Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
And Now, ‘Smart Plates’: California May Issue Digital License Plates
July 19th, 2013Via: CBS: California may become the first state to issue digital license plates that can be registered electronically and record tolls. Privacy advocates are concerned the plates could become tracking devices for law enforcement. Instead of a metal license plate, the digital plate would be a computer screen, slightly larger than an iPad. Registering the […]
Shocker: The NSA Admits It Analyzes More People’s Data Than Previously Revealed
July 18th, 2013Via: The Atlantic Wire: As an aside during testimony on Capitol Hill today, a National Security Agency representative rather casually indicated that the government looks at data from a universe of far, far more people than previously indicated. Chris Inglis, the agency’s deputy director, was one of several government representatives—including from the FBI and the […]
Driving Somewhere? There’s a Government Record of That
July 17th, 2013Via: AP: Chances are, your local or state police departments have photographs of your car in their files, noting where you were driving on a particular day, even if you never did anything wrong. Using automated scanners, law enforcement agencies across the country have amassed millions of digital records on the location and movement of […]
Millions of Americans Living Abroad: Get Ready to Comply with New and Absurd U.S. Tax Rules or Give Up Citizenship
July 17th, 2013Via: Wall Street Journal: Beware the sledgehammer used to crack the nut. In this case, the nut is the U.S. government’s laudable goal of catching tax evaders. The sledgehammer is the overreaching effect of legislation that is alienating other countries and resulting in millions of U.S. citizens abroad being forced to either painfully reconsider their […]
Judge Demands Tech Companies Hand Activist Data Over to Chevron
July 17th, 2013Via: Grist: Chevron is attempting to defend itself against a pesky $18 billion-plus judgment for its dirty dealing in the Ecuador rainforest. In the company’s appeal against the landmark judgment, a federal judge in New York has upheld a subpoena from Chevron seeking IP addresses and identity records of people allegedly tied to the investigation. […]
The Case for Abolishing the DHS
July 16th, 2013Via: Bloomberg: On Friday, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano resigned to take up a post running California’s university system. With her departure, there are now 15 vacant positions at the top of the department. That suggests it would be a particularly humane moment to shut the whole thing down. The U.S. Department of Homeland […]
Water Requirements for NSA’s New Facility in Utah
July 15th, 2013“A significant benefit to the city” haha Via: KSL: More secrets, more water? The NSA data center in Bluffdale could require as many as 1.7 million gallons of water per day to operate and keep computers cool. Initial reported estimates suggested the center would use 1,200 gallons per minute, but more recent estimates suggest the […]
U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News To Americans
July 15th, 2013You’ll love this. A “source” explains that the reason for this is that diaspora communities in America are thirsting for U.S. Government propaganda, but can’t access it. *snort* Via: Foreign Policy: For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government’s mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences. But on July 2, that […]
Gangs Ruled Prison as For-Profit Model Put Blood on Floor
July 13th, 2013Via: Bloomberg: In the four privately run prisons holding Mississippi (BEESMS) inmates last year, the assault rate was three times higher on average than in state-run lockups. None was as violent as the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility. The for-profit detention center, surrounded by razor wire and near the forests and farms of central Mississippi, […]
ATLAS Humanoid Robot
July 12th, 2013Via: DARPA / Boston Dynamics: Say hello to ATLAS, one of the most advanced humanoid robots ever built! ATLAS was developed for DARPA by Boston Dynamics. Software-focused teams from Tracks B and C of the DARPA Robotics Challenge will use the robot to compete in the first physical competition of the Challenge in December 2013 […]
