Did Donald Trump become president because he hired the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which uses profiling and micro-targeting in political elections? Some say yes, many say no. But what we know is that we are subjected to extensive personalised commercial and political messaging on the basis of data, including metadata, collected and used without our awareness and consent. It can result in changes in our behaviour, at least to some extent.
Bose Corp spies on its wireless headphone customers by using an app that tracks the music, podcasts and other audio they listen to, and violates their privacy rights by selling the information without permission, a lawsuit charged.
Pirate Bay founder Peter Sunde has a new privacy-oriented startup. Today he launches the domain registration service Njalla, which offers site owners full anonymity, shielding them from the prying eyes of outsiders. “Think of us as your friendly drunk (but responsibly so) straw person that takes the blame for your expressions.”
An Apple employee instructs a journalist on the use of the fingerprint scanner technology built into the company’s iPhone 5S during a media event in Beijing. Watchdog groups are concerned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are searching the phones and other digital devices of international travelers at border checkpoints in U.S. airports. (AP/Ng Han Guan)
Science sceptic Jim Sensenbrenner attempting to prove male GOP congressmen can become pregnantLast November John Sensenbrenner-- first elected in 1978 to represent the suburbs west of Milwaukee, Waukesha and Washington, Jefferson and Dodge counties further out-- was reelected against Democrat Khary Penebaker 260,703 (66.8%) to 114,469 (29.3%). WI-05 is the most Republican and most right-wing district in Wisconsin.
Netherlands: A sign on the revolving entrance to a European airport, one sign among many, says “the airport employs wi-fi and bluetooth tracking; your privacy is ensured”. The vast majority of people have no idea what this is, and just see it as one sign among many like “no smoking”. But this cryptic term is an indoor mass real-time positioning for every individual in the area at the sub-footstep level, and the airport knows who many of the individuals are.
Snow falls at dusk by the White House, Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, in Washington. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON — Breaking with the practice of President Donald Trump’s predecessor, the White House is keeping secret the lists of visitors to the building.
A couple of nights ago, Rachel Maddow did a long and interesting segment about what the Trumpist Regime does behind closed doors. The whole segment is posted above. And it's primarily about how the Trumpists are secretly moving more troops into Syria without asking for congressional approval. The decision making is behind closed doors. The second example that Maddow discusses though, is the one I want to take up today.
