Monthly Archives: December 2015

America’s New Female Combatants Are Getting Custom Gear

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“The Army started issuing a female version of the Improved Outer Tactical Vest in Afghanistan in 2012. The vest is darted, to fit a woman’s torso more snugly. It’s also shorter, so women can sit without having the thing ride up into their chins. It even has a collar designed so it won’t snag on a hair bun. Similarly, the Marine Corps’ Plate Carrier (a vest that holds armor plates) is shorter, with narrower straps.  Still, this is about much more than making everything smaller. Another critical class of gear protects the pelvis. The Army developed seven sizes of its female-specific Protective Under Garmets to better fit a woman’s hips. Also, no fly.  Another critical class of gear protects the pelvis.”

http://www.wired.com/2015/12/women-combat-roles-gear/

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Actor Edward Norton raises $425,000 for Syrian refugee featured on website

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“The Syrian, a scientist who lost seven members of his family in a bombing two years ago – including his wife and a daughter – was featured on the website Humans of New York earlier this month.  The blog, created in 2010 by US photographer Brandon Stanton, began by featuring everyday New Yorkers and sharing small snippets of their life stories but has now expanded to include individuals from other countries.  The Syrian, whom the website simply refers to as ‘the scientist’, is living in Istanbul but will soon move to Troy, Michigan.  Norton, who has starred in films including The Incredible Hulk, Fight Club and the Oscar-winning dark comedy Birdman, had raised $426,987 as of mid-Tuesday.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/syrian-refugee-humans-of-new-york-edward-norton-fundraiser

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Does Fear Lead to Fascism? A Culture of Fear and the Epigenetics of Terror

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“You are 17,600 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack. You are 11,000 times more likely to die from an airplane accident than from a terrorist plot involving an airplane. You are 1,048 times more likely to die from a car accident than a terrorist attack. You are 404 times more likely to die in a fall than from a terrorist attack. You are 12 times more likely to die from accidental suffocating in bed than from a terrorist attack. And you are 9 more times likely to choke to death in your own vomit than die in a terrorist attack.  Indeed, those living in the American police state are 8 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist.”

http://rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/does_fear_lead_to_fascism_a_culture_of_fear_and_the_epigenetics_of_terror

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“Emergency” Measures May Be Written Into the French Constitution

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“The state of emergency, which was initially supposed to mitigate the threat posed by Islamic terrorism, has been used to target environmental and political activists who have nothing to do with radical Islam, let alone terrorism.  Rather than be regarded as a temporary measure for extraordinary circumstances, the government’s ability to declare an extended state of emergency may soon be written into the constitution.  The first measure would write the state of emergency into the constitution, because the 1955 law, even in its renewed 2015 form, is likely unconstitutional. The government fears it could be challenged [..] by those who have been raided by the police or placed under house arrest.”

https://theintercept.com/2015/12/12/terrorist-attacks-spark-crackdown-constitutional-changes-in-france/

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The Kafkaesque Sacrifice of Encryption Security in the Name of Security

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“The encryption backdoor argument has been made and soundly rejected many times, most notably in the 1990s, when the government wanted the Clipper Chip, a requirement for a back door in technology for law enforcement and national security officials to use.  A report by a group of leading security experts concluded that installing back doors would undermine security by creating an enormous vulnerability: ‘If law enforcement’s keys guaranteed access to everything, an attacker who gained access to these keys would enjoy the same privilege.'”

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/kafkaesque-sacrifice-encryption-security-name-daniel-solove

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Hillary Clinton: Stop helping terrorists, Silicon Valley – weaken encryption

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“Part of the problem, according to Clinton, is a tech sector that has become resistant to government efforts to pressure it into introducing backdoors into its products. Said Clinton: ‘So we need Silicon Valley not to view government as its adversary. We need to challenge our best minds in the private sector to work with our best minds in the public sector to develop solutions that will both keep us safe and protect our privacy. Now is the time to solve this problem, not after the next attack.’  Clinton’s thoughts were echoed in an editorial Friday by the Washington Post in which the paper also argued that tech companies needed to work with government to find solutions to encrypted communication.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/20/clinton_silicon_valley/

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Obama calls out encryption in terror strategy speech

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“United States President Barack Obama has given just his third Address to the Nation from behind his desk at the Oval Office, to deliver a speech in which he all-but-called-on the technology industry to allow access to encrypted communications.  Future actions, Obama said, will include an attempt to ‘urge high-tech and law enforcement leaders to make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice.’  The sentence isn’t explained, but seems a clear reference to the technology industry’s argument that encryption is essential for everyday life and therefore ought not to be equipped with back doors for government use.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/12/07/obama_encryption_policy_change_in_terror_response_speech/

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Trump doesn’t want ISIS “using our Internet”

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“A week after saying the US should disrupt the Islamic terrorist group ISIS’ online recruiting by ‘closing that Internet up in some way,’ Donald Trump was given a chance to clarify what he meant at last night’s GOP debate. ‘You talk freedom of speech. You talk freedom of anything you want. I don’t want them using our Internet to take our young, impressionable youth,’ Trump said at the debate. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized Trump’s plan. ‘The question is, how do we keep America safe from terrorism? Trump says we ought to close that Internet thing. The question really is, what does he mean by that? Like they do in North Korea? Like they do in China?’ Paul said.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/12/trump-doesnt-want-isis-using-our-internet/

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Donald Trump defends Muslim ban: ‘We’re at war’

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“A defiant Donald Trump is defending his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.  ‘Something has to be done,’ Trump said on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America,’ one of several phone interviews the Republican frontrunner participated in Tuesday morning. ‘What I’m doing is I’m calling very simply for a shutdown of Muslims entering the United States — and here’s a key — until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.’  Trump’s plan, which was released Tuesday, calls for a ‘total and complete shutdown’ of all Muslims entering the country.  His campaign initially indicated the ban would include Muslim-Americans traveling overseas.”

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/trump-defends-muslim-ban-morning-joe-lindsey-154401548.html

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No One’s Read the Senate Torture Report and It Might Be Destroyed

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“Despite the passage of 12 months, the actual report, comprising 6,700 pages, still has not been made publicly available. In fact, reading it appears to be prohibited among officials in the executive branch. Nearly a month and a half after the report’s initial release, it had not even been taken out of the package in which it was delivered to the Department of Justice and Department of State, according to government lawyers. Even the organization that was the subject of the report, the CIA, tightly controlled internal access and made ‘very limited use’ of it, as had the Department of Defense, the lawyers said in a court filing.”

https://theintercept.com/2015/12/09/one-year-after-the-senate-torture-report-no-ones-read-it-and-it-might-be-destroyed/

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