Author Archive
Obviously the start of a ‘We [fill-in-the-space]ed some folks’ meme
During an otherwise sleepy news conference about immigration and the economy, the president answered a question about the impending release of a Senate report that criticizes the CIA’s treatment of detainees after 9/11. “We did some things that were wrong,” Obama said. “We tortured some folks. We crossed the line and that needs to be […]
Orwell on writing, sincerity and simplicity
Wonderful advice — especially in election season, when dealing with politicians and partisan nut jobs. – P Update: thinking about this reminded me of this just fabulous cartoon:
Lovely work from ProPublica: The NSA Revelations All in One Chart
The NSA Revelations All in One Chart — ProPublica.org
An (extra) step in the right direction: Apple extending two-factor authentication to iCloud.com log-in
A while back, I enabled two-factor authentication to a number of my accounts following Mat Honan’s terrible hacking story.* This morning I noticed that, without any fanfare, Apple has extended that preference to the iCloud.com website portal … … so that to log in to iCloud, I need to have one of my ‘trusted devices’. […]
Umm, before you download that PDF from the NSA’s website …
I skim-read, and was just about to download the Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities from a web page run by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, when I remembered spotting this: [McAfeee] attributed the trend to Adobe’s greater popularity in mobile devices and non-Microsoft environments, coupled with the ongoing widespread […]
“Like a girl” – a brilliant, blistering piece of PR. Watch.
So restrained, so understated, so brilliant. Good on them (always.com) for doing this.
Listen to the spy movie soundtrack on this ad for the VYSK smartphone case
Making a buck out of people’s paranoia/rational fear of cyber warfare and espionage … and these (apparently) terribly insecure devices many of us carry with us everywhere. Vysk: Putting Privacy Back in Your Hands from Mustache Production on Vimeo. Read all about it: www.vysk.com (not an affiliate link). – P Update: Audio of soundtrack here: […]
What is your phone and your internet connection blabbing about you?
Early in the second part of PBS’s (highly recommended) ‘United States of Secrets‘ documentaries, The Guardian‘s reporter Ewan Macaskill recalled Edward Snowden’s reaction in his Hong Kong hotel to a simple question: Do you mind if I record our interview on my iPhone?: Ewan Macaskill — excerpt from PBS ‘United States of Secrets’ part 2 MP3 […]
RIP Rik Mayall
A sad farewell to a comedic genius. Rik Mayall has died unexpectedly at 56. His fans will celebrate the groundbreaking The Young Ones and remember with relish his scene-stealing and virile Lord Flashheart (woof!) in Blackadder — as I do — and these were great. But for me, I will always remember his Alan B’Stard, beautifully […]
Daniel Ellsberg on why Snowden couldn’t get a fair trial
Worth reading. Daniel Ellsberg: Snowden would not get a fair trial – and Kerry is wrong As I know from my own case, even Snowden’s own testimony on the stand would be gagged by government objections and the (arguably unconstitutional) nature of his charges. That was my own experience in court, as the first American […]
The movie ‘Maleficent’ — well worth your time
I saw this with my family last night. It’s very good. The script contains some great twists on a story you think you already know. A striking, powerful performance by Angelina Jolie. I recommend it. – P Update: Here’s The Guardian’s (very positive) review.
