Privacy and self ownership – Page 34

Thursday links

Published September 1, 2016 1:24 am by Claire

Mr Comey: The “adult conversation” you say you want on electronic privacy might go like this: “Leave us alone.”

Because we already know what governments do when they think they’re entitled to our most intimate information. (Both links H/T JB)

The Patrick Henry Society is back — and with a newly Freedom Outlawish attitude.

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Midweek links

Published August 23, 2016 5:38 pm by Claire

Is there a “second Snowden” at the NSA? James Bamford, who knows as much as anybody else outside the fedgov’s blackbox of spies, believes there is.

In any case, we’re all in the NSA’s big, happy social network, whether we want to be or not. Not to mention the increasing number of people being forced onto Microsoft’s anti-social social network.

In Louisiana, nimble, willing private help for flood victims went far beyond the Cajun Navy. (Interesting use of technology, too. Could make me rethink the evils of F*c*b**k. And this is a case where phone-based geolocation may have saved lives.)

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The usual cheery links for beginning your week

Published August 21, 2016 5:03 pm by Claire

Just in case anybody imagined problems in the housing market got solved after 2008.

And in the Department of Uncommon Common Sense Department, Jim Bovard says, farmers ought to farm (but of course politicians have a lot to say about that).

In Chicago, a tool cops said was supposed to help people is just ending up hassling the hapless. (H/T LA)

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Midweek links

Published August 17, 2016 7:27 am by Claire

Okay, in the great debate over victim disarmament, this is trivial. But still: “Get out of gun control, Apple.”

Uh oh. All those Loompanicsy books and articles about hiding stuff in your walls just got even more obsolete than they already were. Nifty app for home remodelers, though. (H/T MJR)

What a beautiful and unusual piece. Wendy McElroy talks about her experiences as a homeless teenager in “Try a Little Tenderness.”

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Tuesday links

Published August 16, 2016 2:16 am by Claire

David Codrea writes the last word on Mike Vanderboegh.

Clearly, though, we haven’t heard the last word from Mike’s son Matt, who has just proposed a monkeywrenching use for all that hacked DNC contact info. May not be the best use of time, but it’s still interesting thinking.

Man, now there’s a headline for you: “The SEC has questions about a company with no revenue, $1,000 in the bank, and a $35 billion market cap.”

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Oh, and that business about Fcb**k blocking ad blockers?

Published August 12, 2016 2:07 pm by Claire

Nice try, Zuckerberg.

(Via Rational Review News)

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Hm.

Published August 10, 2016 6:00 am by Claire

On the same day the world’s biggest advertiser announced it’s scaling back targeted ads on F*c*b**k, FB announced it will start blocking ad blockers. For your own good, you know. The entire tone of FB’s news release is so patronizing it could have come from a politician. From their statement, one would think the entire profession of journalism would collapse into smoldering ruins if FB didn’t block ad blockers (although they do have a point about ad blocking companies accepting pay from advertisers to unblock certain ads). The makers of AdBlock Plus are not flapped by the news, describing FB’s…

5 Comments

Tuesday links

Published August 9, 2016 1:17 am by Claire

The first truly useful news of the political season: how to block Hillary and Donald from your social media.

Even if I’d been considering v*ting for Hillary (not a chance, but if) there’d be no possible way after this.

So we know misuse of Tesla autopilot killed one driver. But it may have saved another who suffered a medical emergency.

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A funny thing happened on the way to RFID chips

Published August 7, 2016 8:48 am by Claire

Updated 8/8 to clarify a point about the nature of chips in credit cards. A funny thing happened on the way to RFID chips, long about 2009. All of a sudden, everybody stopped writing about them. Tech journals slowed their coverage. The mainstream media dropped the whole subject. And out here on the fringes, people quit writing new works predicting the disasters spychips would bring upon us. Now, that’s not to say that either RFID chips or the subject went away completely. On the contrary, there were articles and discussions on other topics that heavily involved RFID tech. For instance,…

23 Comments

Midweek links

Published August 4, 2016 1:43 am by Claire

Aaaaaaand, the dead-gorilla vote advances in national presidential polls.

But if you’re not inclined to v*te for the dead gorilla, Never Yet Melted has the best-ever depiction of the mainstream candidates.

Privacy. Comcast thinks it’s a luxury item you should pay extra for. (H/T jc2k in comments)

Now here’s an idea: Name various TSA facilities after the jerks who inflicted them on us. Post prominent signs so people in those three-hour lines could contemplate whom to thank.

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Category: Privacy and self ownership