Monthly Archives: August 2013

Will Disney Soon Be Able to Break into Computers… Legally?

"Something called The IP Commission Report (subtitled A Report Of The Commission On The Theft Of American Intellectual Property) just crossed my desk. This new and very impressively produced report, authored by seven sets of hyper-impressive credentials, informs Congress that they should change US laws to go far, far beyond anything that has been authorized previously. On page 6, (by the report’s internal numbering), we get a bit of an overture – a foretaste of what’s to come. It says this: 'Companies that experience cyber theft ought to be able to retrieve their electronic files or prevent the exploitation of their stolen information.'" Continue reading →

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Digital Diversification: How to Do It

"It is no secret that the US has a total lack of privacy, outrageous prison sentences for relatively minor and frivolous so-called 'crimes' (see the tragic case of Aaron Swartz), and seizures at the drop of a hat under the flimsiest of pretexts, among other contemptible practices. Would you really want to keep your digital presence solely under US jurisdiction if you didn’t have to? Fortunately, if you answered 'no,' it is relatively easy to move your digital presence across borders to a friendly jurisdiction. Paul Rosenberg has the details and he fills us in on the article below." Continue reading →

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Another US encrypted email service, founded by PGP inventor, also shuts down

"Later on Thursday, an executive with a better-known provider of secure email said his company had also shut down that service. Jon Callas, co-founder of Silent Circle Inc, said on Twitter and in a blog post that Silent Circle had ended Silent Mail. 'We see the writing the wall, and we have decided that it is best for us to shut down Silent Mail now. We have not received subpoenas, warrants, security letters, or anything else by any government, and this is why we are acting now,' Mr Callas wrote. Silent Circle, co-founded by the PGP cryptography inventor Phil Zimmermann, will continue to offer secure texting and secure phone calls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother US encrypted email service, founded by PGP inventor, also shuts down

Obama met with tech executives privately to discuss government surveillance

"President Barack Obama quietly met with the CEOs of Apple Inc, AT&T Inc as well as other technology and privacy representatives on Thursday to discuss government surveillance. Google Inc computer scientist Vint Cerf and civil liberties leaders also participated in the meeting, along with Apple’s Tim Cook and AT&T’s Randall Stephenson, Politico said late Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The closed-door meeting followed another private session on Tuesday between top Obama administration officials, industry lobbyists and privacy advocates, Politico reported, adding that the latest meeting 'was organized with greater secrecy.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama met with tech executives privately to discuss government surveillance

Carnegie Mellon research shows cellphone use may not cause more car crashes

"For almost 20 years, it has been a wide-held belief that talking on a cellphone while driving is dangerous and leads to more accidents. However, new research from Carnegie Mellon University and the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests that talking on a cellphone while driving does not increase crash risk. Additionally, the researchers analyzed the effects of legislation banning cellphone use, enacted in several states, and similarly found that the legislation had no effect on the crash rate." Continue reading →

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Driver’s License Renewal Gets Complicated

"From what I can tell, many of these problems trace back to the National Drivers Registry (NDR) Every state submits information to the NDR about drivers who have had the driver’s license suspended, revoked or who have been convicted of serious traffic violations. When a person applies for a driver’s license or renewal at the DMV, the person’s name and other identifying information such as date of birth, license number or social security number, is checked to see if they show up on the National Drivers Registry. If there is a match, he or she has to clear the problem up before a driver’s license can be issued." Continue reading →

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A Radical Constitutional Amendment to Protect Whistleblowers

"The Constitution’s failure to protect free speech at a seemingly basic level points to a major defect in its design. While it may be praiseworthy in forcefully demanding that the government it authorizes respect the rights of its citizens, it has not provided the real structural support to ensure that those demands are met. Anyone seriously interested in protecting free speech must push for a very radical 'constitutional amendment.' We should work not just to change the words of the document we call 'the Constitution,' but instead amend our legal system by completely changing the way it’s constituted." Continue reading →

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Massive jump in people who renounced US citizenship last quarter

"We come to view our nationalities rather ironically as a big piece of our core individuality. I am an American. I am a Canadian. I am an Austrian. Instead of– I am a human being. It has taken decades… centuries even… to reach this point. So the fact that more and more people are making the gut-wrenching decision to ditch their US passports is truly a powerful trend. So what’s driving it? Taxes… and the search for liberty. For many, their tax bills constitute a financial breaking point. Particularly for people who spend most of their time outside of the United States and are constantly hamstrung by worldwide taxation and information disclosures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMassive jump in people who renounced US citizenship last quarter

Rep. Alan Grayson on NSA spying: What if ‘Dictator Palin’ gets elected?

"'I heard Rush Limbaugh ranting almost incoherently about this just a few days ago on the radio,' the congressman said. 'He is very concerned about the fact that ‘Dictator Obama’ can get this information. I’m more concerned about the possibility that Dictator Palin can get this information, but regardless of who we are concerned about, the fact is we are both concerned.' Grayson has introduced legislation that would prohibit the Department of Defense from collecting Internet, telephone and other personal information generated by U.S. citizens without probable cause of a terrorism or criminal offense." Continue reading →

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Criminal defense lawyers demand access to secret DEA evidence

"Criminal defense lawyers are challenging a U.S. government practice of hiding the tips that led to some drug investigations, information that the lawyers say is essential to fair trials in U.S. courts. The practice of creating an alternate investigative trail to hide how a case began – what federal agents call 'parallel construction' – has never been thoroughly tested in court. Defense lawyers said that by hiding the existence of the information, the government is violating a defendant’s constitutional right to view potentially exculpatory evidence that suggests witness bias, entrapment or innocence." Continue reading →

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