Internet: Not Randomized?
Wikileaks released this TED Talks video yesterday, titled “Facebook and Google / Secret Revealed.” The video explains how our internet searches may be sorted by an algorithm based on our assumed preferences.
...moreWikileaks released this TED Talks video yesterday, titled “Facebook and Google / Secret Revealed.” The video explains how our internet searches may be sorted by an algorithm based on our assumed preferences.
...moreJulian Assange may have more sidekicks than we know of.
You can read about how Bradley Manning, a gender-questioning soldier, came to subvert the American military’s authority over information regarding the war in Iraq. He has simultaneously earned the title of WikiLeaks hero and U.S.
...moreMediaite linked yesterday to a piece in the New Statesman which reported that Wikileaks has been pressuring members of their staff to sign what they describe as a “draconian” confidentiality agreement. They apparently got the document from former Wikileaks staffer James Ball, who describes it as “the most restrictive [confidentiality agreement] I have ever encountered,” and who worried that if he signed it, that he could be held liable for things he had already said since it was backdated several months.
...moreIf you’re connected to Wikileaks, the US government wants to see your Twitter information. They might also want to see your Facebook account, your Google search history, and who knows how much other information. And it doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re the PFC in jail for leaking material or a member of the Icelandic Parliament–the US government wants that information, and ideally, they’d like you unaware of the fact that they want it.
...morePFC Bradley Manning is the man accused of providing classified information to the Wikileaks project. He is currently being held in the brig of the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, VA, where he has been for the last five months.
He’s being held in conditions any reasonable person would describe as solitary confinement—isolated in his cell for 23 hours a day, denied reading materials or personal contact, and prevented by guards from exercising except during the one hour per day he’s allowed out of his cell.
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A report from the Washington Post on Wednesday describes an effort by the CIA to assess the impact of WikiLeaks on U.S. national security. The effort is known as the WikiLeaks Task Force. Apparently it’s also commonly referred to as “WTF” around the halls in Langley.
The controversy over Wikileaks’ decision to release these cables has caused a split. Openleaks is a new group that hopes to do what Wikileaks does, only with less controversy because they won’t do any of the publishing themselves. I don’t know how that’s going to work, given that Wikileaks has actually published very few of the embassy cables (compared to what they claim to possess) and yet they’re still at the center of this firestorm.
...moreThe ACLU suggests that prosecuting Wikileaks might not be feasible, or even constitutional under US law.
...moreJulian Assange was arrested today in Britain. Here’s some background on the charges
Assange has an editorial in today’s Australian.
How is Wikileaks like L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry?
Visa and Mastercard have cut off Wikileaks too, and will likely face the same sort of hacker retribution Paypal already has.
...moreFirst it was Amazon dumping Wikileaks from its servers (though how much Senator Lieberman had to do with it is up for debate), which raises some real questions for everyone who wants to put their data in the cloud. Now it’s PayPal getting in on the action, cutting them off from online contributions.
...moreThe decision by Wikileaks to release over 250,000 US Embassy cables is a threat to democracy. Or it’s no big deal. Or there’s nothing really surprising in there. Or it could bring down multiple governments and tear down the fabric of international diplomacy.
...moreRemember the Wikileaks video depicting the killing of twelve people, including two children and a journalist, in Iraq? Well, one of the soldiers responsible has written a formal letter of apology. He also claims that when he expressed regret and sought counseling after the incident, he was told, “Don’t be a pussy.”
It’s like Star Wars for mosquitoes, and Bill Gates wants it to help end malaria.
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