NEWS AND OPINION:
Smile for the cameras, which continue to catalog life as we know it in the name of security.
But new research finds that 54 percent of video surveillance at federal agencies never gets examined, this according to “Video Vortex,” a new MeriTalk analysis that tapped the opinions of 151 security managers and IT analysts from the federal and Defense communities.
This unseen but important footage has “untapped potential” which could prevent crime, theft and terrorism, the report says. There’s just too much of it to manage, however — the “digital deluge” is expected to double every two years from material collected from fixed and mobile cameras in buildings, drones, vehicles and upon the lapels of law enforcement officers.
By 2020, there will be 3.3 trillion captured hours of video surveillance, the MeriTalk researchers say.
“If Uncle Sam only catches half of the movie, he will have challenges following the plot and leveraging the information to achieve the goal — improved security,” the report advises, adding that respondents agreed “nearly all” IT infrastructures are not prepared to deal with managing, storing, retrieving and processing all that information.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way. MeriTalk, a public-private partner research group, also reports that 79 percent of the survey respondents say their agency must improve collaboration between the IT and security sides, and their offices have been tasked with developing a central analysis repository for data. And what is the most valuable information gleaned from all that video footage? “Suspicious behavior” was the most often cited by the respondents, followed by “object recognition,” traffic monitoring, incident detection and face matching.
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“The take-away: partnership needed,” the report advises. “Prepare your infrastructure. Video data influx is rushing towards us at the speed of light.”
MEANDERING TOWARDS A CONCLUSION
She was going to announce her White House candidacy in March. Or May. Talk of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s big 2016 now appears to be a cliffhanger, what with her private emails controversy, foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation and unanswered questions about Benghazi. “Last time Clinton announced her candidacy 22 months before the 2008 election,” writes Andrew Malcolm, an Investor’s Business Daily columnist. “It’s now 20 months and she reportedly still hasn’t decided when to pull the trigger. Gotta squeeze in a few more big-buck-speeches. Gotta minimize chances of fumbling the ball, run out the clock.”
But it’s complicated.
“Because, you see, the nomination is hers. Realistically, there’s no one else on the Democrat side. Used to be a good thing for Dems. Turns out, this is great news for Republicans, who’ll spend the next 16 months scrapping for the GOP nod. The winner will leave Cleveland battle-tested and hungry. Clinton will leave Philadelphia crowned,” Mr. Malcolm observes.
MR. SCHIEFFER, THESPIAN
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When is an anchorman not an anchorman? When he’s being an actor, of course. Such is the case for CBS “Face the Nation” moderator Bob Schieffer, who plays himself on the next episode of “Madame Secretary,” a prime time CBS drama that features Tea Leoni as the blonde U.S. Secretary of State. The episode itself is called “Face the Nation.”
Ms. Leoni’s character Elizabeth McCord must “hold herself together emotionally” through a plot that features an attack in Iran, an ecological disaster in the Amazon and — OMG — a “national television appearance on Face the Nation,” the network explains in advance production notes. Mr. Schieffer, incidentally, has been with CBS News since 1969, and is capable of dramatic dialogue.
“Senator, are you planning to contact any other of our adversaries around the country? For example, do you plan to check with the North Koreans to make sure that they know that any deal has to be approved by the Congress?” he asked Sen. Tom Cotton on Sunday during “Face the Nation” — the real one, referring to the lawmaker’s warning letter to Iran, signed by 46 other lawmakers.
“Do you feel that you have not weakened the president’s hand here? And do you have any regrets about the way you went about this?” Mr. Schieffer demanded.
“No regrets at all,” the Arkansas Republican replied.
HUCKABEE’S PIZZA ROUNDTABLE
There must be something about a place which offers the “Stampede” pizza which has everything on it, from Canadian bacon to Italian sausage and green peppers. Such is the case with the Pizza Ranch, an Iowa restaurant franchise which has been a stop for legions of presidential hopefuls who hope to resonate with the locals. On Wednesday, it is Mike Huckabee’s turn. He will venture to the Pizza Ranch locations in both Council Bluffs and Sioux City, where he’ll conduct “roundtable” discussions at the eateries in both cities.
Interesting word, “roundtable.” When the Democratic National Committee uses it, the event is usually a high-end photo op with President Obama, priced at $32,400 a couple. This time, it’s Mr. Huckabee, a microphone and maybe a Stampede pizza. It works, though. Iowa is serious territory for him; Mr. Huckabee led voter polls in the Hawkeye State in two previous presidential campaigns, and he did it again in February. He was in Iowa only two weeks ago for the Iowa Agriculture Summit, incidentally. So was Jeb Bush, who also paid a call to a local Pizza Ranch, and surely has nutritional discipline. He is an unapologetic advocate of the paleo diet, a caveman’s menu of vegetables, meats and seeds. So no Stampede for him.
“Continue to pray that I stick on this paleo diet. Perpetually starving to death apparently is the source of losing weight,” Mr. Bush told fans at a Florida fundraiser last month.
A LETTER TO MR. BRADY
“Supporters of the death tax often point to the tax as bringing equality to the tax system by only targeting the very wealthy. The truth is that the wealthiest estates often have teams of lawyers on hand to avoid this onerous tax while smaller businesses and family farms suffer. All too often those affected on the lowest levels of the estate tax do not have sufficient liquid assets to cover their liability, leading to the closure of many family businesses.
“Additionally important, the death tax generates a sliver of federal revenue. According to the IRS, in 2013 it produced merely $12.7 billion in revenue. This accounted for less than .1 percent of federal revenue — hardly the income equality tool proponents claim. When a person works hard and creates a successful venture or thriving family farm, they have paid taxes every step of the way. By eliminating the death tax we will be providing the opportunity for these hard working Americans to continue growing with each family generation.”
— An open letter of support to Rep. Kevin Brady from Brent Gardner, vice president of government affairs at Americans for Prosperity. The lawmaker, a Texas Republican, has introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015.
POLL DU JOUR
• 87 percent of Americans are aware of “government surveillance programs.”
• 82 percent say it’s acceptable to monitor the communications of terrorism suspects.
• 60 percent say it is acceptable to monitor the communications of American leaders.
• 60 percent say it is acceptable to monitor the communications of foreign leaders.
• 54 percent say it is acceptable to monitor citizens from other nations in the U.S.
• 40 percent say it is acceptable to monitor communications of American citizens.
• 34 percent have “taken at least one step” to shield their information”
Source: A Pew Research Center poll of 475 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 26, 2014 - Jan. 3, and released Monday.
• Quizzical quips, droll discussions to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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