"Why should you care? he shouts. Why should you fucking care? We're talking about intelligence gathering on an unprecedented scale. Forget data mining. This is mind rape. The end of privacy as we know it. It's not about advertising, you idiot. It's about power. Control. Sure, the marketing men might be the first to come knocking, but sooner or later this information is going to end up in the hands of agencies whose only interest is the total suppression of your freedom. In the whole of history, no system of mass surveillance had ever existed that hasn't ended up being hijacked by malevolent forces." via A Spy’s Guide to Thinking ...
In Broadcast, by Liam Brown, a star vlogger is given an opportunity to test-drive a new technology. A small chip is implanted in the base of David's skull, which essentially live-streams his thoughts over the internet 24-7.
Philosophers, savants, sages, and intellectuals have always been attracted to power. But what are the delusional propensities that led so many to embrace dictators
Security flaws place "nearly every" phone and computer at risk
Ad targeters are pulling data from your browser’s password manager The Verge
Documents Reveal the Complex Legacy of James Angleton, CIA Counterintelligence Chief and Godfather of Mass Surveillance The Intercept. “Complex” as in “batsh*t crazy,” a salutary reminder in these days when any intelligence community perjurer, torturer, or entrapment artist can end up as a Hero of the Republic to liberal Democrats
What Would You Pay to Keep Your Digital Footprint 100% Private? HBR
EFF: “Protecting the highly personal location data stored on or generated by digital devices is one of the 21st century’s most important privacy issues. In 2017, the Supreme Court finally took on the question of how law enforcement can get ahold of this sensitive information…EFF filed briefs both encouraging the court to take the case and urging it to reject the Third Party Doctrine. We noted that cell phone usage has exploded in the last 30 years, and with it, the technologies to locate users have gotten ever more precise. We attended the Supreme Court oral argument in Carpenter in late November. While it is always risky to predict the outcome of a case based on the argument, it appears that a number of the justices are concerned about the scope and invasiveness of tracking individuals using cell site location information (CSLI)…”
TO BE FAIR, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE: The Evolution of Car Keys Is More Interesting Than You Think.
“In the past year, Pew Research Center has explored a range of tech-related topics in the news – from online harassment to fake news to net neutrality. Here are some key findings from our research on these and other technology issues.”
A Cute Toy Just Brought a Hacker Into Your Home NYT
New York State To Motorists: All Your Info Are Belong To Us Medium
New York State To Motorists: All Your Info Are Belong To Us Medium
The Russian Facebook scandal damages liberals as much as the right Guardian Thomas Frank.
What We Don’t Talk about When We Talk about Russian Hacking London Review of Books
Russia As An Enemy Of The United States Ian Welsh
From Snowden To Russia-gate – The CIA And The MediaMoon of Alabama
Russiagate Is Devolving Into an Effort to Stigmatize DissentThe Nation (and for those who missed Jackson Lears in the London Review of Books, check it out). Russiagate, as I suppose we must call it, is so useful to so many players in the political and national security class — besides being a surefire high-margin clickstream for our famously free press, stenography being cheaper than reporting — that if it existed, it would have not have been necessary invent it.Nobody could have predicted…Jailed Russian says he hacked DNC on Kremlin’s orders and can prove it McClatchy. Drag a dollar bill through the intelligence community, you never know what you’ll find,to adapt James Carville.
Go Ask Alice: the Curious Case of “Alice Donovan”Counterpunch. Initially posted last week, taken down, reposted (and revised and updated– or so I think)
The US government issued these images to help soldiers locate Adolf Hitler, who they believed would try to disguise himself.
People Are Taking Ubers to Avoid Ambulance FeesFuturism (re SilC). This is just crazy. If you’ve had a stroke or heart attack, you could have a second before you reach the hospital. An ambulance isn’t just for transport, you also get lifesaving treatment from the EMTs– that’s not something your typical Uber driver provides.
Ironically, banks in Mexico lead the way.