Archive for October, 2013
Next Homeland Security Chief Held Pentagon Post
October 18th, 2013Via: USA Today: President Obama plans to nominate former Pentagon attorney Jeh Johnson as the next secretary of Homeland Security, a White House official said Thursday. Johnson, general counsel for the Defense Department during Obama’s first term, will be introduced by the president at a ceremony on Friday. If confirmed by the Senate, Johnson would […]
The Science-Is-Self-Correcting Myth
October 17th, 2013The scientific method sounds great on paper. Mix in grant swindling, incompetence and fraud and the “science” you get out the other side can turn into a bunch of bullshit. But don’t worry, science is self correcting! Via: The Economist: Academic scientists readily acknowledge that they often get things wrong. But they also hold fast […]
Senate Leader Announces Bipartisan Deal to Avoid Default, End Government Shutdown
October 16th, 2013Mmm hmm. Via: AP: Democratic leader Harry Reid says Senate leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid default and end the government shutdown, now in its 16th day. … The deal would reopen the government through Jan. 15 and increase the nation’s borrowing authority through Feb. 7.
Cockroach Farming
October 16th, 2013Via: Los Angeles Times: This squat concrete building was once a chicken coop, but now it’s part of a farm with an entirely different kind of livestock — millions of cockroaches. Inside, squirming masses of the reddish-brown insects dart between sheets of corrugated metal and egg cartons that have been tied together to provide the […]
Bitcoin As a Law Enforcement/Natsec Honeypot?
October 16th, 2013Via: Easy Questions Are Boring: Paranoia appears to be the order of the day, given what we know about the NSA and GCHQ thanks to Edward Snowden. Absent from the stories so far is any mention of Bitcoin. I find this odd – Bitcoin is the most cypherpunky of all crypto technologies, after all. I […]
Smart Shelves Will Identify Grocery Shoppers, Deliver Custom Advertisements
October 15th, 2013Via: Technology Advice: According to an interview with the Wall Street Journal, snack company Mondelez International will introduce so-called “smart shelves” into grocery stores starting in 2015. The shelves, which will be concentrated at the checkout line, will use a variety of tools to identify a shopper’s sex and age. The machine will then use […]
GCHQ Accused of Monitoring Privileged Emails Between Lawyers and Clients
October 15th, 2013Via: Guardian: GCHQ is probably intercepting legally privileged communications between lawyers and their clients, according to a detailed claim filed on behalf of eight Libyans involved in politically sensitive compensation battles with the UK. The accusation has been lodged with Britain’s most secret court, the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT), which examines complaints about the intelligence […]
France to Increase Troops in Central African Republic
October 15th, 2013Via: Reuters: France will boost its troop presence in the Central African Republic by the end of the year under a forthcoming U.N. resolution to help prevent the country from spiralling out of control, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Sunday. Fabius and the European Union aid chief, Kristalina Georgieva, are in the country to […]
Economic Recovery: Red Cross Launches Emergency Food Aid Plan for UK’s Hungry; First Time Since World War II
October 15th, 2013Via: Independent: The Red Cross will this winter start collecting and distributing food aid to the needy in Britain for the first time since the Second World War, as welfare cuts and the economic downturn send soaring numbers of people to soup kitchens and food banks across Europe. In what could be the start of […]
Fort Benning: Companies Demo Armed Robots for Ground Combat
October 15th, 2013You know why they chained the weapon to posts in the ground, right? *chortle* See: ED209 Malfunction Via: Computerworld: A weaponized robot acting as a member of a squad of U.S. soldiers fighting on the battlefield is no longer science fiction. They may not be two-legged, humanoid robots yet, but with wheels or tracks they […]
