Archive for October, 2010
September Earnings
October 5th, 2010Earnings in September came to a spectacular $1919.64. The U.S. Amazon commissions alone totaled $794.79, or a whisker under 80% of the monthly earnings goal of $1000. This was the best Amazon result ever. There were several unusually large purchases on Amazon in September; high end audio gear, expensive digital cameras, etc. After months of […]
James Corbett: The Truth About Terrorism
October 5th, 2010Research Credit: mja
Not The Onion: RatCar
October 5th, 2010This attempt was a flop, but with endless grant swindles, more quackademics each year and a steady supply of creatures to butcher in the spirit of Dr. Mengele, who knows? Via: IEEE: “The vehicle moved forward synchronously with a rat when it was placed inside,” says Fukayama, but he adds that the degree to which […]
Schneier on Proposed Key Escrow Rules
October 5th, 2010The most imminent danger would be believing that any of the services mentioned below are actually secure from government surveillance. The new rules would just make it easier for the government to conduct the surveillance on closed systems on a massive scale. Via: Schneier: On Monday, The New York Times reported that President Obama will […]
Mystery Mercenary Group Is Blackwater’s 34th Front Company
October 4th, 2010Update: Ackerman Screwed Up on the House The link below now states: If International Development Solutions, a mysterious firm partially owned by Blackwater, has its own independent office, it’s hard to find. A business records search co-locates one of the jackpot winners of a State Department contract worth up to $10 million with Kaseman LLC, […]
One Program to Watch Them All: DARPA’s INSIGHT
October 4th, 2010Yet again, it’s the Information Awareness Office by another name. Via: Wired: No surprise that Darpa, the military’s blue-sky research arm, is the agency behind the lofty five-year program, called Insight. The agency’s goal is to replace “largely manual exploitation and…chat-based operator interactions” with a system that mines different inputs, including drone footage and on-the-ground […]
“Me and my friend went to the mechanic today and we found this on his car.”
October 4th, 2010Update: FBI Demands Return of the Device Via: Wired: A California student got a visit from the FBI this week after he found a secret GPS tracking device on his car, and a friend posted photos of it online. The post prompted wide speculation about whether the device was real, whether the young Arab-American was […]
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI): New Computers Will Boot in Seconds
October 4th, 2010I wonder what surveillance hell lurks inside this… Via: Daily Tech: Microsoft reportedly plans to unleash a new PC firmware interface called Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) in 2011. Microsoft is rumored to be coming out with the successor to Windows 7 next year, dubbed “Windows.NEXT”. That successor may support the new interface. While UEFI […]
Two-Year Treasury Yield Falls to Record Low
October 4th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: Treasury two-year yields fell to a record before a government report that economists said will show orders to U.S. factories declined, adding to speculation the Federal Reserve will increase asset purchases. Three-year note yields touched the lowest since 1962 before an employment report on Oct. 8 is forecast to show no change in […]
Houston Ship Channel Closed to Traffic by Downed Power Line
October 4th, 2010But “The Terrorists” have already selected their targets, etc… *roll eyes* Via: Bloomberg: The Houston Ship Channel is closed to all inbound and outbound traffic as the U.S. Coast Guard responds to a downed power line that may keep the waterway shut for days. The Coast Guard was notified at about 6 a.m. local time […]
