Last Thursday, Julian Assange appeared on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme to recite an essay on the government’s desire to achieve ‘god-like’ knowledge of its citizens.
“To keep a person ignorant is to place them in a cage. So it follows that the powerful if they want to keep their power, will try to know as much as about us as they can and they will try to make sure that we know as little as possible about them,” said Assange.
His appearance on BBC has infuriated many. Labour MP Ian Austin tweeted, “In 30 years of listening, I already thought today’s @BBCr4today was worst ever. I cldn’t imagine it cld get worse. Then they put Assange on”.
Assange sought out political asylum in Ecuador amid rape charges in Sweden and an extradition request. He’s been residing in Ecuador since late-2012.
One of the problems unique to the 21st century has involved the clammoring over potential health-risks posed by WiFi signals. Parents in a New Zealand have decided to take things into their own hands to protect their kids from these risks.
“Two parents in New Zealand have orchestrated the removal of a school’s Wi-Fi system. They have expressed the concerns that Wi-Fi causes cancer and other health issues. The child of one of these parents died recently from brain cancer. This appears to be an emotional area and one where decisions appear to be being made without evidence. The NZ Ministry of Education provides guidelines for the safe use of Wi-Fi in schools and the school itself was operating within those guidelines.”
Although commonly cited in populare media, the actual effects of wi-fi signals on people is unknown. The following link offers a good rebuke to those that suggest they are harmful: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/1178/are-wifi-waves-harmful
There are few topics hotter right now in the world of security and privacy than the proliferation of drone technology.
To add fuel to the fire, The Gaurdian has published a report of a former US drone operator openly questioning the US drone program. An Air Force analyst for nearly 4 years, Heather Linebaugh says that the people calling the shots on the program don’t have a first-hand perspective on the brutality and casualties inflicted.
“I wish I could ask them a few questions,” Linebaugh writes. “I’d start with: ‘How many women and children have you seen incinerated by a Hellfire missile?’”
‘The program has become increasingly controversial in recent months, with the Defense Department effectively canceling a drone piloting medal. Earlier this month, a strike in Yemen mistook a wedding party for an Al Qaeda gathering, mistakenly killing at least 13 civilians.’
On the heels of China’s announcement of not recognizing Bitcoin as a currency (and the subsequent near 50% drop in the currency’s value), Trusteer has discovered a Zeus P2P/Gameover variant mallware that is designed specifically to steal the passwords of bBitcoin traders. The strain actively targets BTC China.
The strain acts as a dormant entity, waiting until a victom logs in to the BTC China website. The malware takes the victim’s user namd and password and suspends the session. The user name and password are then use to access the wallet details, giving the malware complete access to the person’s funds, with the person having no resources to fight back.
‘The arrival of the Bitcoin-targeting malware variant came shortly before BTC China, China’s largest exchange, began blocking new deposits.’
25% of the world’s population is located in Africa, yet only 21% of them have access to electricity. GOOD and Column Five Media created a neat infographic breaking down the energy crises in Africa. Check it out by clicking on the image below:
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