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01.16.13

Links 16/1/2013: Kororaa 18 Coming, Embedded Linux Conference Videos

Posted in News Roundup at 10:49 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME bluefish

Contents

GNU/Linux

Free Software/Open Source

Leftovers

  • The MS OS/2 2.0 fiasco: PX00307 and DR-DOS

    There are many anti-trust exhibits and other articles on the MS OS/2 2.0 fiasco and how it went from the original SDK released at the end of 1989 to “Microsoft Munchkins” and other unethical attacks that was worse than the Joint Development Agreement between IBM and Microsoft (where they worked on OS/2 together) ever was, which is part of why it took 10 years after Intel introduced the 386 before 32-bit programming became popular.

  • Security

  • Defence/Police/Secrecy/Aggression

    • Hollywood’s Waterboard: Review of the CIA’s “Zero Dark Thirty”
    • John Brennan- The CIA -Zbigniew Brzezinski- Columbia University and Obama

      Brezinski was deeply involved in the U.S. aspects to support Osama Bin Laden against the Russians in Afghanistan.

    • CIA has list of greatest hits

      Let’s start with the CIA’s 1953 coup against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, whose democratically elected government had nationalized the country’s oil industry. It couldn’t be oilier, involving BP in an earlier incarnation, the CIA, British intelligence, bribery, secretly funded street demonstrations and (lest you think there’d be no torture in the film) the installation of an autocratic regime that went on to create a fearsome secret police that tortured opponents for decades after. All of this was done in the name of what used to be called “the Free World.” That “successful” coup was the point of origin for just about every disaster and bit of “blowback” — a term first used in the CIA’s secret history of the coup — in U.S.-Iranian relations to this day. Many of the documents have been released, and what a story it is.

    • Saved by the CIA

      That the CIA became the star: Is this art or entertainment?

    • CIA Drone Wars Protested at CIA
    • Group Protests at CIA Headquarters

      The Dolley Madison Boulevard entrance to CIA Headquarters was rendered impassable the morning of Saturday, Jan. 12, as more than three dozen people in orange prison jumpsuits and black hoods over their heads lined up to protest actions taken by the intelligence agency in recent years.

      #Members of Witness Against Torture planned the rally, their third at the CIA headquarters in recent years. In addition to the protesters in prison garb, others gathered to speak and pass out information about the activities they’re against.

      #”I wish this is something we could do every day, that would shut this place down,” said Jack McHale of Burke, who had been fasting for the past week as part of the group’s protest.”

    • CIA Nominee John Brennan Draws Fire From Civil Liberties and Human Rights Advocates
    • Murder Inc.: Obama Names Head of Drone Assassination Program to Lead CIA

      In an April 30 speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, he claimed that the drone strikes were legal under the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by Congress after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the all-purpose pseudo-legal justification for war crimes and violations of the US Constitution used repeatedly by the Bush administration.

    • CIA drones have already killed at least 40 since the start of the year
    • $190 million drone coming to Australia
    • The Fake Catch-22 of Drone War Apologists

      The “substance” behind the criticism is, among other things, the fact that the specific drone war Obama is running is utterly lacking in transparency; bereft of adequate Congressional oversight; deadly to an unknown number of people; indefensible in its broad definition of militants; making enemies of countless foreigners, and killing “countless” innocent men, women and children. How does one literally acknowledge all those facts and then call the case of drone critics “substanceless”? The scary thing is that I think I actually know the dubious answer.

      [...]

      They’ve created for themselves a fake Catch-22.

    • Seven short stories about drones told through Twitter
    • Teju Cole: Seven short stories about drones
    • LETTER: Drones killing innocent people

      The use of drones by the U.S. to drop deadly explosives on innocent women and children in Pakistan and Afghanistan is a continuing abomination that has no place in a civilized society. These war crimes, which do nothing but create thousands of additional enemies for us, are carried out in secrecy and hidden for the most part from news broadcasts. If the people of this country could see with their own eyes the horrors being inflicted on these poor people who have never done anything against us, they would be outraged and demand that these actions end immediately.

  • Cablegate

    • Deafening Global Silence On Julian Assange – OpEd
    • Attack on Assange reveals a poor grasp of facts

      I doubt whether Henderson knows anything about Assange’s accusers’ political views. And would Henderson be putting pen to paper to criticise Assange if he was a right-wing blogger? No mention of the significant differences between the British and Swedish justice systems. Nor about the very different definitions of rape in Sweden.

      Henderson loves his left-wing conspiracy theories.
      David Hicks in my view was no left-winger but people supported him for his being denied justice in a military hell hole for five years. Nothing to do with his politics.

      Henderson’s claim that the absence of supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy early on a cold Sunday morning suggested ”his celebrity status was diminishing” was plain silly.

    • WikiLeaks pretrial hearing focuses on trial delays

      An Army private charged with sending U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks contends that lengthy delays have violated his right to a speedy trial.

  • Finance

    • Goldman Sachs’ Bankers Bonus Tax Dodge ‘Depressing’ – BoE’s Mervyn King

      Goldman Sachs bankers delaying their bonus payments to avoid higher income tax rates have been condemned by Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King.

      King lashed out at the unconfirmed plans by Goldman in an appearance at the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee alongside other senior BoE staff.

    • Hitting the Debt Ceiling is Much Worse Than a “Government Shutdown”

      In recent days I’ve been tweeting critically about Republican leaders’ use of the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations. Someone asked me “In your world, how will spending ever get cut?”

      It’s a good question. I share Republicans’ (and most Americans’) concerns about our unsustainable long-term budget outlook, and so I can certainly see why people would see the GOP’s tactics as a reasonable response to a serious problem. To understand why I think the Republicans’ approach is illegitimate, it’s important to distinguish the kind of garden-variety government shutdown that occurred during the Clinton administration (and almost happened in April 2011) from what would happen if the United States government reached the debt ceiling, as it almost did in August 2011 and might do in February or March of this year.

  • PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying

    • The Freedom to Innovate Network – an ‘Astroturf’ Organisation

      Modern politics is often dominated by single-issue groups and parties, as recently seen in the UK with the fuel protests. This is seen by many as a counter to the power which big business wields, often overriding elected governments

      Needless to say, big businesses are well aware of this and have tried on several occasions to use the same technique for their own ends.

  • Privacy

  • Intellectual Monopolies

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Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

  1. Links 23/5/2013: Threat to Civil Rights in UK, KDE 4.11 LTS

    Links for the day

  2. Links 22/5/2013: Debian GNU/Hurd, New Go Language Release

    Links for the day

  3. The FRAND Apple-Microsoft Conspiracy Attempts to Destroy Android/Linux, Ban Imports

    How Microsoft and Apple are using patents in bulk (sometimes acquired in unison, e.g. from Novell and Nortel) to artificially lower market saturation of the Android operating system or drive costs up

  4. Gates Foundation: Buying Influence for Bill's Ego and Bill's Profit

    New examples of power being acquired and investments (i.e. for profit) being funnelled into the beneficiaries

  5. Bill Gates Enters Financial Centres With His Goons Becoming US Budget Chief, Top Bankers

    How Bill Gates' staff is entering positions of financial power, indirectly giving Gates power over US (national and international) finance

  6. IBM Ignores Small Companies' Interests, Denies Patent Scope is a Problem, Focusing on Its Own Problems (Trolls) Instead

    How David Kappos and IBM (his longtime employer) continue to ignore the obvious problem which kills small businesses and everyone is complaining about

  7. The New York Times Publishes Factually-Flawed Patent Propaganda Benefiting Microsoft and Apple

    Eamonn Fingleton is rewriting history in the US' top newspaper, insinuating that patents contributed to the rise of software duopolists

  8. Software Patents Eligibility Likely to be Decided by SCOTUS

    Analyses suggest that an escalation by appeal to SCOTUS is likely to be the next stage in 'Bilski 2.0'

  9. Does Bill Gates Try to Flush GNU/Linux Down the Toilet in Kerala?

    Renting Microsoft software rather than using Free (as in freedom, or libre) software?

  10. Links 21/5/2013: Handbrake Turns 0.9.9, NetBSD 6.1

    Links for the day

  11. Links 20/5/2013: First Salifish Smartphone, Mageia 3 Released

    Links for the day

  12. Microsoft Corruption (Illegal Tenders) Stopped by European Court

    Microsoft cannot bypass public tenders, based on a ruling from a court of law in Europe

  13. Not Satire: Microsoft Wants to Show the World How Security is Done

    Software security 'standard' to be led by the company which made insecurity an acceptable engineering practice?

  14. Microsoft is Struggling to Maintain Industry 'Standards'

    With Microsoft's common carrier and browser share down considerably Microsoft finds itself increasingly irrelevant and it tries subversive means of making another comeback

  15. Microsoft Entryism and Bribery Get the Microsoft Way Implemented

    A recollection of very dirty tactics from Microsoft, which uses money to oppress, overthrow, and even hijack its opposition

  16. Patent Policy Laundering in the European Union and New Zealand

    How the so-called 'free' trade agreements help spread patent policy which favours software patents

  17. Ongoing Focus on Patent Litigation and Patent Trolls Reduces Focus on Software Patents

    The problem with increased focus on the players that use software patents litigiously and the litigation itself

  18. Andrew Y. Schroeder Shows That Patent Lawyers Are Sociopaths

    Bully and law misuser is trying to get his way with foul language, intimidation, and sheer lack of professionalism

  19. IBM-backed Book on 'Open Innovation'

    OpenForum Europe (OFE), which helps IBM's turf wars in Europe, releases a new book filled with its talking point

  20. Joseph E. Stiglitz Criticises the Patent System

    More critical words about the patent system and the way it is harming lives

  21. Senator Schumer Should Focus on Software Patents, Leaving Patent Trolls (Side Effect) Aside

    Reform in the USPTO and the US courts should focus on patent scope and not patent holders

  22. Links 20/5/2013: Plenty of Linux News, Google/Android Announcements

    Links for the day

  23. IRC Proceedings: May 12th, 2013-May 18th, 2013

    IRC logs for May 12th, 2013 (and subsequent days until May 18th, 2013)

  24. Microsoft Spin Regarding Skype Spying Does Not Withstand Scrutiny

    Microsoft's response to allegations that Skype is spying on all users is full of holes

  25. MPEG-LA Ruined the Licence of WebM, Made it Less Freedom-Respecting

    The Microsoft-, Nokia-, and Apple-backed patent troll appears to have ruined the freedom assured by Google's multimedia format, which was previously made free only after public pressure

  26. Microsoft-controlled Nokia is Lobbying to Enable Bans on Android Imports (Linux Phones as a Whole in Danger)

    Nokia is shown lobbying for embargoes while it is also suing -- with limited success -- Android handsets makers

  27. Courtroom and New Book Recognise That Software Patents Correspond to Mathematics and Mathematics Abused in Court

    Important observations about the nature of computer-implemented 'inventions', or software patents

  28. The Reality Distortion Field of Patent Lawyers Helps Impede Abolition of Software Patents

    How widespread coverage and talking points from the tiny minority which is patent lawyers have contributed to biased and at times utterly distorted reporting on the subject of software patents around the world

  29. Eugene Kaspersky Says Patents Harm Innovation

    Some more criticism of the patent system and software patents in particular, courtesy of Eugene Kaspersky

  30. UEFI Restricted Boot Good for Microsoft Agenda, Not for Security

    News and analysis of UEFI 'secure boot' (lockdown), including the new role played by the Microsoft-funded SUSE

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