EFF sues the NSA

Earlier attempts by privacy and civil liberties advocates to sue the NSA over it data gathering activities were rejected by the courts because of a two-pronged government defense strategy: (1) refuse to confirm or deny that such programs exist on grounds of national security and then (2) argue in court that since the plaintiffs could not prove that they had been under surveillance, they had no right to sue. Shamefully, the courts accepted this Catch-22 style argument. [Read more…]

Why we tell the same stories to the same people

We have all experienced occasions when a family member or friend tells us a story that they have told us before. Usually we pretend it is new to us because it seems somehow rude to tell them that they are repeating themselves. Also it is likely that we have done the same thing to others and so we also benefit from this act of politeness. I know that I have done so and only realized what I was doing later or half way through the story and, in the latter case, felt obliged to quickly complete it. This is because we all have a repertoire of stories that we draw upon repeatedly in conversations with others. [Read more…]

One wheeled cycle

Remember the Segway? Now along comes a unicycle that operates similarly to that and has a self-balancing technology that makes it so stable that it is impossible to fall off it. It is called the RYNO and you can read more about it here. It can be parked anywhere that a bicycle can be parked. It is being marketed to commuters in dense traffic areas that have high parking charges. [Read more…]

The Thinking Housewife is mad at pope Francis

When people get tired of modern life and yearn for the languid bygone age of genteel manners where everyone knew their proper place and there wasn’t all this talk of ‘equality’ and ‘rights’ and so on that give so many people uppity ideas, many may tune in to Downton Abbey for a refreshing breeze of nostalgia. As for me, I go over to the website The Thinking Housewife where I can be assured that right thinking will prevail and old-fashioned values upheld. [Read more…]

Is Obama is a good man? And does it matter?

My post on why I supported Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning produced quite a strong reaction in which some people took issue with my harsh criticism of Barack Obama. I wrote a follow-up that addressed some of the concerns and I would strongly recommend that people particularly read the responses by Jeffrey Johnson that appeared in the comments to the latter post because he very thoughtfully took issue with my stand. [Read more…]