MSNBC: "Robot warriors will get a guide to ethics:

When and what to fire will be part of hardware and software 'package'"

Hey, if machines can learn, how long before that kind of training is available to the company formerly known as Blackwater?

Open Thread below...

Back before I decided to downgrade career-wise to stay at home with my kids, I had to do a lot of traveling for my job, laptop, PDA, etc. in tow. Of course, this was pre-9/11, so I also didn't have to worry about removing my shoes, carrying water bottles or full body x-rays. Even last summer, we brought our laptop with us when we went to Europe so that I could work on my writing projects. I can't begin to express my outrage at the thought that the government would feel they have the right to seize that work without reasonable suspicion. And I have a clearly European surname. What would it be like for honest, law-abiding citizens with a Middle-Eastern name?

Raw Story:

If you enter or leave the United States carrying a laptop, flash drive or cell phone, the government can collect and store a massive amount of personal information without first obtaining a warrant, having probable cause or even suspecting you of anything.

During a subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) said the government needs to institute safeguards to protect Americans' privacy rights, and he accused the Department of Homeland Security of ducking from scrutiny of its overreach in searching electronics. DHS refused to send a representative to the hearing and secretary Michael Chertoff did not answer written questions from Feingold.

"Once again, this administration has demonstrated its perverse belief that it is entitled to keep anything and everything secret from the public it serves and their elected representatives, while Americans are not allowed to keep any secrets from their government," he said. "That's exactly backwards."

Fourth Amendment protections are less stringent at points of entry into the US. Courts have ruled that routine searches are permissible because the government's interest in keeping dangerous and illegal materials out of the country makes such searches "reasonable" without additional justification. For more invasive searches, such as strip-searches and x-rays, a customs agent must be able to show the person they are searching is likely a criminal.[..]

The laptop seizures have proved especially worrisome for business travelers, who could be crippled if they were unable to access data on a laptop seized by the government, said Susan Gurley, executive director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives.

A survey of business travelers found that 7 percent had their laptops or other electronic device seized by the government, Gurley testified.

The committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) defended the administration's random, suspicionless searches of laptop computers. It took him just over a minute during his opening remarks to play the 9/11 card, observing that plotter Zacarias Moussaoui used the same kind of computer favored by scores of business travelers, students and other law-abiding Americans.

"We also know that terrorists take advantage of this kind of technology," Brownback said, referring to laptop computers. "Mr. Moussaoui, for example, kept information on his laptop computer that if discovered might've prevented the Sept. 11 terror attacks. That's a sobering thought."

That's right, when it looks like we've turned into a fascist totalitarian state that laughs at the Fourth Amendment (it's not something critical like the Second Amendment, after all), invoke "maybe we could prevent another 9/11" card.

Two weeks ago, Huffington Post reminded Americans that John McCain by his own admission doesn't know how to use a computer. Now, McCain campaign aide Mark Soohoo reassured voters that "John McCain is aware of the Internet" and "You don’t actually have to use a computer to understand how it shapes the country."

No doubt, as with so much that for his public policy pronouncements, John McCain didn't let his ignorance get in the way of speaking out. As it turns out, back in April the self-described computer "illiterate" proclaimed eBay was the answer to poverty and recession in the United States.

Earlier this year, the Politico's Mike Allen (video here) asked the GOP presidential contenders whether they used a PC or Mac. In his response, McCain revealed that when it comes to high tech devices large (like private jets) or small (like personal computers), he is dependent on his beer heiress wife:

"Neither. I'm an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance I can get."

But just because John McCain doesn't know how to connect to eBay doesn't mean he doesn't have connections to eBay. As it turns out, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman is not only a senior adviser to John McCain, but plays ventriloquist with him when it comes to the economy.

During his now-forgotten "Forgotten Places" tour two months ago, McCain told an audience in Inez, Kentucky, "You have a right to expect us to show as much concern for helping you create more and better choices to make for yourselves as we show any other community in America." And one of those better choices, according to John McCain, is to become a seller on the auction site, eBay:

"Today, for example, 1.3 million people in the world make a living off eBay, most of those are in the United State of America."

Continue reading »

NPR:

FBI agents on Tuesday raided the offices of Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch, who oversees protection for federal whistleblowers. The agents seized computers and shut down email service as part of an obstruction of justice probe, NPR has exclusively learned.

FBI agents also searched Bloch's home and a Special Counsel field office in Dallas. A grand jury in Washington issued subpoenas for several OSC employees, including Bloch, according to NPR sources who spoke on condition their names not be used.

Bloch, who has also been under investigation for allegedly retaliating against career employees and obstructing an investigation, was being questioned at his Washington, D.C. office on Tuesday morning, according to the NPR sources.

Working Life: Why we miss John Edwards' voice on trade and globalization.

Amygdala: Knowing what one is talking about.

Connecting.the.Dots: Lotts of Smoke

sans everything: When conservatives loved the Palestinians. Computers have cut-and-paste functions. So does right-wing historical memory.

Mad Kane's Political Madness: Dear Ralph: Go Away!

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: The NYT censors Krugman, why not Kristol, Rich, Dowd, Kristof, and Brooks?...Mountain, Meet Molehill...Howard Kurtz's conflicting interests and his love affair with The Right...USA Today to Dems: Move to the right...How the press can prevent another Iraq...Russert asks a plagiarist about plagiarism, but that wasn't his lowest moment...Fox News Porn...NYT can't see a Bank bailout in front of its eyes

YahooNews :

Wisconsin's revenue agency said Friday that it sent as many as 170,000 forms to taxpayers with mailing labels mistakenly printed with their Social Security numbers.

The state Department of Revenue was scrambling to alert taxpayers to be on the lookout for the mailings.

"We want to prevent any chance identity theft might occur," department spokeswoman Meredith Helgerson said. An agency news release included an apology to taxpayers and a statement that steps were being taken "to make sure that this will never happen again."

The misprinted labels, blamed on a computer error while they were being prepared, went to taxpayers who have used the basic Form 1, a long paper form for individuals, according to the department.

As someone who has been a victim of identity theft, I don't find this kind of mistake very humorous, and I hope this doesn't result in too much damage for the taxpayers involved. I am intrigued by the framing of this as a little "computer error". I've done mailing labels. Computers generally don't make errors like this, that's an operator error. Is it that hard in this day and age to just accept responsibility for a screw up?

I haven't switched to flash on the videos I burn for C&L and I want to know your opinion. There are many readers that don't update or buy new computers every year and have firewalls to deal with so they have trouble viewing embeds. A lot of people download them from C&L and save them for later viewing pleasure. I want everybody to be able to watch the videos that I make so what are your opinions? I'm thinking of making embeds available at another time, but I try to get the information online as soon as possible and it just adds another step to the process which slows me down. What say you?

(I'll be in "Blogging lite" mode the rest of the week to try and take a much needed rest.)

C&Ler MrEMan was working on a Maryland State Senate campaign and gives us his impression of the poll and voter problems in Maryland's primary yesterday:

MyDD has a lot of information up on the problems in Maryland:

Let's start with what we know. This primary isn't over. And if Al Wynn hadn't cheated, he would be giving a concession speech right now. For instance, how much of his money that came in was misreported or downright illegal? We just don't know at this point. How many people were intimidated from volunteering with Donna Edwards because Wynn supporters were beating people up? We don't know....read on

Mr EMan: At the North Baltimore polling place that I worked, the day started out just as many did across the state - late. By 7:05 am, disgruntled voters began knocking on the doors, demanding to be let in. By 7:15, the knocking turned into double-fisted pounding as the dozens of people waiting in line became increasingly angered by the delays.

Continue reading »

Alexa.com is a pretty cool website. It analysis web-traffic. A great feature is that you can compare one site to another. John did this a few weeks back with Daily Kos and the White House. Markos has said that Alexa doesn't count Apple computers properly, but C&L is doing pretty good just the same. We're very close to the NRO at this point also.

"The National Security Agency's Internet site has been placing files on visitors' computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite strict federal rules banning most of them. These files, known as "cookies," disappeared after a privacy activist complained and The Associated Press made inquiries this week, and agency officials acknowledged Wednesday they had made a mistake. Nonetheless, the issue raises questions about privacy at a spy agency already on the defensive amid reports of a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States...read on"

The Mental Health Association sent me this link to Cookie Monster II. I don't know anything about this program and I'm not saying that the cookies are tied in with King George's spy operation, but as the article says: "They are great for news and other sites with repeat visitors, he said, but the NSA's site does not appear to have enough fresh content to warrant more than occasional visits."