Tag Archives: brave new world
Mysterious circumstances surround Navy Yard shooting
Aaron Alexis, 34, is the alleged lone shooter in the Washington navy yard shooting which happened just after 8am on Monday as many of the 3,000 employees were arriving for work on the base. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/17/washington-naval-yard-shooting-suspect-arrested-guns However, The Washington Post, citing police sources, reported that three shooters, including one in military fatigues, were involved. The attackers […]
CDC admits drug-resistant infections out of control
Federal health officials reported Monday that at least two million Americans fall ill from antibiotic-resistant bacteria every year and that at least 23,000 die from those infections, putting a hard number on a growing public health threat. It was the first time that federal authorities quantified the effects of organisms that many antibiotics are powerless […]
Court rules Google breaks law with Wi-Fi snooping
A US judge has ruled that Google did break the law when it scooped up unsecured wi-fi data while collecting images for Streetview. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24047235 Google had hoped to have the case dismissed, arguing that its “mistaken collection” of the data did not break wire-tapping laws. Privacy experts called it a “landmark decision for internet […]
Computer authentication link to transhumanism
Machines verify the identity of a human being by irises, heartbeats, fingertips and voices. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/beyond-passwords-new-tools-to-identify-humans/ Authentication has been a tough nut to crack since the early days of the Web. Now comes a batch of high-tech alternatives, some straight from science fiction, as worries grow about the security risks associated with traditional user name and […]
US uses border security measures to illegally seize material
Newly released documents reveal how the government uses border crossings to seize and examine travelers’ electronic devices instead of obtaining a search warrant to gain access to the data. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/business/the-border-is-a-back-door-for-us-device-searches.html?ref=world The documents detail what until now has been a largely secretive process that enables the government to create a travel alert for a person, who […]
NSA and GCHQ conspire in spying against their citizens
The US National Security Agency (NSA) is reported have cracked the security codes which protect data on iPhones, Blackberries and Android devices. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24009342 German news weekly Der Spiegel says documents suggest the NSA and the British GCHQ made joint efforts to gather intelligence. Teams looked at each phone to crack its privacy codes, Der Spiegel […]
Ambercrombie & Fitch fires muslim for wearing headscarf
US clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch wrongly fired a Muslim worker for wearing a headscarf, a judge has ruled. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24026228 Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled the firm violated anti-discrimination laws when it sacked Hani Khan from a Hollister brand shop. Ms Khan was initially allowed to wear a scarf in Hollister colours at the […]
No charges for TEPCO in Fukushima meltdown disaster
Japanese prosecutors have decided not to indict former officials of Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the tsunami-stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima, over their roles in the accident there in March 2011, Japan’s public broadcaster reported Monday. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/world/asia/japan-no-indictments-over-fukushima-accident.html?ref=world Naoto Kan, who was prime minister at the time of the accident, will also not be […]
NSA and Big Oil spy on national oil company of Brazil
The National Security Agency spied on Petrobras, Brazil’s giant national oil company, according to a report here on Sunday night by the Globo television network, in the latest revelation of the agency’s surveillance methods that have raised tension between Brazil and the United States. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/world/americas/nsa-spied-on-brazilian-oil-company-report-says.html?ref=world The company is controlled by Brazil’s government and ranks among […]
US drone strike kills civilians in Afghanistan
Underscoring the continued threat to civilians in Afghanistan, a drone strike in an eastern province killed up to 16 people, Afghan officials said Sunday. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/world/asia/two-deadly-attacks-in-afghanistan.html?ref=world&_r=0 The drone strike occurred Saturday afternoon in the Watapur district of Kunar Province. Afghan officials said the drone was targeting four insurgents who were picked up along the road by […]
Within the decade smart cars will fill driverless roads
Germany’s Daimler AG plans to start selling a self-driving car by 2020 as part of its campaign to regain the top spot among premium carmakers. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/09/08/business/08reuters-autoshow-frankfurt-daimler.html?hp&_r=0 “We want to be the first to launch autonomous functions in production vehicles. You can be sure: we will accomplish that in this decade,” Daimler head of development Thomas […]
Some in US Congress still fighting against NSA
After disclosures about the National Security Agency’s stealth campaign to counter Internet privacy protections, a congressman has proposed legislation that would prohibit the agency from installing “back doors” into encryption, the electronic scrambling that protects e-mail, online transactions and other communications. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/us/politics/legislation-seeks-to-bar-nsa-tactic-in-encryption.html?ref=us Representative Rush D. Holt, a New Jersey Democrat who is also a physicist, […]
EU court confounds US and limits sanctions on Iran
In a setback for the United States’ attempts to isolate Iran, a European Union court threw out sanctions Friday on seven Iranian companies, including four banks, rejecting arguments that they were acting as front companies to bypass the punitive measures. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/world/europe/european-union-wrongly-imposed-sanctions-on-iranian-companies-court-rules.html?ref=world The General Court in Brussels, the union’s second-highest tribunal, ruled that the bloc wrongly […]
Snowden material unveils NSA pervasiveness and abilities
The National Security Agency has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption, or digital scrambling, that guards global commerce and banking systems, protects sensitive data like trade secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of Americans and others around the world, the documents show. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryption.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&hp […]
US drone strikes kill six more in Pakistan
At least six people were killed in an American drone strike in Pakistan’s restive northwestern tribal areas early Friday, according to government officials and local news reports. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/world/asia/us-drone-strike-kills-6-in-pakistan-fueling-anger.html?hp The identities of those killed were not immediately clear. American drone strikes are deeply unpopular in the country, and opposition to them has become an essential staple […]
Maker of home surveillance cameras reprimanded over privacy
Trendnet home cameras were hacked, causing privacy intrusions for hundreds of people. The company had weaknesses that meant supposedly private video feeds were in fact viewable by anyone online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23971118 The company was barred from referring to their cameras as “secure” in marketing material. The move is the first such crackdown by the Federal Trade […]
UK High Court OKs seizure of Miranda and Greenwald material
The UK high court extended police powers to analyze encrypted material seized from the partner of one of the newspaper’s journalists this month. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/world/europe/britain-cites-grave-risks-in-leaked-data-it-seized.html?src=rechp The decision, which slightly expanded the authority of the police to investigate the digital files, came after a senior national security adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron told the court that […]
FBI increases domestic surveillance while war with Syria looms
The F.B.I. has increased its surveillance inside the United States in response to concerns that a military strike against the government of President Bashar al-Assad could lead to terrorist attacks here or against American allies and interests abroad. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/us/fbi-sharpens-scrutiny-of-syrians-in-us-for-signs-of-retaliation.html?ref=us The authorities are particularly concerned because Iran — one of Mr. Assad’s closest allies — […]
18th American drone strike in Pakistan tribal belt this year
A drone suspected of being American killed at least four militants early Saturday in an attack on a compound in the North Waziristan tribal district, near the border with Afghanistan, a Pakistani security official and local residents said. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/world/asia/drone-strike-kills-suspected-militants-in-pakistan.html?hp&_r=0 The drone fired missiles at a building and a nearby parked vehicle in a village close […]
Snowden releases US intelligence budget, Post withholds info
The top secret budget request for the current fiscal year was obtained by The Washington Post from the former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden and published in part on its Web site on Thursday. The newspaper said it was withholding most of the 178-page document at the request of government officials because “sensitive […]
Dirty Babylon 