The SOPA and PIPA laws were defeated in the U.S. just months ago, and already the forces for internet control are back. Up for vote this week, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) would override all privacy laws so that private companies (like ISPs) can share all information with the U.S. government. No warrants or other authorization required. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) points out the problems with this law. Like SOPA and PIPA, the privacy issues and monitoring could reach far beyond U.S. borders.
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Member since:2011-10-17
Member since:2008-06-02
In the country with the 2nd highest per-capita number of young Earth creationists in the industrialized world (exceeded only by Turkey)? I wouldn't hold my breath.
Member since:2007-11-11
The problem with that idea is that you have 1.-An entire system designed to support corruption, in that to get to higher levels of the system one must has huge piles of cash that simply won't be given to you if you don't "play ball" so that removes the lawmakers, and 2.-as for the public? you have the largest most effective means of propaganda ever pointed right at them, mainstream media and television. Just look at how many believed Iraq was involved with 9/11 (the last numbers I saw put that number still over 30%) simply because that is what many in the MSM insinuated.
The problem is even if you had undeniable science on your side if it went against moneyed interests they would just have the MSM bury you in innuendo and ridicule and nobody would listen to you.
As for TFA this is something I've said for years, we simply have to abandon the Internet as they are gonna turn it into a locked down home shopping network whether you like it or not. too many rich corps have an interest in this and they will simply outlast you. instead we must lay our hopes on the geeks to build a secure anon network on TOP of the existing net, one designed from the ground up to treat everything as suspect. Lucky for us progress has been made in this area with projects like TOR and Freenet but of course more progress must be made.
But in the end if there is one thing we have learned in the states its that there is a never ending supply of greed and an unquenchable lust for power by those at the top, and you can rally and rail and complain all you want, unless your last name is Gates or Ellison or among the top 50 richest frankly they really don't care what you think or want. Vote them out, so what, they'll get a cushy job bribing the next guy. That's the thing about always choosing the lesser of two evils, you're always voting for evil.
Member since:2007-02-18
There is no problem with the idea. The problem is getting to the state where that idea becomes probable.
This will have to be done in a wireless manner. There is no way any government would allow its phone lines to be completely out of its control, and no citizens group will have the money to build its own. The private companies will only go the AOL route. The worst case scenario is that they can completely disable the network physically (eg, that kill switch idea bouncing around lately), which is a lot easier with landlines than wireless.
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Member since:
2007-02-18
"It strikes me that what we really need is to require scientific backing of the effectiveness of policy proposals before anything should be passed into law."
That's what should happen. In reality though even science is abused for political purposes. Whether it's banking, global warming, tobacco, big oil, telecoms, TSA, healthcare, etc, our politicians selectively embrace only the data that supports their opinions and reject everything else. Worse yet, some scientists are being paid to make the science support politically favorable results. I doubt many politicians would genuinely change their minds based on scientific data, however this would be a minimum requirement if we desired an uncorrupted form of science to drive public policy.
You raise a good point.
It really does require coming at it from above and below. The lawmakers need to be scientifically literate, and so do the voters.