Our picksMission far from accomplished in Syria; securing the smart city; facial recognition in the dark, and more

Published 19 April 2018

· Mission far from accomplished in Syria: Strikes won’t deter future chemical attacks or end slaughter

· Sandy Hook parents hit Alex Jones with defamation lawsuits

· U.S. army figures out how to do

· Calling 911 for “everything” soon to be a no-go in Santa Cruz as police look to prioritize

· Would changing the rules for police change the outcomes?

· Want to prevent cyberattacks? Don’t count on employee training to stop them.

 · The Corker-Kaine bill would codify, not end, the Forever War

··Securing the smart city

Mission far from accomplished in Syria: Strikes won’t deter future chemical attacks or end slaughter (Simon Saradzhyan, Russia Matters)Assad benefits in at least two ways from continued use of chemical weapons: It intimidates his opponents without jeopardizing his soldiers, and it drives an ever deeper wedge between Washington and Moscow.

Sandy Hook parents hit Alex Jones with defamation lawsuits(Sebastian Murdock, Huffington Post)
Alex Jones has spent years claiming the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School ― where a shooter killed 20 small children and six adults ― was faked. He has claimed the parents of these dead children are liars and “crisis actors.” Now, those parents are coming after him. In a pair of lawsuits filed late Monday, the parents of two children who died in the December 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, say Jones’ repeated lies and conspiratorial ravings have led to death threats. The suits join at least two other recent cases accusing the Infowars host of defamation.

U.S. army figures out how to do facial recognition in the dark (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
New method uses machine learning to extrapolate features from thermal images.

Calling 911 for “everything” soon to be a no-go in Santa Cruz as police look to prioritize (Jessica A. York, Santa Cruz Sentinel)
‘We have trained people here for years here, countywide, to pick up the phone and call 911 for everything.’

Would changing the rules for police change the outcomes? (Natalie Delgadillo, Governing)
In the wake of Stephon Clark’s death, California is considering the strictest rules in the country about when deadly force can be used. But they may not impact criminal cases against cops.

Want to prevent cyberattacks? Don’t count on employee training to stop them. (Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, Governing)
Tips from a cybersecurity expert.

The Corker-Kaine bill would codify, not end, the Forever War (Elizabeth Goitein, Defense One)
The replacement AUMF would formalize a reversal of the Constitution, allowing the president to declare wars and Congress — if it dares — to veto them.

Securing the smart city (Dan Lohrmann, GT)
As cities grow smarter and more connected, what implications does that have for cybersecurity?