‘No Vaccine Passports Act’ Bill Introduced in Senate

Epoch Times reported:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced Friday he’s introducing a Senate bill to ban vaccine passports.

In recent weeks, several states have moved to ban the potential use of a vaccine passport system. Cruz’s bill marks the first time a ban has been introduced in the Senate.

“Listen, I think vaccines are terrific. I’ve had the vaccine myself,” Cruz said in a Fox News interview, calling the measure the “No Vaccine Passports Act.” “I think it’s given us a lot of freedom, but I think there’s a real potential for government overreach, and I don’t believe anyone should be forced to take the vaccine. It should be your personal choice. You should make the choice based on your health, based on the decisions you want.”

Vaccine Passports Likely to Be Dropped as Aid to Lifting Restrictions in England

The Guardian reported:

Plans to make COVID documents a requirement of entry to mass events are likely to be dropped as the government grapples with how it can safely lift the final set of restrictions in England within weeks.

Ministers have been investigating making coronavirus status certificates compulsory in some settings for months, following the lead of Israel, which introduced a “green pass” for people to demonstrate their low-risk of having or transmitting the disease …

But the Guardian has been told that status documents, which would display proof of vaccination, a recent negative test result, or antibodies, are unlikely to be introduced ahead of 21 June – the final stage of Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown when all legal limits on social contact are due to be scrapped.

Anti-Vaccine Passport Protesters Storm Westfield Mall in London

The Guardian reported:

Hundreds of anti-vaccine passport protesters invaded the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush on Saturday evening at the culmination of a mass march that drew many thousands and snaked miles through central and west London.

There were tussles with police who tried to block access through one entrance to the shopping centre at about 6pm, before protesters quickly realised that another door just yards away was unguarded.

Dismantle NYC’s Mass Surveillance Project — Start With Jail Recordings

Truthout reported:

Mass public surveillance is becoming a threat in everyday life, with big tech corporations digitally tracking our every move. For incarcerated people, surveillance is even more intrusive.

In the last year, the New York City Department of Corrections (DOC) illegally recorded more than 1,500 privileged calls between people incarcerated in its jails and their attorneys. Many of these illegal recordings were turned over to prosecutors.

This blatant constitutional violation has critical and disproportionate impacts. Three-quarters of people incarcerated in New York City jails are awaiting trial and many are held solely because they cannot afford bail. More than 90% are Black and Brown, thanks to discriminatory police and prosecution practices and the fact that the U.S.’s criminal legal system is constructed on a foundation of white supremacy.

Backlash Expected as Hundreds of U.S Colleges Introduce Vaccine Mandates

The Guardian reported:

After a year of “Zoom University”, colleges and universities are looking at the COVID-19 vaccine as the key to normalcy in the fall. But as with all things COVID in the U.S., it’s unlikely they will get there without some fights.

Over 400 institutions have announced vaccine mandates for the fall semester, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, with some schools telling students they will not be able to return to campus without the vaccination.

Policies vary from school to school. Some universities, like the University of Michigan, are requiring only students who are living in campus dorms to be vaccinated, though many others are requiring all students on campus to be vaccinated.

Amazon Sidewalk Will Create Entire Smart Neighborhoods. Here’s What You Should Know.

Cnet reported:

Amazon has had its sights set on the smart home ever since Alexa came along — but now the online megaretailer is thinking bigger, and envisioning entire smart neighborhoods. First announced in 2019, the effort is called Amazon Sidewalk, and it uses a small fraction of your home’s Wi-Fi bandwidth to pass wireless low-energy Bluetooth and 900MHz radio signals between compatible devices across far greater distances than Wi-Fi is capable of on its own — in some cases, as far as half a mile, Amazon says.

You’ll share that bandwidth with your neighbors, creating a sort of network of networks that any Sidewalk-compatible device can take advantage of. Along with making sure things like outdoor smart lights and smart garage door openers stay connected when your Wi-Fi can’t quite reach them, that’ll help things like Tile trackers stay in touch if you drop your wallet while you’re out on a walk, or if your dog hops the fence.

Hollywood Bowl Drops Capacity Limits, Will Sell 100% Of Seats

LAist reported:

Big post-pandemic news: The Hollywood Bowl is switching to 100% capacity for its reopening in July. Previously, the Bowl planned to open at two-thirds capacity.

It’s also removing vaccination requirements. The state only recommends — but isn’t requiring — proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for large outdoor venues once California fully reopens on June 15.

Our Digital Pasts Weren’t Supposed to Be Weaponized Like This

The New York Times reported:

The internet is a fossil machine. It preserves our thoughts, our political positions, our jokes, our photos, our triumphs and our mistakes in silicon amber, just waiting to be dug up. And that has led to a kind of modern sport: Find an outrageous piece of a person’s past that can be weaponized, put it on display for all to see and hope for the worst.

The most surprising thing, though, is that this is still happening.

Green Pass, Purple Standard Restrictions to Be Removed

The Jerusalem Post reported:

Israel will lift almost all the remaining coronavirus restrictions starting on June 1, the Health Ministry announced Sunday night. The number of active cases in Israel has dropped to 500, compared with 88,000 at the peak of the pandemic, it said.

In light of the significant drop in morbidity, Health Ministry Yuli Edelstein said the ministry would not seek to renew regulations that require businesses and venues to operate either under the Green Pass or the Purple Standard systems, which are due to expire on May 31.

The question of whether to eliminate the obligation to wear a mask indoors is currently being debated by experts and officials. A decision is expected within the next few days or weeks.

U.S. Taking ‘Very Close Look’ at Vaccine Passports

ABC News reported:

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the government is taking “a very close look” at the possibility of vaccine passports for travel into and out of the United States.

As head of the Department of Homeland Security, Mayorkas oversees the Transportation Security Administration, which safeguards the nation’s transportation systems.

Mayorkas told ABC on Friday that one of his guiding principles throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been “the value of diversity, equity and inclusion and making sure that any passport that we provide for vaccinations is accessible to all and that no one is disenfranchised.”

Unlike Neighboring D.C. Schools, Catholic University Will Not Enforce Vaccine Mandate

The Washington Post via MSN reported:

Catholic University will not enforce a coronavirus vaccine mandate when it fully reopens classrooms and residence halls this fall, a departure from other colleges in the District.

John Garvey, the university’s president, said he is confident most of the community will get vaccinated on its own before the fall semester starts, rendering the types of mandates seen at neighboring schools unnecessary. “We found that 70 percent of the community had already been vaccinated with at least one shot, and this was nearly a month ago,” said Garvey, referencing a recent universitywide survey that garnered about 2,500 responses. “It was clear we would get to 80, 85 percent in a couple of months.”

Rather than enforce a mandate, the university is strongly encouraging students, faculty and staff to get their shots. Garvey, who contracted the coronavirus last year, said he is vaccinated.

Microsoft President Brad Smith Warns ‘Life Will Become Like George Orwell’s 1984’ by 2024 if Lawmakers Don’t Protect the Public Against AI

The Daily Mail reported:

Life could become like George Orwell’s 1984 within three years if laws aren’t introduced to protect the public from artificial intelligence, Microsoft president Brad Smith has warned.

Smith predicts that the kind of controlled, mass surveillance society portrayed by Orwell in his 1949 dystopian novel ‘could come to pass in 2024’ if more isn’t done to curb the spread of AI.

It is going to be difficult for lawmakers to catch up with rapidly advancing artificial intelligence and surveillance technology, he told BBC Panorama during a special exploring China‘s increasing use of AI to monitor its citizens.

Children Are Increasingly Selling Explicit Content On OnlyFans: Report

New York Post reported:

Kids are using fraudulent personal details to sell explicit videos and imagery on OnlyFans.

A BBC News investigation has revealed a number of accounts launched by minors on the adult website, which boasts more than a million “creators” who share self-produced content to more than 120 million paid followers. In return, OnlyFans takes a 20% cut off all subscriptions.

More People Are Buying Wearables Than Ever Before — and Apple Is in the Lead

ARS Technica reported:

The wearables category of consumer devices — which includes smartwatches, fitness trackers, and augmented reality glasses — shipped more than 100 million units in the first quarter for the first time, according to research firm IDC. Q2 2021 saw a 34.4 percent increase in sales over the same quarter in 2020.

To be clear: wearables have sold that many (and more) units in a quarter before, but never in the first quarter, which tends to be a slow period following a spree of holiday-related buying in Q4.

Resistance to Vaccine Mandates Is Building. A Powerful Network Is Helping.

The Washington Post reported:

The Americans lodging complaints against coronavirus vaccine mandates are a diverse lot — a sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina, nursing home employees in Wisconsin and students at the largest university in New Jersey.

But their resistance is woven together by a common thread: the involvement of a law firm closely tied to the anti-vaccine movement.

Attorneys from Siri & Glimstad — a New York firm that has done millions of dollars of legal work for one of the nation’s foremost anti-vaccination groups — are co-counsel in a case against the Durham County Sheriff’s Office. They’ve sent warning letters to officials in Rock County, Wis., as well as to the president of Rutgers University and other schools.

Vaccine Mandate Unleashes a Mob in a Small Polish Town

The New York Times reported:

The mayor, a heart surgeon, had just finished overnight hospital duty when he received alarming news: a mob of protesters, some dressed in military camouflage, had gathered outside his home, screaming abuse through bullhorns and waving banners comparing him to Josef Mengele, the Nazi death camp physician.

The small but menacing rally this month followed a decision a few days earlier by the elected council in Walbrzych, a former mining town in southwestern Poland, to declare that vaccination against the coronavirus was mandatory for all adult residents.

What Is a Vaccine Passport, and Why Do Biden and 20 States Oppose It?

WSB Radio reported:

In the United States, the discussion about “vaccine passports” continues as well, but here it has gone to the state level with some 20 U.S. governors announcing their opposition to any requirement that Americans prove their vaccination status while traveling within their own country.

According to a story from The Associated Press, the European Union, some Asian governments and more than 20 major airlines are already working on some sort of vaccination passport system that would help kickstart international travel. How any international system would work is still up in the air.

One Year After Amazon, Microsoft and IBM Ended Facial Recognition Sales to Police, Smaller Players Fill Void

ZDNet reported:

Almost one year ago, at the onset of global protests over racism and police brutality, Microsoft, Amazon and IBM joined forces to announce either outright bans on the sale of facial recognition software to police departments or temporary moratoriums.

The technology has faced backlash for years due to its proven inaccuracy, particularly with identifying the faces of people with darker skin. The ACLU, MIT and even people within Amazon criticized the widespread usage of the technology, and before long stories began to emerge of people erroneously arrested based on mistakes made by the facial recognition software.

Students Rally Against Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccines at NJ University: ‘They’re Going to Keep Moving the Goalposts’

The Epoch Times reported:

Hundreds of Rutgers University students and their parents held a rally on the university’s New Brunswick, New Jersey, campus on May 21 to speak out against the school’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students.

The event was organized by Turning Point USA, Young Americans for Liberty, and NJ Stands Up, a medical freedom advocacy group, in response to the university’s new requirement — introduced in March — that all students enrolled for in-person classes for the 2021 fall semester must be vaccinated for COVID-19.

WhatsApp Sues Indian Government Over ‘Mass Surveillance’ Internet Laws

The Guardian reported:

WhatsApp has sued the Indian government over new internet laws which the company says will “severely undermine” the privacy of their users.

The new IT laws, which have been called oppressive and draconian, give the Indian government greater power to monitor online activity, including on encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal. They were passed in February but were due to come into effect on Wednesday.

Under the laws, encryption — which keeps communications on the app private and inaccessible to outside parties — would have to be removed from WhatsApp in India and messages would have to be put into a “traceable” database. The government would then be able to identify and take action against the sender if any content was ruled “unlawful.”

Fast Computers, 5G Networks and Radar That Passes Through Walls Are Bringing ‘X-ray Vision’ Closer to Reality

GCN reported:

Within seconds after reaching a city, earthquakes can cause immense destruction: Houses crumble, high-rises turn to rubble, people and animals are buried in the debris.

In the immediate aftermath of such carnage, emergency personnel desperately search for any sign of life in what used to be a home or office. Often, however, they find that they were digging in the wrong pile of rubble, and precious time has passed.

Imagine if rescuers could see through the debris to spot survivors under the rubble, measure their vital signs and even generate images of the victims. This is rapidly becoming possible using see-through-wall radar technology. Early versions of the technology that indicate whether a person is present in a room have been in use for several years, and some can measure vital signs albeit under better conditions than through rubble.

EU Cites ‘Anti-Vaccine Campaign’ as Reason to Toughen Social Media Code

The Guardian reported:

A “massive anti-vaccination campaign” has been cited by the European Commission as a reason for social media platforms to intensify their fact-checking and revise the internal algorithms that can amplify disinformation.

Under a revised code of practice proposed by Brussels, companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter would need to show why particular material is disseminated and prove that false information is being blocked.

The code would be voluntary but will work alongside an upcoming digital services act, under which companies could be fined up to 6% of their annual revenue for failing to remove illegal content where harm can be proven. Messaging services such as WhatsApp could also be covered by the code.

Georgia Governor Bans State COVID Vaccine Passports

National Review reported:

Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday banning the state government from requiring COVID vaccine passports or assisting private establishments that seek to mandate them, the governor’s office said.

“Today’s executive order makes clear that vaccine passports will not be utilized in state government,” the Republican governor said in a written statement.

Some Businesses, Universities, Airlines Turn to Digital Passport Apps Upon Vaccine Requirements

WCBD News 2 reported:

Digital health apps are the latest trends among businesses, universities and even airlines.

The digital apps act as ‘vaccine passports,’ essentially validating vaccinated users. And the demand is booming for one app in particular called iOpen.

The app creator for iOpen says the boost in users has come after hundreds of colleges and universities began requiring their students to return fully vaccinated in the fall.

DC Attorney General Sues Amazon on Antitrust Grounds, Alleges It Illegally Raises Prices

CNBC reported:

Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced Tuesday he’s suing Amazon on antitrust grounds, alleging the company’s practices have unfairly raised prices for consumers and suppressed innovation.

Racine is seeking to end what he alleges is Amazon’s illegal use of price agreements to edge out competition; the lawsuit also asks for damages and penalties to deter similar conduct. The suit asks the court to stop what it calls Amazon’s ability to harm competition through a variety of remedies as needed, which could include structural relief, often referred to as a form of breakup.

1 In 4 Unvaccinated People May Not Comply With CDC Guidelines to Wear Masks Indoors, Survey Suggests

The Conversation reported:

The revised guidelines on when and when not to wear masks came as a surprise to many Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced May 13, 2021, that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely enter many indoor settings, such as grocery stores and restaurants, without wearing a mask.

The CDC’s updated guidelines also ask that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people continue to wear a mask — even in establishments like bars and restaurants, where doing so may no longer be required.

Diplomats Send Letter to State Dept. Leaders Saying ‘Havana Syndrome’ Sufferers Not Getting Proper Care

NBC News reported:

A group of U.S. diplomats and other government staffers suffering from symptoms consistent with “Havana Syndrome” are voicing frustration with the Biden administration’s early response, and warning that injured workers are still being denied proper care.

In a letter to State Department leadership obtained by NBC News, the staffers say that in recent months, the government has continued to “reject scientific evidence regarding the injuries and treatment needs” and to “invalidate our injuries and experiences,” alleging that military and intelligence officials injured by the same unexplained phenomenon are being treated more seriously.