EFF: “With major protests in the news again, we decided it’s time to update our cell phone guide for protestors. A lot has changed since we last published this report in 2011, for better and for worse. On the one hand, we’ve learned more about the massive volume of law enforcement requests for cell phone—ranging from location information… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2014
Defense Department military equipment distributed free to states around the country
New York Times – “Most U.S. counties have received at least some military equipment through a free Pentagon surplus program.” See also Tools of War in Counties Across the U.S. – “State and local police departments, like the one in Ferguson, Mo., get some of their military-style equipment through a free Defense Department program created in the early 1990s. Below… Continue Reading
U.S. Satisfaction Generally Stable at 22% – Gallup
Would tie 2010 as lowest midterm election reading by Jeffrey M. Jones “Twenty-two percent of Americans are satisfied and 76% are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. at this time. Americans’ satisfaction has been quite stable this year, ranging narrowly between 22% and 25%. The last time a majority of Americans were satisfied… Continue Reading
The Information Content of Insider Trades around Government Intervention during the Financial Crisis
Jagolinzer, Alan D. and Larcker, David F. and Ormazabal, Gaizka and Taylor, Daniel J., The Information Content of Insider Trades around Government Intervention during the Financial Crisis (August 14, 2014). Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University Working Paper No. 189. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2480796 “This paper examines whether insiders at leading financial… Continue Reading
Report: British spy agency scanned for vulnerable systems in 32 countries
PCWorld via Mikael Ricknäs: “British intelligence agency GCHQ used port scanning as part of the “Hacienda” program to find vulnerable systems it and other agencies could compromise across at least 27 countries, German news site Heise Online has revealed. The use of so-called port scanning has long been a trusty tool used by hackers to find systems they… Continue Reading
Sequestration Update Report: August 2014
“By law, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is required to issue a report by August 15 of each year that provides estimates of the caps on discretionary budget authority in effect for each fiscal year through 2021. Minor adjustments to the caps for 2014 have been made since CBO’s previous report on the topic, which… Continue Reading
Nation’s Top Ten Consumer Complaints
Consumer Federation of America, North American Consumer Protection Investigators, 2013 Consumer Complaint Survey Report “Every year Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators conduct a survey of state and local consumer protection agencies to ask about the top complaints they received the previous year, the worst and fastest-growing complaints, new types of complaints,… Continue Reading
Smithsonian Project Brings Rare Historical Documents Online for Public Access
FCW.com: “Volunteers are powering an effort by the Smithsonian Institution to create online, searchable versions of its vast collections of diaries, journals, biological specimens and other historical gems. After more than a year of testing, the project came out of beta Aug. 12, with officials inviting the public to join in the massive transcription and… Continue Reading
As machines take on more human work, what’s left for us?
Drew Desilver: “For decades, labor economists have sought to quantify and predict the the impact of computer technology on both current and future employment, a subject that a new Pew Research Center report probed with a survey of nearly 1,900 experts. Computers had typically been thought of as best suited for jobs that involve routine, repetitive tasks that can easily… Continue Reading
Paper – TSA device flaws compromise airport security
Via FCW.com: “The cybersecurity vulnerabilities uncovered in a number of the Transportation Security Administration’s electronic security and personnel management devices are part of a growing problem for federal IT managers, according to the expert that discovered and reported the flaws. Billy Rios, director of threat intelligence at Qualys, a large security tech firm, presented a paper in early… Continue Reading
Help Celebrate 103rd birthday of Eldest Surviving Civil Rights Activist, Amelia Boynton Robinson
Aug. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ – “Amelia Boynton Robinson, the oldest of the surviving veterans of the 1965 Selma, Alabama Civil Rights Movement, will celebrate her 103 birthday this coming August 18. Still completely mentally alert and combative, BoyntonRobinson states that not only does she intend to attend the 50th anniversary commemoration of the passage of the Voting… Continue Reading
Consumer advisory: Virtual currencies and what you should know about them
CFPB: “You may have heard about virtual currencies like Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin. But what are virtual currencies? What’s this “to the moon!” business on the internet about? And, as a consumer, what risks should you be aware of? While virtual currencies offer the potential for innovation, a lot of big issues have yet to be… Continue Reading
