Orwellian

LAPD Spied on 21 Using StingRay Anti-Terrorism Tool

"A secretive cellphone spy device known as StingRay, intended to fight terrorism, was used in far more routine LAPD criminal investigations 21 times in a four-month period during 2012, apparently without the courts' knowledge that the technology probes the lives of non-suspects who happen to be in the same neighborhood as suspected terrorists. StingRay, which allows police to track mobile phones in real time, was tapped for more than 13 percent of the 155 'cellular phone investigation cases' last year. LAPD purchased StingRay technology sometime around 2006 with federal Department of Homeland Security funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD Spied on 21 Using StingRay Anti-Terrorism Tool

Indoctrination Nation: Students Taking Oath To Constitution In Order To Graduate?

"A bill making its way through the Arizona state legislature would require public high school students to swear an oath to defend the Constitution before they receive their diplomas. If passed, it would require principals to verify in writing that a student had recited the following oath before they were allowed to graduate, beginning in the 2013-2014 school year." Continue reading →

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Tons and Tons of Security Cameras Are Wide Open to Hackers

"Apparently security cameras are even less secure than we thought. Eighteen popular brands of cameras have been found to have serious flaws in their own security, leaving at least 58,000 unsecured, open-to-basically-anyone security cams out there. In short, the flaw allows anyone connected to a specific port full access to the DVR functions of the cameras." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTons and Tons of Security Cameras Are Wide Open to Hackers

Julian Assange calls WikiLeaks movie a ‘massive propaganda attack’

"Speaking to students at Britain’s prestigious Oxford University by videolink from the Ecuadoran embassy in London, Assange revealed that he had acquired a copy of the script for 'The Fifth Estate', due to be released in November. 'It is a lie upon lie. The movie is a massive propaganda attack on WikiLeaks and the character of my staff,' the Australian Internet activist told the audience at the university’s Oxford Union debating club. Assange, 41, also blasted the movie for 'fanning the flames' of war against Iran by implying that the Islamic republic was working on a nuclear bomb." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJulian Assange calls WikiLeaks movie a ‘massive propaganda attack’

War is Peace: The Second Obama Term

"From President Obama's second inaugural address: 'We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.' Secretary of State nominee John Kerry before Senate confirmation hearing this week: 'The president has made it definitive -- we will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And I repeat here today: our policy is not containment. It is prevention, and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance.'" Continue reading →

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Man With 4th Amendment Written on Chest Wins Trial Over Airport Arrest

"Among other things, the federal lawsuit claimed wrongful detention and a breach of the First Amendment and Fourth Amendment. Tobey was on his way to Wisconsin for his grandmother’s funeral. Despite his detainment, he made his flight. According to the suit, while under interrogation, the authorities wanted to know 'about his affiliation with, or knowledge of, any terrorist organizations, if he had been asked to do what he did by any third party, and what his intentions and goals were.' Two weeks later, Henrico County prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor charge against him, and he sued the Transportation Security Administration and others." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan With 4th Amendment Written on Chest Wins Trial Over Airport Arrest

Web founder Berners-Lee: Governments are suppressing online freedom

"While Yahoo!’s chief Marissa Mayer told the forum there was a 'trade off' between privacy and the benefits of increasingly personalised services offered by Internet giants, the network’s founding father took up the ethical issues at stake. 'The dream is of a more open web,' Berners-Lee told the gathering in the Swiss ski resort, citing social media as a way of breaking down barriers. But he said the recent suicide of Aaron Swartz, a 26-year-old US Internet activist who faced charges of illegally copying and distributing millions of academic articles, highlighted government efforts to police the Internet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWeb founder Berners-Lee: Governments are suppressing online freedom

MO Lawmaker Proposes Bill Requiring Parents To Inform Schools If They Own A Gun

"A Missouri lawmaker has proposed a bill that would require parents to inform their children’s school if they possess a firearm. Not only that, it would criminalize parents that '[fail] to stop the possession [of a firearm] or report it to law enforcement' for children in the house under the age of 18. The American Thinker relates the three main components of the bill, via the Missouri Senate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMO Lawmaker Proposes Bill Requiring Parents To Inform Schools If They Own A Gun

Authoritarian regimes use Silicon Valley software to censor Internet

"Authoritarian regimes around the world are using technology from a Silicon Valley firm for Internet surveillance, filtering and censorship, according to a report by Canadian researchers. The report this week from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said devices from California-based security firm Blue Coat Systems were being used in China, Russia, Venezuela and other countries with 'a history of concerns over human rights.'" Continue reading →

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SEC Bars Egan-Jones From Rating The US And Other Governments For 18 Months

"It is refreshing to see that the SEC has taken a much needed break from its daily escapades into midgetporn.xxx and is focusing on what is truly important, such as barring outspoken rating agency Egan-Jones from rating the US and other governments. From the SEC: 'EJR and Egan made a settlement offer that the Commission determined to accept. Under the settlement, EJR and Egan agreed to be barred for at least 18 months from rating asset-backed and government securities issuers as an NRSRO. EJR and Egan also agreed to correct the deficiencies found by SEC examiners in 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSEC Bars Egan-Jones From Rating The US And Other Governments For 18 Months