Links

Another batch of links for you – enjoy!

Censorship:

1. Google is removing search results?    31 January 2012, 4:45 am
2. Google to Censor Blogger Blogs on a ‘Per Country Basis’    31 January 2012, 5:04 pm
3. Feds Seize 307 Sports-Related Domains Ahead of Super Sunday    2 February 2012, 11:31 am
4. Thailand – Dictators can thank Twitter for its new censorship policy    3 February 2012, 8:30 am
5. Indian court forces Facebook, Google to censor content    6 February 2012, 8:13 am
6. United States – Censored, prosecuted and on terror list, filmmaker denied First Amendment rights    7 February 2012, 3:07 am
7. Prison time for libel infringes human rights, UNHRC decides    7 February 2012, 3:37 am
8. France – Documentary filmmaking threatened by court ruling on autism documentary    7 February 2012, 5:55 am
9. U.K. Home Affairs Committee Encourages Internet Service Providers to Censor Extremist Websites    7 February 2012, 2:21 pm
10. Reporters Without Borders creates mirror sites to fight censorship    8 February 2012, 7:47 am
11. Women to Facebook: Stop banning our breast-feeding pics    8 February 2012, 12:41 pm
12. India’s Downward Spiral    8 February 2012, 1:46 pm
13. India – Court forces Web firms to remove “objectionable” content    9 February 2012, 7:55 am
14. Malaysia arrests Saudi blogger over tweets    10 February 2012, 11:26 am
15. Fear of Extradition for Saudi Blogger Facing Possible Execution    11 February 2012, 1:12 pm
16. Malaysia deports tweet row Saudi journalist    12 February 2012, 4:40 am

Censorship is so much easier, thanks to technology. It really makes me long for an anonymous and censorship-proof version of the internet. I wonder what that would look like?

Cloud Computing:

1. MegaUpload’s data safe for two more weeks    31 January 2012, 4:46 am
2. Megaupload Server Purge Delayed    31 January 2012, 11:39 am
3. Megaupload’s Innocent Users Deserve Their Data Back    2 February 2012, 10:50 am
4. Megaupload Founder Accuses Police of Assault, Denied Bail Again    3 February 2012, 2:27 am
5. More MegaUpload Fallout: BitTorrent Search Engine BTjunkie Quits    6 February 2012, 4:24 am

MegaUpload is still making waves in the cloud storage arena. This story could as easily go into the Censorship bucket, or into the Copyright bucket. It deserves a bit of attention, though, because it’s a deviation from the standard line of attack: instead of going after people who are sharing copyrighted content, the US went after the company which facilitated the sharing. They’ve essentially shuttered a company whose service was being misused.

Comic:

1. SMBC on PIPA / SOPA / ACTA    1 February 2012, 9:00 pm
2. Wake Up Sheeple    5 February 2012, 9:00 pm
3. hurry up and breastfeed    9 February 2012, 1:00 am
4. Philosoraptor asks about Piracy    12 February 2012, 2:00 pm
5. Philosoraptor asks another question about Piracy    12 February 2012, 2:00 pm

Comic 1 really explains the whole PIPA / SOPA / ACTA thing. I believe that link 2 is an allusion to the internet blackout protests. Link 3 is mocking FaceHook for its censorship of breast-feeding pictures. Links 4 and 5 are the Philosoraptor, asking “philosophical” questions about software piracy.

Copyright / Patent:

1. EFF Asks Judge to Prevent ‘Catch-22’ in Porn-Downloading Lawsuit    30 January 2012, 11:28 am
2. EFF Requests Information from Innocent Megaupload Users    31 January 2012, 6:04 am
3. Supreme Court of Sweden Upholds Pirate Bay Prison Sentences    1 February 2012, 8:05 am
4. Copyright: To the Batmobile!    1 February 2012, 10:43 am
5. Online Market for Pre-Owned Digital Music Hangs in the Balance    2 February 2012, 3:22 pm
6. Why should piracy be encouraged, a third world perspective    5 February 2012, 3:33 am
7. You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill You    5 February 2012, 3:38 am
8. You Can’t Copyright Porn, Harassed BitTorrent Defendant Insists    6 February 2012, 1:40 pm
9. Torrent Search Engine BTJunkie Voluntarily Shuts Down    6 February 2012, 2:09 pm
10. PlayStation 3 “Other OS” Saga Shows: Jailbreaking Is Not a Crime    6 February 2012, 4:49 pm
11. Judge Refuses to Shut Down Online Market for Used MP3s    7 February 2012, 11:34 am
12. Letters to the Copyright Office: Why I Jailbreak    7 February 2012, 2:18 pm
13. Patent Troll Claims Ownership of Interactive Web – And Might Win    8 February 2012, 6:50 am
14. New Scientist on 3D printing piracy    8 February 2012, 11:21 am
15. Tribler Makes BitTorrent Impossible to Shut Down    8 February 2012, 12:25 pm
16. The New York Times just stole our column. Should we sue?    9 February 2012, 10:49 am
17. Texas Jury Strikes Down Patent Troll’s Claim to Own the Interactive Web    9 February 2012, 2:26 pm
18. BitTorrent Piracy Doesn’t Affect US Box Office Returns, Study Finds    10 February 2012, 11:46 am
19. VEVO Execs Must Face Criminal Charges For Copyright Infringement    10 February 2012, 11:46 am
20. Unstoppable file-sharing network ‘Tribler’ spells trouble for copyright holders    10 February 2012, 11:46 am
21. Don’t Let the U.S. Pressure Canada into Repeating The Same Mistakes    10 February 2012, 1:12 pm
22. EFF Urges Court to Reject Record Labels’ Effort to Rewrite Copyright Law    10 February 2012, 1:37 pm
23. Canada’s C-11 Bill and the Hazards of Digital Locks Provisions    10 February 2012, 2:09 pm
24. MPAA Demands Hotfile Data From Google, Search Engine Refuses    12 February 2012, 4:16 am

Link 4 falls into the realm of, “they can copyright that?” Link 6 is a different take on software piracy. Link 10 is about “jailbreaking” or what you’re not legally allowed to do with something you own. Link 17: some idiot tried to claim that he invented the internet, and took it to court.

FOI:

1. FDA Accused of Spying on Whistleblowing Employees    30 January 2012, 11:22 am
2. Factory Farming Videos Prompt ‘Ag-Gag’ Bills    31 January 2012, 8:11 am

Link 1 could have gone into the privacy bucket, but … well, it didn’t quite fit, I think – it’s more about whistleblowing, which to me is closely related to freedom of information. Link 2 could go into the censorship bucket, but again, it’s a bit different.

Hacktivism:

1. Anonymous Eavesdrops on FBI Anti-Anonymous Strategy Meeting    3 February 2012, 9:16 am

Anonymous is at it again, having listened (and recorded) a phone conversation … about themselves. Snicker.

Medical Technology:

1. Neuroscientists to Top Brass: Mess With Minds… Carefully    7 February 2012, 10:55 am
2. Fracture Putty can heal a broken bone in days    8 February 2012, 11:12 am
3. How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy    10 February 2012, 1:07 am
4. Skin cancer drug reverses Alzheimer’s in mice    10 February 2012, 5:07 am

Link 3 is just an awesome article – and very creepy. It’s definitely worth the read, even though it’s quite lengthy.

Miscellany:

1. Barnes & Noble Says It Won’t Sell Books Published by Amazon    1 February 2012, 4:59 am
2. Yahoo Lays Off Flickr Support Staff    1 February 2012, 5:00 am
3. 8 Wild Proposals to Relocate Endangered Species    1 February 2012, 3:04 pm
4. Football Shaped by Military    3 February 2012, 4:30 am
5. More damaging evidence on open plan offices    5 February 2012, 8:06 am
6. UK government declines to pardon Alan Turing    6 February 2012, 4:24 am
7. After 30 Years of Drilling, Researchers reach Antarctic Lake    6 February 2012, 1:10 pm
8. Journalist recovers video of his arrest after police deleted it    8 February 2012, 11:18 am
9. Abolish the Food Industry    8 February 2012, 11:30 am
10. Swiss newspaper reports on Bureau’s work    9 February 2012, 2:31 am
11. The sociology of drinking    9 February 2012, 5:55 am

Link 3 is just fun – and cause for thought, as some of the plans seem … well, interesting. Elephants in Australia? Hmm. Link 8 makes me happy: when the police commit digital vandalism, they should really understand that “erase” doesn’t really mean much. Link 11 isn’t quite medical science, but sociology / anthropology, yet is quite worth the read.

Miscellany:

1. A freed slave’s most polite letter to his former master    31 January 2012, 4:50 am
2. The Earliest Copy Of Mona Lisa Found    2 February 2012, 1:59 pm
3. 3 years later, Facebook still can’t delete photos correctly    8 February 2012, 12:34 pm
4. Flaming Pictures: Debate on Saving Historic Films Explodes    10 February 2012, 7:01 am

Link 1 is quite a fun read, and oh, the irony.

Open Source / Open Access:

1. Elsevier Publishing Boycott Gathers Steam Among Academics    1 February 2012, 5:01 am
2. UK chemist on Elsevier’s ban on textmining    3 February 2012, 11:37 am
3. New Hampshire Passes ‘Open Source Bill’    5 February 2012, 3:00 am
4. Industry-Funded Software Research Goes Open Source    6 February 2012, 1:00 pm
5. Rice Uiversity Announces Open Source Textbooks    8 February 2012, 10:56 am
6. Apple’s great GPL purge    8 February 2012, 11:17 am
7. Free opensource chess webapp Lichess steadily improves (1.8 mil games played)    8 February 2012, 12:33 pm
8. Bill Opening Supreme Court to Cameras Heads to Senate Floor    9 February 2012, 4:06 pm
9. Weave Open Source Data Visualization Offers Power, Flexibility    10 February 2012, 11:35 am

Links 1 and 2 are about academics boycotting Elsevier. There are some quite good arguments in there, and I wonder if perhaps pressure from academics can succeed in bringing open access to such information.

PIPA / SOPA / ACTA:

1. Beyond ACTA: Next secret copyright agreement negotiated this week—in Hollywood    2 February 2012, 12:33 am
2. Slovenian Ambassador Apologizes For Signing ACTA    2 February 2012, 12:35 am
3. Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Final Version May 2011    2 February 2012, 5:25 am
4. Tell Congress: No Backroom Deals to Regulate the Internet    2 February 2012, 1:11 pm
5. Dear Hollywood: An Open Letter to the Hardworking Men and Women in the Entertainment Industries    2 February 2012, 2:52 pm
6. Poland Suspends ACTA    3 February 2012, 8:17 am
7. Ambassador sorry after signing ACTA    3 February 2012, 11:15 am
8. Hollywood parties with ACTA II reps, public interest groups thrown out    3 February 2012, 11:34 am
9. Why I signed ACTA    3 February 2012, 11:36 am
10. For It Before They Were Against It? Google Spent $400K On SOPA Lobbying    3 February 2012, 11:36 am
11. 11 February Will Be a Day of ACTA Protests    3 February 2012, 11:40 am
12. The Target Isn’t Hollywood, MPAA, RIAA, Or MAFIAA: It’s The Policymakers    5 February 2012, 1:48 pm
13. The EU Commission’s Repressive Plans Beyond ACTA    6 February 2012, 4:43 am
14. Are the Days of Hands-Off Internet Policies Numbered?    6 February 2012, 1:00 pm
15. Romanian Prime Minister Admits He Has No Idea Why Romania Signed ACTA    8 February 2012, 11:12 am
16. What the RIAA Won’t Tell You: Users Matter    8 February 2012, 12:16 pm
17. Central Europe Backs Out of Copyright Deal After Protests    9 February 2012, 3:04 am
18. Richard Mack, the Republican challenger to SOPA’s author    9 February 2012, 4:53 am
19. The Senate’s SOPA Counterattack?    9 February 2012, 10:39 am
20. Germany refuses to sign ACTA (for now)    10 February 2012, 11:49 am
21. Europeans protest controversial internet pact    11 February 2012, 8:28 pm
22. Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe    12 February 2012, 4:07 am
23. Massive Street Protests Wage War On ACTA Anti-Piracy Treaty    12 February 2012, 4:13 am
24. Latest pact on Internet piracy set to be derailed    12 February 2012, 4:17 am
25. Protests across Europe may kill an anti-piracy treaty    12 February 2012, 4:18 am

It looks as if ACTA may die the same death as SOPA and PIPA. Hopefully so!

Politics:

1. France’s Armenia genocide law put on hold    31 January 2012, 6:58 am
2. Unproven science used to ‘explain’ deaths in police custody    31 January 2012, 9:53 am
3. The End of Great Britain?: Scottish Separatists Have High Hopes for Referendum    2 February 2012, 8:01 am
4. War Crimes Ruling: Human Rights Take a Back Seat to Sovereignty    3 February 2012, 7:42 am
5. Young, Wired and Angry: A Revised Portrait of Hungary’s Right-Wing Extremists    3 February 2012, 8:54 am
6. US court reverses gay marriage ban    8 February 2012, 3:52 am

Link 6 may actually put gay marriage before the US Supreme Court … if they’ll bother to hear the case. They don’t have to hear cases, mind you – they pick and choose what they want to deal with, unfortunately.

Privacy:

1. New Mobile-Phone Privacy Law Proposed    30 January 2012, 4:00 pm
2. No longer loving Google    31 January 2012, 4:56 am
3. What Actually Changed in Google’s Privacy Policy    1 February 2012, 2:01 pm
4. Constitutional Concerns: German Intelligence Under Fire For Spying on Parliamentarians    2 February 2012, 1:05 am
5. California becomes 7th state to ban running credit checks on job applicants    4 February 2012, 7:19 am
6. I don’t think you browse like I do    5 February 2012, 3:29 am
7. Website Finds Your Location Using Phone Number    6 February 2012, 6:14 am
8. Defendant Ordered to Decrypt Laptop May Have Forgotten Password    6 February 2012, 11:55 am
9. Microsoft Researchers Say Anonymized Data Isn’t So Anonymous    6 February 2012, 12:59 pm
10. Time to Act on Companies Selling Mass Spy Gear to Authoritarian Regimes    7 February 2012, 11:59 am
11. A Better Path for Apps: Respecting Users and Their Privacy    8 February 2012, 11:47 pm
12. The Heartbreaking Truth About Online Dating Privacy    10 February 2012, 7:22 am

It’s about privacy, nothing much more to be said. Link 5 makes me very happy: I’ve never thought it was right that a potential employer could run a credit check on applicants. Link 7 is worth a read, as it’s a step in the wrong direction – I really don’t know that there’s any business merit to such a service, nor that it’ll be of much use, frankly.

Robotics:

1. DARPA-Funded Hacker’s Tiny $50 Spy Computer Hides in Offices, Drops From Drones    2 February 2012, 5:05 am
2. Lovotics, an update on the science of human-robot love    3 February 2012, 11:45 am
3. A swarm of micro-quadcopters    5 February 2012, 3:42 am
4. UPenn’s GRASP lab unleashes a swarm of Nano Quadrotors    5 February 2012, 8:05 am
5. Robotic Warfare Has Arrived – 30% of US Military Aircraft are Drones    10 February 2012, 5:05 am

Ooh, watch the video on links 3 and 4! Awesome! Links 1 and 5 … not so awesome, and link 2 is just strange, but worth a read.

Security:

1. Do you like online privacy? You may be a terrorist    2 February 2012, 5:21 am
2. FBI “Communities Against Terrorism” Suspicious Activity Reporting Flyers    2 February 2012, 5:24 am
3. VeriSign Hit by Hackers in 2010    2 February 2012, 7:48 am
4. Do You Believe in Conspiracy Theories? You May Be a Terrorist    3 February 2012, 12:15 am
5. FileVault 2 Easily Decrypted    3 February 2012, 11:33 am
6. Hackers Release Symantec Source Code After Failed $50K Extortion Attempt    7 February 2012, 11:03 am
7. Flaw in Home Security Cameras Exposes Live Feeds to Hackers    7 February 2012, 11:34 am
8. Bureau Reviews: BioSecurity in the UK    8 February 2012, 7:48 am
9. Satellite phone encryption cracked    8 February 2012, 12:16 pm
10. Court Revives Challenge to No-Fly List    8 February 2012, 3:47 pm
11. Chrome 17 preloads autocompleted URLs as you type    9 February 2012, 5:47 am

Links 1, 2, and 4 are essentially the same story, with different spins on the issue. Link 11 may not seem terrible, from a usability standpoint, but I find that it just creeps me out to think that every file I download will be examined by Google: “Every time that the user downloads a file, the browser will compare it against a whiltelist of known-good files and publishers. If the file isn’t in the whitelist, its URL will be transmitted to Google’s servers, which will perform an automatic analysis and attempt to guess if the file is malicious based on various factors like the trustworthiness of its source. If the file is deemed a potential risk, the user will receive a warning.”

Social Media:

1. Caution on Twitter urged as Britons barred from US    1 February 2012, 5:03 am
2. Quarter of Tweets Not Worth Reading, Twitter Users Tell Researchers    3 February 2012, 11:48 am
3. The rise of the anti-social web    4 February 2012, 9:03 am
4. Silicon Valley’s engineering salaries are finally getting fair. Thank Facebook    5 February 2012, 3:22 am
5. Employee or Employer: Who Owns the Twitter Followers?    6 February 2012, 3:36 pm
6. Breastfeeding women protest outside Facebook offices    8 February 2012, 11:11 am
7. Why Facebook is never safe    12 February 2012, 4:02 am

Link 7 is definitely worth reading, even if you find that you can’t let go of the stupid FaceHook, just so you’ll understand what it is you’re sharing with the world.

Technology:

1. Netherlands makes net neutrality a law    31 January 2012, 12:56 am
2. Challenging America: Europe Seeks Space Cooperation With China    1 February 2012, 1:26 am
3. Google is reporting itself as a malware distributor.    2 February 2012, 12:34 am
4. White House Office Studies Benefits of Video Games    2 February 2012, 5:02 am
5. French court: it’s illegally anticompetitive for Google to provide free maps API    2 February 2012, 5:20 am
6. Workers should not have to die so Apple can build the iPhone 5    3 February 2012, 11:40 am
7. Oklahoma Lawmaker Proposes Tax on Violent Video Games    3 February 2012, 11:45 am
8. ShareLaTeX    5 February 2012, 3:40 am
9. In Interaction Design, Human Understanding Is Key    6 February 2012, 12:59 pm
10. Roger Boisjoly dies at 73; engineer tried to halt Challenger launch    8 February 2012, 12:24 pm
11. Snapjoy’s Flickraft Promised To Rescue Flickr Photos — Until It Was Blocked    8 February 2012, 12:30 pm

Link 5 is rather strange: the French Courts are essentially saying that providing a free service is bad for businesses who provide the same service for a fee, so Google shouldn’t let people use Google Maps for free. How odd.

-D