Orwellian

Google takes action to support open Internet

"The conference, organized by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) has reignited a fierce debate over who should control the Web. Google has remained unequivocal in its stance that the closed-door meeting a power grab aimed at ending public control of the Internet and strangling free speech. Google, which has consistently taken a self-regulatory approach to the Internet, called the Dubai conference the'wrong place' to make decisions on the future of the Internet." Continue reading →

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Yang Jisheng: The man who discovered 36 million dead

"50 years on, Chinese official history insists the famine of 1958-61 was a natural disaster. Agriculture was brutally collectivised, leaving peasants dependent on centrally distributed grain. Local cadres ordered the forced pooling of family kitchens, confiscating all ladles and punishing those who kept private food supplies. Then, as Mao ordered rapid industrialisation during the Great Leap Forward, the grain supplies disappeared. Simultaneously local officials, terrified of failure, began to report fictional bumper harvests. Mao, meanwhile, publicly humiliated any party leader who voiced doubts. The result was the greatest famine in modern history." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYang Jisheng: The man who discovered 36 million dead

Doug Casey on the America That Was – Now the United (Police) State of America

"This is just the beginning. As I've said before, I don't call the shots – just try to tell the truth as I see it. The point is that you couldn't assemble a list like this even 15 years ago. But now it's part of the firmament. Worse, it's going to grow. As the economy turns down over the next few years, the people – acting like scared chimpanzees – will ask the government to 'do something.' And it will. The trend is going hyperbolic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoug Casey on the America That Was – Now the United (Police) State of America

NSA Refuses To Release Secret Obama Directive On Cybersecurity

"An article in the Washington Post cited several US officials saying that Obama signed off on the secret cybersecurity order, believed to widely expand NSA’s spying authorities, in mid-October. In response to the move, lawyers with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (PDF) demanding that the Obama administration make public the text of the directive. The NSA responded to the FOIA request this week with a statement arguing that it does not have to release the document because it is a confidential presidential communication and it is classified." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Refuses To Release Secret Obama Directive On Cybersecurity

California gets face scanners to spy on everyone at once

"In a single second, law enforcement agents can match a suspect against millions upon millions of profiles in vast detailed databases stored on the cloud. It’s all done using facial recognition, and in Southern California it’s already occurring. Imagine the police taking a picture: any picture of a person, anywhere, and matching it on the spot in less than a second to a personalized profile, scanning millions upon millions of entries from within vast, intricate databases stored on the cloud. It’s done with state of the art facial recognition technology, and in Southern California it’s already happening." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia gets face scanners to spy on everyone at once

Senate bill rewrite lets feds read your e-mail without warrants

"Leahy's rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies -- including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission -- to access Americans' e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge. CNET obtained a draft of the proposed amendments from one of the people involved in the negotiations with Leahy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate bill rewrite lets feds read your e-mail without warrants

Canada: Privacy Commissioner Blasts License Plate Readers

"Commissioner Elizabeth Denham opened her inquiry after receiving a number of requests from concerned members of the public. She focused on determining whether use of cameras to track and store license plate data from all passing vehicles, even when their occupants were not suspected of any crime, was permissible under Canada's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)." Continue reading →

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Rand Paul Slaps Hold on ‘Defense’ Bill

"Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is holding up consideration of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill over an amendment he plans to offer that would require a jury trial for Americans detained in terrorism investigations. Paul’s demand for a vote comes as Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Arizona Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the panel, are working behind the scenes to limit debate on the sprawling policy measure (S 3254) to ensure it receives floor time during the lame-duck session." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul Slaps Hold on ‘Defense’ Bill

Public Health Proposal Considers Mandatory ‘Smokers License’

"A public health proposal suggests that tobacco smokers should be required to apply and pay for a 'smoker’s license' in order to continue buying cigarettes, writing that it could discourage young people from picking up the habit. In a controversial move, the smartcard would allow the government to limit how many cigarettes a smoker could buy. Professor Chapman suggests 50 per day averaged over two weeks to accommodate heavy smokers." Continue reading →

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Maker of Airport Body Scanners Suspected of Falsifying Software Tests

"A company that supplies controversial passenger-screening machines for U.S. airports is under suspicion for possibly manipulating tests on privacy software designed to prevent the machines from producing graphic body images. The TSA sent a letter Nov. 9 to the parent company of Rapiscan, the maker of backscatter machines, requesting information about the testing of the software to determine if there was malfeasance. The company previously had problems with a 'calculation error' in safety tests that showed the machines were emitting radiation levels that were 10 times higher than expected." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMaker of Airport Body Scanners Suspected of Falsifying Software Tests