technology

Pentagon to end exclusive deal with RIM’s Blackberry

"The US military and intelligence agencies have long preferred the Blackberry due to security concerns and had worried that Apple, Android and other smart phones lacked sufficient safeguards. The Canadian firm RIM has struggled to compete against the iPhone and devices that use Google’s Android system. Questions remain as to whether companies other than Blackberry can meet the strict encryption criteria employed by intelligence services within the Defense Department, including the eavesdropping National Security Agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon to end exclusive deal with RIM’s Blackberry

U.S. and Canada launch joint cybersecurity plan

"The action plan, under the auspices of the US Department of Homeland Security and Public Safety Canada, aims to better protect critical digital infrastructure and improve the response to cyber incidents. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the plan 'reinforces the robust relationship' between their two agencies. Through the plan, Washington and Ottawa hope to improve collaboration on managing cyber incidents between their respective cyber security operation centers, enhance information sharing and engagement with the private sector and pursue US-Canadian collaboration to promote cyber security awareness to the public." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. and Canada launch joint cybersecurity plan

UN Seeking Global Internet Surveillance for Terror, Propaganda

"The UN wants a planetary regime to force companies to spy on their customers, keep the data, and hand it over to authorities. The international organization noted approvingly that entities such as the European Union were already working to impose the measures. However, not all governments are on board yet, the report complained. Social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter were specifically highlighted as potential tools for 'terrorists' to spread 'propaganda' and 'extremist rhetoric.' The report also notes that search engines have made it easier to find 'terror propaganda' online." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN Seeking Global Internet Surveillance for Terror, Propaganda

Video Shows San Antonio Police Beating Pregnant Woman

"Did San Antonio Police Officers use excessive force on a pregnant woman? That's what the Department is looking into tonight, after a Fox San Antonio viewer shot video of three officers holding down a pregnant woman. One of those officers hits her repeatedly. According to a police report, 21-year-old Destiny Rios was arrested for prostitution and resisting arrest. 'Whether it was four or five or whether it was 8, it's really irrelevant if the officer felt he needed to strike her 8 times in order to get her to comply and put handcuffs on, then that's how many times he struck her,' said Chief William McManus, San Antonio Police." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVideo Shows San Antonio Police Beating Pregnant Woman

The Odyssey of Sound Economics

"As they say, it is always darkest before the dawn. And Lew Rockwell, on a shoestring budget, founded the Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics (LvMI's official name). What is more, he did so in the face of furious opposition from the same billionaires who had chosen to downplay Mises, financed the diffuse GMU program, and forced Rothbard out of Cato. Sound economics finally had an institutional home. What is more, truth, if made accessible, can spread like a prairie fire. Ron Paul has inspired thousands with his message of liberty. These thousands are a huge potential seedbed for future growth in the causal-realist Austrian School." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul: The Internet Revolution is a Liberty Revolution

"Thanks to the Internet, it is easier than ever before for liberty activists to spread news and other information regarding the evils of government power and the benefits of freedom. For the first time in human history, supporters of liberty around the world can share information across borders quickly and cheaply. Without the filter of government censors, this information emboldens millions to question governments and promote liberty. This is why liberty-minded Americans must do everything possible to oppose − and stop − government attempts to censor or limit the free flow of information online." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: The Internet Revolution is a Liberty Revolution

Dept. of Veterans Affairs spent millions on PC software it couldn’t use

"After removable hard disks containing unencrypted personal identifying information of 26 million military veterans were stolen from the home of a VA employee in 2006, then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson mandated that the VA's Office of Information Technology install encryption software on all of the department's notebook and desktop computers. But while the VA purchased 400,000 licensees for Symantec's Guardian Edge encryption software, more than 84 percent of those licenses—worth about $5.1 million, including the maintenance contracts for them—remain uninstalled." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDept. of Veterans Affairs spent millions on PC software it couldn’t use

Middle East oil companies targeted in cyber war

"Middle Eastern oil and gas companies have been targeted in massive attacks on their computer networks in an increasingly open cyber war where a new virus was discovered just this past week. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also referred publicly for the first time about the 'Shamoon' virus that hit Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco in August, disabling more than 300,000 computers. The virus also hit Rasgas, a joint venture between US oil firm Exxon Mobil Corp and state-controlled Qatar Petroleum. Panetta warned of the possibility of a 'cyber-Pearl Harbor' to justify a policy of moving aggressively against threats." Continue reading →

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Scientists confirm water extraction helped trigger deadly 2011 quake in Spain

"The investigation adds to anecdotal evidence that human activities, ranging from exploration for shale gas, quarrying and even water reservoirs, can cause quakes. 'Our results imply that anthropogenic [man-made] activites could influence how and when earthquakes occur,' said the study. In a commentary, Jean-Philippe Avouac, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) said water extraction at Lorca probably accelerated a natural process of stress accumulation rather than unleashed the earthquake by itself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists confirm water extraction helped trigger deadly 2011 quake in Spain

Paleo Diet Blogger Loses Round One of Free Speech Case

"A federal judge has thrown out Paleo-diet blogger Steve Cooksey’s lawsuit against the North Carolina state agency he claims censored his blog and violated his freedom of speech. U.S. District Court Judge Max Coburn agreed with the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition that Cooksey has no grounds to sue because he has not been injured yet. Nearly 10 months ago, the board’s director Charla Burill told Cooksey he was under investigation for 'practicing nutrition' without a license. A week later she went through his website with a red pen telling him what he could and couldn’t say legally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaleo Diet Blogger Loses Round One of Free Speech Case