Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
UK: Draft Communications Bill — 19,000 Emails Against, 0 In Favor
October 12th, 2012Via: Computerworld: The distinction is that while in the case of that Bill opinion was fairly evenly divided, we have not seen a single email supporting the draft Communications Data Bill, or even agreeing that there may be a case for the security services and law enforcement agencies having greater access to communications data than […]
DHS Request for Information: ‘Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety’
October 11th, 2012Via: Federal Business Opportunities: The Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate is the Department’s primary research and development arm. The S&T Directorate provides federal, state and local officials with the technology and capabilities to protect the homeland. The Directorate’s mission is to protect the homeland by providing Federal and local officials with state-of-the-art technology and other […]
Microsoft CEO Sees Company Becoming More Like Apple
October 10th, 2012Microsoft has been copying Apple since the 1980s, so I doubt that this is much of a surprise to anyone. Via: Reuters: Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has signaled a new direction for the world’s largest software company, pointing to hardware and online services as its future, taking a page from long-time rival Apple […]
U.S. Army: Frustrated with ‘Mainstream Ideologies’? You Might Be a Terrorist
October 10th, 2012Via: Wired: These are some warning signs that that you have turned into a terrorist who will soon kill your co-workers, according to the U.S. military. You’ve recently changed your “choices in entertainment.” You have “peculiar discussions.” You “complain about bias,” you’re “socially withdrawn” and you’re frustrated with “mainstream ideologies.” Your “Risk Factors for Radicalization” […]
The Unintended Consequences Of China’s One-Child Policy
October 10th, 2012Via: io9: “Historically, societies in which men substantially outnumber women are not nice places to live,” writes Hvistendahl, “Often they are unstable. Sometimes they are violent.” She points to examples in history, such as fourth century B.C. Athens and China’s Taiping Rebellion in mid-19th century — both of which were the result of wide scale […]
Big Brother Invades Classrooms
October 10th, 2012Homeschool. Via: Salon: The RFID tag system popularly known as “Tag and Track” is being sold to schools system across the country by a variety of vendors, including AIM Truancy Solutions, ID Card Group and DataCard. In general, these systems consist of a school photo ID card affixed to a lanyard that is worn around […]
5 Broken Cameras
October 9th, 2012Via: Total Film: In 2005 the people of the Palestinian village of Bil’in, in the Occupied Territories, learned that the Israeli government’s Separation Wall would run close to their village, depriving them of much of their cultivated land – land which would then be taken over by Jewish settlers. They resolved to protest by every […]
The CIA and Jeff Bezos Bet on Quantum Computing
October 5th, 2012Via: MIT Technology Review: Inside a blocky building in a Vancouver suburb, across the street from a dowdy McDonald’s, is a place chilled colder than anywhere in the known universe. Inside that is a computer processor that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the CIA’s investment arm, In-Q-Tel, believe can tap the quirks of quantum mechanics […]
Britain: National ‘Virtual ID Card’ Scheme
October 4th, 2012Via: Independent: The Government will announce details this month of a controversial national identity scheme which will allow people to use their mobile phones and social media profiles as official identification documents for accessing public services. People wishing to apply for services ranging from tax credits to fishing licences and passports will be asked to […]
Historical Cell Phone Location Data: No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy, According to U.S. Government
October 3rd, 2012Via: Computerworld: Individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy in historical cell phone location data collected and maintained by phone companies, a federal prosecutor said in oral arguments Monday before a three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The court is reviewing an appeal from the U.S government in a […]
