Archive for February, 2015
Plea Deals Rather Than Talking About StingRay
February 23rd, 2015Via: Washington Post: McKenzie’s case is emblematic of the growing, but hidden, use by local law enforcement of a sophisticated surveillance technology borrowed from the national security world. It shows how a gag order imposed by the FBI — on grounds that discussing the device’s operation would compromise its effectiveness — has left judges, the […]
Why Does Apple Include Government Certificate Authorities on the Mac?
February 23rd, 2015Via: Zit Seng’s Blog: The Certificate Authorities are usually trustworthy. Usually. Except, when you look into the list Certificate Authorities trusted by the Mac. There are the usual big name Certificate Authorities like Verisign, GeoTrust, Symantec and Thawte. But how about these ones: Subject: C=US, O=U.S. Government, OU=FPKI, CN=Federal Common Policy CA Subject: C=US, O=U.S. […]
“Think of it as the food manufacturers’ equivalent of an arms fair”
February 22nd, 2015Via: Guardian: On a bright, cold day in late November 2013, I found myself in the dark, eerie, indoor expanses of Frankfurt’s Blade Runner-like Festhalle Messe. I was there undercover, to attend an annual trade show called Food Ingredients. This three-day exhibition hosts the world’s most important gathering of ingredients suppliers, distributors and buyers. In […]
U.S. to Begin Widespread Sales of Killer Drones to Allies
February 22nd, 2015Via: Washington Post: The Obama administration will permit the widespread export of armed drones for the first time, a step toward providing allied nations with weapons that have become a cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism strategy but whose remotely controlled power to kill is intensely controversial. The new policy, announced Tuesday after a long internal review, […]
Feds Changing Absurd Cholesterol Guidelines
February 20th, 2015How many people were killed or permanently injured by statins because of the decades long cholesterol quackery?!? Via: Los Angeles Times: Go ahead and make that omelet. A new draft of the federal government’s healthy eating guidelines is poised to scramble some long-standing advice on cholesterol-rich foods. Nutrition and public health experts advising the federal […]
Apple Wants to Start Producing Cars as Soon as 2020
February 20th, 2015Via: Bloomberg: Apple Inc., which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said. The timeframe — automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car — underscores the project’s aggressive goals and could […]
Jeb Bush’s Foreign Policy Team Is Eerily Familiar, in One Venn Diagram
February 20th, 2015Wolfowitz. Wow. Hayden. Chertoff. Why not roll Cheney out for one last slaughter with the Legion of Doom? Via: Washington Post: Former Florida governor Jeb Bush will announce his foreign policy vision in a speech Wednesday in Chicago. Accompanying that speech is a rollout of a slate of experts who will help guide the candidate […]
The Great SIM Heist
February 19th, 2015Via: First Look: AMERICAN AND BRITISH spies hacked into the internal computer network of the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world, stealing encryption keys used to protect the privacy of cellphone communications across the globe, according to top-secret documents provided to The Intercept by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. The hack was […]
BASF Doubles Nickel-Metal Hydride Energy Storage
February 19th, 2015Via: MIT Technology Review: Almost every automaker interested in producing electric cars is betting on improvements to lithium-ion batteries to make the cars cheaper and extend their driving range. But scientists at BASF are exploring the possibilities of an older type of battery, nickel-metal hydride, now used in hybrids. They recently doubled the amount of […]
Buffett Dumped Entire $4 Billion Position in Exxon
February 18th, 2015Disclosure: I’m long one oil exploration and production company. Via: Yahoo Finance: The Warren watch is on. Warren Buffett revealed in a SEC filing yesterday that he sold his entire stake in Exxon Mobil (XOM) – roughly four billion dollars worth last quarter. Investors like to pay attention to what the Oracle of Omaha is […]
