City eyes $157M Unsustainable "Public Safety" Debt-Bond Gimmick in These Times of A Looming Recession

HOW TO SPIN THIS HEIST: Hizzoner John Giles signaled strong support for the measure during the study session, saying that he thought the existing facilities were “overutilized,” and more space for public safety was justified.

“With the growth of our community, I think any reasonable voter that looks into this thing is going to support it,” Giles said, “but I think it’s incumbent on all of us to realize this is a campaign.”

“We are going to the voters and saying, ‘would you please give us $43 or more a year of your money?’ which is a serious ask,” Giles continued. “So yes, we need to put this on the ballot, but more importantly, we need to work with labor groups and anyone else to campaign out there to help people understand why it is important to vote for it.”

 

top story            

City eyes $157M public safety bond proposal

By Scott Shumaker, Tribune Staff Writer May 31, 2022 

". . .The package is about twice as large as the public safety bonds approved by voters in 2018, the last time Mesa voters signed off on bonds for police, fire and medical.

The last time voters approved bonds for public safety, in 2018, they signed off on $84.8 million for police and fire out of a total $196 million package including parks, cultural amenities and shared use paths.

Cities in Arizona can raise funds for projects by selling bonds to investors, which are paid back with interest over a period of up to 30 years. Voters must approve the amounts of the bonds.

City Manager Chris Brady told Council earlier this month that staff estimates the new financing would cost taxpayers about $43 a year in additional secondary property taxes. . .

At a January planning and zoning hearing for a new housing development at Val Vista Drive and Thomas Road, which is in the service area of the proposed Lindsay and McDowell station, many residents said a fire station was sorely needed in the area, especially as the number of residents has grown in recent years.

While the bonds would deliver a new station in the area, residents will have to wait several years: City Engineer Beth Huning told council the new fire stations would be complete four to six years after the November vote if the bond funds are approved. . .

The largest project in the bond package is a renovation of the police headquarters building, built originally in 1974, then expanded in 1988 and 1997, Huning said.

The bond package includes a $43.4 million overhaul of the police headquarters at 130 N. Robson and adding $10 million to the $10 million already approved in a 2018 bond package for a consolidated evidence facility next door.

It also includes another $41.9 million for improving the 57,500-square-foot public safety training facility on North 40th Street by adding classrooms, parking and other site improvements.

 

. .  .“As we’re growing and adding police and firemen, classes that we bring in continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger,” Brady said of the training facility. “So we need both classroom space and we just need parking, logistics.”

 

 

 

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What is SPIN FISHING? What does SPIN FISHING mean? SPIN FISHING meaning,...

Hmmm. mebbe reading
too much into this applying this definition to influencing public opinion and public relations campaigns and what's called news, 'spinning the story' ... basically it's BAIT.
This is a brief streaming vid if you are interested in all the applications and ramifications in a much broader context. 

 

 

Spin fishing is an angling technique where a spinning lure is used to entice the fish to bite. Spin fishing is used in both freshwater and marine environments. Spin fishing is distinguished between fly fishing and bait cast fishing by the type of rod and reel used. There are two types of reels used when spin fishing, the open faced reel and the closed faced reel. The spin fishing rod has no trigger attached to the base of the fishing rod. This is what differentiates the spin fishing rod from the bait casting fishing rod.
When fishing in a river the line should be cast upstream. Casting upstream and retrieving with the current results in the spinner/lure sinking faster.
Bottom bouncing is a spin fishing technique where the spinner is cast up river from the shore, and then allowed to bounce on the river bottom until it has moved downstream. The rod tip is held higher in the air than normal and the speed of retrieval is faster. This method is commonly used when float fishing from an inflatable dingy. The spinner is cast directly behind the boat until it settles on the bottom. After the spinner has settled it bounces on the bottom, naturally attracting fish of all species. This technique is commonly used for trout in large wide rivers where an inflatable boat can be used. All types of trout are caught with this method including brown trout, rainbow trout, bull trout, brook trout and cut throat trout.
The key to Walking The Dog is making sure that there's some "line-slack" immediately before each jerk, and immediately after each jerk. This gives a crisp, natural motion to the lure, unfettered by drag of any kind.

        

 

 

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SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY: Nip Pasties + Butt Cracks

If you think that headline is click-bait, it might be . . there's a lot of space between two articles

1

Breast in show! How nipple pasties went from underwear to outerwear

The self-adhesive covers are normally used in lieu of a bra, but celebrities from Cara Delevingne to Doja Cat are proudly flaunting them on the red carpet

Ellie Violet Bramley

the Guardian |

It has been 21 years since Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones uttered the words “nipples are huge right now” – yet here we are again. This time, though, nipples are so huge as to be worthy of adornment. “Pasties” – self-adhesive nipple covers usually worn under clothes in lieu of a bra – are being worn proudly, in metallics rather than muted tones, as part of an outfit rather than behind-the-scenes staging.

They have, in fashion circles, gone the way of lingerie: underwear as outerwear, the externalisation of something that was once meant to be concealed. Pasties are no longer sharing space with hidden necessities, such as boob tape or bunion insoles; instead, they are the stars of the show.

At fashion’s biggest annual do, the Met Gala, the model and actor Cara Delevingne wore a smooth gold pair on the red carpet, while the model Bella Hadid wore a pretty scalloped-edged beaded pair to an afterparty. The pop star Doja Cat wore a pointed golden pair with her Schiaparelli gown to the Billboard Music awards.

Elsewhere, they have trickled down to the cultural barometer that is reality TV, featuring under a see-through bodystocking worn by Made in Chelsea’s Maeva D’Ascanio. They are peeking through on the high street, too, clearly visible on Asos models sporting sheer tops.

“The fashion for pasties on the red carpet is not entirely unprecedented,” says Sarah Thornton, the author of Uplifting Sagas: The Top Half of Women’s Liberation. “The pasty arose with burlesque as a commercial form of bare-breasted entertainment. There was no widespread need for them before that. Also, the availability of easy, cheap, gentle adhesives was a necessary precursor – hence their name, which derives from the word ‘paste’.“The burlesque cliche is that they are ‘boob jewellery’. They draw attention to nipples as much as they mask them. . ."

Read more >> https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/jun/01/breast-in-show-how-nipple-pasties-went-from-underwear-to-outerwear

2

Chris Hemsworth Gets Butt Naked As He Shows Off God Bod In Steamy ‘Thor’ Trailer

A single "flick" from Russell Crowe as Zeus leads to an unforgettable moment.

By Ed Mazza

 

Overnight Editor, HuffPost

May. 24, 2022, 04:35 AM EDT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new “Thor: Love And Thunder” trailer is here and it offers fans an eyeful of Chris Hemsworth’s god bod.

While last month’s teaser featured Thor’s ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) wielding the mighty hammer Mjolnir, this one gives fans a look at Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher as well as Russell Crowe as Zeus.

A single flick from Zeus leads to one heavily blurred butt.

“You flicked too hard, dammit!” Thor cries as he stands in all his glory:

 

“Thor: Love And Thunder,” the fourth Thor-centered movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, hits theaters on July 8.

Defiant Clearview AI Stalls on European Orders To Delete Facial Recognition/Location Data

European laws require companies to obtain some sort of consent from the people whose data they gather. Clearview doesn’t ask for anyone’s consent. It scrapes publicly available websites of any photos and personal data it can and sells access to this database and its facial recognition AI to pretty much anyone who wants it.

UK Government Orders Clearview To Pay $9.4 Million Fine, Delete All UK Residents’ Data

Privacy

from the taking-out-the-AI-trash dept

Fri, Jun 3rd 2022 12:06pm - Tim Cushing

Clearview may as well exit Europe entirely. Things are not going to get better for it. Online privacy laws are far more restrictive on the other side of the pond and Clearview’s business model will always be in violation of those laws. . . This threat arrived 18 months after Clearview started doing business in the UK, offering its services to law enforcement, private equity firms, the Ministry of Defence, and (oddly) a charity headed by author J.K. Rowling.

The threat is now a reality, although the ask appears to have decreased a bit. . .

Clearview may never decide to stop being the worst participant in the crowed facial recognition marketplace, but sooner or later, it’s going to have trouble turning a profit. What’s happened elsewhere in the world is going to continue happening. The GDPR simply does not allow the sort of data gathering Clearview engages in.

And, while US laws are far more permissive, it’s still going to find itself the target of irate citizens, pissed off legislators, state prosecutors, and US congressional reps. It may be able to find willing customers in the United States — many of which are federal entities — but sooner or later, this gravy train ride is going to end because there are plenty of other, more ethical competitors to choose from."

Filed Under: data protection, facial recognition, fines, privacy, uk
Companies: clearview, clearview ai

> Here’s James Vincent with the details for The Verge.

Clearview AI ordered to delete facial recognition data belonging to UK residents

By James Vincent May 23, 2022, 5:54am EDT

The Verge |

POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE: British PM BoJo at Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Intro: "Carry On for Queen-and-Country" as the World turns around marked days of festivities for the final days of the long 70-year reign of Elizabeth II, monarch of the House of Windsor

3 Jun, 2022 14:42

British PM booed by crowd (VIDEO)

Boris Johnson was met with a mixed reaction as he arrived for the Queen’s Jubilee service

© AP / Matt Dunham

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was met with a mixed reaction from the crowd gathered for the second day of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration as he arrived with his wife Carrie at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Friday

Both cheers and boos could be heard when the formally dressed couple was walking up the stairs of the cathedral for the National Service of Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Johnson’s political opponent, Labour leader Keir Starmer, was met with complete silence.

Neither Johnson nor Carrie appeared to be bothered by the boos and whistling as they were smiling and chatting to each other on the way to the cathedral entrance.

During the service, they also seemed to be in good spirits. The prime minister read a short excerpt from the Bible in front of the congregation, which was full of royals, dignitaries, and current and former politicians.

The four days of festivities come as Johnson battles mounting calls to resign both from the opposition and fellow Conservatives over the ‘Partygate’ scandal. An investigation into 16 gatherings that took place at government buildings during Britain’s nationwide lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021 concluded that many of them “should not have been allowed to happen.” The author of the report, senior civil servant Sue Gray, also stressed that Johnson has to personally “bear responsibility for this culture.”

Despite growing pressure for a confidence vote from within his own party, the prime minister said that he was not going to “abandon” the nation as it faces economic hardships and the conflict in Ukraine.

Starmer, who over the last few months has repeatedly criticized Johnson for breaking the Covid rules, is now facing similar issues. The police are conducting an inquiry into a curry party that took place in the city of Durham last April. The so-called ‘Beergate’ investigation was opened after footage emerged showing the Labour leader sipping beer at the allegedly illegal gathering.

Starmer denies any wrongdoing but earlier made clear that if he were given a fine, he, unlike the prime minister, would resign."

Bleeping Computer: Latest Articles Today

 

Evil Corp switches to LockBit ransomware to evade sanctions

Sergiu Gatlan

BleepingComputer |

The Evil Corp cybercrime group has now switched to deploying LockBit ransomware on targets' networks to evade sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Active since 2007, Evil Corp (aka INDRIK SPIDER or the Dridex gang) is known for pushing the Dridex malware and later switching to the ransomware "business."

The gang started with Locky ransomware and then deployed their own ransomware strain known as BitPaymer until 2019.

Since the U.S. sanctioned them in December 2019 for using Dridex to cause over $100 million in financial damages, the group switched to installing its new WastedLocker ransomware in June 2020.

From March 2021, Evil Corp moved to another strain known as Hades ransomware, a 64-bit variant of WastedLocker upgraded with additional code obfuscation and minor feature changes.

Since then, the threat actors have also impersonated the PayloadBin hacking group and used other ransomware strains known as Macaw Locker and Phoenix CryptoLocker.

The LockBit switch

As Mandiant threat analysts have recently observed, the cybercrime gang has now made another attempt to distance themselves from known tooling to allow victims to pay ransoms without facing the risks associated with violating OFAC regulations,

An activity cluster tracked by Mandiant as UNC2165 (previously deploying Hades ransomware and linked to Evil Corp) is now deploying ransomware as a LockBit affiliate.

"Using this RaaS would allow UNC2165 to blend in with other affiliates, requiring visibility into earlier stages of the attack lifecycle to properly attribute the activity, compared to prior operations that may have been attributable based on the use of an exclusive ransomware," Mandiant said.

"Additionally, the frequent code updates and rebranding of HADES required development resources and it is plausible that UNC2165 saw the use of LOCKBIT as a more cost-effective choice."

LockBit ransomware activity (ID-Ransomware)

This new tactic of acting as a Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) operation affiliate would likely allow them to invest the time needed for ransomware development into broadening the gang's ransomware deployment operations.

Another theory is that a switch to others' malicious tools may provide Evil Corp with enough free resources to develop a new ransomware strain from scratch, making it harder for security researchers to link to the gang's previous operations.

"We expect these actors as well as others who are sanctioned in the future to take steps such as these to obscure their identities in order to ensure that it is not a limiting factor to receiving payments from victims," Mandiant concluded."

 

Latest Articles

• 
  Security

  The Week in Ransomware - June 3rd 2022 - Evading sanctions

  Ransomware gangs continue to evolve their operations as victims refuse to pay ransoms due to sanctions or other reasons.

  • Lawrence Abrams
  • June 03, 2022
  • 04:41 PM
  • 0
• 
  Security

  Novartis says no sensitive data was compromised in cyberattack

  Pharmaceutical giant Novartis says no sensitive data was compromised in a recent cyberattack by the Industrial Spy data-extortion gang.

  • Lawrence Abrams
  • June 03, 2022
  • 03:30 PM
  • 0
• 
  Security

  WatchDog hacking group launches new Docker cryptojacking campaign

  ​The WatchDog hacking group is conducting a new cryptojacking campaign with advanced techniques for intrusion, worm-like propagation, and evasion of security software.

  • Bill Toulas
  • June 03, 2022
  • 01:50 PM
  • 0 

Security, CryptoCurrency

Americans report losing over $1 billion to cryptocurrency scams

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says over 46,000 people Americans have reported losing more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency to scams between January 2021 and March 2022.

• Sergiu Gatlan
• June 03, 2022
• 01:24 PM
• 0

Security, Microsoft

Microsoft disrupts Bohrium hackers’ spear-phishing operation

The Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) has disrupted a spear-phishing operation linked to an Iranian threat actor tracked as Bohrium that targeted customers in the U.S., Middle East, and India.

• Sergiu Gatlan
• June 03, 2022
• 11:24 AM
• 0

Security

GitLab security update fixes critical account take over flaw

GitLab has released a critical security update for multiple versions of its Community and Enterprise Edition products to address eight vulnerabilities, one of which allows account takeover.

• Bill Toulas
• June 03, 2022
• 09:55 AM
• 0

Deals, Software

Factory reset iOS devices without a password using this app deal

Restore access to locked iOS devices. Get MobiUnlock: Unleash Your Apple Device (Lifetime Subscription) for $39.95 (Reg. $69). 

• BleepingComputer Deals
• June 03, 2022
• 07:27 AM
• 

SpaceX Crew Dragon Missions to International Space State All Booked-Up by NASA

Intro: There are eight years of lifetime left in the space station if it stops flying in 2030.

NASA just bought the rest of the space station crew flights from SpaceX

"We will need additional missions from SpaceX to implement our strategy."

Eric Berger -

Ars Technica | 6/2/2022, 2:02 PM

NASA said this week that it plans to purchase five additional Crew Dragon missions from SpaceX to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.

Although the space agency's news release does not specifically say so, these may be the final flights NASA needs to keep the space station fully occupied into the year 2030. As of now, there is no signed international agreement to keep the station flying until then, but this new procurement sends a strong signal that the space agency expects the orbital outpost to keep flying that long.

The announcement also suggests that SpaceX will fly more than twice as many crews to the space station than the other partner in NASA's commercial crew program, Boeing. Under the new agreement, SpaceX would fly 14 crewed missions to the station on Crew Dragon, and Boeing would fly six during the lifetime of the station.

Let's run down the math on that. SpaceX has already launched four operational crew missions to the space station, dating to the November 15, 2020, launch of the Crew-1 mission. SpaceX has two more flights under its original crew contract with NASA. In February 2022, NASA awarded fixed-price contracts for the Crew-7, Crew-8, and Crew-9 missions to SpaceX. The latest announcement would bring the total number of Crew Dragon missions to 14.

As for Boeing, it has yet to fly an operational mission to the station. The company recently completed a largely successful uncrewed test flight in May. Looking ahead, Boeing will probably complete a crewed flight test of Starliner late this year or early in 2023 and then fly its first operational mission sometime in 2023, or possibly later if issues are discovered on the crewed test flight.

 

MARICOPA COUNTY CONSISTENTLY VIOLATES FEDERAL CLEAN AIR STANDARDS

Intro: Seeing is Believing

TOXIC CONTAMINATED AIR + EXCESSIVE HIGH HEAT

Intro: Ya know, dear readers, your MesaZona blogger is really throwing one more RANT today about our Air Quality ....Ooops!!
Here's another one, but this time here are some links so that YOU, dear readers, CAN FOLLOW THROUGH to get your own daily updates . . . ask for more accountability.
Maricopa County consistently VIOLATES federal Clean Air Standards
Whose job is it anyway to ensure that Federal Clean Air Standards do not get consistently violated here? It doesn't look like they are "Doing Their Job"!
Here's another Advisory for tomorrow: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO ABOUT IT????????
It's just NOT a Particulate Matter > Do you take it personally?
It's time to hold ADEQ accountable.

Health Impacts

People most vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution include children, older adults, adults exercising outdoors and people with heart or lung disease and those suffering from asthma and bronchitis. Exposure can increase the number and severity of asthma attacks, cause or aggravate bronchitis or other lung disease and reduce the body’s ability to fight infection. Symptoms may include itchy eyes, nose, and throat, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain and upper respiratory issues. Long-term exposure is linked to premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat and decreased lung function.

Particulate Matter:

State and county agencies measure levels of particulate matter (PM) in the air.

PM is extremely small solid particles and liquid droplets that circulate in air.

PM comes from combustion (cars, industry, wood burning) or dust stirred up into the air. High levels of PM occur when air is especially stagnant or windy.

Two types of PM are measured:

PM-10, commonly called dust

PM-2.5, commonly called soot or smoke.

PM-10 is 10 microns or less in size

PM-2.5 is 2.5 microns or less in size.

(For perspective, one strand of human hair is 70-100 microns in size.)

High Pollution Ozone Warning + Excessive Heats

The previously issued Ozone High Pollution Advisory for today will remain in effect and be extended for Tuesday, May 26th.
Friday, high pressure’s grip on the Desert Southwest bolsters and another Ozone High Pollution Advisory is possible.
Please keep in mind that although ozone fluctuates daily, the week in Phoenix is going to get progressively hotter! Eventually, the 110 degree realm is likely. 

The National Weather Service is covering that aspect in detail. They have issued a host of heat related warnings