Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
- Cambridge university refuses to censor student’s thesis on chip-and-PIN vulnerabilities – “Cambridge is the University of Erasmus, of Newton, and of Darwin; censoring writings that offend the powerful is offensive to our deepest values.” Good show, sir (and a good poke in the eye toward “If you embarrass us over our known security lapses, then the terrorists and crooks win” types of weasels).
- All I Needed To Drain Her Checking Account Was Her Wallet — Good Thing I’m Her Husband – It’s a difficult balance between providing security and not inconveniencing customers. That sort of balance usually means that a determined intruder can break in.
- 5 Downright Silly Sales Taxes – I wonder if that, beyond the environmental aspect, is why some local coffee shops I visit in Colorado (Ink! comes to mind) don’t automatically put a lid on the coffee they serve.
- Pilot raided for YouTube video exposing airport security flaws – It’s rarely safe to point out the Emperor has no clothes, esp. when he still has his guards.
- ACLU bristles over terror list | Chattanooga Times Free Press – If you create an information-gathering apparatus with no checks or balances or oversight, then it will gather all the information it can, including politically-driven information. It’s been demonstrated in this country, among others, time and time again.
- Education And National Security: Can The Republicans Be Shamed Into Closing The Gap? – Don’t worry! American Exceptionalism means that even if all of our kids who rely on public schools don’t get a good edumication at all, God will still watch over us! (And weep.)
- Civil War message opened, decoded: No help coming – All Salon – Salon.com – Of such small threads is history made.
- Dec. 27, 1831: Beagle Sets Sail With a Very Special Passenger – Happy Beagle Day!
- Faking It – I would argue there is no value in faking respect for the validity of others’ opinions; the respect (fake or not) is for others to have their own opinions. Yes, there are in fact times when false claims, especially harmful ones, need to be challenged. But there are other times when we’re called to simply smile and nod and be polite and kind (and that applies to most all opinions on things religious and non-). But the key here is not respecting a “lie” or an “error,” but the person making it.
- Comcast + NBCU approval likely in January with some strings attached – The problem with putting one-off regulatory bounds around the proposed merger is that they are subject to change and revision by future administrations, Congresses, and business conditions. I don’t see the value to society and the consumer of creating this kind of vertical oligopoly, vs. the potential risks, and that, to my mind, is enough to say No.
- Scientists say extreme winter a result of climate change – This is why the term “global warming” is misleading (if, in aggregate, accurate). It’s not just that everything everywhere gets slowly, gradually warmer, but, in the short term, weather patterns get disrupted and, yes, you can get massive fronts of unusually cold (or hot) weather. Weather is not the same as climate, but when you have a lot of weather that is different, over a long period of time, then you have a climate that’s different.
- WikiLeaks: DEA now a global intelligence organization – Another result of the ever-reaching War on Drugs.
- NY Times editorial on banks stopping payments to WikiLeaks – It’s particularly worrisome given the increasing consolidation of the banking industry.
- Reid pushing ahead with filibuster reform – I hope this goes forward. The filibuster does provide a safety net at the extremes, but when it is so easily and repeatedly threatened (as it has been by the GOP this year), resulting in widespread obstruction of any governance, it clearly needs reform. And, yes, I say that realizing that someday it will be the Dems again the minority in the Senate.
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