Friday, September 16, 2011


Local. I want to assure you that this has absolutely, positively nothing to do with our new campus in Aurora. (probably)
CO: Aurora City Council members become victims of ID fraud
September 16, 2011 by admin
Carlos Illescas reports:
At least five Aurora City Council members have had their identities stolen over the past few weeks, and police have opened an investigation to determine whether the cases are linked.
Someone — armed only with the council members’ basic personal information — opened accounts in their names at a billing service for PayPal and ordered items at retail online sites.
Read more on Denver Post.
Update: Make that at least seven known victims.
[From the Post article:
The bills came from a company called Bill Me Later, a service of PayPal, the online site where people can order items and send money securely.
A Bill Me Later account, which doesn't require a credit card, is easy to open. Basic personal information, such as name, phone number, date of birth and the last four digits of a Social Security number, is all that is needed. [Think of it as making ID Theft really, really simple! Bob]


It's nearly impossible to kill a government program/boondoggle. There's a story about a Hollywood mogul who kept tons of obsolete and useless paperwork. When asked if it could be tossed out, he replied, “Okay. But make a copy of it first.”
U.S. Representative John Mica (R-Florida), the sponsor of the original House bill that helped create the TSA, has become an outspoken opponent of the agency. In a recent interview, "Mica said screeners should be privatized and the agency dismantled." Mica seems to agree with other TSA critics that the agency 'failed to actually detect any threat in 10 years.' Mica is the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman and receives classified briefings on TSA. Perhaps we should trust him more than most people on this topic.
In an older ABC news article (ignore the unrelated video) Mica describes how he deals with security checkpoints. "He won't go through a full body scanner at an airport because 'I don't want them circulating pictures of my beautiful body' all over. He said he opts for a pat-down, and just 'closes his eyes and imagines a beautiful female.'"

(Related) Fortunately, there is (at least seasonal) work for terminated TSA employees. Makes you wonder what risks they are addressing... Killer Calves? Aggressive Ankles? Note that they skip “Thunder Thighs” and all the “politically incorrect” search areas – could be difficult to retrain TSA agents.
NFL wants pat-downs from ankles up at all stadiums
September 16, 2011 by Dissent
Michael McCarthy reports:
The NFL wants all fans patted down from the ankles up this season to improve fan safety.
Under the new “enhanced” pat-down procedures, the NFL wants all 32 clubs to search fans from the ankles to the knees as well as the waist up. Previously, security guards only patted down fans from the waist up while looking for booze, weapons or other banned items.
Read more on USA Today.
[From the article:
The NFL suffered damage to its family-friendly image when a South Carolina man was arrested for using an illegal stun gun on other fans at a New York Jets-Dallas Cowboys game Sunday night. [Note that the new pat-down procedure was “recommended” well before this incident. Bob]


That didn't take long to undo. I wonder what got through to the law makers? Was there a Facebook Frenzy? A Twitter “Outing of Twits?” Nah, just a lawsuit.
"The Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) has managed to secure another win in its battle against a new law regarding social networking with students. A repeal of the recently passed law has unanimously passed the Missouri state Senate."


Not sure if were narrowing toward a common definition or
raising more issues to debate.
UK: Privacy watchdog publishes e-privacy laws compliance guidance
September 15, 2011 by Dissent
The UK’s data protection watchdog’s guidance includes amendments made to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) in May. The changes transposed an EU Directive into national law.
The amendments included changes to rules on email marketing and for gaining internet users’ consent to ‘cookies’ – small text files that websites store about users’ online activity. It also introduced a requirement for organisations to inform the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about all personal data breaches.
Read more on Out-Law.com
[From Out-Law:
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Interesting vision of the future. With the growth of Cloud computing, I suspect this is true. And we need to bring more Smartphones into our computing classes...
"The build-out of 3G networks in developing countries, plus ultra-low prices from the likes of Samsung, will make the smartphone the sole computer of millions of citizens worldwide. And by 2016, 97 percent of smartphones are expected to use touchscreens. Now, don't get me wrong — I carry an iPad and an iPod Touch in my backpack and love touchscreens — but I still like a phone that fits in my pocket. However, I'm going to be in the minority five years from now, when the majority of wireless communicators will be smartphones."


Geeky stuff...

(Related) Will we be able to run Smartphone Apps on our desktop PC?
Forget Apps, Carbyn Has Built A HTML5 OS

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