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Submission + - Conflict minerals and cell phones 1

Presto Vivace writes: Is your cellphone made with conflict minerals mined in the Congo? The industry doesn’t want you to know.

If you are reading this on a smartphone, then you are probably holding in your palm the conflict minerals that have sent the biggest manufacturing trade group in the U.S. into a court battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At stake in this battle between the National Association of Manufacturers and the government is whether consumers will know the potentially blood-soaked origins of the products they use every day and who gets to craft rules for multinational corporations—Congress or the business itself.

Submission + - USAF almost nuked North Carolina in 1961 – declassified document (theguardian.com) 1

Freshly Exhumed writes: A secret document, published in declassified form for the first time by the Guardian today, reveals that the US Air Force came dramatically close to detonating an atom bomb over North Carolina that would have been 260 times more powerful than the device that devastated Hiroshima.

The document, obtained by the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under the Freedom of Information Act, gives the first conclusive evidence that the US was narrowly spared a disaster of monumental proportions when two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina on 23 January 1961. The bombs fell to earth after a B-52 bomber broke up in mid-air, and one of the devices behaved precisely as a nuclear weapon was designed to behave in warfare: its parachute opened, its trigger mechanisms engaged, and only one low-voltage switch prevented untold carnage.

Submission + - Snowden docs: Brits hacked accounts of Belgian IT admins for GRX network access (spiegel.de)

An anonymous reader writes: Seems like the British secret service GCHQ is willing to penetrate the networks of telecoms firms to subsequently use them for spying: German magazine DER SPIEGEL reports GCHQ hacked the machines of Belcacom staff to later use their GRX routers for targeted man-in-the-middle-attacks on people's phones. DER SPIEGEL publishes three originals slides from a GCHQ presentation. They specifically mention targeting "engineers/systems administrators".

Comment Well, probably (Score 1) 2

A: The FSB has claimed that they are able to tap skype calls,

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/03/15/1241229/russian-fsb-can-reportedly-tap-skype-calls

and B: Skype (Mirosoft) is in the list of cooperating companies in Snowdens PRISM disclosure. If A and B are true, C: it is likely that ALL skype calls are either actively intercepted in real time or logged for voice and language analysis later (probably minutes later) (In fiction this is a central part of a 'Project Black Briar')

If that doesn't give you the willies and make you clutch your laptop and hide under the bed, well try this on for size.

http://www.news.com.au/world-news/reporter-michael-hastings-sent-panicky-email-hours-before-sudden-car-crash-death/story-fndir2ev-1226669297371

Slate reports (Hastings) last email, found by a friend, read: "Hey... the feds are interviewing my 'close friends and associates.' Perhaps if the authorities arrive 'buzz Feed GQ' er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues. Also: I'm onto a big story, and need to go off the radar for a bit."

Investigators are yet to formally identify Hastings' body as his remains are so badly charred.

On the subject of his car accident, the LAPD says there are no signs of foul play. His Mercedes reportedly hit a tree at high speed, causing the car to burst into flames. But there are some eyewitness accounts which suggest his car exploded before impact.

It would seem a stolen laptop may be the least of our concerns

Comment Re:Wrong by law (Score 1) 601

While I understand the fears of prosecution, his evasive actions are marks against hero-status. Third, he's avoided channels that actually exist for this purpose... there are whistleblower protections and organizations and laws, and even US newspapers where at least the responsibilities to national security would be more closely managed.

Except when the risk is that those 'whistleblower protections' wont protect you from...

"Hey... the feds are interviewing my 'close friends and associates.' Perhaps if the authorities arrive 'buzz Feed GQ' er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues. Also: I'm onto a big story, and need to go off the radar for a bit."

...

Investigators are yet to formally identify Hastings' body as his remains are so badly charred.

So Um, sometimes you need to RUN hard, fast, far, and keep moving!

Comment Re:Be careful what you wish for. (Score 5, Informative) 58

Health and Wellness should not be patentable - the drive to produce medicines will of course take dedicated researchers and the finances to power them, however this does not NEED to be aprfitable enterprise in order for it to happen. There exist a small group of very wealthy individuals who commit vast sums of money to the saving of lives with no other motive than 'it being the right thing to do' and self organizing groups of like minded donor can fill the shoes of profit motivated Big Pharma.

The argument made by Big Pharma - if we cannot monetize it, noone will do it - is as facile and pretentious as the MPAA/RIAA assertion that without their involvement music would cease.

Case in point, Sabin declined to patent his inventions in the search for a cure to polio; "costing" him an unknowable amount of revenue from all of the direct and indirect results from vaccination techniques and science. However, because of his unwillingness to patent, MILLIONS of people were and continue to be spared from debilitating and fatal diseases.

Yes, if we abolish medical patents, there will be a loss of future revenues for Big Pharma investors and speculators. Investors and speculators should be aware that there is risk of loss of any and all of thier funding through unforseen but inevitable changes to the marketplace. Tuff Shit! thats what happens to investors.

But how many lives will be saved in the short and long term by the transfer of medical research from patent hungry, financially motivated, greedy investors and replaced by TAX EXEMPT donations to medical research teams dedicated to a cure?!

I can't wait to see

Comment Does this apply to NSA databreaches? (Score 1) 1

Seriously, when an organization is served a FISA warrant within the US, the usual GAG ORDER obviously will apply. However when a non US entity is aware that NSA wiretapping has occurred with or without FISA warrant; is the company complied under EU regulations to disclose that breach to users?

Submission + - US Senators: NSA lies in its fact sheets

Bruce66423 writes: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/24/senators-nsa-letter-inaccurate-information-privacy reports that two US senators have written to the NSA telling it to amend its facts sheets which, they claim, are inaccurate. However they can't actually say HOW they are inaccurate, because they know because of classified information. So the US government uses taxpayer's money to lie to the people... there's a surprise!

Comment Turn off the autoCrap (Score 1) 3

Another vote for turning off autoCraptasticRefresh Ive been AnonymousCoward for years, almost since the month the site first launched, i remained loyal through all of the design "improvements" and CorporateOverlord-ing - and THIS is what it took to make me create an account so i could yell about the abortion that some web-minister has foisted on all the readers! I'm tempted to close this account and wander the web looking for a replacement news source.

Submission + - New EU rules require ISPs, Telcos to come clean within 24 hours of data breach (paritynews.com) 1

hypnosec writes: Under new EU regulations ISPs and Telcos serving European customers will have to come clean within 24 hours in case of a security or data breach that leads to theft, loss or compromise of data. Companies will have to disclose the nature and size of the breach within the first 24 hours and wherever it’s not possible to submit such data, they must “initial information” within the stipulated time with full details within three days. Under the new terms the affected organizations will be required to reveal information such as information that has been compromised and the steps that have been taken or will be taken to resolve the situation. If the breach "is likely to adversely affect" personal information or privacy, affected businesses and consumers will be notified of the breach.

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