Archive for March, 2015
“Pentagon Loses Track of $500 Million in Weapons, Equipment Given to Yemen”
March 24th, 2015Another U.S. arms drop to ISIS/al-Qaeda. Via: Washington Post: The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen, amid fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials. With Yemen in turmoil and […]
Technology and Persuasion
March 23rd, 2015Via: MIT Technology Review: The idea that computers, mobile phones, websites, and other technologies could be designed to influence people’s behavior and even attitudes dates back to the early 1990s, when Stanford professor B.?J. Fogg coined the term “persuasive computing” (later broadened to “persuasive technology”). But today many companies have taken that one step further: […]
Canada: False Flag Operations and Cyberwar
March 23rd, 2015Via: First Look: According to the Snowden documents, it has a range of “deception techniques” in its toolbox. These include “false flag” operations to “create unrest,” and using so-called “effects” operations to “alter adversary perception.” A false-flag operation usually means carrying out an attack, but making it look like it was performed by another group […]
Cost to Earthquake-Proof L.A.’s Crumbling Pipe System? $15 Billion
March 23rd, 2015Bone dry death trap… I wonder when I first used that term on here to describe where I’m from. Google spits up results from 2007, but I’m almost sure there are earlier ones. Anyway, quick hint about the phrase “mass evacuation”: You won’t want to be a part of that. Mmmkay? Via: Los Angeles Times: […]
The Little “Fighter” That Couldn’t: Moral Hazard and the F-35
March 21st, 2015And next up from the same imbeciles that brought you the F-35: Long Range Strike Bomber. Via: John Q Public: As Air Force senior officials prepare for posture hearings this week with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the subject of modernization promises to be front and center. Core to that discussion will almost […]
U.S. Must Release More Abu Ghraib Photos: Federal Judge
March 21st, 2015Via: Reuters: A federal judge ruled on Friday that the U.S. government must release photographs showing the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and other sites. Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan ruled that his order would not take effect for 60 days to give the U.S. Department of […]
Caltech: Making Graphene at Room Temperature
March 21st, 2015Via: Caltech: A new technique invented at Caltech to produce graphene—a material made up of an atom-thick layer of carbon—at room temperature could help pave the way for commercially feasible graphene-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes, large-panel displays, and flexible electronics. “With this new technique, we can grow large sheets of electronic-grade graphene in much […]
France Decrees New Commercial Buildings Must Be Partially Covered in Plants or Solar Panels
March 20th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — While I’d be thrilled to see more commercial buildings with plants and solar panels on top of them, I’m not so thrilled with the strong arm legislation used to get there. On the overall scheme of things, green rooftops and solar panel systems would be […]
U.S. Customs Quietly Launches Facial Recognition Experiment at DC Airport
March 20th, 2015Via: Vice: The next time you come back from overseas and flash your American passport at Washington, DC’s Dulles airport, customs officers might take a picture of you and use facial recognition technology to figure out if you really are who you say you are. On March 11, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) quietly […]
FAA Allows Amazon to Fly Drones Experimentally
March 19th, 2015Via: USA Today: The Federal Aviation Administration approved Amazon Logistics Inc. on Thursday to fly drones experimentally. The approval will allow the company to conduct research, development and crew training for deliveries called Amazon Prime Air. The company is required to fly remote-controlled aircraft lower than 400 feet during daylight hours, and the pilot must […]
