What’s net neutrality?

Here’s a quick video summarizing what net neutrality is and what’s at stake if it’s not adopted.

Whistle-blower describes NSA back door to telecom’s cell phone data

Another whistle-blower has come forward claiming that he has witnessed the NSA’s back door access to a telecom’s cellular data stream. The witness refuses to identify the telecom involved. It is known that he works for a network security firm which provided consultant work for this telecom starting in 2003. Here are the talking points [...]

TV messes with your brain

A follow-up to yesterdays post. Photo by Sven Prim.

A week in review: cable news’ vaudeville act

I’m a firm believer in free speech, but the clowns on cable news opinion need to have their bullhorns taken away. Under the banner of ‘news,’ they are polluting America’s airwaves with slander, fear, and sententious monologues. They don’t inform, they prosthelytize, as serious matters are sullied with sophomoric crass. They are all doing [...]

Net nuetrality on deck

The telecoms are already biting back at possible net neutrality regulation. AT&T released a wildly misleading statement last week chiding possible FCC bylaws and Congressional regulation:
“It would enact a new broadband policy for the United States that would include unprecedented regulation of the Internet, This bill will jeopardize billions in badly needed Internet investment and [...]

Former CNN producer unloads on network

CNN fires Chez Pazienza for blogging. Pazienza then writes a devastating summation of his experience at the network [obvious]. Here is the heart of his critique:
I watched my bosses literally stand in the middle of the newsroom and ask, “What can we do to not lead with Iraq?” — the reason being that Iraq, although [...]

‘Saboteurs’ may have cut Internet cables

Remember those internet cable disruptions in the Middle East a few weeks ago? Repair ships are on location:
Reports from those vessels have apparently indicated that [the cables] may not have been caused by accident or through natural events. According to the ITU’s (International Telecom Union) head of development, Sami al-Murshed, “We do not want to [...]

Censorship of Wikileaks

In a pretty extraordinary ex-parte move, the Julius Baer Bank and Trust got Dynadot, the U.S. hosting company for Wikileaks, to agree not only to take down the Wikileaks site but also to ” lock the wikileaks.org domain name to prevent transfer of the domain name to a different domain registrar.”
Essentially, an employee for JBB [...]

Almost Legal?

Image compliments of Electronic Frontier Foundation. Splitter and NSA room described here.

Facebook: ‘You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave’

While the Web site offers users the option to deactivate their accounts, Facebook servers keep copies of the information in those accounts indefinitely. Indeed, many users who have contacted Facebook to request that their accounts be deleted have not succeeded in erasing their records from the network.
I’m one of those many former users of Facebook. [...]

Michael Savage’s Anti-African Rant

How Michael Savage still has a platform from which to spew his vitriolic hate is beyond me. His latest diatribe is conspicuously racist and cruel. I’ve posted it below; there is a pause, make sure you listen to the entire clip.

Hat tip to Media Matters for the find.

RIAA Can’t Take the Heat

Yes, the RIAA is still suing hapless college students. This time they have taken several Boston University students to court.
The RIAA has tried to block the introduction of an amicus curiae brief in that case citing an unrelated ‘mis-characterization’ by the third party. The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the brief with a Boston Federal Court [...]

3 Fiber Optic Cables Cut, Severe Millions from Internet

A submarine cable in the Middle East has been snapped, adding to global net problems caused by breaks in two lines under the Mediterranean on Wednesday.
Bloomberg and Times UK are reporting that the two cables cut in the Mediterranean Wednesday are the result of an ‘errant anchor.’ Although this has not yet been confirmed, storms [...]

Cyber-War on Scientology

Readers of this blog know I have forewarned about the possibility of a cyber-war. It’s happened.
Monday, a group knows as Anonymous or Legion posted a video declaring war on the Church of Scientology. It’s suspected that they are operating under the umbrella of a so-called Project Chanology. Here’s the video:

In a perfectly coordinated effort, Anonymous [...]

Weather Forecast for Iran

Ratings tell me that you don’t watch Glen Beck on CNN Headline News. As such, you wouldn’t know how possessed he is. By possessed, I mean he’s batshit crazy. I think this pretty much sums it up:

CIA Warns of Hacks Against Energy Grid

The Washington Post details the internet security concern the CIA took to an energy and utility trade show this week:
In a rare public warning to the power and utility industry, a CIA analyst this week said cyber attackers have hacked into the computer systems of utility companies outside the United States and made demands, in [...]

Hacking Skills

I wrote a post recently alluding to the idea of a cyber war. Essentially, if the powers that be attempt to reconfigure the internet it’s going to anger a lot of very skilled people. I’ve come across two videos that display just how skilled these people I’m speaking of are and how destructive their capabilities [...]

Privacy or Cyber-War

DCI Mike McConnell’s comments to the New Yorker is stirring controversy:
McConnell is developing a Cyber-Security Policy, still in the draft stage, which will closely police Internet activity.
“Ed Giorgio, who is working with McConnell on the plan, said that would mean giving the government the authority to examine the content of any e-mail, file transfer or [...]

Probing Internet Filters

The media conglomerates are mulling ways to curb some types of internet traffic. The goal being to cut the transfer of copyrighted data, which for lack of ingenuity, is plaguing the networks, studios, and record labels.
The NYT is reporting that AT&T, Microsoft, and NBC openly discussed this topic at the Consumer Electronics Show:
At a small [...]

Oregon Fights RIAA

From the NYT today:
The record industry got a surprise when it subpoenaed the University of Oregon in September, asking it to identify 17 students who had made available songs from Journey, the Cars, Dire Straits, Sting and Madonna on a file-sharing network.The surprise was not that 20-year-olds listen to Sting. It was that the university [...]