Toronto Electricians and Electrical Contractors

California Bill on Police Militarization Reaches Governor’s Desk Among the many bills awaiting the signature—or veto—of Governor Jerry Brown is AB 3131 , a measure that would ensure transparency about police militarization across the State of California. While we are disappointed in recent legislative amendments that weakened the original bill, we remain eager to see it signed into law. Today’s pervasive secrecy about police acquisition of military hardware—including high tech spying devices—impedes a long overdue public debate.  EFF is troubled by the transfer of powerful spying technologies from our armed forces to state and local police.  Police militarization has prompted concerns from across the political spectrum. For instance, progressives and racial justice advocates decry the frequency with which police use force, which all too often has lethal consequences partly driven by the use of military training and equipment. Meanwhile, libertarians and many conservati...

Congress Moves Forward with Dangerous Attack on Private Drones Expanded Government Authority to Destroy Drones Expected As Part of Routine FAA Bill When government agencies hide their activities from the public, private drones can be a crucial tool for transparency and public oversight. But now, some members of Congress want to give the federal government the power to intercept and destroy private drones it considers a “threat,” with no safeguards ensuring that power isn’t abused. Even more troubling, they’re specifically aiming to give those powers to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, two government offices notorious for their hostility to public oversight. And worst of all, we expect these powers to come in a routine Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, with no chance for meaningful debate on how best to limit the government’s authority to intercept or destroy drones. Please join us in telling Congress to reject the FAA r...

Misguided Appeal in Grindr Case Is Latest Threat to Online Free Speech Online harassment is a serious problem, and one that defies easy solutions. As the digital world grapples with potential strategies to make online life safer, we have to also fight back against misguided approaches that would undercut what makes the Internet an essential tool for modern life. That’s why EFF filed an amicus brief in Herrick v. Grindr , asking an appeals court to affirm a lower court’s dismissal of the case. The plaintiff, Matthew Herrick, alleges that he has been mercilessly harassed online by an ex-boyfriend, who appears to have created a series of fake profiles of Herrick on the gay-dating app Grindr. Herrick says that more than 1000 men have arrived at his home and his work, thinking that they were invited for sex. In his lawsuit, Herrick is asking that Grindr be held responsible for the fake profiles and the damage his ex-boyfriend has done. But this strategy risks both free speech on the...

Not In Our Name: Why European Creators Should Oppose the EU’s Proposal To Limit Linking and Censor The Internet The European Copyright Directive vote is in three days and it will be a doozy: what was once a largely uncontroversial grab bag of fixes to copyright is now a political firestorm, thanks to the actions of Axel Voss, the German MEP who changed the Directive at the last minute, sneaking in two widely rejected proposals on the same day the GDPR came into effect, forming a perfect distraction (you can contact your MEP about these at Save Your Internet ). These two proposals are: 1. “Censorship Machines”: Article 13, which forces online providers to create databases of text, images, videos, code, games, mods, etc that anyone can add anything to — if a user tries to post something that may match a “copyrighted work,” in the database, the system has to censor them. 2. “Link Tax”: Article 11, which will only allow internet users to post links to news sites if the service they’...

Not In Our Name: Why European Creators Should Oppose the EU’s Proposal To Limit Linking and Censor The Internet The European Copyright Directive vote is in three days and it will be a doozy: what was once a largely uncontroversial grab bag of fixes to copyright is now a political firestorm, thanks to the actions of Axel Voss, the German MEP who changed the Directive at the last minute, sneaking in two widely rejected proposals on the same day the GDPR came into effect, forming a perfect distraction (you can contact your MEP about these at Save Your Internet ). These two proposals are: 1. “Censorship Machines”: Article 13, which forces online providers to create databases of text, images, videos, code, games, mods, etc that anyone can add anything to — if a user tries to post something that may match a “copyrighted work,” in the database, the system has to censor them. 2. “Link Tax”: Article 11, which will only allow internet users to post links to news sites if the service they’...

As buildings become more complex, with all sorts of electrical, heating, cooling and other systems that need consistent routine maintenance, it can be a daunting task for facility managers and maintenance personnel to keep up – especially as they deal with increasingly scarce skilled staff. Each component has a maintenance schedule to adhere to, myriad parts that may be required, and providers who perform the work. Work needs to be scheduled so as to minimize (or completely avoid) downtime. Once a maintenance job is complete, there are invoices to deal with and reports to produce, to document what was done – and when the next scheduled maintenance job should happen. The never-ending cycle of scheduled building maintenance Consider what’s involved in performing scheduled maintenance on any given building management system. It first involves scheduling time to complete the job, at a time that works for both the facility owner and the maintenance provider. Then you perform diagnostic...