The Daily Populous

Tuesday August 20th, 2019 night edition

image for Bernie Sanders calls for a ban on police use of facial recognition

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has called for a complete ban on the police use of facial recognition as part of his campaign’s broader plan for criminal justice reform.

If elected president, Sanders specifically pledges to “ban the use of facial recognition software for policing.”

The plan also calls for ending programs that provide military equipment to local police and establishing federal standards for the use of body cameras.

Sanders is the first presidential candidate to call for an outright ban on police use of facial recognition, although a number of other Democratic candidates have expressed concerns about how the technology is being used.

Facial recognition has been the subject of increasing scrutiny in recent months, much of it spurred by a study from Georgetown Law.

The study found that the New York Police Department has sometimes altered images before inputting them into the department’s facial recognition system.

In July, the city of Oakland voted to ban the municipal use of facial recognition, following similar moves by San Francisco and Somerville, Massachusetts. »

Twitter ran paid ads from China's state news media criticising the Hong Kong protests

Authored by businessinsider.de

A number of Twitter users spotted sponsored posts from Chinese state media criticising the ongoing Hong Kong protests.

The sponsored posts describe the protests as violent and destructive, and portray Hong Kong citizens as being in favour of ending them.

Twitter has been distributing ads from Chinese state media criticising the Hong Kong protests, as spotted by the account of social media bookmarking site Pinboard, run by entrepreneur and developer Maciej Cegłowski. »

Trump drops support for enhanced background checks two weeks after mass shootings – ThinkProgress

Authored by thinkprogress.org

But on Sunday, not long after he initially showed support for enhanced background checks, the president suddenly reversed course, suggesting any momentum for passing any meaningful legislation to curb gun violence may have already dissipated.

Later during the gaggle, a reporter pressed Trump on his specific position on background checks.

Asked again about his own position on background checks, Trump replied, “I’m not saying anything.”. »

To Evade Pre-Prohibition Drinking Laws, New Yorkers Created the World’s Worst Sandwich

Authored by atlasobscura.com

The so-called Raines Law was a combination of good intentions, unstated prejudices, and unforeseen consequences, among them the comically unsavory Raines sandwich.

They were also frustrated about New York City’s lax enforcement of so-called Sabbath laws, which included a ban on Sunday boozing.

Roosevelt, a supporter of the Raines Law, predicted that it would “solve whatever remained of the problem of Sunday closing.”. »

Daniel Pantaleo, Officer Who Held Eric Garner in Chokehold, Is Fired

Authored by nytimes.com
image for

The mayor also sought to calm police officers angered by Officer Pantaleo’s firing, urging New Yorkers to thank them for their efforts.

He called on Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to remove Mr. de Blasio and Commissioner O’Neill from office for reckless leadership.

Officer Pantaleo’s lawyer, Stuart London, said his client plans to sue in state Supreme Court to be reinstated. »