Archive for February, 2015
Hacksaw + Fiber: “Vandalism” in Arizona Shut Down Internet, Cellphone, Telephone Service Across State
February 28th, 2015Via: Washington Free Beacon: Cellphone, Internet, and telephone services across half of Arizona went dark on Wednesday after vandals sliced a sensitive fiber optic cable, according to those familiar with the situation. The incident is raising concerns about the safety of U.S. infrastructure. The outage shut down critical services across large parts of the state, […]
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Clause Everyone Should Oppose
February 28th, 2015Via: Washington Post: The United States is in the final stages of negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive free-trade agreement with Mexico, Canada, Japan, Singapore and seven other countries. Who will benefit from the TPP? American workers? Consumers? Small businesses? Taxpayers? Or the biggest multinational corporations in the world? One strong hint is buried […]
Russian Opposition Politician Boris Nemtsov Shot Dead in Moscow
February 27th, 2015Putin will “personally” investigate. Via: Guardian: Prominent Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has been shot dead in Moscow. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and a sharp critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was reportedly shot four times in the chest by a killer in a passing car. The killing took place in the […]
‘Jihadi John’ from West London
February 26th, 2015Via: Reuters: The “Jihadi John” killer who has featured in several Islamic State beheading videos is Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a middle class family who grew up in London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming, the Washington Post newspaper said.
Is Playing ‘Space Invaders’ a Milestone in Artificial Intelligence?
February 26th, 2015Via: Los Angeles Times: Computers have beaten humans at chess and “Jeopardy!,” and now they can master old Atari games such as “Space Invaders” or “Breakout” without knowing anything about their rules or strategies. Playing Atari 2600 games from the 1980s may seem a bit “Back to the Future,” but researchers with Google’s DeepMind project […]
Austria: Bionic Reconstruction Gives Men First Prosthetic Hands Controlled by Mind
February 26th, 2015Via: Guardian: Three Austrians have had their injured hands replaced with bionic ones that they can control using nerves and muscles transplanted into their arms from their legs. The three men are the first to undergo what doctors refer to as “bionic reconstruction”, which involves a voluntary amputation, the transplantof nerves and muscles and learning […]
U.S. Military Vehicles Paraded 300 Yards from the Russian Border
February 25th, 2015Via: Washington Post: U.S. military combat vehicles paraded Wednesday through an Estonian city that juts into Russia, a symbolic act that highlighted the stakes for both sides amid the worst tensions between the West and Russia since the Cold War. The armored personnel carriers and other U.S. Army vehicles that rolled through the streets of […]
The Disappeared: Chicago Police Detain Americans at Abuse-Laden ‘Black Site’
February 25th, 2015Via: Guardian: The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site. The facility, a nondescript warehouse on Chicago’s west side known as Homan Square, has long been the scene of […]
Unauthorized Drone Activity Over Paris
February 25th, 2015Via: BBC: Drones have appeared over landmarks in central Paris for the second night running and police are no closer to knowing who is operating them. There were five sightings between 23:00 on Tuesday and 02:00 (01:00 GMT) on Wednesday, French media report. Up to three drones were seen near the Invalides military museum, Place […]
Komodia’s Founder, “Was Once a Programmer in Israel’s IDF’s Intelligence Core”
February 24th, 2015It’s for the children. Via: Forbes: In a brief email conversation with Barak Weichselbaum, Komodia’s founder who was once a programmer in Israel’s IDF’s Intelligence Core, he said the company was not hiding behind DDoS claims and that the attack was real. … Why is Komodia now getting so much attention anyway? Because its hugely […]
