Central Perk: 14 dec. 2013

sâmbătă, 14 decembrie 2013

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

French Hypocrisy at Its Finest: France Broadens Its Surveillance Power; "Susie Did It Too!"

Posted: 14 Dec 2013 02:40 PM PST

In October, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he was "deeply shocked" by reports that the US National Security Agency had secretly monitored tens of millions of phone conversations within France and demanded an explanation.

"Susie Did It Too!"

The U.S. response was 'All Nations' Spy as if that makes the practice of blanket spying on citizens OK.

Our response was like that of a 6-year old kid caught raiding the cookie jar, responding "Susie did it too!"

French Hypocricy at Its Finest

Two days ago the Voice of Russia noted France steps up net surveillance weeks after protesting against NSA spying.

The French government has adopted a bill allowing the authorities to access and gather internet user data in real time without judicial approval. The senate approved the legislation just weeks after France expressed outrage at NSA spying practices. The bill has been slammed by activists as going "against the principles of democracy".

The measures, given final parliamentary approval by the senate on Tuesday night, extend authority to gather digital information, previously limited to intelligence agencies, to the defense, interior, finance and budget ministries.

The law gives French intelligence services access to telephone and Internet usage data that would let them locate and follow the target of a terrorism investigation in real time. In addition, the law provides agents with access not just to meta data about users from website hosts but allows them to seize content stored on websites and in clouds. It also provides for access in real time to the location of mobile devices.

The information can be demanded without the prior approval of a judge, as previously required but there will be post-facto monitoring by national oversight bodies. Currently in France, authorities are required to apply for a warrant to access this information, a process that usually takes several months.

France Broadens Its Surveillance Power

Today the New York Times confirms the report in France Broadens Its Surveillance Power.

The upfront details are the same although Russia Today had more of them. In turn, the NYT has a few interesting items of its own. Let's pick up this story in the middle.

The Association des Services Internet Communautaires, or @sic, an advocacy group whose members include AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and several top French Internet companies, discovered the new legislation essentially by chance.

"There was no consultation at all," said Giuseppe de Martino, @sic's director and an executive at Dailymotion, a French online video service. "No one said anything about it to us."

The National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms, a state administration meant to protect the rights and privacy of citizens, said it was not consulted on the contentious elements of the bill, though it was asked to review other provisions.

The government denied any effort to shield the law from public scrutiny. The bill went through four votes in Parliament, noted one government official. "Not exactly discreet, as maneuvers go," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Please note the irony in that last paragraph.

French Citizens Should Have Been Angry for 23 Years

In still further irony, Jean-Pierre Sueur, a senator from President François Hollande's Socialist Party, said identical provisions have been in place since the passage of an electronic intercepts law in 1991. "If they're angry about this, they ought to have been angry for 23 years," Mr. Sueur said.

PRECISELY!

Unfortunately, no one knew about the spying until now, because it was hidden.

Thus once again I sing the praises of U.S. and international public hero Edward Snowden, for revealing precisely what governments are doing.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

How to Open a Wine Bottle With a Shoe

Posted: 14 Dec 2013 10:52 AM PST

Have a bottle of wine but no corkscrew?

Should you ever find yourself in that situation, I offer the following video as a public service announcement.

Link if video does not play: How to Open a Wine Bottle With a Shoe

Thanks to reader "Bob" who sent me the video.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Marking the One-Year Anniversary of the Tragic Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut

Featured

Weekly Address: Marking the One-Year Anniversary of the Tragic Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut

In his weekly address, President Obama honors the memory of the 26 innocent children and educators who were taken from us a year ago in Newton, Connecticut.

Click here to watch this week's Weekly Address.

Top Stories

Remembering Nelson Mandela: On Monday, the President and First Lady departed for South Africa to attend the national memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela. The next day they joined tens of thousands of mourners at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium to say farewell to the man also known as Madiba. The President spoke at the memorial service, reflecting on what Mandela meant to him personally and to the people of South Africa.

For the people of South Africa, for those he inspired around the globe, Madiba’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate a heroic life. But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or our circumstance, we must ask: How well have I applied his lessons in my own life? It’s a question I ask myself, as a man and as a President.

Read his full remarks here and catch up on the last time the Mandela family was at the White House.

“Program It”: This week was Computer Science Education Week, or CSEdWeek, an annual campaign that highlights the importance of learning computer science. The President recorded a message in support of CSEdWeek, encouraging young people to learn computer science. “Don’t just buy a new video game, make one,” he said. “Don’t just download the latest app, help design it. Don’t just play on your phone, program it.” You can take part in CSEdWeek activities by going to Code.org.

Talking Immigration: On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden and Cecilia Munoz, the President’s Domestic Policy Advisor Council took part in a live Skype video call where they answered questions on immigration submitted via Skype and on Twitter. Watch video from the call here.

Kennedy Center Honors Reception: The President and First Lady hosted this year’s Kennedy Center Honorees on Sunday. Five people were awarded this honor for their lifetime contributions to entertainment. “Each of our brilliant honorees has given us something unique and enriched us beyond measure, as individuals and as a nation. Together they bring us closer to President Kennedy’s vision of the arts as a great humanizing and truth-telling experience.” Read his full remarks here.

Message to the People of the Central African Republic: President Obama recorded an audio message to the people of the Central African Republic, after government affiliated armed groups and independent militias have committed atrocities against innocent civilians. “The awful violence of recent days threatens the country you love,” the President said.

Innocent men, women and children have been killed. Families have fled their homes. And we know from the bitter experience of other countries what happens when societies descend into violence and retribution. Today, my message to you is simple: it doesn’t have to be this way. You—the proud citizens of the Central African Republic—have the power to choose a different path.

The President stated that the people of the Central African Republic should reject the violence and move towards a more peaceful future.

White House Gingerbread House: Ever wanted to see how a 300-pound, edible White House replica is made? Check out this post and video that shows how the gingerbread house and life-size hearth from 1,2000 Springerle cookies came together.

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Seth's Blog : The semiotics of type

The semiotics of type

USE ALL CAPS IF YOU'RE YELLING.

Italics has many uses. Too many. We rely on it for referencing Latin (per capita) or slang or snideness or asides or internal monologues (I wonder if this sentence is a run-on).

We can get you to pay attention if we use bold, sparingly.

But now there's an explosion brewing, because we've given everyone the tools they need to set type, and because almost all our communication is done in type.

So alt-2 is a great way for me to remind you that I just-coined-a-phrase™. And a blue underlined term is a clear signal that there's an internet link that might be worth clicking on.

Because we're scanning instead of reading, the need for these glanceable shortcuts is increasing... and because we're ever more connected, it's more likely that someone will coin a sign and have it spread and be adopted.

Like green type as a sign that you've linked to something for sale. Or the #hashtag to indicate a categorical term that's friendly to Twitter. Or just a way of typing a word in a certain form of hip aside. #clever.

Or comic sans type when referencing something done in bad taste.

When we push too fast, our type ends up looking like a ransom note, which was endemic after the early Mac let people start mixing and matching typefaces. Here's the thing, though: the typical Wikipedia article or tweet is such a mix and match and mismatch of signs and signals that to someone from ten years ago, it probably looks as bad as those ransom notes did.