Category: Other stuff

12 situations when it might matter to you that the Feds are tracking everything you text or email and making note of everywhere you go.

(Cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

Recent news reports indicate federal intelligence agencies are gathering up a lot more information than we knew. That data is available to undisclosed lists of unknown people and will be retained for a very long time.

So what?

Here’s just a few circumstances in which you might not want access to your data by a long list of unidentified persons from various federal, state, or local agencies who were granted access to various unidentified parts of the various databases: Continue reading “12 situations when it might matter to you that the Feds are tracking everything you text or email and making note of everywhere you go.”

More good stuff on surveillance – 7-23-13

There are a lot of articles discussing the surveillance world we now live in. I would like to comment on many of them in a full post. Alas, time does not permit.

I will start putting up a list of good stuff that I’d like talk about but only have time to recommend with a quick comment. Hopefully this will be a frequent list of links.

Here’s my first list:

Foreign Policy – The CIA’s New Black Bag Is Digital – When the NSA can’t break into your computer, these guys break into your house – Continue reading “More good stuff on surveillance – 7-23-13”

Mali update – 7-10-13

Not much news from Mali that I’ve noticed. There is progress, but at a deeper level than I can see in the few news sources I watch. I suppose that is only a commentary on me.

7-8 – Economist – Secure the Sahara, if you can

Three pieces of very good news, at least from my limited perspective. From the article: Continue reading “Mali update – 7-10-13”

Reminder – Google RSS Reader goes away on July 1

Time to find a new RSS reader if you’ve been using Google. I know a small group of people are reading this blog with that service. Time to find another one.

I looked at several and tried out a few. I’ve jumped to the Old Reader.

Not quite like Google’s, but it is working fine.

It is very easy to export a file containing a list of your subscriptions. Also easy to import that into most readers. But do that before June 30.

Price cut on my newest e-book, “Tragedy of Fraud”

Price reduced to only $0.99, now available here.

“Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from Fraud and the Wages Earned” describes the tragic consequences from fraud.

There are ripple effects that spread out to harm innocent bystanders. The perpetrator draws a wide range of well-deserved wages that will be paid in full.

The book looks at two fraud incidents to learn what happens after a fraud is discovered. One took place in a local megachurch and the other in the mayor’s office of a small city.

This book is a compilation of blogs posts that have been previously published at Nonprofit Update and Attestation Update. The posts have been edited slightly and reorganized for easier reading.

Major sections of the book:

  • Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from the Embezzlement Fraud in a Local Church.
  • Wages of Fraud – Consequences from the Corruption Fraud in a Mayor’s Office.
  • Why is it Difficult to Find Fraud? – The lack of documentation inside an organization makes it even more difficult to identify a fraud scheme.
  • The Fraud Triangle – A discussion of the three sides of a fraud triangle. That’s the idea that three components need to be present for a fraud to take place – opportunity, motivation, and rationalization. Great danger is in play when all three factors are present.

The other book I have available at Amazon is Once Upon Internal Control.

The folly of “I have nothing to hide” in a surveillance society

That’s the idea some people are advancing to suggest the extensive data gathering conducted by the federal government is okay.

I plan to discuss this in detail. In the meantime, I want to start putting some pieces of information on the table.

Moxie Marlinspike has a superb article in Wired: Why “I Have Nothing to Hid” Is the Wrong Way to Think About Surveillance.

You may think you haven’t broken any laws.

But are you familiar with all 27,000 pages of the United States Code?

Continue reading “The folly of “I have nothing to hide” in a surveillance society”

Meandering into another war?

The news yesterday that the U.S. will provide some sort of arms to the rebels in the two-year old civil war in Syria moves us one giant step towards deep involvement another regime-changing war.

I’m way over my head in terms of understanding what’s going on there, so it’s time to see if I can get a clue.

Continue reading “Meandering into another war?”

Surveillance society – A very bad week for privacy.

Joke of the week – if my computer or website crashes, can I get a backup copy from NSA?

Lots of publicity this week on extensive federal monitoring of citizens and non citizens. No time to write a full post, so just a quick note to put some dots on the page. Hopefully will have time to connect them later

Four massive stories this week:

Continue reading “Surveillance society – A very bad week for privacy.”

Why the difference between the excitement and opportunities in technology news and the horrible, terrible, depressing everything-falling-apart news in the political realm?

(Cross-post from my other blog, Freedom Is Moral.)

I challenge you to this experiment:

Spend a few days reading nothing but technology news. Then spend a few days reading nothing but political news. For the first few days [you will] see an exciting world of innovation and creativity where everything is getting better all the time. In the second period [you will] see a miserable world of cynicism and treachery where everything is falling apart.

Why is there such a gulf between those two worlds?

Quote from here.

Successful test of rocket hovering and making soft landing

SpaceX had a successful test of their Grasshopper rocket.

News 92 FM in Houston reports – SpaceX Rocket Launches, Hovers, and Lands:

The ten-story tall vertical takeoff, vertical landing vehicle slowly lifts off the ground and climbs to a height of around 850 feet, then hovers effortlessly in the air before slowly lowering back down to the launch pad, successfully nailing one of the softest landings you’ll ever see.

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NoxiK7K28PU]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NoxiK7K28PU

I’m no rocket scientist, sitting here in my comfy armchair, but seems like a soft landing from an 850’ hover proves a critical skill for space travel to, say, asteroids or Mars. The jaw-dropping news here is this effort was privately designed, built, funded, and operated. Very cool.

Faster please, as Glenn Reynolds says.

Update 10-13-13: I don’t know if this is the same test. It appears to be from the same site. Regardless, a superb test and a superb view:

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9ZDkItO-0a4].