone in charge, then they see one little thing wrong with Omega and treat it like it’s the black plague or something, and then they don’t even refer to Omega as a real person, AND THEN THEY PREPARE THE GUY FOR EXECUTION????????? YEAH WHAT A NICE TRACK RECORD THEY GOT GOING ON!!!!
However, I do have the obligation to defend a majority of the things they do here. First we’ll start with Amy’s initial rejection.
Again, a ton of details about this part are lost to me as they came out nearly a year ago and I just spontaneously decided to send in this ask.
When Amy waltz’s right on into GUN’s base of operation, she does arrive with the consent of Rouge, but our badass bat queen is not the one in charge. Yes, Rouge is a very well-respected spy in the business and she is held in high regard, but she’s only one of the higher-ups. She isn’t “The Big Man” upstairs or whatever. Not only that, but she is allies with some pretty suspicious individuals, like Sonic for example, who was already on GUN’s hit list a few times now. And not to mention, she treats Omega like he’s a real person instead of just some Eggman robot that went rogue. In this context, not only do GUN have reason to be suspicious of Rouge just allowing a random girl into their top secret operations base, but they also have reason to be wary near Omega. (I’ll get into this later) And by the way, Amy is practically unheard of to GUN, at least from what I know. They have Sonic and a majority of his friends on file, but I’ve never seen Amy interact with GUN at all until this point. Even if she had, GUN would still know very little about her. So for her to just waltz right on in and claim she’s working with Rouge, the only other Mobian besides Shadow btw, it’s understandable that GUN is gonna be pretty weird about that.
Now sure, Amy did claim she was working with Rouge, but that’s just it. Rouge and Shadow are the only Mobians within a mostly human organization, Mobians who do have previous criminal records. I am honestly shocked the two were able to work with GUN in the first place. So allowing another Mobian onto the team, even temporarily, is a big deal.
Alright that’s enough of that I’ve basically sang GUN its praises from heaven and back so we’re gonna get into the nitty-gritty now muahahahahahaaaaa
Now about everyone just hating on Omega? Well, they still have some reason to do so. Before Shadow and Rouge, GUN was quite strict in who they let in, as with any scientific/military operation that’s in cahoots with the government. Oh, and they also hate Eggman. So allowing Team Dark’s third and most op member Omega to be hired was quite the stretch. In real life, allowing a robot to work at all would basically be a felony as it could lead to harmful outcomes like software malfunctions, miscalculations, harming other workers, etc. To many things can go wrong when a robot is on the clock, and in this case, the robot is also very genocidal and wants the death of anyone who gets in his way. The only attribute that GUN can have any hope in is the well-known fact that Omega despises Eggman with a passion. Ya boi hates Eggman more than the whole of GUN, which to them is saying a lot! So GUN is already taking enough risk by allowing Omega to exist within the workspace!
But that’s the thing here. Everyone is so focused on the what-ifs with Omega that they never stop to think about what he’s really like. Everyone is afraid of Omega, or at least afraid of what he is capable of, so they all avoid him like the plague. On top of all that, due to their honestly not unfounded fear, they’ve been preparing for the worst from the guy. GUN probably has a ton of unnecessary protocols now all thanks to Omega’s mere existence, and so if anything were to go even a little bit wrong… Welp. We all know what they’d have to do.
To me, this does seem slightly reasonable, at least given how Omega truly is. The guy is a loose cannon, literally and figuratively, and his rage is unmatched! So it does seem understandable to an extent as to why Omega is treated in this way.
What isn’t reasonable though is how he’s treated on the other side of things. Yes, ya boi is a hazard. Yes, he could burn the whole place to the ground and not feel an ounce of regret. Yes, Omega is very unpredictable! However, that’s just how some people are in real life too! Real people are unpredictable and violent, and yet we don’t see everyone treating them like a plaything! To GUN, Omega is seen as both a useful tool and an unpredictable hazard, just like I said, and both these qualities combined make for a very demeaning description. Because while Omega is a robot, he still can feel and have emotions similarly to, if not exactly like a regular person! (See my previous essay to get a bigger picture for what I mean by this) He acts and feels just as human as the others, and we can tell he clearly wants to be treated as such! Omega doesn’t seem to mind the over-the-top precautions necessary for his own existence, and he doesn’t care if he gets the occasional glare or two from a coworker. What he does clearly care about is being called a violent yet necessary tool, a monster, a robot, an emotionless tin can, an it…! Omega hates being undermined. He despises the fact that he’s constantly being misjudged for what he is, not because of who he is. No one treats Omega like a real living creature, and instead treats him like another tool in the shed, a faulty lawnmower or a dulled bush trimmer. Yes, he’s useful, and yeah he is on their side! But he’s also just a bunch of code and numbers, nothing but ones and zeroes, and they’re all treating him as such. Nobody really cares about him. Nobody sees Omega for who he really is. Which is why whenever he can, Omega always gravitates towards the only other oddballs in the workplace, the only Mobians, the only people who will treat him with respect.
And finally, we come to the last section of this very very VERY LONG ESSAY ABOUT A SINGLE CHARACTER, the execution. Or I guess the attempted execution.
So, like I said beforehand, Omega has a LOT of precautions on his belt, and also like I stated, one of them is his execution. If anything were to go wrong at all, if Omega were to step out of line, the guy would have to at the very least be taken apart just to see what’s wrong. If GUN were feeling nice, they wouldn’t straight up kill the guy, and at this point in time it’s clear that the higher-ups have taken a liking to Omega. So going this far was not their intention in the slightest. It would be considered though if anything like it were to happen again, but thanks to the new pages I think they’re beginning to reconsider this. Omega has now been taken over/amplified by Dark Gaia, (Also see my previous ask to know what I think on all that) and that is seen as an accident worthy of an execution in the eyes of the government. And in some cases that’d be understandable, but in this case it isn’t. GUN has been working with Omega for a while at this point, and not only that, but like I JUST SAID, they like him. Or at least they think they do. Executing Omega for something that was clearly out of his control is not necessary in the slightest and it is exactly why I did this whole thing.
okay so as you can probably tell I’m getting tired of typing on my iPad generation 10 screen keyboard so I’ll try to keep this short.
Summary: Omega is an unpredictable force of nature that GUN clearly doesn’t like. They like the concept of him being on their side and the General likes him personally, but Omega in theory and Omega in practice are two separate robots. Having robots in the workplace at all can have dire consequences, so not only have GUN taken multiple extra precautions just in case something bad happened thanks to Omega, but they also treat him like a piece of junk! It’s terrible, but at the end of the day that’s kinda just what needs to be done. GUN is a government operation that hates Eggman, so anything trouble-making within the business is seen as a liability or a hazard, which includes our favorite homicidal maniacal robot.
AND THATS IT I FINALLY DID IT I FINALLY GOT IT DONE I FINALLY WROTE THE WHOLE THING WOW THAT WAS A LOT OF GIVERNMENT SLANDER QOOOOOOOOOWWWWW
AIGHT THATS IT IM DONE IM LEAVING THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING ALL THAT AND HAVE A GREAT DAY/NIGHT
THANKS FOR SENDING IN ESSAYS LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!! very interesting read cant wait for u to see the conclusion of this arc
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heresylog · 2 years ago
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do you have pokemon sleep?
No, I collected snippets of their privacy policy. I was very uncomfortable with them collecting this data about my sleep habits.
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