Archive for December, 2013
U.S. Customs at JFK Destroys Eleven Instruments Owned by Flute Virtuoso
December 31st, 2013Via: Arts Journal: A few minutes ago, we reached the flute virtuoso Boujemaa Razgui by phone to discuss the assault on his instruments by US Customs at JFK airport. A Canadian citizen, based in New York and with a green card employment permit, Bouzemaa was flying home from Marrakech, Morocco, when his baggage was opened […]
The Perils of Plastic: The Problems With Debit And Credit Cards Are Deeper Than We Thought
December 31st, 2013Via: ReadWrite: I called the regional Secret Service office—that agency is involved in both protecting the President and investigating financial crimes—and talked to the agent that was handling the investigation. He confirmed my suspicions: The problem is far worse than we imagined. While there are no real answers yet in our area, it appears that […]
Shopping for Spy Gear: Catalog Advertises NSA Toolbox
December 30th, 2013Via: Spiegel: A document viewed by SPIEGEL resembling a product catalog reveals that an NSA division called ANT has burrowed its way into nearly all the security architecture made by the major players in the industry — including American global market leader Cisco and its Chinese competitor Huawei, but also producers of mass-market goods, such […]
DROPOUTJEEP: How NSA Owns iPhones
December 30th, 2013It looks like they implemented Back Orifice for iOS. Anyway, *yawn*. So now we know the name of the tool. The first reference that I can find on Cryptogon for a U.S. government agency having this capability is: FBI Uses Mobile Phones for Audio Surveillance – Even When Phones Are Off. That’s from 2006. Via: […]
Off Topic: Connection from Water Heater to Thermostat
December 30th, 2013How about a little home improvement mystery to break up the steady flow of nightmares and doom? Alrighty then! The thermostat on our hot water cylinder fried itself yesterday morning. There are a few reasons why I’m baffled by this: 1. This is the second time that this has happened. When it happened the first […]
One-Third of Americans Reject the Idea of Evolution
December 30th, 2013I tell people in New Zealand about the Creation Museum and they don’t believe that the place exists. They think I’m making it up. Via: Reuters: One-third of Americans reject the idea of evolution and Republicans have grown more skeptical about it, according to a poll released on Monday. Sixty percent of Americans say that […]
Japan’s Homeless Recruited for Murky Fukushima Clean-Up
December 30th, 2013Via: Reuters: Seiji Sasa hits the train station in this northern Japanese city before dawn most mornings to prowl for homeless men. He isn’t a social worker. He’s a recruiter. The men in Sendai Station are potential laborers that Sasa can dispatch to contractors in Japan’s nuclear disaster zone for a bounty of $100 a […]
State Department Whistleblower Has Email Hacked, Deleted
December 30th, 2013Gmail? Really? Via: New York Post: The personal e-mail account of a State Department whistleblower was hacked, and four years worth of messages — some detailing alleged wrongdoing at the agency — were deleted, The Post has learned. The computer attack targeted the Gmail account of Diplomatic Security Service criminal investigator Richard Higbie, his lawyer, […]
Maniac Cop Gets Only Two Years in Prison for Dozens of Forced Anal Cavity Searches
December 30th, 2013Via: Police State USA: A disgusting scandal involving police officers performing illegal anal cavity searches with the intent to “degrade and humiliate” dozens and dozens of victims has come to an apparent conclusion, which some feel amounts to little more than a slap on the wrists for those involved. Between February 2010 and February 2012, […]
Russia: Second Bombing in Two Days ; 32 Dead in the Two Attacks
December 30th, 2013Via: Washington Post: The southern Russian city of Volgograd was hit with the second deadly suicide bombing in two days on Monday, rattling security officials as the country prepares for next month’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, about 400 miles to the southwest. The bombers targeted a crowded trolley bus on Monday and a railroad station […]
