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How do smartphones reveal shoppers’ movements?

"Most devices send 'probe requests' akin to a town crier shouting out the names of networks which the device has previously connected to, so that a nearby base-station that matches any of these requests can respond. Place several Wi-Fi base-stations in a shop, then, and you can pick up these probe requests, extract the device IDs, trilaterate the positions of the devices sending them, and thus track the movements of individual shoppers, seeing which racks or displays they stop at, and what paths they follow through the store. This is arguably just the latest development in the well-established field of 'retail science'. This was once done using video cameras." Continue reading →

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UN group warns of ‘significant’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities in mobile phone technology

"A United Nations group that advises nations on cybersecurity plans to send out an alert about significant vulnerabilities in mobile phone technology that could potentially enable hackers to remotely attack at least half a billion phones. The bug, discovered by German firm, allows hackers to remotely gain control of and also clone certain mobile SIM cards. Hackers could use compromised SIMs to commit financial crimes or engage in electronic espionage, according to Berlin’s Security Research Labs, which will describe the vulnerabilities at the Black Hat hacking conference that opens in Las Vegas on July 31." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN group warns of ‘significant’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities in mobile phone technology

Murder Mystery? Michael Hastings and a CyberSecurity Firm Called Endgame

"Reports are beginning to surface about a connection between the reporter Michael Hastings and a mysterious cybersecurity firm known as Endgame. Hastings has been linked to Barrett Brown, who the government alleges is the leader of the hacker group Anonymous. Does the mysterious Endgame have any role in the ending of Hastings' game? But, keep in mind that there is no direct public evidence that Hastings was even murdered. That may be, though, only because evidence is being destroyed. Hastings' body was cremated, even though this was not the desire of the family." Continue reading →

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Dzhokar Tsarnaev’s Throat Wound: Another Government Lie Bites the Dust

"In May, the story changed. It was said Tsarnaev didn’t have a bullet wound in his throat, but was cut. CNN later edited out the comment about the throat wound made by police. Now we have a photo of Tsarnaev allegedly surrendering. It was taken by a Massachusetts State Police photographer. Note the absence of a throat wound in the photo. Finally, according to a former wrestling teammate interviewed by the Boston Globe, the man [pleading not guilty] in court 'didn’t look like' Tsarnaev. Moreover, the man brought into court had a thick accent and Tsarnaev does not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDzhokar Tsarnaev’s Throat Wound: Another Government Lie Bites the Dust

Chilling Development: NSA Takes on Amash Amendment

"The Huffington Post reports today that NSA director General Keith Alexander called an emergency Top Secret/SCI-level meeting on Capitol Hill to urge Members to vote against Rep. Justin Amash's (R-MI) amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill which would end blanket collection authority under the Patriot Act and stop the NSA and other agencies 'from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect records, including telephone call records, that pertain to persons who are not subject to an investigation under Section 215.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChilling Development: NSA Takes on Amash Amendment

Tax watchdog: IRS travel costs are ‘excessive’

"A handful of Internal Revenue Service officials spent most of their time traveling for work in 2011 and 2012 and amassed thousands of dollars in seemingly excessive costs for transportation, hotels and meals, the tax-collecting agency’s watchdog said in a report on Tuesday. 12 IRS officials claimed more than $60,000 a year in travel expenses for fiscal year 2011 and nine executives surpassed that figure in 2012, mostly in travel to Washington, said the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS watchdog. Some executives traveled for more than 80 percent of their working days in the past two years, the report said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTax watchdog: IRS travel costs are ‘excessive’

Florida Study Documents Shortened Yellows At Camera Intersections

"An investigative reporter's claim that Florida cities have been exploiting shortened yellow times at red light camera intersections has been vindicated by a report commissioned by the city of St. Petersburg. WTSP-TV's Noah Pransky has been documenting timing shortfallsthroughout the region since last month, and a new report by the engineering firm Kimley-Horn and Associates confirms several of St. Petersburg's photo enforced intersection approaches fail to meet the minimum specified under state law. They found half of the photo enforced intersections had problems with shortened yellows. As of March, 47,715 tickets worth $7,538,970 have been issued." Continue reading →

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Federal Government Consummates Theft of “Camp Zoe” in Missouri

"Rush Limbaugh’s net worth is estimated to be in excess of $400 million, and his annual income more $30 million. He owns several homes and a number of private aircraft. He was certainly a ripe target for prosecution and 'asset forfeiture' – or he would have been, had he been a commoner like Jimmy Tebeau, rather than the politically connected grandson of retired federal Judge Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr., whose name is affixed to the courthouse where the entertainer’s cousin consummated the theft of Tebeau’s business and property." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Government Consummates Theft of “Camp Zoe” in Missouri

Atheist anti-war immigrant to be awarded US citizenship following public outcry

"A woman who was nearly denied U.S. citizenship over her lack of church membership will soon be naturalized thanks to a public outcry. The immigration office in Houston had informed Margaret Doughty, 64, that she would need to provide proof of membership in a church if she wished to gain conscientious objector status. Doughty, an atheist, had provided the immigration office with a secular rather than religious explanation for why she objected to war. In response, groups sent letters to the immigration office demanding Doughty be granted conscientious objector status. The office withdrew the request on Thursday and approved her application." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAtheist anti-war immigrant to be awarded US citizenship following public outcry