Links

We finally have broadband installed in our new home … mostly. It involves a LAN cable strung up the well of the stairway to a WiFi hotspot, so that we can have coverage upstairs, because there’s only a single phone port in the house which works with DSL. I thought about rewiring that box, as there are regular phone lines running everywhere, but when I opened the box up … well, there are simply too many wires, and it was taking too much of a risk compared to running some cable. Sad, to be so defeated by analog technology. It’s also sad how many posts have been written explaining just how to wire that one junction box!

Anonymity / Pseudonymity:

1. Time Warner gets royalties on every Anonymous mask    29 August 2011, 8:24 am
2. Eric Schmidt: If you can’t use your real name, don’t use Google+    6 September 2011, 6:00 am

These first two links are just a bit … well, for the irony, really.

Censorship:

1. Death Threats and Hate Crimes, Attacks On Women Bloggers Escalating    30 August 2011, 1:59 am
2. Old Firm sectarianism bill: Free speech threat?    30 August 2011, 2:56 am
3. Public Interest Groups to FCC: BART Cell Phone Shutdown Broke Telecom Laws    30 August 2011, 12:51 pm
4. Is it OK to run an illegal library from my locker at school?    31 August 2011, 4:43 am
5. Pakistan bans VPNs    31 August 2011, 4:56 am
6. Local authorities use libel laws to silence criticism    1 September 2011, 3:50 am
7. Web-blocking and Illegal Sites    6 September 2011, 3:52 am
8. Case of 8,000 Menacing Posts Tests Limits of Twitter Speech    6 September 2011, 6:00 am
9. Twice as many firms are banning social media at work says survey    6 September 2011, 6:59 am
10. In South Korea, the Only Thing Worse Than Online Censorship is Secret Online Censorship    6 September 2011, 3:31 pm
11. New Conn. ‘Cyberbullying’ Law Prompts Free Speech Debate    7 September 2011, 1:31 am

Personally, I love link number 4: a teenager has collected a library of hard-cover books banned by his school and is running a library from his locker. Awesome, awesome. The rest, though, are just a bit depressing, although the idea that Rangers and Celtic fans may have a valid claim that government is impinging upon their freedom of speech is rather interesting.

Copyright / Patent:

1. Join Us for “Patent Trolls and You: EFF Virtual Boot Camp for App Developers”    26 August 2011, 2:24 pm
2. Facebook Settles Trademark Fight With Lamebook    30 August 2011, 4:59 am
3. Does ‘Practical’ Mean ‘Patentable’ for Business Methods?    31 August 2011, 4:13 am
4. Novell Wins Appellate Round in Open Source Case    1 September 2011, 4:01 am
5. $1.3 Billion Award Against SAP Overturned in Oracle Case    2 September 2011, 1:12 am
6. Apple’s security team impersonated SFPD during illegal iPhone 5 search    5 September 2011, 3:39 am
7. Patent Troll Myths    6 September 2011, 1:29 am
8. Europe’s Odd Anti-Piracy Stance: Send Money to the US    6 September 2011, 3:30 am
9. Everything you need to know about copyright in 5 minutes    6 September 2011, 3:55 am
10. Android Tricorder Killed By CBS    6 September 2011, 4:35 am
11. BitTorrent users don’t “act in concert,” so judge slashes mass P2P case    6 September 2011, 5:43 am
12. Walt Disney Animation Studios Open Source Software    6 September 2011, 5:49 am
13. Copyright Infringement and Theft – The Difference    6 September 2011, 6:02 am
14. Why closed-source companies should embrace contributing to open source    6 September 2011, 6:32 am
15. Patent Reform Legislation Set to Become Law, But Will Make Few Meaningful Changes    6 September 2011, 10:45 am
16. Russian Minister: YouTube and Google Should Be Shut Down – Copyright…    7 September 2011, 1:45 am

As usual, various forces are at war with each other over who gets paid for what, and who has the right to say or do anything. I wonder about creative work as an act of expression, and whether there might be cause to think that copyright and patent infringe upon freedom of speech and expression. Hmm.

Education:

1. IT A-Level Numbers Continue to Decline    31 August 2011, 4:22 am
2. Most College Students Unable to Properly Use Search Engines    31 August 2011, 4:46 am
3. Study Finds Computer Science, Modern Languages Most Gender-Polarized Majors at Swarthmore    31 August 2011, 11:49 am
4. The importance of stupidity in scientific research    6 September 2011, 3:28 am
5. The College For-Profits Should Fear    6 September 2011, 5:10 am
6. How did academic publishers acquire these feudal powers?    6 September 2011, 5:32 am

Link number 4 is rather interesting: knowing you don’t know enables you to answer questions, basically. And link 5 prompted me to see if WGU is looking for teachers, as they’re an organization with which I can agree.

Equality:

1. After Class, Skimpy Equality    29 August 2011, 6:59 am
2. Gender Gap Vanishes in Female-Empowered Cultures    31 August 2011, 2:45 pm

Link 2 says to me that the gender gap in math and science is a direct result of culture, not of ability or biology. I’m glad somebody has demonstrated it, as that means we can get down to addressing such issues in our own cultures.

Law:

1. Analysis: City gears up to kill new finance tax    26 August 2011, 9:46 am
2. Can you legally lie?    29 August 2011, 6:43 am
3. Eyewitnesses: Why They Can’t Be Trusted    31 August 2011, 6:53 am
4. Companies that cooperate with dictatorships must be sanctioned    2 September 2011, 8:03 am
5. 1st Circuit Rules Videotaping Police Is Protected Speech    5 September 2011, 2:35 am
6. First Circuit Affirms Right to Record the Police    6 September 2011, 6:00 am
7. Court: Law banning recording of police officers in public is unconstitutional    6 September 2011, 6:07 am
8. Does Clicking ‘I Agree’ Create a Binding Contract?    7 September 2011, 1:31 am

Oooh, link number 2: can you legally lie? Give it a read. Link 4 brings to light some of the horrendous behavior of multinational corporations, and makes some fine points that they should be punished for their behavior. Links 5-7 just make me very, very happy. I’m not sure I’m going to race out and start photographing the police any time soon, but should the need arise, well, I’ll take it!

Miscellany:

1. Stalwart workers an overlooked resource    29 August 2011, 7:14 am
2. Creativity Not as Well Received as We Think    31 August 2011, 6:27 am
3. Why Summer Vacations–and the Internet–Really Make You More Productive    5 September 2011, 4:05 am
4. Network Analysis Reveals ‘Super Entity’ of Global Corporate Control    6 September 2011, 12:53 am
5. People are biased against creative ideas, studies find    6 September 2011, 1:07 am

Not much to say here, except that link 3 shows that everybody should take more vacations and breaks.

Politics:

1. US envoy ‘threatens to slash aid to PA’    26 August 2011, 10:40 am
2. Israel mulls arming ‘trained’ settlers    30 August 2011, 11:52 am
3. UN calls Israeli raid on flotilla ‘excessive’    1 September 2011, 12:36 pm
4. US cable tells of Israel’s ‘harsh measures’    4 September 2011, 9:15 am
5. Israeli PM refuses apology to Turkey    4 September 2011, 7:49 pm
6. The decade’s biggest scam – Terrorism – Salon.com    6 September 2011, 5:36 am
7. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Pushes to Alter Anti-bribery Law    6 September 2011, 5:58 am
8. Terrorism in the U.S. Since 9/11    6 September 2011, 6:32 am

Muc of this is about Israel, but links 6 and 8 are definitely worth reading, especially 8, as Schneier breaks down the figures on what the US’s “war on terror” has actually cost and has failed to accomplish. It’s pretty grim, really.

Privacy:

1. This Week: Appeals Court to Weigh NSA Dragnet Surveillance    29 August 2011, 2:23 pm
2. Couple Can Sue Laptop-Tracking Company for Spying on Sex Chats    30 August 2011, 3:53 pm
3. Authors of Online Comments May Remain Anonymous, Judge Finds    31 August 2011, 4:13 am
4. The Embarrassing Naked Photos On Your Stolen Laptop May Not Belong To The Thief    31 August 2011, 4:39 am
5. EFF to Court: Don’t Let Government Hide Illegal Surveillance    31 August 2011, 4:35 pm
6. Feds, EFF Clash in Appeals Court Hearing on NSA Spying    31 August 2011, 7:45 pm
7. France – European Union’s Telecoms Package incorporated into French law    1 September 2011, 2:57 am
8. EFF-Supported Bill Requiring Warrant for Cell Phone Searches Passes CA Legislature, Goes to Gov. Brown    2 September 2011, 5:08 pm
9. Government Internet Surveillance Starts With Eyes Built in the West    2 September 2011, 5:17 pm
10. Facebook doesn’t like privacy countermeasures    6 September 2011, 4:36 am
11. D.C. Circuit Upholds Disclosure of Cell Phone Tracking Data    7 September 2011, 1:31 am

Oooh, links 2 and 4: good stuff! Also, link 9 is a good expose on how “Western” corporations keep oppressive regimes in power, worldwide.

Security:

1. Iranian Man-in-the-Middle Attack Against Google Demonstrates Dangerous Weakness of Certificate Authorities    29 August 2011, 6:17 pm
2. Another fraudulent certificate raises the same old questions about certificate authorities    29 August 2011, 8:12 pm
3. Dumping Friends on Facebook Helps Make You Secure    31 August 2011, 11:49 am
4. Google Certificate Hackers May Have Stolen 200 Others    31 August 2011, 3:37 pm
5. Hacking ATMs With Infrared Cameras    1 September 2011, 5:36 am
6. CIA, Mossad, Also Targeted in Massive DigiNotar Cert Breach    6 September 2011, 12:22 pm

Social Media:

1. Carnegie Mellon can use your FB photo to find the first five digits of your SSN    31 August 2011, 11:52 am
2. Closed, Says Google, but Shops’ Signs Say Open    6 September 2011, 12:58 am

In the continuing saga of how Google’s sheer market penetration may harm the world, think about what would happen if your small business were marked as “permanently closed” on Google Maps. Yeah – you’d lose lots of business. And couldn’t do much about it, either.

Technology:

1. Storing Vertebrates in the Cloud    31 August 2011, 4:21 am
2. Making Your Privacy Policy Comprehensive and Comprehensible    2 September 2011, 1:57 am
3. The Innovation Trap: How the iPhone Isn’t Saving America    2 September 2011, 8:00 am
4. GoDaddy’s New “Selective DNS Blackouts” Policy    6 September 2011, 12:54 am

WikiLeaks:

1. Leak at WikiLeaks: Accidental Release of US Cables Endangers Sources    29 August 2011, 3:38 am
2. WikiLeaks Springs a Leak: Full Database of Diplomatic Cables Appears Online    29 August 2011, 1:34 pm
3. Australia blasts latest WikiLeaks release    31 August 2011, 12:50 am
4. Reporters Without Borders temporarily suspends its WikiLeaks mirror site    1 September 2011, 11:23 am
5. U.S. Sources Exposed as Unredacted State Department Cables Are Unleashed Online    1 September 2011, 12:22 pm
6. The World From Berlin: ‘The Principle of WikiLeaks Has Been Destroyed’    2 September 2011, 7:11 am
7. Leaks show U.S. swayed Canada on copyright bill    5 September 2011, 3:34 am
8. France – WikiLeaks cable on progress of Internet piracy bill in France    5 September 2011, 8:36 am
9. Microsoft passed secret internal Venezuelan documents to USA    6 September 2011, 3:53 am

-D