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06 Mar 2011 11:17

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U.S.: More people starting to notice Bradley Manning’s crappy treatment

  • The intention is not to cause any sort of humiliation or embarrassment. The intention is to ensure the safety and security of the detainee and make sure he is able to stand trial.
  • 1st Lt. Brian Villiard • Explaining why the folks in the Quantico brig are forcing Bradley Manning to sleep naked. If that explanation doesn’t make much sense to you, you’re not alone. Rep. Dennis Kucinich recently ripped Manning’s treatment as going against the Army’s own field manual. He wants to talk to Manning in the flesh. “My request to visit with Pfc. Manning must not be delayed further,” he said. When a member of Congress gets involved, you know something’s wrong. (On a side note … we think it’s great that Manning’s treatment is getting wider coverage from sources outside of Salon. Glenn Greenwald is great, but when The Washington Post and CBS News are giving it attention, it becomes clear that it’s a major PR problem for the military.) source
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06 Mar 2011 10:54

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World: Libya: Pro-Gaddafi troops’ gains cheered, then disputed

  • Today, there was celebration in Tripoli by pro-Gaddafi supporters who heard that troops made significant gains over the rebel forces throughout the country. Guns were everywhere, even in the hands of little kids – as you might notice in the utterly shocking photo above. The BBC, however, reports that the excitement appears misguided, as the gains against rebel forces weren’t nearly as successful as originally reported. “Tripoli is full of rumours, and versions of the truth,” writes BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen. “Some are closer to reality than the others.The regime does appear to feel much more secure than it did 10 days ago when I arrived, even though it is more isolated. More of day-to-day life in Tripoli has resumed.” (Photo by Ben Curtis/AP) source
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06 Mar 2011 10:29

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World: British official: Sudden drop in Libyan refugees worrying

  • That is a matter of some anxiety … Two days ago there were 10,000 or 11,000 people coming across (the border). Yesterday there were only 1,863 people who came across That is an artificial flow. Something has happened.
  • British International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell • Expressing worry over the sudden drop of refugees coming out of Libya. Mitchell expressed concern about what he saw happening in the country: “I met people on the border who had been robbed by Gaddafi loyalists…, who said they had had in some cases their papers removed, any money they had, their watches, their goods.” Mitchell says that the world at large should prepare to expand the humanitarian effort in Libya at a moment’s notice. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2011 00:47

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Politics: Mitt Romney rips Obamacare (which was based on his own plan)

  • You may have noticed that the president and his people spend more time talking about me and Massachusetts health care than Entertainment Tonight spends talking about Charlie Sheen.
  • Mitt Romney • Trying to get a whip-dash burn in on Obama while being hip and of the moment. Romney was in New Hampshire today making the kind of inroads a presidential candidate might make. Which, of course, means that he has to eventually talk to the elephant in the room – he health care plan he enacted, on which the federal plan was modeled. Romney’s take? He was dealing with problems “unique to Massachusetts” with his plan, and Obamacare is “Misguided and egregious.” Because hey. As long as I look good and I can take credit for something, it doesn’t matter what you do. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 18:50

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Tech: Rock Paper Scissors: Can you top the New York Times’ robot?

  • Tied to that post we made about lawyers, the New York Times has a man-vs.-machine Rock Paper Scissors game up on their site. We’re evenly matched, as you can tell. And this was on the “hard” mode, by the way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 15:36

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U.S.: How does the Westboro Baptist Church stay tax-exempt?

  • what Despite their status as being particularly offensive and their strong advocacy of various political issues, the Westboro Baptist Church has managed to stay tax-exempt, despite their 501(c)(3)/nonprofit status preventing certain kinds of advocacy.
  • whyThey know the law really well – note that the church never advocates specifically against legislation, but against groups and people it doesn’t like. So while they may not fight Prop 8’s repeal, the Phelps family advocates against homosexuality in general. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 15:07

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World: Protip to Monks in Bhutan: Don’t carry any tobacco whatsoever

  • one 23-year-old monk living in the Himalayan Kingdom of in Bhutan
  • $3 worth of tobacco (well, roughly) in Sonam Tshering’s possession
  • three years in jail for being caught with said tobacco … wow source
  • » Yes, it’s illegal: Bhutan banned the practice of smoking in the country way back in 2005, and last year tightened the grip further by working to prevent smuggling. For his part, Tshering, who was in tears after the ruling, says that he deserved punishment, “but the penalty could have been lighter. I wasn’t aware about the act.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Mar 2011 14:27

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Biz, Culture: Easy Bake Ovens (as we know them) dead. No brownies for you

  • We are aware that the 100-watt incandescent light bulb will no longer be available beginning in 2012. In fall 2011, Hasbro will launch the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven, introducing a new way to bake for the next generation of chefs.
  • Hasbro • Explaining how the rise of green tech accidentally killed one of the more efficient ways for six-year-old girls to bake brownies: The Easy Bake Oven. See, the “oven” used a 100-watt light bulb as its main baking mechanism. But now, the light bulbs are falling out of favor and will soon be off the market entirely, leaving Hasbro to basically invent a new style of oven. Until then, the company is shilling out its “Easy-Bake Microwave & Style” models, which (as you might guess based on the name) don’t use light bulbs. Since we’re terrible cooks and don’t trust ourselves near microwaves, our options are shrinking and we’ll likely starve to death. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 13:55

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Tech: Sucks to be a forensics expert: Solid state drives can wipe data

  • Solid state? Not so solid for data recovery. In perhaps the best complement to our earlier post possible is a report that many new solid state drives include a technology which, as a way to increase efficiency, have the side effect of making it easier to wipe data for good. “A few people in the forensics community had some awareness that something funny was going on with some SSDs, but everyone we’ve shown this to has been shocked at the extent of the findings,” said Murdoch University’s Graeme Bell, who co-authored the fairly alarming study. So, if you’re looking to commit a crime involving lots of information, buy a solid state drive. Leave the hard drives for the amateurs who don’t know what they’re doing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 13:28

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Tech, U.S.: Really smart computers replacing rooms full of lawyers

  • You tend to split a lot fewer infinitives when you think the FBI might be reading your mail.
  • Cataphora Chief Technology Officer Steve Roberts • Explaining the benefit of his company’s software, which can intelligently parse phrases and figure out when someone is changing their tone (presumably because they have something to hide). This is useful in law cases, particularly ones with a ton of documents – you know, the kind that once required armies of lawyers to do the dirty work. They’re just one of the companies who work in this pretty neat field, and their accuracy rate is actually way better than the people the machines are replacing. “Think about how much money had been spent to be slightly better than a coin toss,” said Bill Herr, a former chemical company lawyer who once herded lawyers in rooms to dig through documents en masse. Like cats. source
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