CIA gets a free pass for dereliction on multiple fronts. Noteworthy: Neither State nor Africa Command had any idea of the size and scope of the CIA arms smuggling operation based in Benghazi. Also noteworthy that NSA has nothing at all on the attack in the days leading up to it or during the attack. Deja bu.
My friend and colleague Miki Kashtan has written a compelling article exploring the interconnectedness of personal, community and social dimensions of the Sandy Hook crisis, “Adam Lanza and All of Us.” I highly recommend the whole article, but for the purposes of this commentary, I want to highlight this excerpt:
“I see violence, and the specific problem of mass shootings, as a form of horrific and tragic feedback to society that we are not providing the conditions that allow people to thrive. I am troubled by what I see as medicalizing and individualizing a social problem, because I want the issue to be addressed on a societal level, and I worry that the individual lens will distract us away from the issues I want us to focus on…. I want to keep asking: what is happening on a larger scale that is affecting more and more children? What are we doing, collectively, that is resulting in so many children having so little capacity to manage their inner and outer lives? How can we take societal responsibility for the conditions we have created that affect many more than those who engage in overt violence?”
Another intriguing article on the social dimensions of mental illness is “Sanity in a Culture of Mass Murder” which chronicles a mutual self-help network of activists with mental health issues, who seem quite articulate describing the harsh edge between personal and social dysfunction:
We hope you enjoy this special New Year's issue of the Supporter, complete with an impressive piece of holiday ASCII art by FSF member Chris Webber. As you can hopefully tell, that's a gnu toasting the new year with Gavroche, the adorable goblin mascot of the GNU MediaGoblin project that so many of you generously supported this year.
All of you care about free software, and our job at the FSF is to make your voices heard. In 2013, our goal is to turn up the volume and reach more people than ever before with the message that all software can and should be free. To make this possible, we want to raise $350,000 by January 31st. If you've been following the progress bar on our homepage, you know we're about halfway there. Can you help us reach our goal?
In light of evidence that a cover-up is underway concerning the Sandy Hook school massacre, I’m reposting the following article by Michael Kelley of the Business Insider, first published on Tuesday 7th August 2012. Readers of my firsttwo articles on the Sandy Hook massacre will recognize alarming similarities between the two events.
Notice at the end of Kelley’s article that Holmes’ court records were sealed. What I conclude from this is that the evidence collected by police directly contradicts the lone gunman narrative. This would mean that here too a cover-up has taken place, the logical reason for which is that it was done to protect the real perpetrators.
DELHI — In 2012, SmartPlanet reported on a series of inexpensive tablets from India especially the $41 one called Aakash, which was launched by the Indian government.
Datawind Inc., a Montreal-based tech company, made the tablet in response to the Indian government’s challenge to create the world’s cheapest tablet.
Aakash, which was further subsidized for students to $35, received bad reviews. Critics said it had poor battery life, an unresponsive screen, absence of useful apps, less storage space and a slow processor.
In November, Datawind relaunched its tablet as Aakash 2. The improved tablet is powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich run on 1 GHz processor and 512 MB RAM with 4 GB internal storage and 32 GB microSD support. Its basic features include 7-inch capacitative touch screen, battery life of three hours, 0.3 megapixel front camera and WiFi connectivity.
The Indian government will buy about 100,000 units from Datawind for Rs. 2263 ($41) and make it available to students for Rs.1130 ($20). The commercial version of the tablet can be bought online for Rs. 4499 ($81)
This time, it was launched not only in India but also unveiled at the United Nations.
“India is a critical player on security issues … but you are also a leader on development and technology,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said at the unveiling in November. “Indeed, India is a superpower on the information superhighway.”
“We need to do more to help all children and young people make the most of the opportunities provided by information and communications technology – especially all those who are still unconnected from the digital revolution,” he added.
SmartPlanet spoke with tech expert Prasnato Roy, editorial adviser at CyberMedia India, on what’s new with the tablet and will it work better.
Phi Beta Iota: Combine with with Open Cloud and Open Spectrum, among other opens, and we create a prosperous world at peace, a world that works for all.
The Senate passed the FY2013 intelligence authorization act on December 28 after most of the controversial provisions intended to combat leaks had been removed.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the bill was revised in order to expedite its passage.
“Since the bill was reported out,” she said, “the Committee has received thoughtful comments from our colleagues, media organizations, and from organizations that advocate for greater governmental transparency. As a result of these comments, and technical suggestions received from the Executive Branch, we have decided to remove ten of the twelve sections in the title of the original bill that addressed unauthorized disclosures of classified information so that we might ensure enactment this year of the important other provisions of the bill.”
More precisely, the revision of the bill could be attributed to the intervention of Sen. Ron Wyden, who all but single-handedly blocked its enactment after it was approved in Committee last July by a vote of 14-1, with only Wyden dissenting. Its passage by the full Congress seemed to be assured, but in November, Sen. Wyden placed a hold on the bill to prevent its adoption by unanimous consent.
Sen. Wyden opposed most of the anti-leak measures, he explained on December 21, “because, in my view, they would have harmed first amendment rights, led to less informed public debate about national security issues, and undermined the due process rights of intelligence agency employees, without actually enhancing national security.”
