Mike Pence was unmasked in Iowa on Friday, attending two events without covering his face, even though public health officials say masks slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus and one of the vice president’s aides tested positive for Covid-19… Read More ›
Archive for May 2020
Under Cover of Mass Death, Andrew Cuomo Calls in the Billionaires to Build a High-Tech Dystopia
For a few fleeting moments during New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s daily coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, the somber grimace that has filled our screens for weeks was briefly replaced by something resembling a smile. “We are ready, we’re all-in,” the… Read More ›
The Patent Office Is “Adjusting” to a Supreme Court Ruling by Ignoring It
In 2014, the Supreme Court decided the landmark Alice v. CLS Bank case. The Court held generic computers, performing generic computer functions, can’t make something eligible for patent protection. That shouldn’t be controversial, but it took Alice to make this… Read More ›
New Release: Tor Browser 9.5a12
New Release: Tor Browser 9.5a12 sysrqb May 07, 2020 Tor Browser 9.5a12 is now available from the Tor Browser Alpha download page and also from our distribution directory. Note: This is an alpha release, an experimental version for users who… Read More ›
America's Crowded Prisons Are About to Create a Coronavirus Crisis in Rural America
For the past several decades, rural America’s economic lifeline has been the construction and operation of prisons and immigrant detention centers, both public and for-profit. The 1980s saw the collapse of American manufacturing and a farm crisis that ripped through… Read More ›
With Patents on Coronavirus Medicines, International Drug Companies Will Decide Whether Brazilians Live or Die
Jonas Sena, suspected of contracting Covid-19, waits on a stretcher to be allowed in the 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus in Amazonas state, Brazil on April 16, 2020. Photo: Edmar Barros/AP As Brazil confronts the coronavirus pandemic, it is hard to… Read More ›
Unix and Adversarial Interoperability: The ‘One Weird Antitrust Trick’ That Defined Computing
The Unix operating system was created at Bell Labs in 1969. Today, it rules the world. Both Android and iOS are flavors of Unix. So is MacOS. So is GNU/Linux in all its flavors, like Ubuntu and Debian. So is… Read More ›
Second Paraguay Who Defends Your Data? Report: ISPs Still Have a Long Way Towards Public Commitments to Privacy and Transparency
Keeping track of ISPs’ commitments to their users, today Paraguay’s leading digital rights organization TEDIC is launching its second edition of ¿Quién Defiende Tus Datos? (Who Defends Your Data?), a report in collaboration with EFF. Transparent practices and firm privacy… Read More ›
Cryptoparty Ann Arbor: A Case Study in Grassroots Activism
Grassroots activism, in its many forms, allows a community to mobilize around a shared set of ideals and creates an environment whereby participants can share information and resources to help facilitate the advancement of their common aims. The Electronic Frontier… Read More ›
New Jersey's Cartoonishly Corrupt Democratic Party Is Finally Getting Challenged
A quintessential New Jersey game of musical chairs brought Albio Sires to Congress. The music started in November 2005, when Sen. John Corzine was elected governor. To fill his Senate seat, the party machine tapped Rep. Bob Menendez, which created… Read More ›