Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Fear of Repression Spurs Scholars and Activists to Build Alternate Internets
September 25th, 2011This is great, but don’t forget the context: U.S. Has Secret Tools to Force Internet on Dictators U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors The Sock Puppet Industrial Complex: U.S. Trains ‘Activists’ to Evade Security Forces Think outside the box, by all means. Just don’t be surprised when you find another box. Via: Chronicle of Higher […]
Google Shuts Down ActivistPost.com
September 24th, 2011Via: Before It’s News: At mid-day on Friday, September 23, 2011, the popular alternative news blog, ActivistPost.com, was taken offline. Activist Post receives over one million views per month and has been hosted by Google’s Blogger since its founding in June 2010. “We remain puzzled as to why Activist Post was erased completely by Google,” […]
‘Stingray’ Mobile Phone Tracking System
September 23rd, 2011Via: Wall Street Journal (TinyPaste): For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply “the Hacker.” Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking device—a stingray—were they able to zero in on a California home and make the arrest. Stingrays are designed to locate a mobile phone even when it’s not being […]
Federal Appeals Court Allows ACLU Challenge to Warrantless Wiretapping Law to Proceed
September 22nd, 2011Via: ACLU: In September 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the government’s request that all of the court’s judges rehear a lawsuit filed by the ACLU challenging the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), a law that gives the executive branch virtually unchecked power to collect Americans’ international emails and telephone calls. […]
Atlanta Increases Surveillance of City
September 22nd, 2011I almost didn’t bother to read this one. I mean, there’s going to be more surveillance—thanks, Captain Obvious. But even I was taken aback by this one. Private CCTV cameras are feeding the “Video Integration Center.” Via: AJC: Plans to put Atlanta’s public spaces under camera surveillance will move forward this week with the opening […]
Feds Probe Possible ‘Arabic-Type’ Markings On Southwest Jets
September 22nd, 2011Watch out for those possible “Arabic-Type” markings! Someone queue the ghost of Bin Laden effect and the Theremin. Ready, and……… ACTION! Via: CBS – Los Angeles: Federal agencies were working with Southwest Airlines on Thursday to determine who has been vandalizing their aircraft with mysterious markings. KNX 1070 investigative reporter Charles Feldman has learned that […]
Next Generation Hardware Specification Could Prevent Computers from Booting Linux
September 21st, 2011Update: Microsoft Responds Via: Microsoft: Who is in control? At the end of the day, the customer is in control of their PC. Microsoft’s philosophy is to provide customers with the best experience first, and allow them to make decisions themselves. We work with our OEM ecosystem to provide customers with this flexibility. The security […]
Rumsfeld Stripped of Immunity in Case Involving Torture of U.S. Citizens
September 21st, 2011Via: USC – Neon Tommy: Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was stripped of immunity in a case involving the torture of two United States citizens. Two FBI informants, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, were detained and tortured by United States military personnel in Iraq in 2006. They filed suit against Former Secretary of Defense […]
More than 4.2 Million People Have U.S. Government Security Clearances
September 20th, 2011Ha. That’s about as many people with security clearances as the population of New Zealand. Via: Washington Post: More than 4.2 million people have security clearances for access to classified information, a number that vastly outstrips previous estimates and nearly rivals the population of metropolitan Washington. The number was disclosed in a new report that […]
Only Enterprise and Developers Can Bypass Windows Store for Metro Apps
September 19th, 2011“If Apple’s transitioning of OSX to an iOS-like experience is dumb, Microsoft wants to be dumber with Windows 8.” How long until both Microsoft and Apple require approval for software to run in their full operating systems? You think I’m nuts—and then it happens. Via: Ars Technica: Microsoft will restrict general distribution of Metro apps […]
