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Archive | August, 2017
Meanwhile, over at Google…
So… Google just fired an employee for… not agreeing with the company’s diversity policy.
The irony.
It also raises – once again – the issue of possible political bias at the worlds leading search engine.
• Gizmodo: Here’s The Full 10-Page Anti-Diversity Screed Circulating Internally at Google »
• TechCrunch: There’s a manifesto criticizing Google’s diversity efforts circulating inside the company »
• TechCrunch: Google fires the engineer who wrote that viral memo criticizing its diversity efforts »
• The Telegraph: Google fires employee behind anti-diversity memo for ‘perpetuating gender stereotypes’ »
• Tim Pools first Youtube comment on Google and diversity »
Tim Pools latest Youtube-comment on the issue:
Update – Google Memo: Fired Employee Speaks Out! | James Damore and Stefan Molyneux:
https://youtu.be/TN1vEfqHGro
Update 2 – Daily Wire: 4 Things The Google Manifesto DOESN’T Say That The Media Claim It Says »
Update 3 – A Youtube comment from Jordan Peterson:
Update 4 – The Google Memo: Four Scientists Respond »
If it’s on the web, it’s free for all to use?
The European Court of Justice (the ECJ, “the European Supreme Court”) ruled three years ago that anything published openly on the web may be freely reused by anyone in any way on their own website. This ruling didn’t get anywhere near the attention it deserved, as it completely reverses a common misconception – the idea that you can’t republish or reuse something you happen to come across. The ECJ says that an open publication on the web exhausts the exclusivity of a work as far as the web is concerned, and that further authorization or permission from the rightsholder is not required for any reuse on the web after that, commercial or not.
Make your voice heard!
By HAX on August 7, 2017 in Big Brother, Big Data, Big Government, Civil liberties, Civil rights, EU, Free Information, Internet, IT security, Privacy
EDRi on EU public consultations on Internet and Big Brother issues:
Public consultations are an opportunity to influence policy-making at an early stage, and to help to shape a brighter future for your digital rights.
Below you can find the public consultations which EDRi finds relevant in 2017. (…) We will update the list on an ongoing basis, adding our responses to the consultations and other information that can help you get engaged.
Diversity and political correctness at Google
Update, Gizmodo » Exclusive: Here’s The Full 10-Page Anti-Diversity Screed Circulating Internally at Google »
Snowden on May and Human Rights
By HAX on August 6, 2017 in Big Brother, Big Government, Civil liberties, Civil rights, Democracy, Human rights, Rule of law, UK
Want to see a politician clearly? Remove emotional words from their statements.
"If human rights laws get in the way, we will change them." https://t.co/Ci9yt7I9d6
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) August 5, 2017
I’m clear: if human rights laws get in the way of tackling extremism and terrorism, we will change those laws to keep British people safe. pic.twitter.com/8EfUJYUDMK
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) 6 juni 2017
The plot thickens–WannaCry hero arrested by the FBI
Techdirt: Guy Who Accidentally Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained After Defcon »
Update, Techcrunch: FBI arrests WannaCry hero for alleged role in Kronos banking malware »
The upside to piracy
By HAX on August 3, 2017 in Big Entertainment, disruptive, File Sharing, Free Markets, Intellectual Property
While many artists have stepped up to demonize piracy over the years, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell prefers to see the upside. Describing the effects as “fantastic”, Campbell says there’s a whole new audience coming to the band’s shows, bringing fresh energy to the performance. But how much of this can be attributed to piracy in 2017?
TorrentFreak: Piracy Brings a New Young Audience to Def Leppard, Guitarist Says »
What about the Bitcoin forking?
Early yesterday morning bitcoin’s blockchain forked — meaning a separate cryptocurrency was created called bitcoin cash.
Techcrunch: WTF is bitcoin cash and is it worth anything? »
Pre-recording bodycam exposes dishonest cops
It seems as though a Baltimore police officer forgot about one key feature of his bodycam: the fact that it saves the previous 30 seconds of video recorded before the camera is activated. Most bodycams record and dump constantly. The moment it’s activated, the 30 seconds preceding the activation become part of the recording.
What was apparently inadvertently captured by the camera was the officer planting drugs in a can and hiding them in an alley. All three officers then retreat to the sidewalk outside the alley before heading back in to “discover” the drug stash.
Techdirt: Body Cam Footage Of A Cop Planting Evidence Leads To Dozens Of Dismissed Cases »