Archive for July, 2013
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, […]
Boston Police Officer Arrested in Plymouth for Possession of Military Grade Explosives
July 13th, 2013Via: CBS: A Boston police officer is free on $1,000 bail after police in Plymouth say they found a cache of military grade explosives in a shed at his former home. Kirk Merricks, 43, of Dorchester, was charged Friday with 11 counts of possession of explosives, along with theft and ammunition charges. Police say they […]
Kremlin Security Agency to Buy Typewriters to Avoid Leaks
July 13th, 2013Is this real? As a fan of Meanwhile in Russia, nothing would surprise me. Via: BBC: Russia’s agency responsible for the Kremlin security is buying typewriters – a move reportedly prompted by recent leaks by WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden. A 486,540-rouble (£9,860) order for electric typewriters has been placed by the FSO agency on the […]
Japan Withdraws HPV Vaccine Recommendation for Girls
July 13th, 2013Via: Medscape: The Japanese government withdrew its recommendation to use human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in girls last week, citing concerns from the public about adverse effects, according to news reports. The announcement is in stark contrast to the pronouncement last week by health officials in the United States that vaccination rates in teenage girls should […]
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 […]
Secretary Of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano To Become Head Of UC System
July 12th, 2013Via: CBS: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will become the first female president of the University of California system, officials announced Friday. “I am pleased to announce that the Special Committee has nominated Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to serve as the 20th president of the University of California,” UC Regent and […]
NSA Code Used in Google Phone to “Enhance Security” *wink*
July 12th, 2013Via: Democracy Now: The tech giant Google has confirmed the National Security Agency furnished some of the code installed in its new Android phone. The NSA says the code is intended to enhance security against hackers and marketers, but will not confirm whether it also aids the agency’s PRISM program monitoring the global Internet.
Australia: Telstra Has Been Storing Customer Data on Behalf of U.S. Government for Over a Decade
July 12th, 2013Via: Sydney Morning Herald: Telstra agreed more than a decade ago to store huge volumes of electronic communications it carried between Asia and America for potential surveillance by United States intelligence agencies. Under the previously secret agreement, the telco was required to route all communications involving a US point of contact through a secure storage […]
Encryption According to Microsoft: Cops and Spooks Can Access Your Data
July 12th, 2013Via: Guardian: Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users’ communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company’s own encryption, according to top-secret documents obtained by the Guardian. The files provided by Edward Snowden illustrate the scale of co-operation between Silicon Valley and the intelligence agencies […]
Scientists Create Artificial Human Chromosome
July 11th, 2013Via: Independent: Scientists have created genetically-engineered mice with artificial human chromosomes in every cell of their bodies, as part of a series of studies showing that it may be possible to treat genetic diseases with a radically new form of gene therapy. In one of the unpublished studies, researchers made a human artificial chromosome in […]
