The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
Apple has suffered another embarrassment. A security breach has exposed iPad owners including dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians. They—and every other buyer of the cellular-enabled tablet—could be vulnerable to spam marketing and malicious hacking.
See Also:
+ The purpose of data.seattle.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by various departments of Seattle City government.
+ The New York City Council Committee on Technology will hold an important hearing on open data standards for all city agencies at 10:00am on June 21, 2010 at 250 Broadway, New York, NY (Across the from City Hall). This bill, Introduction 029-2010 (formerly Intro. 991-2009), is an effort to increase government transparency and facilitate easier access to public data. Beyond the ‘good government’ benefits of this legislation, the bill will also unlock City data to enable web developers and entrepreneurs to interact with City government in new and unforeseen ways. Data published under this legislation will be readable by any computer device, whether that is a laptop or a phone, for innovative developments. This Gov 2.0 inspired transparency legislation, targets application developers, startups, small businesses, and academics with the ultimate goal of strengthening the connection between government and the public, while re-energizing the small business-tech sectors. Visit http://nycctechcomm.wordpress.com/opengov/ for information on Introduction bill 029-2010.
Comment: Another aspect needed is an “open process” so that we know how the data was collected and how to verify that the data is accurate.
Also see Portland's CivicApps and San Francisco's open data
» Infographic: How a Bill Actually Becomes a Law (GOOD magazine) http://is.gd/cCFwV
» Animation: Economic Hitmen – http://www.youtube.com/earthintelnet
» New Documentary on Medical Marijuana + Legalization: “How Weed Won the West” http://is.gd/c17at
» Claims of BP & Coast Guard blocking media access to photograph oil disaster http://is.gd/cCCfi
» Stove Team International: Bringing fuel-efficient stoves to the world http://is.gd/cCBsD
» Ecocina stove fr StoveTeam International expanding distribution (stove made w/concrete insulated w/pumice uses less wood) http://is.gd/c17at
» New Digital Archive from the UN: The Haiti Oral History and Visual Archive http://bit.ly/bcEP1O
» BP Hires Dick Cheney's Former Campaign Press Secretary http://is.gd/cCyJM
» June 3-6: The Bilderberg group will conduct its annual meeting June 3-6 in Sitges, Spain http://is.gd/cBQkH
» Updated: Remote Operated Vehicle feeds of oil plume added in addition to the PBS feed http://is.gd/cqrBR
» Over 20 special interest groups are preparing to spend $400 MILLION on 2010 elections: http://bit.ly/9ilOCi
» California lawmakers have voted to ban single-use plastic bags at supermarket checkout stands (GOOD magazine) http://is.gd/cBnOU
» 172 Former Lawmakers Now Lobbyists. http://bit.ly/9WM5aj
» Video–The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo (Systematic rape as a weapon of war..a monstrosity of our time) http://is.gd/c17at
» Energy+Water Idea Lab: How will the world work differently in 2020, as we try to manage the water/energy dilemma? http://is.gd/cBh5Y
» Photos protesting Israel: Israel/Paris/Athens/Cyprus/London/Italy/Bahrain/Istanbul/Cairo/Morroco/Stockholm/Whitehouse http://is.gd/cBggE
Probably not an inspired choice.
MA
New York Times June 5, 2010 Pg. 1
Obama To Name Retired General To Top Spy Post
By Peter Baker and Eric Schmitt
WASHINGTON — President Obama has picked Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr. as director of national intelligence, tapping a retired officer with decades of experience to improve coordination of the nation’s sprawling spy apparatus amid increasing threats at home and escalating operations abroad.
Mr. Obama plans to announce his choice in the Rose Garden on Saturday, two weeks after forcing Adm. Dennis C. Blair out of the spymaster job, according to administration officials, who insisted on anonymity to disclose the decision before the formal ceremony.
See also:
Phi Beta Iota: This alone–a farce on top of a farce–makes him unsuited to the position. Obama and Gates know what they want: to continue Grand Theft Intel as the same time that Grand Theft Pentagon continues the looting of the public treasury. If Congress can rediscover its integrity and invite former Senators such as David Boren (D-OK), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Bob Graham (D-FL) as well as Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA), they might discover the universal condemnation of “business as usual,” which is precisely what this nominee represents. Whatever claims are made about transformation or revolution will at best be pap and at worst a deliberate breach of trust in lying to the Congress. Dick Cheney would be proud of what passes for leadership in the Department of Defense today.
Reference: Human Intelligence (HUMINT): All Humans, All Minds, All the Time
Earlier Posts on DNI Self-Destruction:
Journal: With No Successor In Sight, Intelligence Czar Departs
AFIO Selected Headline Links with Phi Beta Iota Comments
Deteriorated Situations
Four actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in May 2010, according to the new issue of the International Crisis Group’s monthly bulletin CrisisWatch, released today.
Israeli commandos killed at least nine people when they raided a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on 31 May. Full details are not yet clear but the incident has already thrown into question recently launched proximity talks between the Palestinians and Israel. The international community has been swift to condemn Israel’s actions and the UN Security Council has called for an impartial investigation. However, the event has underscored the failure of a much broader policy for which Israel is not solely responsible. Many in the international community have been complicit in isolating Gaza in the hope of weakening Hamas, an approach that has ultimately harmed the people of Gaza without loosening Hamas's control.
May also saw renewed violence in the streets of Bangkok. Clashes between anti-government Red Shirt protesters and security forces that resulted in scores of deaths in April escalated this month, leaving at least 54 people dead. Soldiers removed the Red Shirts from the capital on 19 May and the government has since lifted a curfew imposed on Bangkok and 28 other provinces. But a state of emergency remains and divisions between the Thai establishment and the protesters, many of whom support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have widened. The government has so far failed to address the underlying causes of the protests, which are likely to have long-term implications for Thailand’s stability.
Tensions continued to mount on the Korean Peninsula after investigators announced that a South Korean ship that sunk in March had been hit by a North Korean torpedo. Pyongyang continues to deny responsibility for the sinking which killed 46 people. With Seoul now threatening to take the case to the UN Security Council, recent events have highlighted the challenges facing South Korea – as well as China and the international community more broadly – in dealing with its volatile northern neighbour.
Security also deteriorated in India, where suspected Maoist rebels derailed a train on 28 May leaving at least 147 civilians dead. The Maoists have denied responsibility, but the incident has once again underlined the government’s failure to curb escalating insurgent violence that has become increasingly deadly in recent months.
Screening and Discussion: The Battle of Chile, with Dr. Óscar Soto
Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 7–9 pm
Location: Cabinet, 300 Nevins Street, Brooklyn (directions here)
FREE. No RSVP necessary
On September 11, 1973, the socialist government of Chilean president Salvador Allende was overthrown in a military coup backed by the US government. The jailings, torture, and persecution that followed largely stamped out resistance efforts inside Chile, but were unable to silence writers, artists, and filmmakers working in exile.
The young filmmaker Patricio Guzmán, using film stock donated by the French filmmaker Chris Marker, had already shot footage for a documentary on the Allende years, right up to the day of the coup. He smuggled the material out of the country to produce his epic three-part documentary The Battle of Chile, the first two parts of which were released to resounding international acclaim in 1975-76. This event focuses on the documentary's second part, “The Coup d'État,” which culminates in the assault on the presidential palace on September 11.
Inside the palace on that day, one of the last people to see Allende alive was his young physician Óscar Soto, whose memoir of Allende's last day, El Último Día de Salvador Allende, is now in its second edition. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Soto, who is visiting New York from his residence in Spain.
(Those who also wish to see Part 1 of the film should come at 5 pm.)
Chilean wine and snacks will be served.
This event is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Related:
+ Documentary: The Battle for Chile/ La batalla de Chile (YouTube Spanish version)
+ Wikipedia – History_of_Chile
