Police in China are Scanning Travelers with Facial Recognition Glasses

February 7, 2018

(Engadget) - Police in China are now sporting glasses equipped with facial recognition devices and they're using them to scan train riders and plane passengers for individuals who may be trying to avoid law enforcement or are using fake IDs. So far, police have caught seven people connected to major criminal cases and 26 who were using false IDs while traveling, according to People's Daily.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Beijing-based LLVision Technology Co. developed the devices. The company produces wearable video cameras as well and while it sells those to anyone, it's vetting buyers for its facial recognition devices. And, for now, it isn't selling them to consumers. LLVision says that in tests, the system was able to pick out individuals from a database of 10,000 people and it could do so in 100 milliseconds. However, CEO Wu Fei told the Wall Street Journal that in the real world, accuracy would probably drop due to "environmental noise." Additionally, aside from being portable, another difference between these devices and typical facial recognition systems is that the database used for comparing images is contained in a hand-held device rather than the cloud.

Obviously, there are privacy concerns regarding this technology and not everyone believes police should be using it. Amnesty International's William Nee told the Wall Street Journal, "The potential to give individual police officers facial recognition technology in sunglasses could eventually make China's surveillance state all the more ubiquitous." Last month, reports surfaced that China was using facial recognition to geo-fence residents of the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang region of the country, a move that has attracted criticism from a number of human rights groups. China is also working on building a facial recognition database that will contain info on all of its 1.3 billion citizens.

This time of year is one of the busiest travel periods in China as this month hosts the lunar new year. Around 389 million train trips are expected to take place during this year's Spring Festival as well as 65 million trips by air.

Turkey's President Warns US to Quit Syria's Manbij

February 6, 2018

(AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned the United States to withdraw any American forces from the Syrian town of Manbij, vowing Turkish troops would expand a cross-border military operation to the key strategic hub.

Erdogan blamed Washington for the presence in Manbij of fighters from the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) and its Democratic Union Party (PYD) political wing, which Ankara sees as terror groups.

Turkey on January 20 launched a major operation aimed at ousting YPG forces from their enclave of the northwestern town of Afrin. However moving east to Manbij -- where unlike Afrin there is a US military presence -- would mark a major escalation.

Accusing Washington of breaking past promises, Erdogan said: "They (Americans) told us they will pull out of Manbij. They said they will not stay in Manbij... Why don't you just go?"

"Who did you bring there? PYD. Who did you bring there? YPG. Who did you bring there? PKK," he said.

Turkey considers YPG as Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged an insurgency since 1984 and is designated a terrorist outfit by Ankara and its Western allies.

"And then you tell us not to come to Manbij! We will come to Manbij to return it to its original owners," he added.

Turkey considers towns like Manbij to be originally Arab-majority territory whose ethnic balance was upset in favour of the Kurds during the seven-year civil war.

Turkey's Western allies, including the United States, do not classify the YPG as a terror group and have worked closely with its fighters in the battle against Islamic State jihadists.

In 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance dominated by the YPG, captured Manbij from IS.

In a show of anger at Turkey's NATO ally, Erdogan asked the United States what it was doing in Syria in the first place.

"You do not have a border, you are not a neighbour (of Syria)," he said. "What's your business there? We have a 911 kilometre (566 miles) border."

Erdogan also accused US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama of failing to tell the truth over US support for the YPG.

"They told us many things but unfortunately they did not tell the truth," Erdogan said. "Mr Obama did not tell the truth and now Mr Trump is heading down the same path."

U.S. Strikes Pro-Syrian Forces After 'Unprovoked Attack' on Partners' Base

February 7, 2018

(Reuters) - U.S. aircraft carried out rare, retaliatory strikes in Syria's Deir al-Zor province on Wednesday against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after they attacked U.S.-backed fighters' headquarters there, U.S. officials said.

No U.S. troops embedded with the local fighters at their headquarters were believed to have been wounded or killed in the attack, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State described the attack on the headquarters as "unprovoked," but offered little information in its terse statement confirming the attack.

The coalition did not disclose whether U.S. troops had been present or involved in the retaliatory strike or offer any details on which forces attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces' headquarters. The SDF are a U.S.-backed alliance of militias in northern and eastern Syria.

"Syrian pro-regime forces initiated an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters Feb. 7," the statement said.

It said the incident took place 8 km (5 miles) east of the Euphrates River.

"In defense of coalition and partner forces, the coalition conducted strikes against attacking forces to repel the act of aggression against partners engaged in the Global Coalition's defeat-Daesh mission," the statement said, using an Arab acronym for Islamic State.

The Syrian army is backed by Iranian-backed militias and Russian forces. The U.S.-led coalition did not say whether any pro-Syrian fighters were killed in the retaliatory strike.

Netanyahu Visits Golan Heights, Near Syrian Border, and Cautions Israel's Enemies

February 6, 2018

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a rare visit to the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, peering across the nearby border into Syria and warning Israel's enemies not to "test" its resolve.

Netanyahu was accompanied to a hilltop observation point, some three kilometres (two miles) from a 1974 ceasefire line, by his security cabinet. He has been cautioning against any attempt by Iran to deepen its military foothold in Syria or construct missile factories in neighbouring Lebanon.

"We seek peace but are prepared for any scenario and I wouldn't suggest to anyone that they test us," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.

Pennsylvania Department of Education Sets Property Tax Limits

November 29, 2017

(TRIBUNE-REVIEW) - Pennsylvania school districts will be able to increase property taxes by at least 2.4 percent in the 2018-19 school year, though a select few in the Pittsburgh region can go as high as 3.9 percent, if they choose.

The state Department of Education set the limits.

This chart shows the tax-increase limit for each district in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties and other select districts in the TribLIVE coverage area included:

Districts can exceed their limits only with approval from voters at a referendum or through referendum exceptions from the state. Exceptions are available only for school construction debt, special education spending and retirement contributions.

The statewide base is down slightly from 2.5 percent for the 2017-18 school year. Adjusted limits for most districts went down by the same amount.

The limits are set as part of the state's Taxpayer Relief Act, Act 1 of 2006. The statewide index is based on the statewide average weekly wage and the employment cost index. It is then adjusted for each school district, with poorer districts being able to increase property taxes more than wealthier ones.

The decision to increase property taxes, if at all, is up to each district's school board.

Since 2006, the statewide base has been as low as 1.7 percent in 2013-14 and 2011-12, and as high as 4.4 percent in 2008-09.

School boards must decide by Jan. 25 if their districts will not raise taxes by more than their indexes. If not, they have to make a proposed version of a preliminary 2018-19 budget available for public inspection.

Districts seeking referendum exceptions to raise taxes higher than their indexes have to seek approval from the Department of Education by March 1.