Tag Archives: DARPA
US: We can’t spy on you if your not on the internet
The Obama administration has poured billions of dollars into expanding the reach of the Internet, and nearly 98 percent of American homes now have access to some form of high-speed broadband. But tens of millions of people are still on the sidelines of the digital revolution. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/technology/a-push-to-connect-millions-who-live-offline-to-the-internet.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us Barack Obama took office as president in […]
US meat inspecting computer system fails again
A troubled new computer system used by inspectors at the nation’s 6,500 meatpacking and processing plants shut down for two days this month, putting at risk millions of pounds of beef, poultry, pork and lamb that had left the plants before workers could collect samples to check for E. coli bacteria and other contaminants. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/us/computer-system-failed-at-meatpacking-plants-but-shipping-continued.html?pagewanted=2&ref=us […]
NSA admits to violating 4th amendment in leaked audit
The National Security Agency violated privacy rules protecting the communications of Americans and others on domestic soil 2,776 times over a one-year period, according to an internal audit leaked by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden and made public on Thursday night. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/us/nsa-often-broke-rules-on-privacy-audit-shows.html?hp&_r=0 The largest number of episodes — 1,904 — appeared to be […]
Facebook reduces satisfaction and fosters loneliness
Using Facebook can reduce young adults’ sense of well-being and satisfaction with life. Checking Facebook made people feel worse about both issues, and the more they browsed, the worse they felt, the University of Michigan research said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23709009 The study adds to a growing body of research saying Facebook can have negative psychological consequences. “On […]
Hastings, Snowden warn journalists of the info war
In a recent interview NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden states, “After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power — the journalistic responsibility to challenge the excesses of government — for fear of being seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period […]
Brazil stands their ground on US data spying
Resentment has festered in Brazil since revelations of the surveillance practices emerged in July, detailing how the agency established a data collection center in Brasília and prioritized Brazil, with its vast telecommunications hubs and large population of 200 million, as among the agency’s most spied-upon countries. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/14/world/americas/in-brazil-kerry-is-told-spying-sows-distrust.html?ref=world Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota issued the unusual expression […]
Fuaed Abdo Ahmed, Colin Ferguson, brain chips and murder
An hours-long standoff at a Louisiana bank began around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when a gunman — identified by police as 20-year-old Fuaed (FOO-od) Abdo Ahmed — took two women and a man captive at the Tensas State Bank branch in St. Joseph. One of his demands to authorities was that they get an implanted device […]
US spying leviathan holds on to telephone records
The US spying programme “touches” 1.6% of internet traffic in fact reveal the vast scale of snooping, a senior security researcher has said. The figures were “utterly meaningless” since the memorandum is vague about where the data is taken from. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23669003 Caspar Bowden told the BBC that the National Security Agency (NSA) was a “surveillance […]
Encryption companies destroy servers after US data request
A company called Lavabit, which was reportedly used by Edward J. Snowden, announced its suspension Thursday afternoon, citing concerns about secret government court orders. By evening, Silent Circle, a Maryland-based firm that counts heads of state among its customers, said it was following Lavabit’s lead and shutting its e-mail service as a protective measure. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/two-providers-of-encrypted-e-mail-shut-down/?ref=world […]
Amazon will lead destruction of EU unions with robots
Amazon was facing strikes at warehouses in Germany, its second-biggest market. Unions there say the company has imported American-style business practices — in particular, an antipathy to organized labor — that stand at odds with European norms. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/business/workers-of-amazon-divergent.html “In Germany, the idea that warehouse workers are going to be getting opposition from an employer when […]
Google to unleash eavesdropping phone in August
Google-owned Motorola has announced a phone that is “always listening”. Saying “OK Google now…” will prompt the Moto X’s Touchless Control system to listen for instructions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23536936 The device is the first to have been designed from scratch since Google’s $12.5bn (£7.9bn) takeover of Motorola last year. While the company has released handsets since then, […]
Drone killings escalate in Pakistan
There were more drone strikes in Pakistan last month than any month since January. Three missile strikes were carried out in Yemen in the last week alone. And after Secretary of State John Kerry told Pakistanis on Thursday that the United States was winding down the drone wars there, officials back in Washington quickly contradicted […]
New leaks published from Snowden expose NSA’s XKeyscore
The Guardian newspaper published slides leaked by Edward Snowden that detail a secret US surveillance system known as XKeyscore. It reportedly enables American intelligence to monitor “nearly everything a typical user does on the internet”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23522565 A series of slides describing XKeyscore, dated 2008, make it clear that the security agency system is collecting […]
Snowden’s father spurns FBI, supports son
The father of US fugitive Edward Snowden has said the FBI asked him to travel to Moscow and see his son. Lon Snowden said he had been asked several weeks ago about Edward, who is sought by the US for leaking details of electronic surveillance programmes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23514431 He wants to know the FBI’s intentions, he […]
Chief Justice Roberts assigned judges to subvert Fourth Amendment
In making assignments to the court, Chief Justice Roberts, more than his predecessors, has chosen judges with conservative and executive branch backgrounds that critics say make the court more likely to defer to government arguments that domestic spying programs are necessary. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/us/politics/robertss-picks-reshaping-secret-surveillance-court.html?hp Ten of the court’s 11 judges — all assigned by Chief Justice Roberts […]
Some lawmakers vow to fight on after NSA limit vote
Obama administration got a hard-fought victory in the first Congressional showdown over the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities since Edward J. Snowden’s security breaches last month. Conservative Republicans leery of what they see as Obama administration abuses of power teamed up with liberal Democrats long opposed to intrusive intelligence programs. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/us/politics/house-defeats-effort-to-rein-in-nsa-data-gathering.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130725 The Obama administration made common cause […]
The Justice Dept and intelligence apparatus war on journalism
An egregious appeals court ruling on Friday has dealt a major setback to press freedoms by requiring the author of a 2006 book to testify in the criminal trial of a former Central Intelligence Agency official charged with leaking classified information. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/23/opinion/a-terrible-precedent-for-press-freedom.html?src=rechp The ruling and the Justice Department’s misplaced zeal in subpoenaing James Risen, the […]
New Jersey chief justice stands up for Fourth Amendment
“No one buys a cell phone to share detailed information about their whereabouts with the police,” Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote. “That was true in 2006 and is equally true today. Citizens have a legitimate privacy interest in such information.” http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/07/19/us/ap-us-cellphone-tracking-ruling.html?ref=us Police in New Jersey will soon have to get warrants if they want […]
Dirty Babylon 