http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20081119154116815
Police scour BNP membership to find officers breaching ban (follow-up)
Wednesday, November 19 2008 @ 03:41 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews
Note from Dissent: as if we needed any additional reminders of why breaches matter even if they do not pose a risk of financial ID theft, the BNP breach in the UK is a serious reminder as jobs may be lost , people may be harassed, or worse....
Every police force in the UK was tonight scouring the leaked British National party membership list for names of serving officers, after the Merseyside force confirmed it was investigating one officer's links to the far-right party.
The Prison Service pledged to oust any employee on the list and far-right supporters spoke of fear for their livelihoods as the BNP was plunged into crisis.
Party officials complained that hundreds of members had received threatening or abusive telephone calls within hours of the list being posted on the internet, and feared that the episode could lead to a damaging slump in support and membership.
Source - Guardian
[From the article:
A handful of those contacted by the Guardian said their names appeared by mistake, claiming to have no interest in the BNP. "We're absolutely horrified by this," said a retired teacher from West Yorkshire, who has appeared on the list with her husband. "We're absolutely devastated and wondering if we offended someone and they applied to the BNP with our names as a joke. We're contacting lawyers but what can we do?"
Is there any reason to consider this a CyberWar tactic?
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/army-bans-usb-d.html
Under Worm Assault, Military Bans Disks, USB Drives
By Noah Shachtman November 19, 2008 6:12:30 PM
The Defense Department's geeks are spooked by a rapidly spreading worm crawling across their networks. So they've suspended the use of so-called thumb drives, CDs, flash media cards, and all other removable data storage devices from their nets, to try to keep the worm from multiplying any further.
The ban comes from the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, according to an internal Army e-mail. It applies to both the secret SIPR and unclassified NIPR nets. The suspension, which includes everything from external hard drives to "floppy disks," is supposed to take effect "immediately." Similar notices went out to the other military services.
Getting into databases is easy. Knowing you are in the database, determining what information is attached to your name and getting it corrected/removed is almost impossible.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/19/AR2008111903710.html
Little Data Disclosed In Files, Activists
Material's Sensitivity Is Cited by Agency
By Lisa Rein and Josh White Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, November 20, 2008; Page B02
Activists whose names and groups were improperly entered into a Maryland State Police database that tracks terrorism suspects said yesterday that the agency has failed to disclose the extent of the surveillance and why it was done.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland released the police files of 19 of the 53 people who police say were wrongly entered into state and federal databases. Attorneys for the civil liberties union, which represents 28 activists, said the police have not explained why the files are heavily redacted, raising more questions than answers.
"We are nowhere near approaching full disclosure of what they did, why they did it and who they did it to," ACLU staff attorney David Rocah said at a news conference in Baltimore. He called the redactions, the events police chose to track, and the inclusion of some people in the database and not others "random and haphazard."
Related: You can never have too much surveillance.
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20081120060342135
New York Police Fight With U.S. On Surveillance
Thursday, November 20 2008 @ 06:03 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews
An effort by the New York Police Department to get broader latitude to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects has run into sharp resistance from the Justice Department in a bitter struggle that has left the police commissioner and the attorney general accusing each other of putting the public at risk.
Source - NY Times
[From the article:
The Police Department, with the largest municipal counterterrorism operation in the country, wants the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to loosen their approach to the federal law that governs electronic surveillance. But federal officials have refused to relax the standards, and have said requests submitted by the department could actually jeopardize surveillance efforts by casting doubt on their legality. [Wow! This from the folks who brought us unlimited warrantless wiretapping! Bob]
We will also mandate a class called “The Joy of Big Brother” wherein students will learn to rat on their parents and friends... Look, it would be so much easier if you just handed us your wallet so we could copy everything... (Thanks Gary)
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/19/oig
Nov. 19
Privacy Concerns About U.S. Database
As a general rule, big government databases aren’t especially popular, and higher education’s recent experiences with them — be they the relatively new federal database to track foreign students in the wake of September 11, or a proposed “unit records” database to track the academic success of students as they move through the educational system — have generated controversy.
Little wonder, then, that advocates for colleges and students are more than a little concerned — okay, freaked out — by a plan by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General to gather personally identifiable information from nine existing databases [Translation: They already have the data Bob] of grant, loan and contract recipients into one giant “data analytics system” and by the Education Department’s decision to waive certain privacy rules for the new records system. [“Hey, if Google and e-Bay and all those other folks can change their privacy policy whenever they want, so can we!” Bob
Related? Perhaps this is how they will use the Education Database – listing known or suspected drug dealers in each school...
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/us-drug-czar-po.html
U.S. Drug Czar Posts Roadmap to Buying Dope in San Francisco
By Kevin Poulsen November 19, 2008 3:49:39 PM
Vacationers traveling to San Francisco and hoping to score some weed have a great new resource at their disposal, courtesy of the U.S. government: a Google map mashup that shows the locations of all the medical marijuana dispensaries in the City by the Bay.
The map, posted on the blog of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, denotes the locations of 71 pot sellers with tiny cannabis leaf icons. The map also pinpoints all the Starbucks stores — just the thing for smokers looking to satisfy their munchies with an overpriced croissant.
This pretty much defines a “lock in.” It also defines poor planning.
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/19/189246&from=rss
London's Oystercard Gets New Contract, But Same Suppliers
Posted by timothy on Wednesday November 19, @01:15PM from the captain-amazing-wears-no-glasses dept. Transportation Security
nk497 writes
"Over the summer, the London travelcard ticketing system — called Oyster — fell over twice, forcing the transport authority to offer free travel to the six million Londoners using the system. After that, it cut its contract with the supplier of the system, a consortium called TranSys. But now, Transport for London has signed a new contract to replace the TranSys one — with the same two companies that made up the TranSys consortium. Sure, that should fix everything."
Outsourcing Perhaps Mexico could expand its Consulates to include a Hospital?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/169827?from=rss
Ultimate Outsourcing
Now, Mexican medicine. American companies are building hospitals south of the border to serve refugees from an ailing health-care system.
By Tina Peng Newsweek Web Exclusive Nov 19, 2008 Updated: 1:29 p.m. ET Nov 19, 2008
... Older Americans who live near the Mexican border have always crossed in search of dental care and pharmaceutical drugs, neither of which are fully covered by Medicare, according to Prof. David Warner, who studies cross-border health care at the University of Texas's LBJ School of Public Affairs.
This growing demand for lower-cost procedures is fueling an increase in hospital construction, often in developing countries and targeted in part at foreign customers. Mexico's largest private-hospital chain, Grupo Empresarial Angeles, is building 15 new hospitals over the next three years and hopes foreigners will make up 20 percent of their patients by 2010, up from 5 percent now.
Related Outsource the UAW too?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/chinese-want-to-buy-the-b_b_144920.html
Jane Hamsher Posted November 19, 2008 01:02 PM (EST)
Chinese Want To Buy the Big 3 Automakers
It appears that the Chinese car makers SAIC and Dongfeng have plans to acquire the Big 3:
A take-over of a large overseas auto maker would fit perfectly into China's plans. As reported before, China has realized that its export chances are slim without unfettered access to foreign technology. The brand cachet of Chinese cars abroad is, shall we say, challenged. The Chinese could easily export Made-in-China VWs, Toyotas, Buicks. If their joint venture partner would let them. The solution: Buy the joint venture partner. Especially, when he's in deep trouble.
With a little Photoshopping, you could make up those Post Office posters now and save time later!
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/019857.html
November 19, 2008
New Member Pictorial Directory: 111th Congress
Sometimes you just can't wait.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/019861.html
November 19, 2008
Federal Register Announces Launch of New Electronic Public Inspection Desk
News release: "The Office of the Federal Register has created an Electronic Public Inspection Desk to provide free worldwide electronic access to public documents. For the first time in the 72-year existence of the daily Federal Register, the documents on file are available for viewing anytime, anywhere. Every Federal business day, anyone with access to a computer now can read critical documents governing Federal regulations relating to business, health, and safety as soon as the documents are placed on file. To view these documents, go to www.federalregister.gov. See "View Documents on Public Inspection" on the left hand side. This new desk grants the public access to documents that will be published in the next day's Federal Register as early at 8:45 a.m. EST. Previously, such documents could only be seen by viewing the documents physically located at the Office of the Federal Register in Washington, D.C."
My Risk Analysis classes make similar “calculators” for other “events” It is simple to do.
How much does spam cost you? Google will calculate
Google Message Security calculator determines how many days and dollars your company loses in productivity to spam
By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service November 19, 2008
How much is spam costing your company? Google unveiled a nifty little calculator Wednesday to help you add it up.
It's part of a marketing campaign for Google Message Security, the online spam-filtering service based on the Postini technology Google acquired last year. "We know in these tougher economic times that companies are trying to figure out how they can save," said Adam Dawes, a Google product manager.
This is likely to be a truly bad idea, yet I suspect it will be inevitable. Think of the implications of development in the hands of individuals who see no need to document or explain their asumptions of how the organization works. Every organization can have their own 'sub-prime' application!
A future without programming
Code-free application builders allow business people to take development into their own hands. Where does that leave the coders?
By Tom Kaneshige November 20, 2008
A few years ago, self-proclaimed nondeveloper Kevin Smith worked for a software company that tried to build a project tracking tool using Microsoft .Net. Some 15 developers spent a year with little success. "After burning though a million dollars and still without a product, the company called it quits," says Smith, now managing partner of NextWave Performance, a consultancy in Denver, Colo.
NextWave took up the idea but ran into similar timetable and budgetary overruns. "I said, 'I'll learn to code and do it myself,'" a frustrated Smith recalls. His search eventually led him to Coghead, a Web app for code-free development of Web apps -- and Smith built key components of the tracking tool in less than 30 days.
"I was showing my business partner some of this stuff the other day and he turned to me and asked, 'How do traditional developers stay in business?'" Smith says. "It's such a game changer. I think it turns developers from wizards who read the magic book and know the syntax into business analysts who understand the processes and goals of what they're trying to achieve."
Such views may be a bit far-fetched, but it's true that do-it-yourself application development has never been more appealing. With IT budgets being squeezed, along with the growing dysfunctional relationship between IT staff and managers, it's no wonder the promise of cheap "codeless" development that sidesteps IT resonates loudly with businesspeople. "We also have a whole new wave of business users that are not intimidated by the notion of application development," says Mike Gualtieri, analyst at Forrester.
For my website class. Also some links to other amusing tools...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Video-Music-Photo/convertmytube-com-convert-youtube-videos
ConvertMyTube.com - Convert YouTube Videos
There is a fair number of online applications that aim to make the experience of using YouTube a more realized one. Preeminently among them are the tools for capturing and converting video files stored at the popular hosting service. The one we are discussing right now falls squarely into that category.
In general terms, all you have to do is cut and paste the corresponding YouTube URL into the provided box and hit the “Convert & Download” button.
... And the one aspect that can be modified is actually the one that should not be bypassed, namely the file extension. This is important if only because it will enable you to rest assured the converted file will be viewable in different setups (like PCs and Macs) and devices (like iPods and iPhones).
Every teacher/research librarian dreams it could be this easy! ('cause some people need to be insulted.)
http://digg.com/comedy/Let_me_google_that_for_you
"Let me google that for you..."
letmegooglethatforyou.com — For all those people that find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than google it for themselves.
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