The Freedom Watch

Jeffrey Tucker: We’re All Edward Snowden Now

"In the course of only a few decades, everything unraveled. The monopoly over communication that the government once maintained had been completely smashed. This situation has persisted for about 15 years — a near-anarchist paradise of human sharing and interaction through technological innovation. What’s going on today is really the reaction and response by the elites. They want their power and control back. They are trying to get it through the oldest form of government control surveillance and the blackmail that comes with it. It’s the tactic guards used to control prisoners. It’s the tactic government is using to fight its way back toward having control over our lives." Continue reading →

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Freedom Requires Whistleblowers: The Importance of Transparency

"Does it bother you that government agencies are able to spy on everything you do online? The power we give to one set of leaders continues to the next, whether you agree with them or not. Prof. James Otteson says we should be concerned about government overreach. The government should be accountable to the citizens, not the other way around. Whistleblowers play an important role in making sure the people know when the government is doing things it shouldn't do." Continue reading →

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Facebook to pay 614,000 users $15 each over privacy concerns

"A lawsuit that accused Facebook of misappropriating users’ images ended with a settlement on Monday. The agreement states that the social media site has to pay approximately 614,000 Facebook users $15 each for using their information for advertising purposes. While approximately 150 million Facebook users’ images and likenesses were allegedly used to promote products and services through the Sponsored Stories program, only users who entered a claim form by May 2, 2013, were eligible to receive settlement funds. As part of the settlement, Facebook will give users greater information about and control over how they are featured in the Sponsored Stories." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFacebook to pay 614,000 users $15 each over privacy concerns

Sales Of Public Data To Marketers Can Mean Big $$ For Governments

"Spokesperson Andrew Cole confirms the Secretary of State sells business information for monetary amounts ranging from $200 to $12,000, depending on frequency and amount of information requested. The Secretary of State also sold voter registration information — including names, addresses and political party affiliation of voters — for $58,000, last year. The Denver Clerk and Recorder made $32,000 last year selling home sale data. It happens in college, too. The University of Colorado Boulder buys names from the SAT for 33 cents each and names from the ACT for 34 cents each. CU sells student information to private meal plans and storage companies for $15,000 a year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSales Of Public Data To Marketers Can Mean Big $$ For Governments

It Is Illegal To Feed The Homeless In Cities All Over The United States

"More than 50 large U.S. cities have adopted 'anti-camping' or 'anti-food sharing' laws in recent years, and police are strictly enforcing these laws. Sometimes the goal appears to be to get the homeless people to go away. Apparently heartless politicians believe that if the homeless can't get any more free food and if they keep getting thrown into prison for 'illegal camping' they will eventually decide to go somewhere else where they won't be hassled so much. This is yet another example of how heartless our society is becoming. The middle class is being absolutely shredded and poverty is absolutely exploding, but meanwhile the hearts of many Americans are growing very cold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt Is Illegal To Feed The Homeless In Cities All Over The United States

Congress To Holder: Explain Why NSA Supplies DEA Info Which It Then Launders

"For example, they might send info to the DEA about a likely drug deal, and the DEA would then tell its agents that they should come up with a pretense to stop a certain truck at a certain truck stop at a certain time. The agents would work with local police to concoct a reason to pull the truck over, and voila, drugs found. But, most importantly, at no point would the fact that such information was used to lead to the stop be revealed, and that's unconstitutional. If you're accused, you're supposed to have access to all of the evidence being used against you. Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress To Holder: Explain Why NSA Supplies DEA Info Which It Then Launders

Civil liberties may not survive the ‘Gorgon Stare’

"At the top of the executive branch, President Obama and his team favor Orwellian euphemism, preferring wordblobs like 'disposition matrix' to the harsh Anglo-Saxon of 'kill list' -- mumbling 'kinetic military action' when what they really mean is 'war.' But further down the administrative ladder, the language sometimes gets admirably blunt. The National Security Agency has programs with names like 'TRAFFICTHIEF' and 'PANOPTICON.' And DHS has even expressed interest in 'Gorgon Stare,' a drone-mounted camera array under development by the Air Force that can watch whole cities at a time (and turn the inhabitants to stone?)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCivil liberties may not survive the ‘Gorgon Stare’

UW Researcher Moves Another Human’s Finger with his Thoughts

"Many new studies have shown that people can control things -- like video games or a cursor on a screen -- only with their thoughts, but a new project takes this to the next level: people controlling other people with their thoughts. A new study by University of Washington researchers created the first human-to-human brain interface that is noninvasive. It allowed the thoughts of one researcher to manipulate movement of another. The study used electroencephalography (EEG) -- which is used to record brain activity noninvasively from the scalp -- and transcranial magnetic stimulation, which is a noninvasive way of delivering stimulation to the brain to obtain a response." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUW Researcher Moves Another Human’s Finger with his Thoughts

A New System to Link Human Knowledge with Machine Data

"The Office of Naval Research is looking into the approach as a potential model for distributed decision-making teams charged with quick response. The RPD decision-making framework 'acts as an intelligent team partner that is able to share information without overloading people and enhances the quality of information by sharing relevant facts,' Yen said. In practical terms, that means being able to more quickly identify a terrorist leader, for example, by recognizing patterns of behavior or similar interactions or social connections among members of terrorist cells. 'This agent architecture can not only enhance the capabilities of anti-terrorist analysts in identifying terrorist threats, [...] '" Continue reading →

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Elysium: The Technological Side of the American Police State

"While much has been said about Blomkamp’s use of Elysium to raise concerns about immigration, access to healthcare, worker’s rights, and socioeconomic stratification, what I found most striking and unnerving was its depiction of how the government will employ technologies such as drones, tasers and biometric scanners to track, target and control the populace, especially dissidents. Mind you, while these technologies are already in use today and being hailed for their potentially life-saving, cost-saving, time-saving benefits, it won’t be long before the drawbacks to having a government equipped with technology that makes it all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful far outdistance the benefits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingElysium: The Technological Side of the American Police State