Archive for April, 2012
Britain: Proposed Law Would Require ISPs and Device Makers to Filter Internet by Default
April 6th, 2012Will VPNs be outlawed? *chortle* Via: PC Pro: A new bill presented to the House of Lords demands both ISPs and device makers filter adult content. The Online Safety Bill, raised in the Lords by Baroness Howe of Ildicote, asks for ISPs and mobile operators to “provide a service that excludes pornographic images” and for […]
Poland to Ban Monsanto’s GM Maize
April 6th, 2012Via: AFP: Poland will impose a complete ban on growing the MON810 genetically modified strain of maize made by US company Monsanto on its territory, Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said Wednesday. “The decree is in the works. It introduces a complete ban on the MON810 strain of maize in Poland,” Sawicki told reporters, adding that […]
Arizona Passes Sweeping Law Criminalizing Internet Speech
April 5th, 2012Via: Jonathan Turley: In one of the most sweeping attacks on free speech in America, the Arizona legislature has passed a draconian bill that would criminalize speech on the Internet (“any electronic or digital device”) that prosecutors consider “obscene, lewd or profane language or . . . suggest[ing] a lewd or lascivious act if done […]
Google Begins Testing Its Augmented-Reality Glasses
April 5th, 2012Here we go… Via: New York Times: If you venture into a coffee shop in the coming months and see someone with a pair of futuristic glasses that look like a prop from “Star Trek,” don’t worry. It’s probably just a Google employee testing the company’s new augmented-reality glasses. On Wednesday, Google gave people a […]
These Are The Prices AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Charge For Cellphone Wiretaps
April 5th, 2012Via: Forbes: If Americans aren’t disturbed by phone carriers’ practices of handing over cell phone users’ personal data to law enforcement en masse–in many cases without a warrant–we might at least be interested to learn just how much that service is costing us in tax dollars: often hundreds or thousands per individual snooped. Earlier this […]
Interesting Solar Hydrogen Reactor from University of Delaware
April 5th, 2012Via: University of Delaware: Producing hydrogen from non-fossil fuel sources is a problem that continues to elude many scientists but University of Delaware’s Erik Koepf thinks he may have discovered a solution. Hydrogen is traditionally made from natural gas. Unfortunately, natural gas is a fossil fuel that releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, when converted […]
Michigan: Owning Certain Kinds of Pigs Could Land You in Jail for 4 Years
April 4th, 2012Via: Alternet: Owning certain kinds of pigs — namely the ones not raised on industrial hog farms — could land you in jail for 4 years. … The traditional white swine favored by Big Ag doesn’t run any risk of falling under the ‘feral’ classification. They’re raised indoors by the thousands, so no need for […]
J.K. Rowling Sells Harry Potter Ebooks Herself and They’re DRM Free
April 4th, 2012Overall, I think that this is a good development. Rowling has just routed around powerful publishers and Amazon and gone straight to people who want to buy her ebooks. There are, however, some howlers in the terms and conditions on the Pottermore site. This is from section 12.3: 12.3 You may not and may not […]
Shady Companies With Ties to Israel Wiretap the U.S. for the NSA
April 4th, 2012Via: Wired: In addition to constructing the Stellar Wind center, and then running the operation, secretive contractors with questionable histories and little oversight were also used to do the actual bugging of the entire U.S. telecommunications network. According to a former Verizon employee briefed on the program, Verint, owned by Comverse Technology, taps the communication […]
Japan’s Strongest Storm Since 1959 Slams Into Tokyo Region
April 3rd, 2012Via: Bloomberg: Japanese airlines canceled hundreds of flights, some train services were halted and thousands of workers went home early as some of the strongest winds in more than 50 years hit Tokyo today. The weather agency issued a tornado warning for the Tokyo area after the storm dumped as much as 6 centimeters (2.4 […]
