News Commentary

Apple: iPhone Fingerprint Reader Means Government Business

"In October 2012, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - ICE, announced a major iPhone win for a high security government agency. The contract was for iPhone services sourced through various carriers with a total award value of $2.1 million, covering 17,676 users. I expect to see more and more government iPhone contracts, especially if the new phone launch focuses on security. In February of this year Apple landed a major contract with the New Zealand police, for an estimated $159M over the next 10 years. The contract provides 6,000 users with an iPhone, and 3,900 with an iPad as well. The TSA in May 2012 also released a contract for purchasing up to 1,000 handheld Apple devices." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingApple: iPhone Fingerprint Reader Means Government Business

Bruce Schneier: iPhone Fingerprint Authentication

"Fingerprint readers have a long history of vulnerabilities as well. Some are better than others. The simplest ones just check the ridges of a finger; some of those can be fooled with a good photocopy. Others check for pores as well. The better ones verify pulse, or finger temperature. Fooling them with rubber fingers is harder, but often possible. [..] Apple's move is likely to bring fingerprint readers into the mainstream. But all applications are not equal. It's fine if your fingers unlock your phone. It's a different matter entirely if your fingerprint is used to authenticate your iCloud account. The centralized database required for that application would create an enormous security risk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBruce Schneier: iPhone Fingerprint Authentication

Alan Grayson unloads on “warmongering” and “hubris”

"I have the benefit of knowing what the U.S. military plans are. Members on both sides are extremely well-informed about this. Most of us have been to multiple briefings, in some cases classified briefings. It’s not that people need more information, you know, we’ve got plenty. And what we’re seeing is an extremely risky and fruitless undertaking. I have the sense that the Administration is suffering from some degree of hubris. They claim to know the future reactions of the Syrians, the Russians, the Iranians, Hezbollah. They claim to be able to micromanage this 'unbelievably small' attack. In a way it’s reminiscent of Johnson choosing bombing targets in Vietnam. We all know how that ended up." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAlan Grayson unloads on “warmongering” and “hubris”

The Proof Is In the Putin

"The punditocracy is shouting almost in unison that Russia and Syria have pulled one over us. The US, they say, has been weakened because someone halted the momentum of the American war juggernaut. You see, the pundits and the pols cannot perceive of greatness outside the state because they are part of the state apparatus; and depend on it for status and income. Think about it. Who benefits when America goes to war? Not you. Not ordinary Americans. Those who benefit “function within the nimbus of great power” in D.C. and around it—the media-military-congressional-industrial complex." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Proof Is In the Putin

Ron Paul Questions The Double-Dealing Empire

"How can the U.S. be both fighting Al Qaeda, and at the same time aiding them to overthrow Assad in Syria? Well, this isn't the first time that Ron Paul has posed this type of question. Let's rewind back to 1983, when the bogeyman was The Soviet Union. Here's Ron Paul speaking on the House floor, asking an almost identical question: 'Why are we engaged in military action against the Communists in which American lives are being lost when we cannot take the simple action of cutting off the flow of money to the Communists? For decades we have pursued this immoral course of action, asking American men to die fighting an enemy the American government has financed.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul Questions The Double-Dealing Empire

Obama admin. sends guns to Syria…without background checks

"Have these rebels, who reportedly have ties to terrorist groups, gone through background checks? Does this transfer of light weapons and munitions to Syrian rebels go against the grain of the United Nations’ Small Arms Trade Treaty, which the president has said he supports and would sign? There have been allegations that the Syrian rebels have strong connections to al Qaeda, the same organization that claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and has been linked to last year’s Benghazi attack, and we’re giving these people weapons? Does it seem that the president is [little] concerned about putting guns in the hands of people whose idea of justice is public execution?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama admin. sends guns to Syria…without background checks

Bill Bonner: In Praise of Mr. Putin

"Why would the US do things that make the world worse off? Dear reader, where have you been? It’s got nothing to do with liberal or conservative, hawk or dove, Democrat or Republican, Bush or Obama. And it’s not because we are dumber than we used to be, either. Instead, thinking people are starting to realize that we’re right about this too. America is a victim of creeping zombieism. Bureaucrats at the Fed force down interest rates to support zombies everywhere – from Wall Street to Skid Row. Low rates also help make more money available to the zombies who are besieging the Pentagon." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: In Praise of Mr. Putin

It’s official. America’s Suez moment has arrived

"Britain had once been the dominant power in the world. But years of unsustainable finances and economic decline changed all of that. By the end of World War II, Britain was nearly bankrupt. But reality hadn’t set in yet. They still saw themselves as a superpower. British policymakers were still at the peace table. They helped set up the UN, divide up Germany, and even influence the new global financial system at Bretton Woods. Reality finally hit during the Suez Crisis. It became clear that the UK no longer had the economic fortitude or international standing to do as it pleased. And with the US opposed to the invasion of Egypt, the British government had no choice but to withdraw." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s official. America’s Suez moment has arrived

Can America Win A War In Syria?

"In 2006, Israel was powerless to impose its rules of warfare on Hezbollah. Israel’s model of victory was expelling Hezbollah, but Hezbollah’s model of victory was simply surviving; their victory they achieved to Israel’s shame. In 2013, America risks being put in Israel’s pre-conflict position, except for one great difference. Assad is the Syrian state. He is not a shadowy nation in a host state, like Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, like the Summer War of 2006, America is in no position to accomplish the objective of stopping Assad’s use of chemical weapons on all three levels of military campaign planning: the (1) Tactical, (2) Operational, and (3) Strategic levels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCan America Win A War In Syria?

Chauvinists and Other Anti-Peace Voices

"We cannot even take a baby step toward peace without these neocon warmongers trying to shove us back into the 'Fight the dirty un-American commie bastards' mode of thinking. What a bunch of chauvinists (jingoists, nationalists) these guys are. The most amazing of all reactions comes from the Syrian rebel coalition. They 'announce our definitive rejection of the Russian initiative to place chemical weapons under international custody.' I find this amusing. The group that Kerry-Obama supports with arms and military training, the group that Obama-Kerry were willing to bomb for in the name of curtailing chemicals in warfare, that group rejects a huge Syrian government concession to give up its chemicals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChauvinists and Other Anti-Peace Voices