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Twitter report: U.S. leads the world in demands for user information

“Governments submitted a total of 1,157 requests for information about Twitter accounts, with 78 percent of those queries coming from the United States, according to a transparency report issued by the globally popular one-to-many test messaging service. Twitter reported that it gave US authorities what they sought in 67 percent of the cases. Twitter said the requests typically were made in connection with criminal investigations and lamented that it was barred by law from revealing anything about information demanded through US national security letters.” Continue reading →

For Congress, ‘it’s classified’ is new equivalent of ‘none of your business’

“The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reportedly gave its approval last week to an Obama administration plan to provide weapons to moderate rebels in Syria, but how individual members of the committee stood on the subject remains unknown. There was no public debate and no public vote when one of the most contentious topics in American foreign policy was decided. Members of both the Senate intelligence committee or its equivalent in the House were difficult to pin down on their view of providing arms to the rebels. The senators and representatives said they couldn’t give an opinion, or at least a detailed one, because the matter was classified.” Continue reading →

Bitcoin Is Not Quantum-Safe, And How We Can Fix It When Needed

“Given what is currently public knowledge, quantum computers are still far away; the most powerful quantum computer to date managed to use Shor’s algorithm to factor the number 21. However, we always need to have a plan of what we can do if Edward Snowden decides to leak out that the NSA has fully functional quantum computers hiding in a secret data center. We probably cannot handle such a sudden event, but we certainly can handle cases where we get even a month of advance warning. From there, we lick our wounds, pick up our losses and move on to enjoy some of the more wonderful things that quantum computing has to offer.” Continue reading →

Swedish warning

“The hard data is in. Sweden’s GDP fell by 0.1pc in the second quarter, astonishing everybody who relies on soft PMI confidence surveys. Year-on-year growth has been just 0.6pc, half the level expected, and Sweden is supposed to be a star performer in Europe. There are fundamental economic and mathematical reasons why Europe remains in dire trouble. Nominal GDP is contracting in a string of countries, causing debt dynamics to explode. As for Sweden, it had a housing boom and household debt bubble like the rest of us. The reality is that the Scandinavian pillar is not as strong as people think. There are no strong pillars in Europe.” Continue reading →

IMF finds $11 billion ‘black hole’ in Greece’s finances

“The International Monetary Fund warned the eurozone yesterday that it may be forced to write off a chunk of Greece’s debt after identifying an $11bn black hole in the finances of the recession-stricken country. In its regular update on the programme of financial austerity and structural change agreed to by Athens in return for financial help, the Washington-based IMF said weak growth and a sluggish pace of reform had opened up a funding gap in both 2014 and 2015.” Continue reading →

Ride-sharing companies like Uber may lose ‘bandit cab’ stigma in California

“The draft rules to govern companies that already operate under such names as Lyft, SideCar and Uber, allowing passengers to electronically hail rides through smartphone applications, were unveiled by the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Among the proposed regulations are requirements for ride-share operators to obtain a license with the PUC to do business in California, to submit their drivers to criminal background checks and to carry liability insurance of at least $1 million per incident. Taxi drivers registered their disapproval by staging a noisy demonstration against the ride-sharing services on Tuesday, circling San Francisco City Hall in their cabs.” Continue reading →

Indiana education commissioner made sure GOP donor’s charter school got top marks

“The new grading system had initially given Christel House a ‘C’ grade, because of the school’s poor test scores in algebra. ‘This will be a HUGE problem for us,’ Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12, 2012 email. At the urging of Bennett, the grading system was quickly altered so that Christel House ended up with an ‘A’ grade. Bennett told the Associated Press that he wasn’t trying to tilt the system in favor of Christel House because of DeHaan’s contributions. He said Christel House was a top-performing school and its ‘C’ grade indicated the grading system was flawed. Bennett is currently serving as Florida’s education commissioner.” Continue reading →

Court Eases Prosecutors’ Burden of Proof in Leak Cases

“In a new interpretation of the Espionage Act, a federal judge made it easier for prosecutors in leak cases to meet their burden of proof, while reducing protections for accused leakers. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the prosecution in the pending case of former State Department contractor Stephen Kim need not show that the information he allegedly leaked could damage U.S. national security or benefit a foreign power, even potentially. Her opinion was a departure from a 30-year-old ruling in the case of U.S. v. Morison, which held that the government must show that the leak was potentially damaging to the U.S. or beneficial to an adversary.” Continue reading →