Technology in the News

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How Private Tech Companies Are Collecting Data on You and Selling Them to the Feds for Huge Profits

alternet.org

by Pratap Chatterjee

October 8, 2013

Big Bro is watching you. Inside your mobile phone and hidden behind your web browser are little known software products marketed by contractors to the government that can follow you around anywhere. No longer the fantasies of conspiracy theorist.

These technologies are routinely installed in all of our data devices by companies that sell them to Washington for a profit. That's not how they're marketing them to us, of course. No, the message is much more seductive: Data, Silicon Valley is fond of saying, is the new oil. And the Valley's message is clear enough: we can turn your digital information into fuel for pleasure and profits -- if you just give us access to your location, your correspondence, your history, and the entertainment that you like. Ever played Farmville? Checked into Foursquare? Listened to music on Pandora?

Teenager Commits Suicide After Police Launch Social Media Campaign Against Him

alternet.org

by Kristen Gwynne

June 28, 2013

When a teenager failed to appear in court on substance abuse charges, the police began cyber-bulling him on Facebook.

Nineteen-year-old Pullman, Washington, resident Andrew Cain took his own life on Saturday. Now his sister, Alise Smith, is asking for an apology from the local police department who allegedly cyber-bullied the young man just days beore his death. Cain was reportedly wanted for controlled substance charges and failure to appear in court. According to local media, a Latah County, Idaho, Sheriff's Office deputy assigned to Cain's case posted a photo of the teenager on the Sheriff's Office Facebook page, along with this message: "We have decided that Andrew Cain is no longer the Wanted Person of the Week... he is the Wanted Person of the Month of June. Congratulations!"

How Ray Kelly's NYPD Ignores All Transparency Laws

alternet.org

May 8, 2013

New York's police chief does whatever he wants and has a schedule more secret than Obama's.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has come under fire for the potentially unconstitutional execution of its stop-and-frisk policy, and surveillance of Muslims. But if you think that the taxpayer-funded agency should be accountable to the public and forthcoming about what it's doing, the story gets worse: it regularly flouts transparency laws, in an effort to make the records of how it perform its duties and the crimes it responds to, next to impossible for the average citizen to obtain. The NYPD's roughly 34,500 officers serve a population of 8.2 million people, but multiple interviews with reporters who cover the police department, as well as organizations dedicated to transparency, reveal a police department stunning in its disregard for the information requests of citizens, advocacy groups and news organizations.

How Your Movements Are Being Tracked, Probably Without Your Knowledge

alternet.org

by Tana Ganeva

August 31, 2012

License plate readers are getting set up at a very brisk pace across the country.

In May, Utah lawmakers were surprised to learn that the US Drug Enforcement Agency had worked out a plan with local sheriffs to pack the state's main interstate highway, I-15, with Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) that could track any vehicle passing through. At a hearing of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee, the ACLU of Utah and committee members aired their concerns, asking such questions as: Why store the travel histories of law-abiding Utah residents in a federal database in Virginia? What about residents who don't want anyone to know they drive to Nevada to gamble? Wouldn't drug traffickers catch on and just start taking a different highway?

How a Corrupt Dietitians' Group Has Taken Over Nutrition Advice in America

alternet.org

August 10, 2012

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is engaged in a turf war over the right to give nutritional advice -- and sell it to the highest bidder.

When Steve Cooksey was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, a registered dietician advised him to eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. Rather than follow that advice blindly, Cooksey read the available scientific literature and decided to do roughly the opposite of what he'd been advised. He proceeded to lose 78 pounds on a high-fat, low-carb diet that was nearly absent of processed foods. Cooksey's blood-sugar level dropped into the normal range, and he was cleared by his doctor to stop taking insulin. Three years later, Cooksey remains slim and healthy, but now finds himself with a different sort of diet problem, thanks to a letter he received from the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition. It accused him of practicing nutrition counseling without a license, and threatened to charge him with crimes that could result in jail time if he refused to make changes to his blog, diabetes-warrior.net.

Google Plus Ghost Town : My Open Letter To The Misguided Reporters

amandablain.com

by Amanda Blain

April 24, 2014

Why do reporters love to call Google Plus Ghost Town? Here is my open letter to them. Including some outdated reporting techniques like facts & experience.

It's that time again. Google Plus Ghost Town from the media and reporters. This round is brought to you because Vic Gundotra (the guy behind the Google plus project) announced today that he would be leaving Google. Vic is a great guy and I'm sure has many reasons for leaving Google. Family time, additional opportunities and projects come to my mind. But immediately the media once again, has resorted to posting nothing but articles talking about how his leave can only lead to graveyards, walking dead, and ghost town.

Going Virtual: High School on the Web

Amercian School Board Journal

by Liz Pape

July 8, 2005

The millennial generation has always had access to technology. Surrounded by computers and portable video games, students born between 1982 and 2000 spend more time surfing the Web, than they do watching television.

As school board members and administrators, the challenge is how to reach this generation. How can we provide them with the 21st century learning skills they need -- not just in school, but throughout their lifetime'

In an age in which the amount of published information on the Internet doubles every 54 days, we cannot continue to focus on an educational system that primarily delivers information to students. Teachers no longer can be positioned as the resident gurus and sources for all learning.

Trade and Barter Online: DoBarter On Line Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Orlando Convention

American Chronicle (FL)

by David M. Bresnahan

March 1, 2006

Homosassa -- In just five short years Paul Dragon has made history in the barter industry with his innovative DoBarter on Line software.

Dragon has announced a convention of barter exchange owners to celebrate the success of DoBarter, and to make plans for additional growth in the future. The convention will be held in Orlando April 28 - 30, 2006. A barter exchange from anywhere in the world can use the DoBarter on Line software to manage all barter selling and buying.

Screenshots: Washington Post Alters Headline Critical Of Obama

American Glob

by Marcelo Mesquita

September 14, 2011

I was skeptical when I saw a comment on Michelle Malkin’s website which suggested that the Washington Post changed their headline on a story that’s critical of Obama’s stupid new Attack Watch site.

Turns out the commenter is exactly right. See the screenshots below. Here’s a shot of the original headline, picked up by the automated news aggregation site Memeorandum. It clearly says Obama’s new site is a laughing stock of the internet.

American Censorship Day November 16 - Join the fight to stop SOPA

americancensorship.org

November 1, 2011

Do you have a website, blog or Tumblr? Join us to stop this law!

"Censor" your own site for this day of action This 'stop censorship' message leads to a page where users will contact their congressional representatives.

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