PAXALLES

Kirk Wiebe with Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Thin Thread creator Kirk Wiebe.

Wiebe said there were four or five people involved in Thin Thread.  He said the NSA found itself behind the curve in the NSA in the 1990s.  Michael Hayden ignored "Thin Thread" which was ahead of the curve and instead adopted a program called "Trailblazer".  He said intelligence and cyber security are different things.  He said it's all about how one uses the data and that what's on the Internet is huge and not of interest.  The key point is winnowing the data to what is significant.  He said they had developed an approach called big data, but he and his colleagues walked away from the NSA due to corruption and the fact the information would be used against innocent private citizens.  

Wiebe said there is a huge database in Utah that has gigabytes of information on US citizens.  He said "Thin Thread" citizens' protection was disabled.  He said there is language in the Patriot Act that has been kept secret and that Senator Ron Wyden has asked for it to be made public.  Wyden is also working on FISA  guidelines being fixed to prevent innocent citizens from being wiretapped.  

Nicholas Carr, author of "The Shallows" with Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Nicholas Carr, author of "The Shallows".

Carr said our brains are very good at adapting to changes in our environment and thus they are adapting to technology as we seek new information.  He cautioned that the bombardment has caused people to not think deeply.  He said the touch screen now allows very young children to interact with screens.  He stated that moderate use is acceptable, but that children need an array of experiences and that individual children react to technology differently. He feels schools should be a refuge from the tech deluge. 

Carr was inspired to write his book due to the changes in himself from being immersed in gadgets.  He would put off giving children smartphones as long as possible.  

Mike Farris with Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Mike Farris of ParentalRights.org.

Farris, a constitutional lawyer, said the "In Bloom" database funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation contains subjective, personal information about children and tracks them from preschool to college.  Social Security, test results and comprehensive data is being accumulated.  This is in contrast to evaluating systems which information was gleaned for. 

Farris said the data is designed to match a student up to predesigned objectives and if a child has learning gaps, the child is red flagged.  

It Bites Apple: Eye-tracking Samsung Galaxy S4 unveiled

Inside Galaxy S4

Eye-tracking Samsung Galaxy S4 unveiled:

 

Dr. James Lewis with Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Dr. James Lewis. 

Lewis said China had a big reason to go after the New York Times.  He noted that people are paid to make positive comments about China all over the web.  

Lewis said China could wipe people's bank accounts, cause massive blackouts, take down the internet or networks which would paralyze the economy.  China has done big tests on our systems to get valuable information and to probe how they could make use of the intel.  Iran has also been involved in such activity.  It works with Chinese citizens so there is a confidence level that it could be replicated elsewhere.  

Lewis said corporations became more aware after September 11th of precautions that should be taken, but it would take a long time to get systems back up online.  He said it could be anonymous hackers as well as state actors.  He said we could be better at this and that we are also hampered by legalities.  He said that smartphones cameras, recording elements can be hacked to record what is going on with the owner being unaware.  

Stephen Hawking: Pre-Singularity Era Being?

The celebrated physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, severely impaced by Lou Gehrig's disease, has been described as uniquely incorporated into the services of machines and other people who aid him - a sort of pre-singularity era being.

But in another version of Hawking’s story, we notice that he is more “incorporated” than any other scientist, let alone human being. He is delegated across numerous other bodies: technicians, students, assistants, and of course, machines. Hawking’s “genius,” far from being the product of his mind alone, is in fact profoundly located, material, and collective in nature.

Google's Eric Schmidt: Rogue Capitalist

Google's Eric Schmidt, a proud supporter and adviser to the Obama administration, has emerged as a brazen rogue capitalist.

First Schmidt proudly bragged that Google's tax avoidance schemes are 'capitalism' - this while the president castigates millionaires and special interests who don't pay their fair share to the federal coffers.

Now Schmidt is visiting North Korea with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, putting the US in an awkward position as we try to pressure newly minted dictator Kim Jong Un on a range of issues, not the least of which is his evolving missile program which could touch the US.  

Does anyone think Schmidt will open up the Hermit Kingdom to the wonders of social media and the internet?

Can anyone imagine if this were Exxon-Mobil or Haliburton making such a visit under a Republican administration? 

This provides one more point for conspiracy theorists that Google is taking over the world.  In more prosaic terms, it is big time rogue, crony capitalism.

Laura Ingraham hosted Superintendent Joseph Erardi of Suddington, Connecticut. 

Erardi said his community decided to follow up with parents' courageous conversations and asked parents to talk to their children about the content of video games and if there is a decision that the games are too much, the families can turn in their games and get a token for an alternative activity.  They hope to promote honest conversations within the families and communities, not to ban video games.  He said there is no easy fix to issues of violence and a desensitized culture.  He is concerned about the hours spent on these video games and woud like to see children outside playing.  He feels solutions need to be local.  

Next Saturday his community's SOS group will be sponsoring the video game turn in.

Roboy, The Humanoid Service Robot, Delivery In Nine Months

Roboy, a new humonid robot, is set to be "delivered" in nine months. 

Meet Roboy, “one of the most advanced humanoid robots,” say researchers at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the University of Zurich.

Their 15 project partners and over 40 engineers and scientists are constructing Roboy as a tendon-driven robot modeled on human beings (robots usually have their motors in their joints, giving them that “robot” break-dance look), so it will move almost as elegantly as a human.

 

 

 

 

Danger Info: Is Citizen Drone Warfare In Our Future?

Is citizen drone warfare in our future?

Civilian Drone Warfare - DIY armed aerial vehicles are about to dominate the skies over the US and the world. DangerInfo investigates the growing interest in civilian DIY UAV's.

 

  

South Korea: North Korea Satellite Orbiting Normally

Rocket launch Shows North Korea Advance

The AP reports that South Korea says North Korea's satellite is orbiting normally.

The launch of a three-stage rocket - similar in design to a model capable of carrying a nuclear-tipped warhead as far as California - raises the stakes in the international standoff over North Korea's expanding atomic arsenal. As Pyongyang refines its technology, its next step may be conducting its third nuclear test, experts warn.

Talking Proud! Obama Adviser Eric Schmidt Brags About Google's Tax Avoidance As "Capitalism"

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, an Obama adviser and supporter, claimed Google's tax avoidance is an example of "capitalism".

Call that "crony capitalism". 

Mr Schmidt's comments risk inflaming the row over the amount of tax multinationals pay, after it emerged that Google funnelled $9.8bn (£6.07bn) of revenues from international subsidiaries into Bermudalast year in order to halve its tax bill.

 

The Assadosphere: Goebbels' Syrian Progeny With An Assist From Iran and Russia

Syria's murderous dictator Bashar Assad has his own online propaganda machine - a modern day operation that would make Hitler's Joseph Goebbels proud.

Assad has maintained a robust propaganda presence for years: Remember the infamous Vogueprofile of his wife Asma, which praised the “wildly democratic” Assad family right as it began its wave of bloodshed. Assad’s online buddies are the next wave of that propaganda: They’ve taken a defense of his regime viral, to the point where they don’t need to take their marching orders from Damascus. They’re contesting the web and social-media space that would otherwise be filled with recitations of Assad’s war crimes — and flooding the zone.

 

A "Mehr Fars": Iran Launches Its Own YouTube

Iran, which censors the real YouTube, is launching its own version called "Mehr".  

The website (http://www.mehr.ir) called ‘Mehr’, meaning affection in Farsi, aims to attract Persian-speaking users and also promote Iranian culture, according to its About Us page.

China's Xiaomi Technology: Move Over Apple?

Is China's Xiaomi Technology aiming to take on Apple?

Less than three years after its founding, the smartphone maker is valued at $4 billion and evokes Apple-like adoration from its fans, some of whom are desperate enough to skip work for a shot at buying the latest product the day it goes on sale.

Founder Lei Jun dresses like the late Steve Jobs, in jeans and a black top. He has created a fervent fan base for Xiaomi's moderately priced high-end smartphones by mimicking Apple Inc's marketing tactic of attaching an aura of exclusivity around its products.