Thursday, August 23, 2007

..makes you wonder how they define intelligence.

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/015790.html

August 22, 2007

Transcript of Q&A With National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell

Transcript: Debate on the foreign intelligence surveillance act, by Chris Roberts, El Paso Times: The following is the transcript of a question and answer session with National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell, published August 22, 2007.

  • On participation by telecommunications companies in the domestic surveillance program: "...Now the second part of the issue was under the president's program, the terrorist surveillance program, the private sector had assisted us. Because if you're going to get access you've got to have a partner and they were being sued."

  • AP: "National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell pulled the curtain back on previously classified details of government surveillance and of a secretive court whose recent rulings created new hurdles for the Bush administration as it tries to prevent terrorism."



Lots of sad statistics...

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20070822111732176

Study Examines Security Risks of Off-Network Equipment

Wednesday, August 22 2007 @ 11:17 AM CDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

... According to a new study by the Ponemon Institute, 73 percent of corporations experienced the loss or theft of a data-bearing asset in the last 24 months, yet those same organizations report limited efforts to manage this vulnerability. The new Ponemon report, National Survey: The Insecurity of Off- Network Security, will be discussed in detail today by study author Dr. Larry Ponemon, founder and chairman, Ponemon Institute, and study sponsor, Robert Houghton, president, Redemtech, during the Privacy Symposium at Harvard University.

Source - Redemtech



Worth checking periodically.

http://www.privacydigest.com/2007/08/22/chronology+data+breaches+privacy+rights+clearinghouse

A Chronology of Data Breaches - Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

August 22, 2007 - 1:53pm — MacRonin

A Chronology of Data Breaches: The data breaches noted below have been reported because the personal information compromised includes data elements useful to identity thieves, such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and driver's license numbers. Some breaches that do NOT expose such sensitive information have been included in order to underscore the variety and frequency of data breaches. However, we have not included the number of records involved in such breaches in the total because we want this compilation to reflect breaches that expose individuals to identity theft as well as breaches that qualify for disclosure under state laws.



Toward ubiquitous surveillance

http://digg.com/gadgets/Build_your_own_long_distance_listening_device

Build your own long-distance listening device

... with a laser!

http://www.diylife.com/2007/08/22/diy-laser-long-distance-listening-device/



Wee! (Oh, they can probably test that too...) One word business model: “Outhouse”

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/22/2225225&from=rss

Drug Testing Entire Cities at Once

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 22, @08:59PM from the be-careful-where-you-go dept. Biotech Science

Ellis D. Tripp writes "Researchers have developed a technique for determining what illicit drugs people might be consuming in a given area, by testing a sample from the local sewage treatment plant. As little as a teaspoonful of untreated wastewater can reveal drug use patterns in a given community. Obviously, any drugs found can't be tied to any specific user, but how much longer until the drug warriors want to deploy automatic sampling units farther upstream of the sewage treatment plant?" From the article: "one fairly affluent community scored low for illicit drugs except for cocaine. Cocaine and ecstasy tended to peak on weekends and drop on weekdays, she said, while methamphetamine and prescription drugs were steady throughout the week."



Everybody's doing it!

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=2007082208523470

Jealous wife's GPS data leads to murder charge

Wednesday, August 22 2007 @ 08:52 AM CDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: In the Courts

A man pleaded not guilty Monday to running over and killing his 12-year-old baby sitter in a crime that police say was tracked by a global positioning system his suspicious wife had installed.

George Ford Jr., 42, was charged last week with second-degree murder. He was originally charged with reckless endangerment, but police used the GPS data to file the more serious charges.

Source - CNN



Opt out?

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9764512-7.html

Google now zaps faces, license plates on Map Street View

Posted by Elinor Mills August 22, 2007 2:02 PM PDT

Google has gotten a lot of flack from privacy advocates for photographing faces and license plate numbers and displaying them on the Street View in Google Maps. Originally, the company said only people who identified themselves could ask the company to remove their image.

But Google has quietly changed that policy, partly in response to criticism, and now anyone can alert the company and have an image of a license plate or a recognizable face removed, not just the owner of the face or car, says Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google.



Remember your statistics: Half the world is below average.

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/015793.html

August 22, 2007

AP/Ipsos Poll: One In Four Adults Read No Books Last Year

The Associated Press Poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affaird Project, Interview dates August 6-8, 2007:



There are such things?

http://www.killerstartups.com/eCommerce/hiretrade--Find-A-Lawyer-Whos-Worth-Your-Money/

HireTrade.com - Find A Lawyer Who's Worth Your Money

posted 7 Hours 18 Minutes ago by Siri | Visit http://www.hiretrade.com

... currently the site deals with solely legal professionals in Philly, the DC area, and New York. Attorneys and those in the legal biz who work in the aforementioned areas can post their profiles and find projects while clients in turn can post projects and find the right legal professionals for the job



This article is worth reading.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1792

Talking with the Receptionist, Pausing When You Speak and Other Secrets of Leadership Success

Published: August 22, 2007 in Knowledge@Wharton



When you fall, you fall all the way – and people will kick you on the way down.

http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Michael_Vick_s_old_jerseys_put_to_good_use_PIC

Michael Vick's old jerseys put to good use (PIC)

The Atlanta Humane Society is now accepting Michael Vick t-shirts and jerseys. They'll be used as bedding, chew toys and rags for cleaning up dog doo. Which is only appropriate, right, Rocky?

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