ABC News reports that there is a gem among the latest batch of Hillary Clinton emails1 released in a dump by the State Department. Hillary requested the book Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better2 which includes subjects like “The Email That Can Land You In Jail” and “How to Delete Something So It Stays Deleted” and still others like “Stupid (and Real) Email Phrases That Wound Up in Court” noting that orgies of deletion when faced with a subpoena only serve to make the deleting party look guiltier than they do already. Clinton is currently the frontrunner for the presidential nomination in the United State's Democratic party while her family friend Donald Trump is the current frontrunner for the United State's other socialist party's nomination.
Category Archives: North America
Zynga Continues Bleeding
A recent filing (archived) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission show that one once hyped Facebook centric "game" maker Zynga is continuing to bleed both users and money. Zynga has lost more than 73 million United States dollars since the beginning of 2015. From 2012 through the close of 2014 Zynga has lost roughly 472 million United States dollars. Average monthly users of Zynga's products was reported to have fallen from 121 million in 2014's second quarter to 83 million the second quarter of this year, a decline of 32 percent. In spite of Zynga's hemorrhaging wallet and shrinking userbase shares still manage to trade on Nasdaq (archived) at $2.64 per share implying a market cap of $2,072,302,357 on a earnings per share of negative 19 cents.
Fiat Chrysler Taken to Court Over Security Vulnerability
The Post-Dispatch reports that a couple from Pacific, Missouri and a Belleville, Illinois man have filed suit against Fiat Chrysler (archived) over security vulnerabilities in their vehicular entertainment system which can adversely affect the safety of motor vehicles with the system installed. The suit was filed in the US District Court in East St Louis on Tuesday and it includes Harmon International Industries, the maker of the entertainment system as a co-defendant. The plaintiffs are aggrieved that the impact of the security vulnerability has diminished the value of their vehicles and further means they over paid for the initial purchase. If the plaintiffs win this case it may open up most current computer manufacturers to claims for diminishing the value of computing products purchased by customers for including Microsoft Windows and other irredeemably flawed components.
Brief Offers Insight into USG Theory of Internet Security
The most recent Audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Implementation of Its Next Generation Cyber Initiative by Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice, dated July 2015, (archived) features several thought-provoking insights into the inner workings of the USG and the headwinds faced by the bureaucratic beast. In no particular order :
1. The protection of the United States against "cyber-based attacks" and "high-technology crimes" is ranked as the third-highest priority behind counterterrorism and counterintelligence. Continue reading
US DoD May Surrender Substantial IPv4 Address Territory
There are reports coming in that the United States Department of Defense has surrendered or is in the process of surrendering the full IPv4 11/8 address block. If this surrender bears out it would mean 16,777,216 IPv4 addresses would be made available for use by people.
Cecil the Lion is a Pretext for Expanding Extraterritoriality of US Law
Recent social media uproar over a dentist's alleged killing of an African Lion referred to by persons as Cecil, in honor of Cecil Rhodes. Cecil was killed outside of the sanctuary within which his typical range was in Zimbabwe, a country which was also once named for Cecil Rhodes. The story was picked up by the social media outrage machine and amplified by mainstream media organs. Continue reading
Kentucky Man Defends Home From Drone, Faces Charges
William Merideth of Hillview, Kentucky faces charges in the first degree of criminal mischief and wanton endangerment for shooting down a nuisance drone (archived) which was loitering within the bounds of his yard's privacy fence. His neighbors had complained to Merideth about the drone before it breeched the boundaries of Merideth's yard. Neighbor's complaints allowed Merideth the time to retrieve a shotgun which he used to responsibly ground the drone consciously avoiding discharge of his weapon over roads and neighboring properties. Continue reading
After Petition Obama Still Wants to Try Snowden for Espionage
Two years after Barack Obama's Whitehouse closed a petition requesting Edward Snowden receive a pardon for generally making the world a better place, the Obama administration has finally issued a response. Deferring to Lisa Monaco Obama's adviser for matters concerning Homeland Security and Counterterrorism the response alleges that the Obama administration had undertaken some anomalous reforms though Snowden did not whistle blow on United States surveillance overreach until well into Obama's second term as the United States chief executive. Monaco also reiterated the Obama administration's intent to subject Snowden to prosecution under the Espionage Act. What more could a person really have expected though from an executive administration that serves as gardeners cultivating terrorists.
Gawker Media Shutters National Security Blog Less Than 4 Months In
William Arkin announced that he is leaving Gawker Media. This comes as a part of the turmoil facing Gawker Media following their now retracted article on David Geithner, the brother of former Obama treasury secretary Timothy Geithner. In his letter Arkin criticizes Gawker for making the world a worse place and marks the Geithner story's retraction as signifying the end of a long internal fight at the company which is being decided in favor of a "kinder" Gawker Media. A new kinder Gawker Media that refocuses on Celebrity and "Public Figures" and doesn't want Arkin's writing on the internals of the American National Security state. Continue reading
Holographic Performance Shut Off by Police
Hammond, Indiana police shut down a remote holographic being broadcast at a local hip hop festival by rapper Chief Keef who was performing at a secure Los Angeles sound stage. The show dubbed Craze Fest was being held as a charity event in a public park to raise funds for the family of Keef's late friend Marvin Carr and a 13 month old child who was killed by a vehicle fleeing the scene of Carr's slaying. Continue reading