Vortex - lauren.vortex.com - Lauren Weinstein's Blog
General Information:
Latest News:
Why "NSA Fearmongers" Are More Damaging to Free Speech than Is NSA 20 Aug 2013 | 11:23 pm
If you've been reading my missives for any period of time, you've probably discerned by personal viewpoint that for virtually any controversial topic, the reality exists somewhere in the center area, ...
Microsoft's Bizarre Anti-Google "Scroogled" Campaign Jumps the Shark -- Again! 18 Aug 2013 | 03:27 am
I know some great people up at Microsoft, including top-notch software engineers. And these days -- more and more -- I find myself feeling sorry for them. I don't believe it's my place to ask them how...
False Attack on Google Highlights the Web's "Idiot Echo Chamber" 15 Aug 2013 | 02:57 am
There was (I like believe) a time when supposedly reputable news-oriented organizations made the effort to try independently verify "news" -- at least to the extent of verifying easily available mater...
"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the NSA" 11 Aug 2013 | 11:29 pm
Once upon a time, I knew a spy. He died long ago, and honestly I don't even remember his name -- or at least the name by which I knew him. He was about as much a polar opposite from James Bond as it w...
Beware of Bogus NSA "Reforms" 30 Jul 2013 | 03:26 am
Politicians are well known for "blowing in the wind" of the perceived public opinions of the moment, and especially when politicos seem to suddenly change their own stated opinions, it's usually time ...
(Don't) Send in the (Internet Censorship) Clowns! 29 Jul 2013 | 12:38 am
Great Britain had two princes to talk about last week. One was the widely celebrated birth of the new Prince George, a joyful occasion indeed. The other "prince" -- actually a "clown prince" named Dav...
If You Have a Rooted Android Device, Don't Rush to Install Android 4.3 28 Jul 2013 | 05:45 am
If you have a rooted Android device, I recommend against rushing to install Android 4.3 for now. It appears that 4.3's new protection model may require re-rooting devices in various situations (and re...
As Feds Demand the Keys, Preparing for the Death of Public-Key Encryption 24 Jul 2013 | 11:30 pm
With further confirmation of the longstanding rumor that the U.S. government (and, we can safely assume, other governments around the world) have been pressuring major Internet firms to provide their ...
NSA, FBI, the American People, and Double Secret Probation 23 Jul 2013 | 02:05 am
Since the latest ramping up of concerns regarding the entire gamut of issues surrounding the surveillance activities of USA law enforcement and intelligence agencies (and by extension, similar activit...
Yahoo's Sneaky Strike to Tumble Tumblr's Adult Artifacts 20 Jul 2013 | 08:44 am
Addendum: 8:24 PM: After a flurry of articles today (including the posting below) critical of Yahoo/Tumblr handling of adult material, Yahoo/Tumblr are now saying that this was all caused by a complic...
