frouman.net

The next wave of Big Brother, courtesy of the DEA:

The DEA and two sheriffs are asking permission to install stationary license plate scanners on the freeway in Beaver and Washington counties. The primary purpose would be to catch or build cases against drug traffickers....

....Gary Newcomb, a supervisory IT specialist from the DEA, flew in from Virginia to testify Wednesday. He said the scanners are already in place on drug trafficking corridors in California and Texas, and the DEA is considering placing them on interstates near the Arizona cities of Kingman and Flagstaff.

[More...]

The scans could be stored and accessible to the DEA for 2 years:

For long-term investigation.... the digital data would be routed through the police dispatch centers in Beaver and Washington counties to a DEA facility in northern Virginia where it would be stored for two years.

What will they do with the stored data?

The stored data could be used only to research the movements of suspected drug traffickers or to help other law enforcement agencies investigating serious crimes, Newcomb said. The DEA would track who is accessing the data and why, he said.

Funniest line of the article:

[Sheriff] Noel admitted he would be "tempted" to use the scanner data to investigate felony property crimes but would resist.

NOTE TO READERS: I will be away on May 13th, and
I haven't figured out instructions for advance-loading.
Hence, here this is, two days early. Cheers!

WEIRDNUZ.M266 (News of the Weird, May 13, 2012)
by Chuck Shepherd

Lead Story

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by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

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by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* In April, a research ship will begin surveying the Atlantic Ocean
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* Fast-Food Culture Shock: Since December, the White Castle
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experience that includes table service and a wine selection to go

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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
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WEIRDNUZ.M261 (News of the Weird, April 8, 2012)
by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* Like most states with active trade associations of barbers and
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* In a world of advancing technology and declining map-reading
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and News of the Weird has reported enough of their predicaments to

WEIRDNUZ.M258 (News of the Weird, March 18, 2012)
by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* An annual spring fertility festival in Vietnam's Phu Tho province
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* The royal family of Qatar, apparently striving for art-world
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* Traditional Marriage (Man, Woman, Cannibal, Vampire):
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country's most heinous murderers apparently fell in love with each

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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* Part-time Devon, England, vicar Gavin Tyte, who serves churches
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* Sri Lanka has, as an "unwritten symbol of pride and culture," the
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* Anti-Theft ID Breakthrough: For people who become stressed
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
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by Chuck Shepherd
Copyright 2012 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.
Lead Story
* A regional development commission in Michigan, purchasing
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